A Short Biography of Dr. Arthur Gelbart Chapter 1

A History of Dr. Arthur Gelbart’s Ancestors

Dr. Arthur Gelbart (1930-2014) was an Ashkenazi Jew born in the small town of Buczacz (pronounced Buchach) when it belonged to Poland. Today, Buczacz is in the Ukraine. Genetic studies of Ashkenazi Jews are contradictory, but the best study that used the largest sample size suggests they are an admixture of Middle Eastern Jewish men and southern Italian women. As early as 400 BC Jewish merchants began traveling around the world. They were seeking better economic opportunities than could be found in the kingdom of Judea which was repeatedly overrun and destroyed by expanding empires. Though Judea achieved some measure of independence for a while, the expansion of the Roman empire ended the existence of the Jewish state for almost 2000 years. The Romans ethnically cleansed Judea beginning in the year 37 AD when King Herod, a Jewish puppet of the Romans, conquered Jerusalem and exiled thousands of Jews throughout the Roman Empire. 

After King Herod’s death the Romans made Judea a province of Rome. The Jews rebelled from 66 AD-73 AD, but the rebellion was crushed, and Jewish men were enslaved and distributed throughout the Roman Empire. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, 97,000 Jews were removed from Judea and enslaved. The Bar Kohba rebellion (132 AD-136 AD), an even more brutal uprising, was also crushed and more Jews were enslaved and exiled throughout the Roman Empire. Crusaders who invaded the region in 1096 AD produced more Jewish refugees from the remnant population of Jews.

Evidentially, Jewish merchants and freed Jewish slaves married southern Italian women and converted them to Judaism. The genetic evidence is an ironic twist because in Jewish tradition there is the belief a person isn’t Jewish unless their matrilineal line of descent is Jewish. There may have been a shortage of Roman men during this time period because so many Roman soldiers were killed or away on duty when the Roman Empire battled across Europe, North Africa, and Persia.

Ashkenazi Jews left Italy during the 9th century and settled in the southern Rhine valley region of what is now Germany where they developed the Yiddish language–a combination of Hebrew and medieval German. Many were merchants and skilled artisans, and the nobility, large landowners who used peasant labor, wanted Jews on their estates to improve local economies. Whenever economic times turned bad, the nobility often used Jews as scapegoats and unleashed ignorant peasants on them. Jews were forced to escape the wrath of the superstitious peasants who viewed them as nefarious outsiders. Throughout history, many Jewish communities were destroyed, long before the holocaust took place. A majority of the world’s population still holds an irrational hatred of Jews today. Most of the world still thinks it is a war crime when a Jew defends himself. 

The Catholic Church and their royal allies forced Jews to leave England, Germany, France, and Spain during the Middle Ages, but King Casomir of Poland invited Jews into Poland during 1343. The Polish nobility were seeking a boost to their local economies. Many countries did not allow Jews to own land, but by the 19th century, they could own land in Poland. By then an estimated 80% of the world’s Jewish population lived there. I can trace Dr. Arthur Gelbart’s ancestry back to some of his great grandparents–Osias Gelbart (1850-1913) and Nettie Gelbart (1845-1936). Dr. Arthur Gelbart’s grandfather, Markus Gelbart (1866-1943), was a farmer who raised bees and made mead from the honey his hives produced. He made his living selling mead delivered from his horse and buggy to taverns. He was a judge of local disputes, and his word was respected. He was also a famous poet, and the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Josef, invited him to recite his poetry at the royal court. (During this time period Poland was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.) Markus married Nettie Shneier, an orphan, and they had 6 children. She was an older woman with the same first name as his mother. Markus and Nettie were killed by the Nazis in 1943. I am his namesake.

Photo of Markus Gelbart, one of Dr. Arthur Gelbart’s grandfathers. I am named after him. He bears a striking resemblance to Arthur Gelbart.

Isador Gelbart (1899-1983), Dr. Arthur Gelbart’s father, was the 6th and youngest child of Markus and Nettie Gelbart. He was born in Zaleszczyki when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Markus Gelbart couldn’t decide what kind of career Isador should have because his youngest son was physically small, and the kind of farm labor Markus performed was too difficult for him. Then, World War I raged across Europe, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire allied with Germany against France, England, and Russia. It’s unclear whether Isador enlisted or was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, but he was in the cavalry by the age of 16 or 17, and he seemed to be headed for a career in the military. He recounted 3 incidents about his experience in the war. On 1 occasion he blundered and rode his horse behind enemy lines by accident. Instead of shooting or capturing him, an enemy officer turned Isador’s horse around and sent him in the right direction with a good kick on the horse’s hindquarters. On another occasion Isador found himself pointing his rifle at an enemy soldier at point blank range, while the other soldier held him at gunpoint as well. But neither soldier could pull the trigger. For some reason they could not fire, and they just stared at each other. Finally, Isador’s commander shot the other man in the leg, and they captured him. By astonishing coincidence, Isador met this same man many years after the war, and they became good friends.

