Shankin/Cynkin and Dworkin Families from Mir |
Yisroel Nachum Tzinkin (1882-1975) was the youngest son of Elye and Mirka Tzinkin of Mir. He came to the US from Mir in 1909 or 1910, where his name became Isidore Shankin. He joined the
Mirer Young Men's Benevolent Educational Society in NY in 1911 and was a lifelong member. On the 1940 roster his name is spelled Shenkin, in the 1953 membership directory he is listed as Shankin.
We have information about two of his siblings. His sister Sophie married Reuben Newstead of Capetown, South Africa around 1901. His brother was Motte Velvel. Motte's daughter, Frieda /Fraddle (1905-1984), left Mir for Palestine. In the 1920s she and her husband, Yeshaiahn Margolin (1905-1971), moved to Capetown, South Africa. Motte's granddaughter, Leah Teper, now lives in London, UK.
Isidore also left other brothers and sisters (including a set of twins) in Mir.
Yisroel's wife, Elka Sora (1885-1925), the daughter of Avraham and Esther Dworkin/Dvorkin of Mir, arrived at Ellis Island in 1921. The ship's manifest listed her as Elka Sora Cynkin and their 3 children accompanying her as Sejna, Berka and Icko. Sejna/Shayna Etel, became Jeanette Shankin Axelrod (1906-1996). She married Jack Axelrod. Their daughters were named Eleanor and Estelle. Berka/Zalman Ber became Sol Shankin (1908-1965). He married Thelma aka Buddie. They had two children, Allan and Sara. Icko/Itsche became Irving Shankin (1909- ) who married Jean Weingard. Their children are Marvin, Eunice, Sandra and Enid.
Elka Sora's brother, Sam Dworkin, also settled in NY. He married Batsheva/Bessie. Their sons were Avraham/Abie and Yossel/Joe. Another brother Faivel Dworkin remained in Mir, where he, his wife Etke, and their children Elka, Yitzchok, Hershel, Eliyahu, and Avraham Isser, died in the Shoah in 1942. Faivel and Batsheva's son, Yerachmiel Dworkin (1918 - ), joined the partisans. He survived the war and made his way to Israel, joining Kibbutz Nir David where he still lives today.
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Isidore Shankin (Yisroel Nachum Tsinkin, 1883-1975), his wife Elka Sora (nee Dworkin, 1885-1925) and his mother Mirka (c. 1845-?). Photo taken 1904-05 in Mir.
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Yisroel left Mir for New York in 1909, where he became Isidore Shankin. Due to the outbreak of World War I and the Russian revolution, he would not see his wife and three young children again until they arrived in the US in 1921.
Mirka Tsinkin (c. 1845-? ) wife of Elya Tsinkin.
A note in Yiddish on the back of the photo, which was found among Isidore Shankin's papers, says, "This is your mother and my Bubbe in Mir. The photograph was discovered during the war."
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In 1901, just after the Boer War, Elye and Mirka Cynkin's eldest daughter, Sophie, was sent to Capetown, South Africa, to find a husband. She worked as a dressmaker and at a cousin's boarding house before meeting and marrying Reuben Newstead, a baker.
In 1953, after being apart for 52 years, Isidore Shankin (left), was reunited with his Sophie (center) during a year long journey to South Africa and Israel.
Note: Sophia Newstead (1881-1977)
Ruben Newstead (1883-1955)
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Jeanette Shankin Axelrod (Shayna Etel Tsinkin), daughter of Isidore and Sarah Shankin, was born in Mir in 1906, and died in Queens, NY in 1996. She arrived in the US in 1921. The ship's manifest lists her as Sejna Cynkin. This photo, with her husband, Jack Axelrod and daughter Eleanor, was taken in June 1937
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Irving (Itsche Tsinkin born in Mir, 1909), Sol (Zalman Ber Tsinkin born in Mir, 1908 — died Miami 1965) with Sol's wife Thelma Shankin. (Photo taken around 1940)
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Isidore Shankin and his son Irving. Isidore left Mir just before or after the birth of his younger son, who would not see his father until he was 11 years old. |
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Sol Shankin (1908-1975) served in the US Army from 1940 to 1945 |
Irving Shankin in 1930s
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Irving Shankin (Itsche Cynkin) on his 99th birthday, August, 2008, with his sister Leah Shankin Ball. Born in 1909, he is among the oldest surviving Mir-born Jews in the world, perhaps even the oldest. |
Yerachmiel Dworkin/Dvorkin (born Mir c. 1919), son of Fievel and Etke Dworkin, fought with the partisans during World War II. He is listed in the Mir Memorial book among the "People of Mir who served with the partisans and fighters." His parents and siblings — Elke, Yitzchok, Herschel, Eliyahu, and Avraham Isser — were all murdered during the annihilation of the Jews of Mir in 1942, and are listed in the Mir Memorial book. After WWII Yerachmiel made his way to Israel. He joined Kibbutz Nir David (Tel Amal), where he has lived ever since.
In this photo (1988), he is with Arnon, the youngest of his and his wife Yocha's three sons, all of whom live in Israel with their families, although only one, Shraga, still makes the kibbutz his home.
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Alternative spellings: Cynkin/Tzinkin/Tsinkin/Zinkin, Dworkin/Dvorkin
Yisroel Nachum Tzinkin granddaughter, Marsha Cohen provided all the information and photos above. |
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