The Lang-Bosswick Family Tree

The Lang and Bosswick families were joined through the marriage of Stephen and Rhonda Lang in 1979. The following is the combined history of the ancestors of the Lang and Bosswick families and is a work in progress. I am working on collecting more images and source documents in order to update and create the most complete tree possible. Enjoy! 

The Bosswick Family

The current Bosswick family can be traced to three families from Eastern Europe, the Bossowich family, the Boxer family, the Goldstein family. These families have a documented history in the United States going back between four to five generations and over 150 years. The name Bosswick has a number of variations in the various documents that chronicle the family's history: Bossowich, Bossowick, Bosswich, and others can all be found in the historical record. 

The earliest ancestor on the patriarchal side of the Bosswick family is Abraham Bossowich, who was born around 1867 in Russia. Abraham married Pauline Greenspan, who was born around 1866 in Austria. The two immigrated to the United States, presumably together in 1885. The first time Abraham and Pauline Bosswich are mentioned is in the 1905 New York State Census. Along with Abraham and Pauline, seven children are listed as a part of the family. 

At that time, Abraham's professional is listed as a tailor and the family was living in Manhattan, New York. A New York City directory from 1915 shows Abraham Bosswick listed as a tailor, located at E104th St. 

Eventually, Abraham and Pauline would have 10 children – Max, Isidor, Hannah, Fannie, Mary, Leopold, Sidney, Alexander, Joseph, and Lillian – over a period of 17 years. Sidney Bosswick – the ancestor to the modern Bosswick family – was born on June 9, 1904 and lived with his family in Manhattan. 

The following documents show the Bosswick family in the historical record: 1905 New York State Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, 1915 New York State Census, 1930 U.S. Federal Census. 

The Boxer Family

The Boxer family originates from a city named L’viv in Eastern Europe. At the time, it was an Austrian city in the area known as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Today, L'viv is an Ukranian city on the border of Ukraine and Poland.

Similarly to the Bosswick family name, the Bokser family name is written in a variety of ways throughout the historical record. Sometimes it is listed as Bokser and other times as Boxer. The form Boxer is the Americanized version of the Yiddish Bokser and is the current form of writing the surname.

Mendel Bokser was born around 1830, but it is unknown when his wife, Rochel Bokser, was born. There are some discrepancies in the historical documents regarding both Mendel and Rochel's ages, so their precise birth dates are unknown. Mendel and Rochel gave birth to Aaron Bokser in 1858 in L'viv. Aaron was married to Eva Rabinoff, and they had four children: Harry, Morris, Jacob, and Gustave between the years of 1875 and 1884. Morris, one of the Bosswick family ancestors, was born on February 15, 1880. 

In 1889, Aaron Boxer traveled to the United States from Hamburg, Germany. He arrived in New York on July, 27, 1889 aboard the S.S. Amalfi of the Hamburg America Line. According to the ship's manifest, where Aaron Boxer is listed as passenger number 30, he was a tanner.

A few years after his son's arrival in the United States, Mendel Bokser and his wife Rochel immigrated in 1902 aboard the S.S. Rotterdam. After departing from Rottderdam, the Netherlands, the couple arrived in New York on March 31, 1902 with only $5. They are listed as Hebrews and having no knowledge of the English language - reading or writing. Mendel and Rochel are listed as passengers number 20 and 21. 

The S.S. Rotterdam of the Holland-America Line: 

Around 1904, Morris Boxer married his wife, Mollie Warfman. After both his father and grandfather's arrival in the United States, Morris immigrated to the United States in 1907. He arrived in New York aboard the S.S. President Lincoln on June 1, 1907 after departing from Hamburg, Germany. Morris traveled in the steerage compartment of the ship – the lowest cost and lowest class ticket available – and his occupation was listed as carpenter. Morris' name is listed as Moische Bokser, passenger number 8, on the ship's manifest.

Morris and Mollie lived in New York City and had three children, Rose, Louis, and Irving, between the years of 1907 and 1921. All three children married and had families of their own. The oldest of the siblings, Rose Boxer, is an ancestor on the patriarchal side of the Bosswick family. She was born on October 7, 1907 in New York. 

