Isaak Wohlgemuth

Our Wohlgemuth family patriarch embraced the values and culture of assimilated German Jewry in the 19th century. Born in a small west Prussian town, he prospered in business in Elbing, Danzig and Berlin. He married Betty Katz from a merchant Kolberg family, and they had two daughters, Elly and Hilda. The family resided for 18 years in the elegant Woelkpromenade in Berlin-Weissensee before his death at age 63.

Joseph Rabinowitz

The progenitor of the Rabinowitz/Ruby/Robbins family in America descended from a branch of the Yesersky family believed to be related to the famous Kovno Rav, Isaac Elchanon Spektor. He raised a large family in New York City while trying to maintain Orthodox traditions

Abraham Ratner

The founder of our Ratner family in America was born Abraham Bloch in Minsk. He came to Rostov, where he married Rose Tulbowitz. He avoided military conscription by changing his name and sailing for America with his wife and her mother. After a short time in New York City, the Ratners settled in Albany, where Abe ran a bottling business and fathered a large family.

Resetting the Carioca Rum narrative

One of the benefits of publicly sharing the results of my research the way I do on this blog is that occasionally interested parties will find the information and then get in touch with me. 

Such was the case a month ago, when I received an email from Dr. Michael M. Topp, a professor of history at the University of Texas El Paso. He had read my decade-old old blog reports about our grandfather's history at the American Spirits Co. and about the various characters involved in the related story about Carioca Rum. 

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