Since the Goldsmith Family Circle was founded in March of 1955, it has given us many things: an annual get-together of our family members, an occasionally published mailer keeping us updated on all the family’s exploits, and, most importantly to any family researcher, a solid archive of information on our family tree. For years, knowledge of our own family’s history has had one glaring exception - how exactly did we get here?
Not “how did we get here” in any kind of meta-physical sense, but instead in the sense of our ancestors’ arrivals in America. The amount of information we had on the first
Goldsmith immigrants was surprisingly lacking. For example, all we knew about the arrival of David Hirscha and Chai Etta (whom we generally consider to be the first Goldsmiths) is that it took place “around the time the Panama Canal was built” - and while that is slightly more useful than it sounds, it still is fairly lacking in terms of suitable information.
1 Using many different resources, including online databases and prior Goldsmith genealogical research, I’ve tried to put together a fairly complete history of the early years of the
Goldsmith Family. For the sake of clarity, this will be presented in chronological order by person - i.e., since Samuel Goldsmith was the first to immigrate, everything related to his immigration will be listed first. Before that, here is a brief history of the family before their arrival.
In the Old Country
The Goldsmith family as we know it began in Biržai (Yiddish:
), in what is now
Panevėžys County, Lithuania. At the time, however, the family members would have been subjects of the Emperor of Russia, as Lithuania was a part of the Russian Empire from 1772 until its independence in 1918.
2 The Lithuanian records from the time, while not as complete as our American records, can still give us some interesting information. Most noticeably, we find the family listed under the last name “Smerdon”, or as we have more often seen it, “Smardon”. Check out “What’s Our Name?” for new thoughts on the change.

The Smardon Family 3
Mishpacha -
David Hirsha Smardon was born around 1850 in Biržai, Lithuania to Volf Smardon and an unknown mother.
1 His wife, Chai Etta, was born around 1851. David and Chai had, according to Lithuanian Records, eight children: Shmuel Volf, Sheine Gnese, Mushe Libe,
Itsyk Yankel, Leizer Mortkhel, Abe Mortkhe, Beilia Golda, and Meier Aron.
4 We know of six of them. We suppose Leizer Mortkhel, born in 1887, and Meier Aron, born in 1897, both died at a young age.
The list also shows Sarah living with Samuel and his family with their three children,
Iokhel, Abram, and Gene Freide. These would have been the Yiddish names of Philip,
Abram, and Anne Goldsmith.
We also know that David Hirsha had a brother, Izrael, born in 1824. He lived with
David and his family with his wife, Leia, and their three children: Itsyk, Mortkhel, and
Bliume Feige. Also, Itsyk had a wife, Rokhe, and five children of their own: Mine Leia, Khana
Taube, Basheva, Shimen Bentsel, and Gita. A niece of Itsyk’s, Sore Feiga, was also living with them. In total, that means there were around 26 people living in the household of
David Hirsha Smardon. His brother Izrael died in 1902, the given reason being “old age”.
5
What’s in a Name?
6
The etymology of some of the more uncommon Yiddish names our ancestors were given is presented here. The name “Leizer” is the Yiddish form of “Eliezer”, and “Meier” is the Yiddish form of “Meir”. Both “Mortkhe(l)” and “Motel” are diminutive forms of the name
“Mordechai”. The name “Feige” comes from the Yiddish word for bird, while “Bluma” means flower and “Freide” means joy. “Golda”, as you might imagine, is Yiddish for gold.
1 Note: The Lithuanian records use a few different spellings of the name “Smardon”. For simplicity’s sake, I will still use the name Smardon when referring to these records.

“Gita” means good in Yiddish, and “Libe” means beloved. The name “Moshe” becomes
Morris in English, and “Hirsh(el)” becomes Harry or Henry.
Samuel Goldsmith - “The Pioneer” 7
Shmuel Volf -
One of the facts we have known for a while is that Samuel was the first Goldsmith to come to the country. We now know a few more details of his arrival in the country. Samuel, at age 29, sailed from Liverpool, England on the SS Kensington, arriving at the Port of
Quebec on September 11 th , 1904. He remained in Canada for five months, and then entered the US on the railroad at Montreal on February 4 th , 1905. He traveled via Buffalo to his final destination, Harrisburg. On December 25 th of the same year, he sent $16.05 to his wife,
Sarah Smardon, in Biržai.
8 This money was likely meant to pay for her passage to America as well as that of her children.
Sam entered the country at Montreal as Smuel Smerdon, and gave his contact in the
US as “Cousin Henry Schandler”, living at 22 Aberdene [sic], Harrisburg, PA. This is an interesting bit of information - since Sam was the first Goldsmith to arrive in the country,
Schandler must be a cousin related to him by marriage, not blood.
Sarah Goldsmith - “The Devoted Mother” 9
Shora -
Sarah Goldsmith’s life before her marriage to Samuel has long been a mystery to us.
However, using some newly revealed connections and some old notes and records, I have made a discovery. Sarah Goldsmith was born Shora Sandler in Biržai, Lithuania. Henry
Schandler - Samuel’s friend in America - was the son of one of her 1 st cousins. For an indepth explanation, see “How Can Henry Schandler Help Find Sarah Goldsmith’s Family?”.
We know Samuel sent his wife money in December of 1905 to pay for her passage to the US, and we now know that she left Lithuania not long after. On April 15 th , 1906, Sarah

