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Max Paul

4850 Chestnut St
Philadelphia
267.688.0487
The storied history of Max Paul.

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Max Paul

  • Tarnopolsky
  • Automotive Legacy
  • European Roots
  • Family Outline
  • Contact

In Russia- 1800-1900

January 15, 2021 Charles Nygard
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The Tarnopolsky’s are ancestors of this last name who lived in Ternoipol, Ukraine. Ternopil was part of Poland in the 1700's but was ceded to Russia in the early 1800's. Polish citizens did not have last names, so when Russia completed the annexation, they were required to obtain a last name. Last names were usually created by either the name of the town where the citizen lived or the occupation of the head of the household.

The earliest known relative traced was Chaim Tarnopolsky was born in 1841 in Rzhishchev, Ukraine. The shtetl is about 39 miles SE of Kiev. His wife was Sure Ester Tarnopolsky, who was born in 1843. He would spend much of his time reading and praying. He worked as a watchman of a lumberyard. Chaim died from pneumonia in 1921 in Dnepropetrovsk at the age of 80. Chiam was a deeply religious man who would spend hours alone reading and praying in his room.

The following are the known children born to Chiam and Sure ( there are three others unaccounted):

Israel (Srul) Tarnopolsky
David Tarnopolsky
Hillel Harry Tarnopolsky
Sone Tarnopolsky
Moses Max Tarnopolsky                         
Shimon Tarnopolsky                               
Vladimir (Velvel) Tarnopolsky  
Abram Tarnopolsky                    
Benjamin (Benchik) Tarnopolsky          
Gitel Tarnopolsky 
Laka Tarnapolsky                                                    

In 1899 Moses Tarnopolsky and his newly married wife, Sarah, settled in a South-Central Ukrainian town named Ekterinoslav.  Moses Tarnopolsky, who later changed his name to Max Paul in 1910, was a skilled coppersmith and applied his trade for a local coppersmith. he early 1900’s found the Russian population in great unrest. In 1905, there was an uprising against the Jewish communities that left many dead and wounded. Max and his wife yearned for a better living for their young family, as Sarah was pregnant with their first child. 

Max proceeded to make plans to immigrate to the United States. Through correspondence with his uncle, Alfred Bermann, he was inspired by the tales of success spoken by his uncle and began to make arrangements to move to the new country. Mr. Berman, knowing Max’s skill as a coppersmith, began to inquire about possible jobs for Max upon his arrival in the States. 

It should be noted that the birth dates of family members born in the Ukraine are approximate. This is due to several factors. Birthdays were not celebrated in the old country as they are in present day America. Usually, a time frame on the Jewish calendar was allocated to the birth of a child (e.g. the third day of Pesach). The conversion of this date to an English date was often problematical. In addition, the dates used in Russia and the Ukraine were based on the Julian calendar, while most of the rest of the world uses the Gregorian calendar. Thus, there is a 12-day difference between the two dates. To further complicate birth dates, immigrants entering the US often lied about their birth dates for a variety of reasons, either out of ignorance or by intent. Finally, the birth date of an immigrant on a tombstone may have been suggested by a family member many years after the immigrant entered the country and many of these dates were guessed by the family member.



IMMIGRATION-1905

January 14, 2021 Charles Nygard
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In 1905, Max, Sarah and their infant son, Israel, began their journey to Antwerp, Belgium to board the ship S.S. Kroonland for departure to the United States. However, they almost did not make it.  While waiting for the ship to depart, an attempted kidnapping occurred.  Max, who had left Sarah momentarily to speak with officials regarding their immigration documents, was shocked to find his wife in panic, unable to locate their young son. Max nervously inquired with others in line as to what happened. One of the passengers said they noticed a young man who had picked up the cradle containing Israel had just headed north along the path on the port dock. Max hurriedly found the man, and rescued his son from harm.   

Several Tarnopolsky children immigrated to Philadelphia around 1905. A probable motivation for this immigration was the pogrom of 1905. Several years after the death of Chaim, Sure also immigrated to America by traveling from Ekatersinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine) to Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), on the Baltic Sea where she boarded a ship, which took her to Antwerp, Belgium. She then boarded another ship, the Lithuania, which arrived at Ellis Island on September 10, 1924. Sure claimed to be 65 years old on the ship manifest, but she was actually 81 at the time. Sure probably did this to allay the fears of the ship’s officers that, at her advanced age, she might expire during the rigorous journey to America. After her arrival at Ellis Island, Sure proceeded to Philadelphia, where she took up residence with her son Max and his family at 3633 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Once there, She was welcomed with a party. At the time of her arrival, Sure, was known as “little bubba”. She later moved to 2214 S. 8th Street in South Philadelphia. Sure passed away in 1932.

Helel Tarnopolsky, who departed via the ship Glasgow on January 20, 1906 and arriving on January 30, 1906. The next Tarnapolsky to depart was Moses Tarnopolsky, later known as Morris and Max, on February 3, 1906 and arrived on February 10, 1906. He also departed for Philadelphia to live with his Uncle, A. Berman (Bermann). Benjamin Tarnopolsky arrived sometime in 1920 and Laka Tarnopolsky also arrived in the U.S. at an undetermined time. There was yet one other known Tarnapolsky sibling that lived in Russia and never immigrated. Her name was Sone Tarnopolsky.

The above mentioned Tarnopolsky's were the children of Sure Tarnopolsky and Chiam Tarnopolsky. Chiam died in Russia in 1921, prompting Sure to come live with her son, Max Paul.

POSSIBLE RELATIVES

January 13, 2021 Charles Nygard
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There are other possible Tarnapolsky connections in the Philadelphia area. This information is provided in hopes of finding even more family members in the area.

Alsher Tarnapolsky

Alsher Tarnapolsky immigrated in 1896 and was a tailor. He lived with his wife Sadie and his daughter Sarah at 321 S. 5th Street. He was born around 1858 in Russia.

Louis Tarnapolsky

Louis was a tin-smith who immigrated in 1906 and lived in South Philadelphia.

Abraham Paul
Abraham Paul was born around 1882 and immigrated in 1899 and lived at 209 Greenwood Street with his Fanny and children Frank, Ava and Anna. He was a machinist.

Samuel Paul
was born around 1878 and immigrated around 1904. His wife's name was Rose and his children were Sarah, Jacob and Lewis. They lived in the same house as Abraham's family.