Lena Kaplowitz

Lena Kaplowitz
Born	January 15, 1889(1889-01-15) Poland or Russia
Died	January 15, 1974 (aged 85) Wilmette, Illinois
Resting place	Oakridge Jewish Cemetery, Hillside, IL
Spouse	Zalman Minkus
Children	Albert Minkus Rochelle Minkus Marilyn Minkus
Parents	Mendel Kaplowitz Esther Kaplowitz

During WWII, daughter Rochelle and granddaughter Karen (and others?) lived with Lena and John. According to Karen, "When my dad was in the Army (1944-46), we lived with my grandparents---Lena & John. G-Grandma Esther (Bubby everyone called her---Yiddish for grandmother is Bubba. "Bubby" was a distortion of that). Esther lived about a mile away from us, with her 2 daughters, Rose and Sara & other family members at various times. So we saw them very often. On Saturdays (no riding in cars, just walking allowed by the Orthodox), we often walked to their house to spend the afternoon. I learned the little Yiddish I know mostly from her talking to me in short phrases. BTW, that neighborhood was on the west side of Chgo, very near the Eisenhower Expressway, which didn't exist at that time. We lived near Crawford & Harrison (600 south)."

Historical Records

• Lena (age 10), parents Mendel (age 35) and Esther (age 34) and siblings Julius (age 9), Marrie (age 5), and Rose (age 3) and unknown Sam Farbovesky (age 59) in Chicago, Illinois in the 1900 Federal Census. The family came from either Russia or Poland in 1899. The parents were married in 1886. Mendel is a day laborer, and Lena and Julius are in school.
• Lena (age 21), parents Mendel (age 46) and Esther (age 46) and siblings Julius (age 18), Marie (age 15), Rose (age 13), Sylvia (age 9), Phillip (age 6), and Eugene (age 1) live in Chicago, Illinois in the 1910 Federal Census. Notes from Karen Feldberg:
  • Lena was listed as "Lillian", and her sister Sara was listed as "Sylvia". I can only guess that the person giving the info had a thick Yiddish accent and the census taker didn't understand what was said. Lena was 21 & still living at home. She must've married Grandpa John shortly thereafter, as Uncle Al was born to them in 1911.
  • Kaplowitz is mistakenly spelled KOplowitz on this form.
  • Their country of Origin is listed as Russia, as Poland was controlled by Russia at that time.
  • Great-grandpa Mendel's occupation is listed as 'expressman' and odd jobs. Mort says an 'expressman' would've been a package delivery man..i.e., Railway Express. When Grandma Lena was a child immigrant, I know that her father was a peddler with a horse & wagon. Also, when they first came to the U.S. (1898), Lena was 10 & they lived behind their store---a grocery (I think)...with dirt floors and of course, an outhouse in the back.
  • If you've ever visited Mt. Vernon or Monticello, to see how THOSE guys lived 100+ years earlier is remarkable, compared to what the Kaplowitz's early years were like in Chicago. (But, better than in Poland!)
  • Their address was 1004 W. Fourteenth St, just south of the Loop. Coincidently, it is about a mile from where my father's Rabinovich family lived on 13th Street----before my dad was born.
• John (age 30) and Lena (age 30) live in Chicago in the 1920 Federal Census, along with Albert (age 8), Rochelle (age 2), and mother Anna (age 57)
• John (age 42) and Lena (age 41) live in Chicago in the 1930 Federal Census, along with Albert (age 18), Rochelle (age 13) and Marilyn (age 1 and 11/12)
• Lena died on 15 Jan 1974 in Wilmette, Cook, Illinois