Isador was promoted to captain, but the war ended the following day. At the time Isador considered this a great tragedy and contemplated suicide. However, he recovered and opened a shoe store in Buczacz, Poland that he managed until World War II. He married Regina Klarreich (1900-1985) and had 2 sons–Josef and Arthur.

Isador saved his immediate family during the Holocaust but lost his parents and all his surviving siblings including a brother and 2 sisters (2 older brothers died long before the war). The details of how Isador saved his family are the subject of a later chapter. After World War II the U.S. Army appointed Isador as a civilian administrative official in Germany. Despite losing most of his family to the Nazis, he protected former Nazis from vigilantes who wanted revenge. This put his own life in danger, so he quit this job. The C.I.A tried to recruit Isador as a spy. They wanted to drop him behind Russian lines using a parachute, but he declined this job opportunity. Instead, he moved to Germany where he met his 2nd wife–Elsa. (His divorce from Regina is also the subject of a future chapter.) He worked during the day and went to school at night and became a lawyer at the age of 60. He owned an apartment in Munich and a vacation home in Switzerland. He died in Lugano, Switzerland at the age of 84.

Isador Gelbart (2nd from the left) with his grandchildren (Susan, Elizabeth, and Mark) along with Dr. Arthur Gelbart. This photo was taken about 3 years before his death.

Regina Klarreich Gelbart was born in Nadvorna, now part of the Ukraine. Her parents were Samuel Klarreich and Henie Krenmitzer Klarreich. She was a generous woman who invited homeless bums over for every Shabbas dinner. She prodded Arthur to invite them back for the following week’s Shabbas dinner after they finished eating. As a young child, Arthur found them disgusting and smelly with snot stuck in their long beards. Nevertheless, he always followed his mother’s orders and invited the poor men to return on the next Friday night. Regina was an excellent cook and often made chicken soup, chopped chicken liver, fish court bullion, and meatballs in brown gravy.

Regina Klarreich Gelbart. She was a generous woman who fed homeless bums.

Regina had relatives living in the U.S. and was determined to leave Europe after the Holocaust. After the war she separated from Isador, but they reconciled. However, the reconciliation was short-lived, as I will discuss in a later chapter. Regina and Arthur moved to the U.S. during 1947, while Isador and Josef stayed in Germany. Regina and Arthur settled in the Bronx borough of New York City where she worked as a restaurant cashier. She was a tough old lady living in a bad neighborhood and often had to play tug of war with her purse in the apartment elevator. During 1972 a Puerto Rican teenager stabbed her and shoved her down a flight of stairs. Following this incident, Arthur moved her to a condominium in Hallandale, Florida where she lived out the rest of her life. She died on a bus ride to the store in 1985. She never learned how to drive a car.

References:

Boher, D. et. al.

“The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event”

American Journal of Human Genetics 78 (3) 2006

Costa, M. et. al.

“A Substantial Prehistoric European Ancestry Amongst Ashkenazi Maternal Lineages”

Nature Communications October 2013

Gelbart, Isador Personal Papers

Nobol, A. et. al.

“Y Chromosome Evidence for a Founder Effect in the Ashkenazi Jews”

European Journal of Human Genetics 13 2005

Potok, Chaim

Wanderings: A History of the Jews

Fawcett Publications 1978

Migratory Ducks and Southern Chorus Frogs at Phinizy Swamp

Phinizy swamp is a 20-minute drive from my house, and I like to go there as much as I can. I always see something different. It’s the only location where I have ever heard an alligator bellow. I visited this swamp shortly before Christmas, and I was expecting to see some migratory ducks that breed up north but spend their winters in the south. I was not disappointed.

I‘m identifying the duck in the foreground as a red-headed duck (Aythya americana) and not the closely related canvasback duck (A. valisineria) because it has a gray back and not a white back. I think the bill is blue but in this light I can’t determine the color for sure. Canvasback ducks are supposed to be the best tasting ducks when they have been feeding on wild celery. Otherwise, they taste ordinary.

These are male and female northern shovelers (Spatula clypeato). This is the first time I have ever seen this species. They use their broad bills to sift through bottom mud for small animals and vegetation. 

These are scaups. I can’t tell whether they are greater scaups (A. marila) or lesser scaups (A. affinis). The renowned ornithologist Ed Forbush recalled seeing a mile long raft of scaups in Florida circa 1900. This species along with all migratory ducks are much reduced in populations since then because of overhunting and habitat destruction.

Female and male shovelers.

More shovelers.

I also saw flocks of blackbirds, robins, and a great egret.

For the entire time I was visiting the swamp I heard the constant call of many southern chorus frogs. I did not see any, but here is a photo taken by Dirk Stevenson. Surprisingly, they breed during the colder months from November to March.