On February 24, 1948, Mollie Boxer sent a sum of money to a man named Wolf Warfman in Cyprus via the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. She sent him 5,000 Israeli lira, the currency used in Israel at the time. Apparently, Wolf Warfman was interned in Camp No. 55 in Cyprus while trying to illegally immigrate to Israel aboard the ship Mordei HaGetaot, meaning "Ghetto Fighters." 

On May 15, 1947, Mordei HaGetaot sailed from Bari, Italy carrying 1,457 passengers. On May 24, Mordei HaGetaot was intercepted by British destroyers which rammed against her on both sides, and soldiers boarded using water hoses and tear gas. The passengers resisted for three hours, but were eventually overpowered and were forced to surrender. Mordei HaGetaot was towed to Haifa and eventually the passengers were taken to Detention Camp No.55 in Karaolos, Cyprus.

The link between Mollie Boxer and Wolf Warfman is unclear as well as Wolf Warfman's fate. The payment is listed as number 53/693 on the document "List of the amounts to be paid in Cyprus.״

The following images are of the ship Mordei HaGetaot and its passengers in 1947:

Newspapers in both English and Hebrew detailed the capture of Modei HaGetaot for their readers in Israel at the time. 

The following documents mention Morris, Mollie, Rose, Louis, and Irving Boxer: 1910 U.S. Federal Census, 1915 New York State Census, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, 1925 New York State Census, 1930 U.S. Federal Census, 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Petition for Naturalization for Morris Boxer, World War I Draft Registration Card, World War II Draft Registration Card: 

BOSSWICK MEETS BOXER

The following documents are available for Sidney, Rose, and Donald Bosswick: 1930 U.S. Federal Census, 1940 U.S. Federal Census. 

The Goldstein family

The matriarchal side of the Bosswick family can be traced to the Goldstein family, originating from Russia. Abraham Goldstein, born around 1878, immigrated to the United States around 1902. His wife, Rosie Goldstein, was born around 1884 in Russia and they were married around 1900. Rosie likely came to the United States around 1905 with Abraham and Rosie's son, Louis.

Upon their arrival, Abraham, Rosie, and Louis resided with Abraham's brother Samuel Goldstein and his wife, Ida on their farm. They lived in Colchester, Connecticut. Abraham's original occupation is listed as a farmer – along with his brother Samuel – and he worked on a general farm. Samuel and Abraham are listed as self-employed, meaning they likely worked on Samuel's farm.

By 1920, Abraham, Rosie, Louis, and Morris no longer lived with Samuel Goldstein, but still resided in Colchester, Connecticut. At this point, Abraham was working as a tailor and had his own shop. 

The following documents mention Abraham and Rosie Goldstein: 1910 U.S. Federal Census, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, 1930 U.S. Federal Census.

The Goldstein's second son, Morris, was born around 1908. On December 21, 1930, when Morris was 23, his daughter Betty was born. Betty would become the matriarch to the modern Bosswick family. Morris' wife died during childbirth, and Betty never met her biological mother. Betty moved into live with her grandparents on Lebanon Ave in Colchester, Connecticut until she was around two years old.

Around 1932, Morris was re-married to Ruth Silverberg and they moved to New Hyde Park, New York along with Betty. During this time, Morris' occupation is listed as a chauffeur in the dairy industry. Morris and Ruth had two other daughters, Corrinne and Hannah. Betty attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York. 

The 1940 U.S. Federal Census mention Morris, Ruth, Betty, and Hannah Goldstein:

Donald Meets Betty

When Betty was 18, she was asked by her friend to come on a double-date with her. She agreed and was setup on a blind date with Donald Bosswick, who was a sophomore at NYU the time. After this date, Donald and Betty began to date, even though Betty lived on Long Island and Donald lived in the Bronx. Donald would make the long trip on public transportation from the Bronx to Long Island to take Betty out. Eventually, in 1950, Donald and Betty were married – Donald was 21 and Betty was 20 years old. 

Donald and Betty eventually settled in Melville, New York. They raised three children who attended Walt Whitman High School and eventually had children of their own. Donald passed away on April 15, 1990 at the age of 60. Today, Betty lives in the same house in Melville, New York and she is the grandmother of eight beautiful and healthy grandchildren!