MAKING CONNECTIONS — Sharon Mark Cohen

If you’ve been following my genealogy work, you must realize I thrive on making connections. It comes with the territory. Over the summer of 2023, I made a few new ones.

Not only do I find long-lost relatives, I then connect them. The results are tremendously fulfilling. It also works for connecting friends.

After receiving an annual update from cousin Paul, whom we met once on Martha’s Vineyard, where he and his wife have a home, and learning that a mutual cousin whom we also met once, shores up on the vineyard, I asked if Paul knew his cousin Peter. At the same time, I proposed an introduction from a link sent to me by yet another cousin from my mother-in-law’s large family: https://www.mvtimes.com/2023/05/24/halperin-brings-heat/

Paul’s pleasing response was:

“I will try to connect with cousin Peter. Interestingly, the person he performed with in the concert mentioned in the article you sent also works at the coffee shop where I stop nearly every day. I plan to ask her how he’s doing and see if he’s still doing the concerts. Best to your family, Paul”

I added a fyi, explaining to Paul that Peter was doubly related to him. I wrote, “Peter is your second cousin, once removed. His great-grandfather Shepsal was your grandfather Nathan's older brother and their wives were sisters.”

As was the case with my husband’s parents, two brothers married two sisters. In the case of my in-laws, the two couples bought a two-family house together and my husband grew up living upstairs with his parents and two older brothers, and their aunt (their mother’s sister) and uncle (their father’s brother) raised their three boys downstairs.

Not long after sending that email to Paul, he wrote, “I just connected with Peter at xxxxxxxxx@comcast.net. We are going to attend one of his concerts on August 6th. My [son] Jonathan will be here then and he will get to meet Peter’s son Jonathan. Thanks for making this happen! Paul”

My only request was, “If you get to see him, please mention that I need an update on his family and the email I have for him is not current. Feel free to give him my email [address].”

On December 30, 2023, Paul and I were in contact via email, and I asked him about his meet-up with Peter. He responded, “We did meet Peter Halperin this summer. He has concerts every month in his ‘annex’ and we went to one. He’s a very talented guy. He performed at this one, although sometimes he has others performing. We’ll probably attend some more concerts next summer.“

Paul sent me the email address he had for Peter but so far Peter has not responded to my emails. I may have to wait until Paul sees him on the Vineyard again to get the family tree updates.

Moving on to the next lot, our family connections take me to Elissa. More about Elissa can be found in my April 9, 2024 blog post, How Can We Be So Connected and Disconnected? Still more will be discussed in my blog post at sharonmarkcohen.com, dated May 14, 2024, She’s Our Second Cousin, Once Removed.

A connection made through Elissa, a descendant of my mother-in-law’s Aunt Sarah, entailed Elissa’s husband Lyndon and a mutual cousin Eric, along with my cousin Steven, discussed below.

After meeting Elissa and her husband and finding out about his sideline of photographing antique cars, I wrote, “Below is the contact info for my second cousin, once removed (my side, not yours), Steven Saffier. I mentioned him and his love of cars. Lyndon may like to look him up.”

I added, “Also, I told Steven about Lyndon in an email just now and suggested he follow him on Instagram @Lensesandwheels.

“Steven Saffier
CarSmarts Media
www.CarSmartsMedia.com

“267-467-3777

“The cousin on your side who does seat covers, etc. on cars is Eric Gordon at Everlast Seat Covers, St. Georges Ave., Linden, NJ 07036. His father Herbie was [my husband] Arnee's first cousin. He started the business when he returned from WWII. https://www.everlastinteriors.com/

“So many connections!!”

If I know your passion or where you live, there’s a possibility we’ll have a connection. I’ve enjoyed hearing about each one that came to pass. That included one from my cousin Lynne on an extended stay in San Diego.

Lynne took my suggestion and visited our friend’s daughter at Juice Wave®, her popular establishment located in Mission Bay, in San Diego. While in the area, Lynne stopped in for a delicious refreshment, and to tell the owner/founder Chef Arleigh that we said hello.

After enjoying one of Arleigh’s famous acai bowls (pronounced ah-sigh-EE), and realizing that they shared similar sporting interests, they became friends. Since Lynne was in San Diego for a months-long stay, unlike when we were passing through and got to stop in for a fast hello and treat at Arleigh’s Juice Wave®, they were able to socialize.

I notified my friend Karen, Arleigh’s mom, “…my cousin Lynne called from Arleigh's place!! Lynne lives in NYC but she is in S.D. for the summer and I sent her to Arleigh! She is so excited that Arleigh plays golf! She's been looking for golfers.”

Throughout my multiple decades of research, the most consequential connection I made entailed the family tree of my husband’s maternal grandmother’s family and the doctor at the Seidman Laboratory at Harvard Medical Center. According to my husband’s second cousin, twice removed, Joselin, that connection was a lifesaver.

Joselin so eloquently and appreciatively wrote about that discovery in the memory book my children presented me with for my 70th birthday on July 8, 2023. Filled with entries by friends and relatives (see my Tuesday blog posts dated February 6, 2024, The Things That Stick in People’s Minds and Joselin Explains, dated February 13, 2024), Joselin’s piece was rewarding.

While celebrating Passover this week, it is extra fitting to say that had my 35 years of research done nothing else, dayenu=it would have been enough. For, in Judaism, we are taught that anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world.