The 1880 United States Census records are now available online, courtesy of the Mormon Church.
I found the household record for my great-great-grandparents, Abraham and Julia Rosenheim, who were the first of my ancestors to immigrate to the US. They were both born in Russia in 1843, and came to New York ca. 1870. The census lists Abraham's occupation as "huckster", which back in 1880 simply meant "peddler".
Their middle daughter Ella (b. 1867) married my great-grandfather Isaac Sharkansky ca. 1890. They had five children, including my grandfather. Ella passed away in 1938. I don't know much about her, except that she was a terribly strong-willed woman. My grandma had a tough time with her mother-in-law, and used to describe her to me as "a regular bitch on wheels". But I prefer to think of my great-grandma Ella as the lady who put the Shark in Sharkansky.
I don't know anything about any of my Rosenheim relatives. If anybody who reads this also happens to be descended from Abraham and Julia Rosenheim, please drop me a line
And thanks to the versatile Ned "Paracelsus" Gulley for letting us know about the census records.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 31, 2002 06:42 AM