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In Episode 53 of "Flower in the River Podcast," I explore:
- The impact of the 1915 Eastland disaster on Chicago's Jewish community
- Theories on why relatively few Jewish passengers died in the disaster (due to it occurring on the Sabbath)
- The miraculous survival story of 14-year-old Jacob Aaron Elin (later Jack Elin), who went on to co-found Topps Manufacturing Company, Rochester, Indiana.
- Jack Elin’s family background, immigrating from the Russian Empire's Pale of Settlement in the late 1800s.
- The life and death of 24-year-old Eastland victim Carl Friedman, an electrician at Western Electric.
- Details on Carl Friedman's family and their immigration from Hungary, plus an analysis of the Hebrew, Yiddish and Hungarian inscriptions on his headstone
I share background on:
- The history of Jewish immigration to Chicago starting in the 1840s
- The Pale of Settlement region where many Jewish immigrants originated.
- The Yiddish language
This episode is dedicated to:
- Singer, Donna Loren, as well as
- My unknown Jewish ancestor,
- The helpful members of the Jewish Genealogy Portal on Facebook.
Further explorations of Jewish genealogy, burial practices and naming conventions are planned for the next episode.
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