Just some facts and figures. No fancy photos. A woman named Esther was born in 1840 and she married Yitzchok Naftalin. Years ago I saw this entry and I wondered if that was where my Grandma Esther's name came from as her father was a Naftalin. I mean she could have been named after Queen Esther the heroine of the Purim holiday that is coming up this week. It's not an usual Jewish name, however I do two have an Esther Naftalin in m family. The one born in 1840 easily could have been the woman my grandmother was named after. As Jews name after the dead usually we are named after a grandmother or relative of a grandparent or a great aunt or someone who did good deeds.
A while down the genealogical road that I have been traveling I came across lots of records from Plunge, Lithuania a city in the Kovno region and I was surprised to learn that a female ancestor donated money to the Persian Relief fund. She is noted in the records as "the wife of" the name of her husband. She was the only woman to donate money to this fund. That stood out as strange. Most of the records from the 1800s for Plunge reference men more than women. Apparently someone was collecting money to send to Persia or Bagdad, I can't remember the specifics. I'd rather type my thoughts now and fill the facts in later such as the specific name.
MyHeritage results showed I am a little over 5% Mizrachi Persian which was very cool, but surprising. My family started out in Europe in various places back in the 1800s. I did some research and some people related to me had married women in Baku where they were while hiding from war in Europe. Apparently that was a place many went to do business and to hide; Rabbis doing spiritual work and others involved in the modern version of the Silk Road doing other business. I've always loved reading about the Silk Road, so I was excited, but skeptical but curious. Again the nagging thought of ancestors named Esther and the women who donated money to a relief fund for Persian Jews who lived in Plunge Lithuania far away in the Askenaizi European world. Why? Sometimes there is no why but it's nagged at me over time as strange.
Recently I was doing a deep dive on the Naftalin family on Google AI and looking through old records. It turns out that an Esther Naftalin married to a Izik (Yitchok) went to Bagdad with her husband who was a merchant dealing with the updated Silk Road and yes they lived in Persia. That is the record at the top of the page. I mean you can't get more Persia than Baghdad. Apparently times were rough, there was a famine and while the Jews with more money looked out for the others, many moved on to India and beyond to build a life elsewhere. You can compare it to the Potato famine in Ireland that spurred migration to America. But in this case most of the migration went from Persia further East.
Apparently there was a "Magid Fund" in Lithuania and they would collect, often before Purim and all records (even the women) were recorded. This was the charity I remember seeing. Kind of timely seeing as how Purim is in less than 24 hours from now. The link to more info is below as well as a paragraph of explanation. From JewishGen https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/misc/HaMagidIndex.htm
"The appeal "caught fire" in the Pale of Settlement, and particularly in Lithuania, where it had an especial poignancy because the Lithuanian Jews had been going through hard times and food shortages themselves and understood the meaning of food deprivation. Collections were made in many towns, often at the instigation of the local Rabbi. Sometimes collectors were appointed who went from house to house, and sometimes an appeal was made in the synagogue, for example, appropriately on Purim. Many of the donations were extremely small, but they were nearly all recorded."
Anyway I found out that this ancestor Esther Naftalin who left Lithuania with her merchant husband Yitzchok aka Itzik in the mid 1800s and went all the way to Baghdad. It's a famous story, while not well known it's recorded in various places. Imagine traveling in the mid 1800s across Europe to Baghdad. Several routes were suggested that they may take and that suggestion is listed below. Again the Silk Road travelers were a network of families well known who often interacted and even often intermarried as they built up their family business empires. I can't imagine taking such a trip in the 1800s, there was no videon YouTube to check out or reviews on Yelp of the hotels. Add in plagues and no penicillin it's sort of miraculous to me that they even made the journey let alone survived the journey. And, apparently they thrived both in business and in charitable work while living in Baghdad. Records show that Esther ran some sort of "soup kitchen" as we'd call it today for people who needed and was well known in the community. Did they stay there or go back to Kovno or somewhere else where business was favored for her merchant husband? Did they have kids there? Probably. Records show they lost a baby before departing, maybe traveling was a way to not think on that tragedy.Who knows as babies died all the time from the measles and bronchitis. I'm part of a world where it's common for couples to travel off to far away cities to do work for Chabad. I left Miami for Los Angeles with my first baby and pregnant with my second child on the West Coast far from home. But it wasn't in the mid 1800s.
Record of the baby that died before they left...
...for Baghdad.
Saw this years back but it was depressing.
Abram Itzik was the father.
Generally just Itzik in records.
Honestly the family has spelling issues.
Naftalin, Naftolin, Neftalin.
All the same family.
I imagine she was an Esther definitely worth naming a new baby girl after years later in Lithuania years as she was a woman who did good deeds and lived an extraordinary life living in Baghdad raising money for charities, raising children and running a large household where people Jewish and otherwise were welcome. Records show her home and her table was a friendly place to receive food or help. I'm sort of in awe. That's really amazing. A Lithuania woman in the world of Mizrachi Persian Jews far from home in Lithuania in the mid 1800s.
Birth record for my grandmother.
Ester in Europe.
Esther in America.
My Grandma Esther was born in September of 1895.
Oddly she's the only girl with one name.
Most have two names.
Chaya Hinde aka Ida
Pesha Neche aka Bessie
and
Esther
The woman on the left is my Grandma Esther.
