Esther’s sister, Rose Stein Antin, (1889 – 1974) was known to the family as “Tanta Ruchel”. She mostly listed her maiden name as Stein, whereas Esther mostly used Stern. However, on her death record, Rose’s maiden name is listed as Sterenson. Rose was just a little girl, maybe only 3 years old, when her big sister, Esther, left for the United States.
From her great-great granddaughter’s second grade report, we learn that Rose’s family was very poor. Rose was from Russia, likely the Odessa area. Because there were pogroms against the Jewish people, her parents thought it best that they leave and go to America. They saved as much money as they could, packed as much as they could carry, including pillows, blankets, and candlesticks, and walked all the way to the port.
When they got to the city of Rotterdam in Holland, they discovered they did not have enough money for ship tickets for the entire family. They decided to send Rose, the oldest with them, along with their youngest son. Rose and her little brother sailed on the Potsdam to the New World. (Note: as of 2026, I cannot find documentation for a little brother who might have accompanied her.)
Meanwhile, as the family story continued, Rose’s parents continued to work, save money, and even sold their candlesticks, to raise money to send their other children to the New World. They were finally able to purchase two more tickets. Their two remaining children boarded the ship to America only to find out later, it went to South America and not North America. That is how Rose came to have siblings in Argentina!
Rose arrived in the US around 1904. She married Abraham Antin in 1908. He had immigrated in 1905. Originally his last name was Antinofsky or Antonowsky but after marrying Rose he went by Antin.
Rose and Abraham had 4 children: Bessie Antin Gross(1910 -2007 ), Barney/Bernard (1912 – 1987), Harold (1916 – 1926 ), and Seymour (1922 – 2003).
Bessie (Elizabeth) was born in New York. At some point after she was born, Rose and Abraham moved to Canada where they lived until 1913. While in Canada Rose’s son Barney was born. However, because of her heavy Yiddish accent, his name got recorded as Bonnie.
Rose listed Abraham’s brother, David, in Scranton, PA, as their destination in the United States when they returned.
Harold and Seymour were born back in the United States.
While Rose was living in Canada, her sister, Esther, died in 1911. We know that Rose continued to keep in touch with her sister’s children as many of Esther’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren referred to Rose as Tanta Ruchel and shared stories about her and her family.
Rose’s son, Harry (Harold), died in 1926, at age 11 from acute Rheumatic Fever. He suffered from heart complications for 2 years before passing away. He died in Unity Hospital and is buried in MT Judah Cemetery.
According to the 1920 Federal Census, Rose worked in a candy store.
Although by the 1930 Federal Census, she is not working.
Rose’s husband was known to be a religious man who worked as a tailor. Sadly, he died in 1938 in New York City. Rose was only 49 years old.
Abraham and Rose –>
Around 1948 of one of Rose’s siblings from Argentina, along with his wife, visited Rose in New York. You can imagine the hugs and cries of joy that occurred at seeing each other again. According to family stories, The siblings had prospered in Argentina and enjoyed spoiling Rose during their visit.
When they returned to Buenos Aires, they took Rose with them for a four-month visit where they continued to “spoil” her. They loved taking her shopping and even bought her a fur coat. In April of 1948, Rose returned home from the trip.
Tanta Ruchel, as she was known to her nieces and nephews, offered to give her great-niece, Estelle Rosenberg Eisler, who studied fashion design, a sewing machine. However, when she found out that Estelle and her family were moving to California, she wanted it back much to Estelle’s surprise.
Estelle was the granddaughter of her sister, Esther.
Rose (on left) and her niece, Birdie Feldman Wissner, daughter of Esther Feldman, Rose’s sister
Around 1960, Rose’s Argentinian nephew, Juan Feldman, travelled to New York for a visit with his wife. Since Rose did not speak Spanish, and they did not speak English, they all communicated in Yiddish.
All, that is, except for Rose’s granddaughter, Emily, who was 14 at the time and who could not speak Yiddish but was studying Spanish in school. She went and got her Spanish book and pointing to words she was able to communicate with Juan and his wife, Estela. She learned they had 2 children, a son Norbert who was 19, and a daughter.
Rose’s grandson Tony was about 10 years old when Juan visited. He remembers Juan being about the same age as his father Cy (Seymour). Cy stayed in touch with Juan for a long time, but eventually they lost contact.
Rose died on January 19, 1974. She is buried in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York. However, this stone says her father’s name is Zelman while on her marriage certificate it says her father’s name was Chaim.
If her father was Zelman, then she and Esther would be half-sisters, but there is the possibility that the stone is incorrect or that this is not Rose’s burial place.
Image from FindAGrave.com
More About Rose’s and Abraham’s Three Surviving Children.
Elizabeth / Betsy / Bessie
Betsy was born in New York City in 1910, but then her family moved to Canada for a few years.
After graduating from college, she worked as a history teacher at LaFayette High School in Brooklyn, New York. Below is her picture as it appeared in the 1950 LaFayette High School yearbook. She was beautiful, refined, and serious in nature. She was also very smart and had a Master’s Degree from Columbia by the time she was 21.
In addition to her full-time job, she also taught Sunday School at a synagogue on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Betsy Antin’s first marriage to a doctor, the son of a Rabbi, was short-lived. She went out to Los Angeles, California, to stay with her cousin, Estelle Eisler, while contemplating her divorce.
On February 4, 1947, she married Phillip Gross in Brooklyn, New York. They had a happy life together.
She became a life-master at bridge and even taught bridge and also taught it on cruise ships. People admired her skills so much that they would ask her to accompany them to tournaments. She was also internationally known as the “Duplicate Bridge Partner” of the actor Omar Sharif.
