Family Lore – Fact or Fiction?

I’ve always “known” my Grandma Tillie (Segal) died from stomach cancer (in 1965). I’ve shared this information with family and in my health history forms. Some of my cousins were also informed that Tillie had stomach cancer. So imagine my surprise when I found out she actually had ovarian cancer. I recently obtained a copy of her death certificate which identifies cause of death as “generalize metastasis ovarian carcinoma.” I was flummoxed!

 

 

But I shouldn’t be surprised. Since beginning my genealogy research about 10 years ago, I’ve discovered other discrepancies between my family lore and facts found in documents.

My mom, Florence Gold, told me many stories about her mother, Tillie Segal, as I was growing up. These included the “fact” that Tillie immigrated from Austria when she was 15 years old and was accompanied by one of her brothers. I was able to find her listed in the 1913 SS Amerika ship manifest where her age was recorded as 17 and former residence noted as Austria. However, it appears she was traveling alone yet was joining her brother in New York City. So the story was partially true.

 

Line 5: Tillie as Taube Sigal, age 17, last residence Sokolowka, Austria
 

 

Line 5: Tillie joining brother Maidel Sigal (likely Morris)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One family story I will likely never prove or disprove is that Grandma Tillie had 14 brothers, was the youngest child, and the only daughter. Mom was only able to list 4 of the brothers’ names and so far I’ve only been able to track down one of those (Morris).

Family lore may not always be 100% factual, but there are usually some snippets of truth which are often good leads for further research.