and her children Philip, Abram, and Anne, boarded the RMS Saxonia in Liverpool, England, and arrived in Boston, MA on April 24 th , 1906.
Sarah is listed on the manifest of the Saxonia as Sarah Shmerdon, with her children
Jochel, Abram, and Gene. Those names match the Yiddish names of her children - as they are listed in the Lithuanian census. It is also interesting to note that Philip (Jochel or Iochel) was named for Sarah’s father.
Jacob Goldsmith - “Of Many Names” 10
Itsyk Yankel -
Jacob Goldsmith has gone by many different names in our records, including Yankoff and Yakov Goldsmith. This confusion is a result of Jacob’s Yiddish name, Itsyk Yankel. The
English equivalent we would commonly hear for that name would be Isaac, coming from his first name, instead of Jacob from his middle name. Adding to that confusion is his wife’s name. She generally appears in our records as “Tonta Tona”; her name was Tona, and
Tonta is the Yiddish word for aunt. She appears in other records as Anna, and it is unclear what her Yiddish name would have been.
Jacob and his wife sailed on the SS Corinthian from Liverpool, arriving in Halifax,
Canada on December 5 th , 1904. They remained there for five months, and then entered the
US from Montreal on the railroad on May 15 th , 1905. They traveled via Buffalo to their final destination, Harrisburg.
Jacob and his wife are listed in the Canadian Border Crossing records as Isaac
Smadron [sic] and Tine; adding to the challenge of finding them was the incorrect spelling the last name on the ledger. He gives his brother’s name as Schmuel Smardon. At the time of their border crossing in May of 1905, Jacob’s wife is listed as being six months pregnant with their daughter, Alda Goldsmith.

Liba Shooman - “The Married Daughter” 11
Mushe Libe -
Again, the last name spelling presents somewhat of a challenge when researching
Liba and her husband, Jacob Shooman. For example, we find them in the 1920 US Census as “Jacob and Leana Shuman”.
12 What the Census also tells us, though, is that Jacob immigrated around 1906. Family history has it that Jacob and Liba first went from Biržai to
Leeds, England, coming to the US around 1910. 13
Unfortunately, searches for any information regarding Jacob’s immigration have been fruitless. However, immigration records show that Liba and her daughter, Esther, arrived in the US in 1907. They boarded the SS Westernland in Liverpool on September
11 th , 1907, and arrived in Philadelphia on September 23 rd , 1907. They are listed in the manifest as Liebe Schuman and Ester Schuman, and her destination is her husband Jacob
Shuman living at 574 Filbert Ave, Harrisburg, PA.
Abe Goldsmith - “The Unlucky One” 14 , 15 , 16 Abraham Mortkhe -
Abe Goldsmith’s life seems to have been focused around the number three. Abe was the third son of David and Chai to come to the United States, he was married three times, and unfortunately, took three attempts to successfully make it the United States. While we don’t know the exact reason, we do find Abe Smardon listed on three different ship manifests, all within the same year, and all with the same destination.
First, it appears Abe tried to take a different route out of the country than his three siblings before him. Abe first appears on the manifest of the SS Kherson, which sailed out of
Libau (now Liepāja) in Latvia. Libau is located almost directly west of Biržai, about 145 miles away. For some reason, his name is crossed off the list - possibly an issue with money
- and he remained overseas (the Kherson left Libau on March 30 th , 1908). Abe, probably

