Sunday, January 7, 2018

Baruch Hersch Rutner's Vacillating Mother

Baruch Hersch Rutner was my great-great grandmother's brother.  Or maybe her half brother.  He doesn't seem to have known which it was himself!
Birth of Burich Hers Rutner, 1871

The above record states that Burich Hers was born to Smil Mozes Rutner and his wife Henye Ruchel on May 20, 1871.  The birth was registered at or near the time of birth.  My great-great grandfather Shmuel Moshe Rutner was married at least three times, once which was to Henye Ruchel Berger.

I then found a delayed birth registration:
Burech Hersch Ruttner Delayed Birth Record, 1906
In 1906, Burech Hirsch Ruttner registered his own birth, giving his birth date as May 10, 1881 and his parents as Mozes (Moshe) Ruttner and Ruchel Fuchsz

I had assumed that the child born in 1871 had died, and Shmuel Moshe named a subsequent child with the same name as his deceased child.

But I found a new record.  And it seems like I'd killed off the 1871-born Baruch Hersch a bit too quickly:
Marriage of Burech Hers Ruttner and Kreindel Fux, 1932
Burech Hers Ruttner had a civil marriage with his wife Kreindel in 1932.  (It was quite common for a couple to marry in a religious ceremony but only have a civil ceremony if/when they needed it for some reason.)  And who did he list as his mother?  "Hena Ruchel."  And he used that 1871 birthdate.

So who was Baruch Hersch's mother?  If he was truly born in 1871, it was not Rochel Fuchs--she was born in 1866.  The self-registered birth that has his mother as Rochel Fuchs and his birth in 1881 would still have her on the young end for having a child--I've seen very few births in this area to mothers younger than 19 or 20.

So while it's likely that Baruch Hersch was the child of Henya Ruchel Berger--and therefore my great grandmother's half brother--but we still can't rule out him being a child of both of my great-great grandparents.  So much documentation, so many contradictions!

Note:  I'm on Twitter.  Follow me (@larasgenealogy).

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