Staying true to her serious nature, when she went to visit her brother Cy’s children, she always interrogated them about their grades making them “shake in their shoes”. However, they enjoyed spending time with her and looked forward to her visits.
Betsy’s husband, Phillip (Tony’s “G-d Parents”) had an absolutely incredible career as a Civil Engineer in both the Navy’s See-Bees (before WWII and during the war) and in the private sector as well.
Never having had any children, Betsy and Phillip were especially devoted to each other and lived life to the fullest. They loved to travel and they adored their niece, Emily and their nephew, Tony.
After her husband died, she bought a place in Florida in the same complex as her brother, Cy, and his wife, Ina..
She died on May 12, 2007, in Hollywood, Florida, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, USA, next to her husband. Both Emily and Tony travelled to Virginia for her military and religious internments which was presided over by a Rabbi.
Barnard / Barney / Bonnie / Robert / Bob
Barney’s name got recorded as Bonnie on his 1912 Canadian birth certificate because of his mother’s heavy Yiddish accent. She was trying to say Barney but it got records as Bonnie.
In 1913, he moved with his family to the United States. They settled in Brooklyn, New York
As an adult, he went by the name Robert or Bob. He worked in the garment industry in New York, and it was rumored that he had ties to organized crime and laundered money for them.
In 1934, on June 2nd, he married Terry (Tillie) Steinfeld.
From his WWII draft card, we learned that he worked for Esquire Frocks, Inc.
According to the 1950 Federal Census, he was living in the town of Lawrence in Nassau County, New York, with his wife, Terry, and their three children. His son Abbott, born in 1939, died in 2009. They also had 2 daughters.
His niece, Emily, always looked forward to the packages of sample-size clothing he would send her.
After that, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and also spent time in Las Vegas, Nevada. He liked to play cards and gamble. He was known as being quite a character.
He died in June 4, 1986 in Miami, Florida..
Seymour (Cy)
Seymour, known to his family and friends as Cy, was born on August 17, 1922, the youngest child of Rose and Abraham.
Being the youngest, Rose once left Bob in charge of his toddler brother while she went out to do some errands.
When she got home, she asked Bob what he did to pass the time with Cy. Before Bob could answer, Cy spoke up and said they went to the place where “green balls” were on the table. Rose was so furious that Bob took her toddler to a pool hall that she broke a broom over Bob’s head!
Rose and her son, Seymour
He married Ina Eiseman in 1946 and they had two children. By the 1950 Federal Census, he had moved his family to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he owned a dress factory. His daughter was born in Pennsylvania.
However, before his son’s birth he moved his family back to New York where his son was born.
His son was named for his grandfather, Abraham. However, rather than name the Abraham, Cy and Ina chose the name Anthony. When Rose came to the hospital to meet her new grandson and found out his name we Anthony, she went running down the hallway, muttering in Yiddish “Hentenny, Hentenny, what kind of name is that for a Jewish boy?”
Cy and Ina were all set to go to Argentina to spend time with his cousin Juan and his family there, when Cy got offered a business deal he could not turn down. They cancelled the trip and moved to Maryland instead. Cy was known as a “steel-covered marshmallow” because he was a tough, but kind, businessman.
In 1973, he retired to South Florida. His obituary mentions that he was a decorated WWII veteran.
In his retirement he enjoyed playing golf and fund raising. We can see from the following article how involved he was in community affairs. He was also known for having a great sense of humor.
Seymour passed away on March 6, 2003, at his home. A Memorial Service was help at Riverside Gordon in Hollywood, FL, on Sunday , March 9, 2003.
He is buried Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia., with his wife.
Sources
- 1913 Border Crossing for Rosie: The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Manifests of Alien Arrivals At Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954; NAI: 4527447; Record Group: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1480; Roll Number: 004. Obtained from: Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
- Harry Antin Death Certificate, New York Historical Vital Records, Certificate Number 13302
- Elizabeth Antin Marriage Index – New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Brooklyn, source New York City, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-1995, Found on Ancestry.com, published 2017
- Elizabeth Antin Gross in a high school yearbook as a teacher: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012″; School Name: LaFayette High School; Year: 1950, Web address/search/collections/1265/records/418114146?tid=114401345&pid=252627707452&ssrc=pt, published on Ancestry.com in 2010
- 1920 Federal Census – Year: 1920; Census Place: Brooklyn Assembly District 18, Kings, New York; Roll: T625_1172; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 1092, found on Ancestry.com, published 2010
- 1930 Federal Census – Year: 1930; Census Place: Brooklyn, Kings, New York; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 1179; FHL microfilm: 2341246 – found on Ancestry.com, published 2002
- 1950 Federal Census for Robert Antin, 1950 United States Federal Census, Published on Ancestry.com in 1922.
- Phillip Gross tombstone on FindAGrave.com
- Robert Antin’s WWII draft card: National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Published on Ancestry.com in 2011
- Elizabeth Antin Gross tombstone on FindAGrave.com
- 1950 Federal Census for Seymour Antin, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: 2762; Page: 22; Enumeration District: 31-944, published by Ancestry.com in 2022
- N. Miami Businessmen article appeared in he Miami Herald (Miami, Florida), Thu. Oct 26, 1978, page 54, Downloaded from Newspapers.com on April 22, 2026
- Seymour Antin Obituary appeared in the Miami Herald (Miami, Florida), Sat. Mar.8, 2004, page 190, Downloaded from Newspapers.com on April 22, 2026
- Seymour Antin’s gravestone can be found on FindAGrave.com
- A special thank you for sharing your family stories goes to her granddaughter, Emily Antin Myles, her grandson, Anthony Antin, and her great-niece, Estelle Eisler, among others.