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Below is a Weissman-White History written by Carolyn Sutton's daughter, Diane, when she was in high school. She interviewed Paul Pone as part of a school project. Click photos for larger views. | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Whites, my mother's mother's family, came from Russia; therefore, I cannot trace the family back very far. Reb Aryah is the first person we know about. He did not have a last name because Jews did not have last names until Napoleon forced them to choose last names in 1808 for tax reasons. Reb Aryah was the father of Avrum Isaac Chopnic, who married Shprize, daughter of Zelig. They lived in a very small village outside of Grodno, Russia, where he was a blacksmith. Avrum Isaac and Sprize had four children. The oldest of them was my great-great-grandmother, Chana Feigel, who later changed her name to Fannie. She was born in 1876. Her sisters and brother were Mary, Libby, and Zelig. Fannie married Sol Weissman in Grodno, Russia. Sol was the second son of Aryah Weissman, and he had two brothers, Sam and Jacob. Fannie and Sol came to the United States soon after they were married, and at Ellis Island, Sol changed his last name to White. They first lived in New York City where four of their six children were born. Rose was born December 3, 1894; Mary in 1896; Charlie November 27, 1899, and my grandmother Lena was born about 1901. As soon as my grandmother was old enough to travel, the family moved to Oklahoma Territory. They settled first in Guthrie where Louis was born in 1906. After the state capitol was moved to Oklahoma City, our family also moved to Oklahoma City, where my great-grandfather had a clothing store. Gertrude, their last child was born in Oklahoma City on May 2, 1911. Sol White got his citizenship in the United States of America April 19, 1909. His citizenship papers state that he had been a former subject of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia. All of Sol's and Fannie's brothers and sisters came to the United States, but Fannie's parents died before they could come to America. (I believe one brother returned to Russia.) In 1910, Sol bought a second store in Prague, Oklahoma, and in 1911 he sold his Oklahoma City store and moved his family to Prague. Sol lived in Prague until he died June 22, 1936. Fannie died Sept 18, 1945.
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 | Sol White, about 1900 |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | Sol, Fannie and Mary 1915 |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | Gertrude in second grade |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | Fannie and Sol 1930s |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | Fannie with Robert, 1938 |  | |||||||||||||||||
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