Buntman Branch


Our known family tree on my maternal great-grandparents' side begins with Gershon Buntman and his wife Sarah (nee) Snick.   They lived at 3 Victorie St., Koenigsburg*.  (They were still alive in 1925, when my grandfather Gershon married my grandmother. Goldie nee Shore).  They had been born in "Russia" and had emigrated to Koenigsburg, as there was a train from St. Petersburg to Berlin.  (I believe that this surname "Buntman" was taken on at this time, in this generation.)

The children of Gershon and Sarah Buntman included Laser (Louis) (b. 1886), Friedman (Frank), Sol, Michael (Mish), Aron, Frank, and Eva.  

Laser (Harold), Friedman (Frank),  Aron (and possibly Mish) emigrated to America.

FIRST GENERATION IN THE NEW WORLD

1901:  Laser (Harold) Buntman (b. Jan. 4, 1888) and Friedman Buntman travelled together to the US and arrived at he United States via the Port of Philadelphia, arriving on June 23, 1901, sailing on the Westernland.  Friedman was 16 years old and Laser was 15 years old.  The ship manifest indicated they were from Koenigsburg, Germany ("Hebrew").  They would be staying with their cousin, Charles Lavin, at 310 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, and they were to be met at the port by their Aunt, Mrs. Ruddman. We do not know who she was.  The Lavins were cousins we believe through the wife (not known if through the paternal Buntman side or the maternal Snick side).


1909: Aron Buntman arrived in the United States via Ellis Island on September 9, 1909, travelling on the Deutschland, departing from Hamburg, Germany.  The manifest indicated that he was staying with his uncle, C. Lavin, at 504 Wood Street, Philadelphia.  He was 19 at the time (born in 1890?).  Charles Lavin is indicated on the 1910 census as living at 504 Wood Street (he was 22 and had immigrated in 1906 and is boarding with the "Cohen" family) but Aron is not listed as residing there.


Aron Buntman

June 5th, 1917: Aron Buntman registered for the draft for WW1.  He listed his birth date as September 19, 1890, place of birth Koenigsberg, Germany.  He was living at 2156 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, a salesman and was employed at 720 Market Street, Philadelphia. 

1920: He was living ___, Philadelphia, 1735 ____street.  He was a lodger, and was from East Prussia. Same Aaron Buntman?

Laser Harold Buntman


1892: My grandfather Laser Harold Buntman, lived in (what was at that time) Koenigsburg*, East Prussia, a province of Germany, before he came to America. He was born on Jan. 4, 1888 (this year, according to his application for marriage).  

Sept. 12, 1918: Laser Harold Buntman registered for the draft for WWI in New Jersey.  He listed his date of birth as Jan. 4, 1886.  He was either 30 or 32.  He was living at 24 Cedar Street, Bridgeton, New Jersey.  He was a storekeeper, employed by (his cousins) "The Lavin's Shop".  He listed his nearest relative as AS Lavin, 24 Cedar Street, Bridgeton, NJ. 

(Abe S. and Rose Lavin were in the 1910 Federal Census living in Bridgeton, New Jersey. They had three daughters, Lillian (age  11), Florence (age 9) and Ruth (age 6).  My mother, Florence, is named after Florence Lavin.) 

He served in the US Naval Reserves from May 20, 1918 until May 19, 1922.

Nov. 23, 1925, he and Goldie Shore applied for a license to wed.  Louis was living at 4901 Pine St., at that time; Goldie was living at 6030 Carpenter Street at that time.  They were married two days later, on November 25, 1925, by Dr. Fredman.

1920: Laser and Goldie Buntman and their daughter Florence were living at 6025 Catherine Street.

1946 Laser Harold is niftar on July 27, 1946, at the age of 54.  He is buried in the Roosevelt Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA.

 

Shore branch

Our known family tree on my mother's maternal side begins with my great-grandparents, Israel Shore and his wife Leah (nee) Romberg .  They lived in Minsk, Russia and were likely murdered in 1905 pograms.

 

The surviving children of Israel and Leah Shore were Meyer ( 1882 - ?), Rose, Morris (1900 - ?), William (Bill) (1887 - ?), Sam, Fanny, Sylvia, Goldie, and Jenny, all of whom immigrated to the United States.  William and Morris immigrated in 1905; the others, later.
 

For Goldie's (my maternal grandmother's) genealogy, see "Laser Harold Buntman", above.

*Historical note: Koenigsburg was, in 1901, part of East Prussia which, in 1871, became part of the Deutches Reich, or the "German Empire". Now called Kaliningrad, Koenigsburg was bordered on the north by the Baltic Sea, (at that time Mermel-land), Lithuania on the east, and Poland to the south.

*Historical note:
Koenigsburg was renamed Kalinigrad on July 4, 1946, after its takeover by the Soviet Red Army.