Most of my best research lately is coming from DNA matches. Specifically from Ancestry because so many people test there. While it sometimes looks like too many names surface, there is a great way to filter the results. If you select another individual, then hit the “Shared DNA” button, you get a list of only individuals who share your DNA.
My Top 8 DNA matches
Here is the list of individuals related to me who are 3rd cousin or closer according to Ancestry’s prediction. Notice the three unknown individuals and that WS is the only known individual on my father’s side
| Ancestry Name | Shared DNA Length | Ancestry Prediction | Actual Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| HS | 3481 cM over 59 segs | Child | Son |
| J.D. | 1486 cM over 52 segs | Close Family – 1st Cousin | Aunt – Mother’s side |
| n5clt | 280 cM over 10 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin | Don’t Know |
| WS | 222 cM over 14 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin | 2nd Cousin – Father’s Side |
| G.N | 222 cM over 14 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin | 2nd Cousin, x1 Removed – Mother’s Side |
| JT | 172 cM over 10 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin | Don’t Know |
| elddsw | 134 cM over 6 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin | Don’t Know |
| KNHogue666 | 92 cM across 6 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin | 3rd Cousin – Mother’s side |
DNA Matches with Anna (Balyetsky) Schwartz
Shared DNA between 2nd cousin WS and myself will reveal everyone who shares DNA with our great grandparents, identified as Max Schwartz and Anna Balyetsky by their likely marriage certificate. Additional names appear, but at a segment length < 40 cM where “false positives” start to surface.
Vital documents frequently refer to Anna as Anna Bloom, so the “Bloom” surname associated with CB really stands out. She also provides a short, but extremely useful, tree. You can trace CB’s line back to Abraham Bloom (b. 1863, d. 1924) and Pauline Cohen (b. 1864, d. 1937) who immigrated to Boston from Poland/Russia around 1884. It was pretty easy to put together a complete descendancy for Abraham & Pauline, summarized in the drawing below. The complete research can be found here:
http://www.schwartznet.net/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I25331&tree=Tree1
| Ancestry Name | Shared DNA Length | Ancestry Prediction |
|---|---|---|
| n5clt | 280 cM over 10 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin |
| WS | 222 cM over 9 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin |
| JT | 172 cM over 10 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin |
| elddsw | 134 cM over 6 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin |
| CB | 51 cM over 6 segs | 4th-6th Cousin |
| GM | 48 cM over 4 segs | 4th-6th Cousin |
| CE | 47 cM over 3 segs | 4th-6th Cousin |
| schwarf | 47 cM over 2 segs | 4th-6th Cousin |
| ER | 45 cM over 6 segs | 4th-6th Cousin |
There’s more. Many of the other individuals on the list left some clues on Ancestry. It turns out, JT, elddsw, CB, and GM all descend from Abraham and Pauline Bloom.
The mystery relation of CE also looks to have a solution. The user stops at her GGrandmother, Hinda (Nattenberg) Silverman. However, the “Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994” on familysearch.org gives the following information: Hinda Silverman, 61, a housewife residing Chicago IL, wife of Hirsch Silverman, born Wloclawek, POL to Chaim Nattenberg, b. Wloclawek, POL & Bess Bobiechy b. Wloclawek, POL, died 25 Feb 1936 in Chicago. Burial 27 Feb in P.O.W. Cemetery in Proviso, Cook, IL. Informant is Irving Silverman.
| Ancestry Name | Ancestry Tree Information |
|---|---|
| JT | Tallen Family Tree: Parents: Morton Tallen (b. 1913 in Lowell MA, d. 1991 in Boston) & Myrtle Bloom (b. 1914 in Boston, d. 2011 in Boston) Grandparents: Maurice Bloom (b. Boston, d. 1967 in Brookline MA) & Lenna Rosen (b. 1888 in Poland, d. 1980 in Boston) Great Grandparents: Abraham Bloom & Pauline |
| elddsw | Weiser Family Tree Parents: Private Grandparents: Oscar Block (b. 1903 in Russia) & Helen Bloom (b. 1907 in MA) |
| CB | Bloom Family Tree: Parents: Irving Bloom (b. 1917 in Boston, d. 1997) & Jeanne Gorin (b. Boston, d. 2009 in Atlanta) Grandparents: Maurice Bloom (d. in Boston) & Lena |
| GM | Morgan Family Tree: Parents: Jack Gardner (b. 1915 in NY, d. 2005 in NY) & Rosalind B Bloom ( b. 1922 in Boston, d. 1999 in NY) Grandparents: David Bloom (d. Boston) & Anna Silverstein (d. Aug 1922 in Boston) |
| CE | Silverman Family Tree Parents: Private Grandparents: Hyman Silverman (b. 1904, d. 1993) & Evelyn Epstein (d. 2001) GGrandparents: Herman Silverman & Hinda Nattenberg (b. 1875, d. 1936) GGGrandparents: Chaim Nattenberg & Bessie Bobiechy |
How are Anna, Abraham and Bessie related?