deciding there was no need to reinvent the wheel (or in this case, steamship), then made his way to Liverpool, where he attempted to come to the US on the SS Haverford. Again, his name is crossed off, and the Haverford left Liverpool without him on May 28 th , 1908.
Finally, on August 1 st , 1908, Abe boarded the SS Friesland. He arrived in Philadelphia on the
12 th of the same month, intending to meet up with his brother in Harrisburg.
On the manifest of the Kherson, he is listed as Abe Smarden, and he names his brother not as Sam Smardon, but as Schmuel Goldschmid. On the manifests of the
Haverford and the Friesland, he appears as Abe Smardon, with his brother as Schmuel
Smardon. The unusual thing about Abe’s departure from Europe is that his is the earliest record that ever mentions the name Goldsmith (or, in this case, Goldschmid). Whether this may have had something to do with his denial of passage is unclear.
On a 1920 US Census, we find Abe living with his first wife, Lena.
17 Her parents,
Benjamin and Tillie Katzen were living in the same house with them. From the Census, we also know that she came to the US around 1904. No record of that has been discovered.
David Hirsha Goldsmith - “The Patriarch” 18
David Girsch
-
The classic story of David Goldsmith’s immigration tells us that he came with his wife and daughter around 1914 (yes, the year the Panama Canal was completed). Research shows us that that isn’t exactly the case. The father succeeded where the son failed, and
David Smardon boarded the SS Birma on July 5 th , 1910 in Libau, Latvia. He arrived in New
York on July 20 th , 1910, headed for Steelton, PA and his son Samuel Goldsmith.
Bessie Goldsmith & Chai Etta Goldsmith - “The Last Pieces of the Puzzle” 19
Beilia Golda -
Khaia Ete -

David’s wife and youngest daughter made their way to America not soon after he did. Bessie and Chai Etta, listed as Beile and Chaia Smardon, took the SS Willehad, sailing out of Bremen, Germany on November 23 rd , 1911. They arrived in Baltimore - the only members of the family to do so - on December 9 th , 1911. They listed their destination as the residence of David Smardon, who was living at 4186 York St., Baltimore, MD. The assumption, then, is that David arrived in Steelton in late 1910, then made his way to
Baltimore some time in 1911 in order to meet his wife and youngest daughter.
Harry Eliasstam - “The Nephew” 20
Hirsch -
As we know from our own information, David and Chai’s oldest daughter, Shana
Eliasstam, remained in Lithuania after her marriage to Moses Eliasstam in 1902.
21 They had five children, one of whom did come to the US. Harry, listed under the name Hirsch
Eliastam, came to the US on the SS New York, which sailed out of Hamburg, Germany on
August 5 th , 1927 and arrived in New York on August 15 th , 1927. He went to see his uncle,
Schmul Goldschmidt, in Harrisburg. He lived at 1209 N 6 th Street for 4 years, then returned to Europe in 1931. He reunited with his wife, Hanna Eliasstam, in Tukum, Latvia
(now Tukums). They boarded the SS Europa on October 23 rd , 1931, in Bremen, Germany, and arrived in New York on October 29 th , 1931.
22
1 “Recollections from Uncle Abe Goldsmith”, Goldsmith Family Archives.
2 “Lithuania”, Wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania#Modern
3 “David Girsh Smerdon”, The All Lithuania Revision List Database Part 2, The JewishGen Lithuania Database,
JewishGen.org
4 “Meier Aron Shmardon”, Lithuania Births, The JewishGen Lithuania Database, JewishGen.org
5 “Izrail Smardon”, Lithuania Deaths, The JewishGen Lithuania Database, JewishGen.org
6 “Jewish Names”, Behind the Name: The Etymology and History of First Names, behindthename.com/names/usage/jewish
7 “Smuel Smerdon”, 2/5/1905, Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954, Ancestry.com
8 “Receipt of Money Sent to Sarah Smardon by Samuel Goldsmith”, Goldsmith Family Archives.
9 “Sara Shmerdon”, 5/24/1906, Boston Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1943, Ancestry.com
10 “Isaac Smadron”, 5/1905, Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954, Ancestry.com
11 “Liebe Schuman”, 9/23/1907, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945, Ancestry.com
12 “Jacob Shuman”, 1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
13 “Genealogy Report”, 1997(?), Goldsmith Family Archives.

14 “Abe Smarden”, 4/16/1908, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com
15 “Abe Smardon”, 5/28/1908, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945, Ancestry.com
16 “Abe Smardon”, 8/12/1908, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945, Ancestry.com
17 “Abraham Goldsmith", 1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
18 “David Smardon”, 7/20/1910, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com
19 “Chaia Smardon”, 12/1911, Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1920-1948, Ancestry.com
20 “Hirsch Eliastam”, 8/15/1927, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com
21 “Mozes Eliashtam and Sheine Gnese Smardon”, Lithuania Marriages and Divorces, The JewishGen Lithuania
Database, JewishGen.org
22 “Hanna Eliasstam”, 10/29/1931, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com