SPUR OF THE MOMENT MEETING COMPLETES A FINAL LINK TO A FAMILY BOND

Wolf Temnogorod was my paternal grandmother’s younger brother. Born in VStarokonstantinov, Ukraine, in 1899, he was killed during World War II in Kyiv. During his teen years and beyond, he sent letters to my grandparents in America detailing family life in Chudnov.

The heartening story of meeting his grandson Jakob, from the final long-lost branch of my grandmother’s family, was published in the April 24, 2025 issue of The Jewish Link, where I am a staff writer. In case you missed it, the article is posted here:

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Facebook Brings Some Closure to a Century-Old Family Mystery

Cousins living across the ocean thought we would never meet. I shared their concern, but as a genealogist, I have learned to “never say never.” Ultimately, a quick get-together was spontaneous and super easy.

It could not have worked out better. My husband and I were all decked out for a two-hour evening meeting in New York City with top dignitaries from around the world. More on that later.

Our cousins, born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine and living in Hamburg, Germany, posted on Facebook that they were traveling to New York. After clicking the “WOW” emoji, I, most importantly, commented, “We definitely want to meet you. Please send us an email with the details so that we may get together!”

On the drive to Manhattan, I received a reply message from my cousin, Jakob, and his wife, Elena. They said, “Thank you so much, with great joy!” They added their cell phone numbers, followed by the line, “We will be happily waiting for your message.” That indicated they were just as eager to meet us as we were to see them.

Planning was never so uncomplicated. With my husband at the wheel, I sent the address we were heading to on West 66th Street. Without hesitation, they replied, “We are currently taking the subway on Line 1 and can get off at 66th Street.” My response was, “OK! Meet us there!”

It was like living a dream. We texted back and forth while we drove through the Lincoln Tunnel. Then, they wrote, “We hardly speak English.” Undeterred, we went ahead with our spur-of-the-moment plans to meet.

When we arrived and met at about 6:50 p.m. on a briskly cold March evening, we were warmed by the love of family as if we had bonded from the beginning. Although they were born in Ukraine, relocated to Hamburg in 1992, and now speak German, Russian and Ukrainian, I knew we would somehow communicate. After all, we’ve been Facebook “friends” for years.

The novel meeting was at a Starbucks, not to dine, but where our cousins escaped the wind and waited nearly half an hour for our arrival. We continued to update the estimated arrival time according to our GPS. As soon as we parked, a map with walking directions to Starbucks, sent from Elena, appeared on my iPhone.

After our greeting, Elena, who was turning 60 the next day, immediately started speaking into her iPhone. By clicking on “translate,” she allowed me to read her sentiments. There was such joy.

Within minutes, I reached out to two cousins from the same lineage. Our cousin Adel lives on East 22nd Street. Happily, she was available to speak.

Using their native tongue, Adel, born in Ukraine and living in New York since 1997, told Jakob that as a child on a visit to Kyiv with her father, she met his mother, grandmother, aunt and cousins. With a chuckle, Adel added that she could still taste the ice cream she had been treated to at the ice cream café where Jakob’s grandmother worked. She concluded her discussion by inviting Jakob and Elena to her home and offering them a guided tour of the city.

Adel’s grandmother was a sister of my grandmother and Jakob’s grandfather. There were three other siblings. Of the other three siblings, one has descendants living in Israel, and the other two have descendants in Israel and various parts of New York.

Jakob’s maternal grandfather, Wolf Temnogorod, my grandmother’s youngest sibling, born in 1899, was killed at Babi Yar. As Adel noted, his wife and two daughters survived World War II. More about the family, entitled “Next Year in Jerusalem,” was published in the March 16, 2022 issue of The Jewish Link and a July 5, 2022 blog post found at sharonmarkcohen.com.

Having met Jakob, after logging over 35 years of unrelenting genealogical research, I have now found and met someone from each branch of my grandmother’s family. It simply amazes me.

Only one branch of my grandfather’s tree of seven remains elusive. I have not given up hope of finding a missing relative descended from my grandfather’s sister Rosie. Her great-grandson, Evgeny (born Chaim) Roitman, a doctor, was last known to have lived in the Russian Republic of Karelia.

Overflowing with excitement after finally meeting and sharing photographs of our children and grandchildren with Jakob and Elena, we had to cut the session short. We learned that their two children live with their families in Hamburg, about an hour’s drive from their parents. Elena and Jakob have three grandchildren. They explained that while they live in the same city, Hamburg encompasses a vast area.

Energized by that short but fun and enlightening experience, we ran across the street to our original evening destination. Carrying the excitement of meeting our cousins, we apologized for being late to the International Health Awareness Network (IHAN) meeting.

IHAN, an acclaimed organization that offers medical aid and education to women and children worldwide, was founded 40 years ago by my former ob-gyn and dear friend. We were not only excused for our tardiness, but we were also told we should have invited our newfound cousins to the intimate group of 25. Someone there would undoubtedly have spoken one of several languages in our cousins’ lexicon.

At our cousins’ send-off, Jakob proposed that they would return. speaking English next year. Later in the week, a message from our mutual cousin, Yuriy, in Brooklyn, stated, “Spoke to Jakob yesterday. Thank you for connecting us.” While their schedules for the week were booked, they agreed to meet next year. Yuriy added, “We will visit you together.” To that, I say, “L’chaim.”

Sharon Mark Cohen, MPA, believes everyone deserves a legacy. Follow her at sharonmarkcohen.com.