It is impossible to know what DNA gets passed to offspring. It varies statistically. Notice that I share 172 cM with JT and only 51 cM with CB even though they share the same grandparents. Furthermore, there are many relationships to consider. When Ancestry says a 3rd-4th Cousin, it might be 3rd cousin, half 3rd cousin, 3 cousin 1x removed (to name a few). So you have to consider Anna, Abraham and Bessie may brother/sister, half brother/sister or cousins.
There are advanced techniques to better analyze the data, but it involves creating chromosome maps of multiple participating descendants.
Second problem. From a classic genealogy point of view. there is no document that names Anna, Abraham or Bessie together. This lack of connection presents a problem.
That said, Anna and Abraham were born roughly 7 years apart, they immigrated to the same city of Boston and their descendants share a lot of DNA. Most importantly, the death certificate of Abraham arrived in the mail. His daughter, Leah Pinkerton, identifies his father as David Bloom of Poland, matching Anna’s marriage certificate. I feel comfortable stating that Anna and Abraham are siblings.
The relationship between Anna and Bessie remains too difficult to predict at present since she has no vital dates and her offspring settled in Chicago.
| Ancestry Name | Shared DNA Length | Ancestry Prediction | Relation if Anna, Abraham, Bess are siblings |
|---|---|---|---|
| n5clt | 280 cM over 10 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin | Unknown |
| WS | 222 cM over 9 segs | 2nd-3rd Cousin | 2nd Cousin |
| JT | 172 cM over 10 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin | 3rd Cousin |
| elddsw | 134 cM over 6 segs | 3rd-4th Cousin | 3rd Cousin |
| CB | 51 cM over 6 segs | 4th-6th Cousin | 3rd Cousin |
| GM | 48 cM over 4 segs | 4th-6th Cousin | 3rd Cousin |
| CE | 47 cM over 3 segs | 4th-6th Cousin | 3rd Cousin, x1 removed |
| ER | 45 cM over 6 segs | 4th-6th Cousin | Unknown |
Short Biography of Abraham & Pauline (Cohen) Bloom
The record provides a consistent picture for Abraham and Pauline (Cohen) Bloom. They immigrated to Boston from Poland/Russia about 1884 shortly after they were married. He started as a tailor, but then moved to selling shoes. Abraham owed a shoe store located at 137 W Broadway in South Boston, called “Bloom & Co”. He later had a second shoe at 45 Meridian in East Boston. The family moved around south Boston frequently, eventually setting in Roxbury. Abraham became a naturalized citizen in 1892. That record indicates that he was born in Warsaw Poland and emigrated in 1884, a year that mark the beginning of Jewish exodus from Warsaw after some deadly rioting in the city. Abraham and Pauline had five children, the births all recorded in Boston vital records. The children all married and remained in the Boston area. Jacob died on 28 Feb 1924 and is buried in Pride of Jacob Cemetery in West Roxbury. Pauline died in 1937.
Follow Up Comments
Assuming that Abraham Bloom is closely related to Anna Bloom, the naturalization record becomes the first record suggesting any city of origin for one of my Jewish immigrates. Also note that Bessie Bobiechy’s town of Wloclawak, Poland is located 100 miles NW of Warsaw. In our oral history it is said that “the family was of German origin”, so Warsaw (or nearby Wloclawek) makes sense as a city of origin. It was originally part of Prussia when the Polish-Lithuania commonweath was dissolved around 1792, but it had moved to Russia control by around 1815.
Got a nice reply from JT via Ancestry whose oral history has Abraham Bloom’s last original name as “Babastincky”, and that they emigrated from Odessa Russia. For those keeping track, there are now multiple spelling of the original Bloom: Balyetsky or Balyetskey (from marriage record), Barbietsky (Benjamin Schwartz death certificate penned by wife Rose), Babastincky (from JT family) and Bobiechy (from Herta Silverman death certificate). Not sure I can deal with the Odessa Russia roots theory yet. It does not match the other records.
