This intricately researched family history traces the ancestry and journeys of two interconnected Jewish families across centuries, countries, and generations. Through exhaustive genealogical records, oral histories, and archival documents, it pieces together a vivid mosaic of the Mandel family tree.
The narrative begins in 19th-century Eastern Europe, chronicling how the Mandels fled persecution to start new lives in America. It documents their arrival in New York, first homes in tenements, a quick sojourn to Punxsutawney, PA, and then a return to New York for the establishment of family businesses. Meticulous profiles spotlight the lives of each generation, from tradespeople and entrepreneurs to war veterans and artists.
This history chronicles the career of Jacob Mandel, an ingenious entrepreneur who built a business empire after emigrating from Russia in the early 1900s. It details his humble beginnings as a tinner in a hardware store to the launch of his highly successful metal fabrication company, Masell Manufacturing. With fascinating insights into New York's Jewish immigrant communities, it documents how Mandel leveraged grit, ambition, and innovation to become a self-made titan of industry with dozens of patents. Through extensive research and interviews with Mandel's children, it also provides an intimate look at his personal life, marriage to Alice Meyerson, and raising six accomplished children.
This account illuminates the families' experience within the greater context of Jewish immigration, assimilation, achievement, and preservation of cultural traditions. Photographs, artifacts, and personal mementos enhance the rich historical record. Includes are multiple documents and photos capturing the family in their time.
From Russia to America preserves an intimate slice of Jewish heritage. The carefully assembled stories, spanning continents and centuries, bring to life a family's struggles and successes through monumental events in world history. This treasure trove of genealogical insight will fascinate and inspire anyone interested in exploring their roots. Beyond his ingenious designs, Mandel's lasting legacy was his family. The book celebrates how he instilled entrepreneurial values in his children, several of whom started their own successful companies as salesmen, artists, and educators.
For aspiring innovators, Jewish history enthusiasts, or descendants seeking to honor an ancestral journey, The Legacy of Jacob Mandel is an illuminating portrait of a tenacious patriarch. His tireless sacrifice, self-made success, and devotion to family represent the realization of the American dream.
