![By Vincenco Campi [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.andykubrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Vincenco_Campi-Cucina.jpg)
God created Adam, perhaps because He needed something to do. Then He created Eve, because Adam needed something to do, or someone to know. They dwelt in the garden, which was fruitful and lush. All was pleasant there, until that unfortunate incident with the apple, which obliged Adam and Eve to leave the garden and make their way in the wilderness. The forest was dark, cold, and forbidding. Strange terrors lurked there. To still his fears, Adam befriended a wolf. Or perhaps the wolf befriended him. It’s not important how this alliance came about; what matters is that it has endured. Ever since then we have had animals in our midst. Continue reading
Category: Sketches and Observations (Page 1 of 2)
When I last wrote about my great-grandmother Tillie Kopelman, I didn’t expect to write about her again. When Harry Met Tillie included a brief sketch, mostly based on my Uncle Jay’s memories. Origins: Taube Kurdabrin documented her arrival at Ellis Island and rehashed the earlier sketch. I didn’t think I had anything more to say about Tillie. But exchanges with two fellow genealogists taught me that other discoveries awaited, even if I was oblivious to the possibilities. Continue reading
![By Bernard Trębacz (1869-1941) (http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21388/lot/8/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.andykubrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Bernard_Trebacz_Argument_of_the_scholars.jpeg)
![Argument of the Scholars by Bernard Trębacz (1869-1941) (http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21388/lot/8/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://andykubrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Bernard_Trebacz_Argument_of_the_scholars.jpeg "Argument of the Scholars by Bernard Trębacz (1869-1941) (http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21388/lot/8/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons")
When I began writing family history, I knew that I might come into conflict one day with relatives objecting to my account of our shared past. That day has apparently arrived.
When my great-grandmother Taube Kurdabrin disembarked from the S.S. Finland on June 25, 1905, she carried her first-born son Schmuel in her arms. He was one year and six months old. Because small children lack agency, they generally make poor subjects for portraiture. I prefer instead to pick up my grandfather’s story in his middle years. We see him above with his third child, my Uncle Jay, who has just caught a fish. The photo is cracked and stained. The world it portrays has vanished. People work miracles now with Photoshop, but I don’t believe in retouching old pictures. Flaws appear in every image and every life, and they are worth noting. The patina tells a story all its own. Continue reading
![Transcription using cylinder phonograph copy. By The drawing is signed, 'Electrical World, N.Y.' [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://andykubrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Transcription_using_cylinder_phonograph-copy.png)
I’m celebrating the acquisition of a new piece of electronica—an AltoEdge USB foot pedal. This little gadget connects to my Mac via a USB interface and controls the ExpressScribe software I use to play back my oral history interviews as I transcribe them. The pedal and software combined take the sting out of a difficult job and boost my productivity in a key area of my enterprise. They also provide an object lesson in change, which is the underlying topic of all history. Continue reading
Long after my family history is finished, after the writing is done, after my book is published (or not), after all my relatives and I myself are gone, our voices will still be audible in digital recordings. Our words will also be legible, provided anyone takes the trouble to dig through my files. I have no idea how posterity might receive this archive. I’m still grappling with the oddity of this situation in the present. Continue reading
![Ali Baba departed for the town a well satisfied man. By Author Laurence Housman Publisher Bodder and Sloughton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://andykubrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ali_Baba_departed_for_the_town_a_well_satisfied_man.jpg "Ali Baba departed for the town a well satisfied man. By Author Laurence Housman Publisher Bodder and Sloughton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.")
Back in March, I went to a presentation put on by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta. I only moved to Calgary ten years ago, so my Alberta roots are not deep. I had been wanting to make contact with the local genealogy and family history community, though, and this presentation seemed like a good occasion. I’m glad I went. Dave Obee spoke about resources and techniques for researchers with Eastern European ancestors. Dave is highly accomplished in this field. His bio reveals that he is Editor in Chief of the Times Colonist in Victoria, B.C., and a columnist for Internet Genealogy and Family Chronicle. He has also written more than a dozen books, given over 400 presentations, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria for his work as a genealogist and historian. Way to go, Dave! These are stellar achievements.
I went to Los Angeles last month to research a few things in my family history. My primary goal was to learn more about a business dispute involving my father and grandfather in the mid-1950s. This goal led me to the Archives and Records Center of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Continue reading
I went to Los Angeles recently on a family visit, and while I was there, I decided to do some research on an old family controversy. Around the time I was born, some of my forebears’ business affairs led them into a courtroom. I wanted to know more about this incident, so I requested the case file from the court system. Continue reading
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