On the right is her sister Ida.
Ida was a twin.
Naftalin family was famous for twins.
Another story for another day.
I stand just like that always.
With my hand on my hip.
She was a sweet lady.
Ida, her older sister, was close to my father.
He took care of her in Miami Beach...
..until she died.
He would drive to her apartment...
..check she took her medicine.
Drive back sometimes in the evening.
Check she took her medicine.
Ida is another story for another day.
It amazes me really the things you find when you do genealogy. Actually the things you weren't looking for while you have problems finding the things you were trying to find and can't find and yet I found this story about an Esther who went to Baghdad from Lithuania near the Baltic Sea.
The Naftalins were merchants and some were on the well to do side. My Grandma Esther told me several times how her father sent her to America to her older twin sisters that were already there on a huge ship and he sent her 2nd class. She had a photo of herself at age 17 sitting on a fancy wrought iron bed in what appeared to be a cabin. Sitting politely at the edge of the bed with a quiet smile and long hair. I found out online recently that it was common to have photos taken on the ship to send back to the relatives in Europe as proof of the beauty of the cabin that was 2nd class and that they were well on their way. I also learned that by going 2nd class they were sort of "fast tracked" at Ellis Island. Her travel records show she traveled 2nd Class, she was traveling with a good deal of money (equivalent of close to $2,000 in today's money) and going to her sisters in
New Jersey.
Big ship indeed!
She wasn't making that up!
Both Esther's traveled far across the globe.
In America she married my grandfather Herman.
Herman had necktie stores...
..an exclusive contract with Bloomingdales for his silk ties.
Grandma loved being with her sister Ida in Miami Beach.
They'd come down for the Winter....
..eventually they retired to Miami Beach.
She painted and studied art.
My Grandfather Herman used to say:
"she's a city girl"
"she's a city girl"
as he was raised in the country
in a small town in Hungary.
Tomorrow night is Purim.
The name Esther really takes on new meaning.
I have a daughter Esther who goes by her middle name.
Kind of like Itzik.
Wow...
I imagine she had some children in Bagdad.
Those descendants show up as Mizrachi Persian cousins.
I have a daughter Miriam who is married to a very sweet man from Netanya who is half Yeminite and half Persian. When they are pregnant in Florida with a new baby I never push names on them though if asked I suggest a few. Their second son Gavriel looks most like his father was given the name because they liked it. Gabriel is an angel name. At the bris I said to my son-in-law quietly "did you know my Great Great Grandfather was named Gavriel?" and he smiled and said "no but what goes around comes around" and with a big grin. I giggled. Indeed. That Gavriel lived in Nezhin. My grandson Gavriel lives in Miami.
Genealogy. What a trip.
Happy Purim!
And, yes will be looking deeper into this as there are records in archives mostly academic. I ran an Academic library for Touro College so I know how to fine them but for now I'm busy with pre Purim preparations. I made chocolate fudge hamantaschen!
Below is the suggestion AI gives as to how they may have traveled. Something to think on ..on Purim
Thanks for reading along.
Again this is just my blog to keep notes for myself. If anyone wanders in ... hope they enjoy it.
"In 1862, a person traveling from
Plungė
(then part of the Russian Empire's Kovno Governorate) to (then part of the Ottoman Empire) would have faced a multi-week journey involving horse-drawn transport, newly emerging railways, and steamships.
1. Lithuania to the Black Sea (Overland)
The first leg required traveling south through the Russian Empire toward a major port like .
- Initial Stage: From Plungė, one would travel by horse-drawn carriage or mail coach to a regional hub. While the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway was completed in 1862, it primarily served the Vilnius–Grodno corridor; a traveler from Plungė would likely reach the rail line at a station like Daugavpils or Vilnius.
- Rail to the South: By 1862, the Russian rail network was expanding but not yet fully connected to the deep south. A traveler might take a train toward Kiev, but the final stretch to Odessa often still required a tarantass (springless carriage) or stagecoach.
2. Crossing to the Ottoman Empire (Maritime)
From the port of , the most efficient route was by sea.
- Steamship to Constantinople: Steamship companies like the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company (established 1856) operated regular lines across the Black Sea. The voyage to Constantinople (Istanbul) typically took 2–3 days.
- Entry to the Ottoman Empire: In Constantinople, the traveler would transfer to an Ottoman or European steamship (such as those from Messageries Impériales) heading toward the Levant or the Persian Gulf.
3. The Final Leg to Baghdad
Depending on their budget and tolerance for desert travel, the person had two primary options:
- The Overland Desert Route (Faster but Arduous): Disembark at a Mediterranean port like Beirut or Alexandretta (Iskenderun). From there, they would join a horse or camel caravan traveling through Aleppo and across the Syrian Desert to Baghdad. This journey could take 15–20 days by caravan.
- The River/Sea Route (Longer but Steadier): Travel by sea around the Arabian Peninsula to Basra. From Basra, they would take a river boat or small sailing vessel up the Tigris River to Baghdad. While the "Baghdad Railway" was discussed in this era, it would not be built for decades; river transport remained the primary method for heavy goods and comfortable travel into Mesopotamia.
Total Estimated Travel Time: 4 to 7 weeks, depending on weather and caravan schedules.
...wow.
Goodnight... Bobbi
