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Our Family History

“Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” JOEL 1:3

We want to find ALL of them ... so far we only have a few thousand!
Families are like fudge ... mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
Genealogy begins as an interest; becomes a hobby; continues as an avocation; takes over as an obsession; and... in its last stages, is an incurable disease!

 

Chaing Mai, Thailand 2003

Joan in the Hydrangeas - 2003 Sydney, Australia

 

See Other Site Contributors

 

PLEASE BE AWARE: We have done our best to report information accurately, but erroneous assumptions, imprecise reporting and incomplete facts all contribute to potential faux pas. If you notice inaccuracies, please let us know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Joan and Bobby ...

 

<--Here we are in Santorini, Greece in March 2003.

We are including this only because we are sure some of you are curious as to who amassed this information and developed this website. We did ... with a lot of help from other family members!

 

The business of life is the acquisition of memories and in the end, that's all there is.

 

Many years ago, my nephew, Neil Frieser, had the foresight to start this project by asking questions of his grandparents (Flora and Sam) and his great aunts and uncles. Bobby and I have picked up the torch and we continue to research and embellish our family history with help from many of you. And I do mean "we". While we are also working on Bobby's family history, I would be remiss not to mention how much research and insight Bobby has contributed to this family history.

We need your help to keep this information current and to make our family history as robust as possible. This site is an ongoing process and your input is both welcome and required. For those of you who have already sent corrections, please know that we tried to include everything you sent, but may have missed some. If we still don't have it right, please send your corrections again and we will do our best to get it right next time. For those of you who have not yet contributed, please e-MAIL updates, additions and corrections of family information along with your comments, suggestions, documents and photographs to include in your family albums.

To memorialize as many of our ancestors as possible, we would like to include your memories of them. Please use this link to record your thoughts or send eulogies, annecdotes, obituaries or biographical information for inclusion in the MEMORIAL SECTION of this site.

This is not just a collection of names, dates, pictures and stories. Meeting new family, sharing discoveries and experiences and making new connections has been a huge fringe benefit (if not a reason unto itself) of this family history project. This process has been very rewarding. We hope you enjoy the results as much as we cherish having uncovered them with you.

Why is this site named Flora-and-Sam.com?

Flora POMERANTZ and Sam WELLER were my parents and they are the starting point for this website. The site covers their ancestors as far back as we have been able to track them to date, and it also includes the descendants of those ancestors. We have attempted to provide some historical and geographical context and have included some links for further research you may find useful.

For the record, I am Joan Deborah (WELLER) ENGEL and was named after my paternal grandfather, Jacob WELLER and my maternal great-grandfather, David POMERANTZ.

  • #1 song when I was born: "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" by Perry Como (January 1953)
  • #1 song when Bobby was born: "This Year's Kisses" by Hal Kemp (March 1937)

 

A Story to Share: Two Pots

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole that he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what was perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house". The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pots' side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. So, to all our crackpot friends and relatives, enjoy life and remember to smell the flowers.

all our best, Joan and Bobby

J&B in NZ

 

 

 

 

Abel Tasman Park, New Zealand 2003

joan.engel@gmail.com

 
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS WORK IN PROGRESS. WE ARE NOT SURE THIS INFORMATION IS ENTIRELY CORRECT, AND WE KNOW IT IS INCOMPLETE.
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