A treasure trove of Levine relatives have recently been uncovered by Michael Levine of Alexandria (& we also have Michael Levine from Long Island) and another cousin, Doris Levinson. For years, these researchers have been doing detailed work on ancestry.com and other genealogy sources - finding birth and death certificates, census records and ship manifests. Michael and Jane's father, Arthur Levine, now has 485 relatives on his geni.com tree, while before his known relatives were just a few, primarily from the family of his identical twin brother, Herbert! To see the family tree on line, many Levine cousins have become (free) members of www.geni.com If you are interested in joining, email jlewit@gmail.com
Mostly, the Levines are an incredibly successful, friendly and cheerful lot. They go from an ambassador to a TV producer, from a baseball journalist to a professional baseball manager, from physicians to real estate developers. Their ranks include teachers, social workers, lawyers, stay-at-home moms and others in a variety of creative fields and new enterprises of the 21st century.
The progenitors of this cousinly group -- Noah Levine (1839-1910) and Rachel/Gruna (Levy) Levine (1842-1910) emigrated with 5 sons and 4 daughters** from Belarus to America - the land of opportunity. Clearly, their descendants have sought to make the most of the American dream.
(**Very sadly, their eldest daughter, Sima Levine Hochberg, remained in Europe and was slaughtered along with other of our relatives in 1942 by the Nazi forces.)
On their recent trip from San Diego to Hood River, OR, Jane and Bob Lewit stopped in San Rafael, hoping to visit with Gloria Okun Freedgood, perhaps the oldest surviving second cousin. Sadly, she was not at home and the best we could do is to include this recent snapshot of Gloria.
In the family photos above, L to R - Ken Krainman, Jane Lewit, Len Hochberg, Dave Levinson, Gail Scherr = Ken's mother
Len Hochberg, Kathy Hochberg, Gail Scherr, Ken Krainman, Jane Lewit, Doris Levinson, Bob Lewit, Dave Levinson
Jen Stein Berntsson with Blake & Abby Lewit Ford with Steven
Old faithfuls: Bob & Jane Lewit with Harry & Sandy Stein
