Success Stories
Imagine getting on a ship and traveling alone, leaving your parents, young bride and infant daughter. You cross the ocean with only a few dollars in your pocket and no knowledge of English and find yourself in a crowded room at Ellis Island. You need to locate an uncle residing on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. It is a daunting proposition, and yet Samuel Dillman did just that. A printer by trade in Europe, he needed to find work in America. The predicament of my great-great grandfather was the same for all the Eastern European immigrants that were arriving on our shores in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
While Sam’s trip to America seems daunting, he was able to escape poverty and become an American success story. He purchased a pushcart and clothing. He would wake at the crack of dawn to ensure that his cart was located on the perfect corner to produce maximum profit. He learned English and in two short years he had enough money to send for his wife and daughter. The pushcart business was so successful that Sam was able to purchase property on First Avenue in downtown Manhattan. He called his new business venture Four Corners Realty. He bought a home in Brooklyn and a car to travel back and forth from Manhattan. Sam made enough money to ensure safe passage for many other relatives from Litin, Russia. Sam Dillman is the perfect example of the immigrant working hard, becoming an American citizen, and rising above the dismal existence he left behind in Russia. His story is the story of so many others that sought religious and economic freedom and attained both.
Another success story is my great grandfather Moe Berman. Born in New York on November 21, 1905, he was son of an Austrian mother and a Russian father. His mother died during childbirth in 1909 and his father, unable to cope and assimilate disappeared a year later, never to be discovered again (not a common occurrence for Jewish men of that time).
His Austrian grandmother, Tsivia Mintzer, then raised Moe. He grew up on the Lower East Side, and hung around a group of guys that called themselves the All of Us Boys. His grandmother wanted him to become a doctor, but Moe had to go to work and couldn’t afford to go to college. He worked very hard to make something of himself. At thirteen his grandmother passed away, and Moe worked to provide money for his oldest brother attending dental school and his two sisters. One day, Moe decided to get on a train. Wherever he got off, would be place he would start a new business. The train took him to Easton, PA where he used the money he saved in New York to open the Surprise Department Store. He married my great grandma Fanny, bought a home, and provided a wonderful life for his three daughters.
The stories of my ancestors are not unique. These success stories are a testament to the hard work and determination of the immigrant and the children of immigrants who were determined to make something of themselves. They rose above the fray, assimilated and embraced life in America.
While Sam’s trip to America seems daunting, he was able to escape poverty and become an American success story. He purchased a pushcart and clothing. He would wake at the crack of dawn to ensure that his cart was located on the perfect corner to produce maximum profit. He learned English and in two short years he had enough money to send for his wife and daughter. The pushcart business was so successful that Sam was able to purchase property on First Avenue in downtown Manhattan. He called his new business venture Four Corners Realty. He bought a home in Brooklyn and a car to travel back and forth from Manhattan. Sam made enough money to ensure safe passage for many other relatives from Litin, Russia. Sam Dillman is the perfect example of the immigrant working hard, becoming an American citizen, and rising above the dismal existence he left behind in Russia. His story is the story of so many others that sought religious and economic freedom and attained both.
Another success story is my great grandfather Moe Berman. Born in New York on November 21, 1905, he was son of an Austrian mother and a Russian father. His mother died during childbirth in 1909 and his father, unable to cope and assimilate disappeared a year later, never to be discovered again (not a common occurrence for Jewish men of that time).
His Austrian grandmother, Tsivia Mintzer, then raised Moe. He grew up on the Lower East Side, and hung around a group of guys that called themselves the All of Us Boys. His grandmother wanted him to become a doctor, but Moe had to go to work and couldn’t afford to go to college. He worked very hard to make something of himself. At thirteen his grandmother passed away, and Moe worked to provide money for his oldest brother attending dental school and his two sisters. One day, Moe decided to get on a train. Wherever he got off, would be place he would start a new business. The train took him to Easton, PA where he used the money he saved in New York to open the Surprise Department Store. He married my great grandma Fanny, bought a home, and provided a wonderful life for his three daughters.
The stories of my ancestors are not unique. These success stories are a testament to the hard work and determination of the immigrant and the children of immigrants who were determined to make something of themselves. They rose above the fray, assimilated and embraced life in America.