VERY INTERESTING
As a follow-up to my February 18, 2025, blog post, “Putting a Face to a Name--- Zisil, z"l,” at sharonmarkcohen.com, I found another very interesting post on Facebook. Now, I have more than a handful of additional photos depicting deceased relatives from my father’s extended family.
Gardner’s posts were very interesting:
Gardner wrote: “Some photos from Nathalie Louvert, who has been great in providing information on the Broun side of my family. Marguerite Broun, Nee Goldman, was the wife of my 2nd cousin, once removed, Robert Jacques Leon Broun.”
Gardner Semet
Gardner added: ‘‘Another picture sent to me by Nathalie Louvet, from the grave marker of Therese Broun, nee Beckzkowski, the wife of another 2nd Cousin once removed, Henri Broun.”
When Gardner Semet posted that monument of his relatives interred in a cemetery in France, I quickly discovered that several of those on the memorial tablet were also my relatives. While they are cousins of Gardner on the Broun side of the family, they are related to me on the Weinerman side.
Cousin Zisil Weinerman (various spellings of her first and last names have been used) married a Broun. She and her husband emigrated from Chudnov, Ukraine, to Paris, France. Zisil was a 1st cousin to my grandmother and my grandfather, who were themselves 1st cousins before marriage. Thus, Zisil was my 1st cousin, twice removed.
With that memorial plaque, shared by Gardner, sent to him by Nathalie Louvet, I not only added names to my family tree program but also included photos that depict the personalities of relatives whom I was never privileged to meet. Amazingly, I now have stories to add to their legacies. It’s all so fascinating.
Garner posted: “Besides the close ups from this marker of Therese Broun, Maguerite Broun, Jeannine Kochenm Robert Broun and Henri Broun provided me, through marriage the Broun family was related to others on this marker, including Vladimir Finkel, the husband of Fanny Finkel, nee Broun, my second cousin once removed. I may be able to find the relationships as I investigate or those in this group contribute.”
Amazingly, those lost souls were also related to me.
Gardner Semet continued: “Henri Broun was my 2nd Cousin once removed and there are two other Henri Brouns in my family. One became Harry Brown when he emigrated to the United States. Robert Broun is also my 2nd cousin once removed Robert's father Andre Broun was murdered in the Holocaust.”
I was practically exploding while typing to Gardner, “Henri Broun 1925-2013, Andre’s brother, was my 2nd cousin, once removed. I am in close contact with his 1st cousins once removed on his mother's side. They are my 3rd cousins living here in New Jersey, who can't thank you enough for finding what happened to Zisil when she left Chudnov for Paris!!”
As I examined all the names and photos on the memorial tablet, I questioned whether Icchok “Jacques” Kochen (1924-2016) was Jeannine Broun Kochen’s spouse. An affirmative reply came from the question I posed, “Do we know if Icchok ‘Jacques‘ Kochen (1924-2016) was the spouse of Jeannine Kochen, nee Broun (1927-2011)?”
A member of Gardner’s Broun Family Group, Caroline Darmon, responded, “Jacques kochen was m'y grandfather. He was jeannine s husband.”
In rapid response to Caroline, I wrote and welcomed her, “My mishpochah! Jeannine was my 3rd cousin. Her grandmother Zisil (sp?) was a first cousin to my paternal grandmother and grandfather, as they were first cousins before marriage. My paternal grandparents were Sarah Temnogorod Muravina (changed to Mark in America) and Nathan (Nachman) Muravin (Mark). The original family name was Murovanny, changed in 1938 to be less Jewish.
“Sarah's father was Yehuda (Alter) Hersh Temnogorod. Nathan's mother was Yehuda Hersh’s sister Rachel Leah Temnogorod. Yehuda Hersh and Rachel Leah’s sister was Zisil's mother, Rose (Risya) Temnogorod. Rose (Risya) was born in 1848 and died in 1910, in Chudnov.
“Zisil had five sisters, and three made it to the United States. I am in close contact with their descendants, and they always wanted to know what happened to Zisil, who used to send packages from Paris to her family in Chudnov.
“We do not know the fate of their sister, Raisel (she was married to Yankl Shusterman), or what happened to Ayda. We have photos of Raisel and Yankl. I am eager to hear more about Jeannine and her family!!”
Adding a comment to Caroline, I wrote excitedly, “You and I are 3rd cousins twice removed!”
Additionally, I added, “Caroline Damon - I have traced back three additional generations in our ancestry, to Berko Temnogorod, born about 1765.”
At this time, I have not heard back from Caroline. Emails lost in a thread? Disinterested? Problems? No interest? Who knows?
My 3rd cousin, twice removed - photo found on Facebook
On March 1, 2026, Gardner again posted about the Broun family. He stated, “Here is the marriage record of my great great uncle Harry Brown (aka Henri Broun) and his wife Clara Levine. It reports his mother as Esther Goodman, which I had thought was Bradmann or Greenberg.”
Questioning Gardner on that information, he replied:
“There are 3 Henri Brouns, this Henri 1892-1954 is the son of Abraham and Sara Broun. In the US, he became Harry Brown, brother of Maurice Broun. There are 2 others Henri Broun 1925-2013, the son of Albert and Sara Broun and the grandson of Maurice and Zislya. The third Henri Broun 1915-1989, the son of Maurice and Zislya Broun.”
Therefore, the Henri Broun that Gardner found the latest records on is not related to me. He was my cousin Zisil’s brother-in-law.
The other two Henri Brouns are related to me the same way they are related to Gardner, but whereas “the Henris” and I are related through Zisil, the same Henris are related to Gardner on her husband Maurice Broun’s line.
There’s more. My cousin Gili called on 5-31-26 from her home in Germany to tell me that she and her husband had DNA testing and she wanted to ask me about certain names that appeared in the test results. Then, on June 8, 2026, Gardner wrote that Gelena [Gili] Pekersky-Popov contacted him through MyHeritage. He said, “I think she saw her [great] grandfather on the Semet Family Tree. It took a little back and forth to get the relationship. When I saw Temnogorod, I directed her to you. I did a little Facebook investigation after, then I saw you were connected.”
Yes, Gili and I are 2nd cousins once removed, as she is the great-great-granddaughter of my great-grandfather “Alter” Yehuda Hersh Temnogorod. I’ve been in contact with her since she was a little girl living in Israel, when I called her home. She translated for her maternal grandmother, Rosa, my 1st cousin once removed. I’ll never forget Rosa’s tearful and joyful reaction to my call. Our daughter stayed at Gili’s home when she traveled to Israel on Birthright Israel.
Maurice Braun, the brother of Gardner’s great-grandmother, was married to our cousin Zisil. He sent Gili a neat chart of the relationship.
Social media continues to amaze and connect us to our ancestry. I’m still seeking the records of two of Zisil’s sisters, my cousins Raisel and Ayda Weinerman, last known to have been living in Chudnov, Ukraine. With all the collaborative research, I hold out hope that we will learn the fate of those loved ones.
Raisa (Raya) Pekersky, my 2nd cousin, is Gili’s mother