Most of these species of ducks breed during summer in prairie potholes located in the upper Midwest. Farmers plough over vast areas in this region to plant wheat and other grains, thus eliminating habitat. The Supreme Court is on the verge of deciding the executive branch can’t enforce environmental regulations that protect wetlands, along with a host of other desperately needed regulations without having Congress explicitly pass legislation for each minute part of the regulation. The name of the case is Relentless Inc. vs The Department of Commerce.  How ironic that a Supreme Court decision could result in the extinction of dozens of species of ducks.

A 13,500 Year Floral History of the Great Dismal Swamp

Scientists recently published a study of the floral composition of the Great Dismal Swamp over the past 13,500 years. The Great Dismal Swamp is about 154 square miles in extent and is located on the border between North Carolina and Virginia. Most of it is a protected National Wildlife Refuge. The scientists took sediment cores from 7 different sites in the swamp. They analyzed the pollen composition and charcoal content (indicative of fire frequency), and they carbon dated the layers. From 13,500 years ago to 10,300 years ago the region was dominated by a cold temperate forest consisting of oak, hickory, pine, spruce, fir, alder, birch, and hemlock.

Alder became particularly abundant during the Younger Dryas cold reversal that sent average annual temperatures plummeting following the Boling-Alerod warm climate phase. The Boling-Alerod warm climate phase is considered the beginning of the end of the last Ice Age. Alder forms shrubby thickets alongside streams, and it was likely good habitat for beavers. Curiously, there was an unusual increase in the abundance of alder at a site in south Georgia near Warner Robins during the Younger Dryas. Conditions for this species must have been just right during this climate phase. Perhaps, receding wetlands caused by lower precipitation left behind moist soils that alder could quickly colonize. Hemlock increased in abundance about 12,000 years ago when northern temperate forests still prevailed here for the most part.

Map of the Great Dismal Swamp and the current distribution of vegetation types. From the below referenced study.

Pollen composition graph over the past 13,500 years from the Great Dismal Swamp. Also, from the below referenced study.

Between 10,000 years ago to 9000 years ago, sea level rose and correspondingly the water table rose. Widespread grassy marshes began to develop with peat and floating mats of aquatic vegetation. Fire frequency increased 7000 years ago, further favoring the spread of grassy marshes.

3900 years ago, fire frequency decreased and forested swamps replaced the grassy meadows. Tupelo, cypress, and Atlantic white cedar (a disjunct species) dominated the wetlands until the colonial era when Europeans attempted to drain the swamp with ditches and began to clear cut the forest. Before the arrival of Europeans Indians lived on the outskirts of the swamp, but later they moved to the interior and lived as refugees alongside escaped slaves.

The actions of man have greatly changed the character of the swamp. Following heavy logging early during the 20th century, a fire raged for 3 years from 1923-1926. Today, the Great Dismal Swamp hosts a forest dominated by red maple, sweetgum, tupelo, and pond pine. The latter species grows in pine pocosins–a type of drier wetland with sandy peat soils and shrubby thickets. White cedar requires stable water tables and frequent fires and is now less common than before European colonization.

Pine pocosin. This type of environment has become more common in the Great Dismal Swamp since man’s efforts to drain it.

Atlantic white cedar has become less common in the swamp due to man’s activities.

Note: The scientists who wrote this study assume jack pine grew in the region during the late Pleistocene based on their belief that a cold adapted species would occur here. However, as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog article, jack pine pollen can’t be distinguished from shortleaf pine pollen, and I hypothesize shortleaf pine (a species found in the region today and as far north as Ohio) is geographically more likely to be the species that occurred here then.

Reference:

Willard, D., et al.

“Roles of Climatic and Anthropogenic Factors in Shaping Holocene Vegetation and Fire Regimes in Great Dismal Swamp, USA”

Quaternary Science Reviews July 2023

Smilodon fatalis skull Found in Southeastern Iowa

A new study documents the recent discovery of a nearly complete saber-toothed cat skull found in southeastern Iowa. Nice specimens of saber-toothed cats are rare in the mid-continent of North America because populations of large predators are naturally lower, and processes of preservation are uncommon in many regions. Whenever they are found, the remains of saber-toothed cats usually consist of just a few teeth or partial bones. There are just a few nice specimens known outside of the La Brea Tar Pits, California. Nearly complete skeletons of Smilodon have been found at Hurricane Cave, Arkansas, the First National Bank Site in Nashville, Tennessee, and Arredondo II in Florida.

Photo of the saber-tooth skull found in Iowa. Photo from the Iowa State News Service.

The Iowa specimen is from a male thought to be 2-3 years old. It was about a year from being fully grown, yet the scientists who examined it estimated it was from an individual that weighed about 550 pounds. One of the canines was broken. The scientists believe the canine was broken when the big cat attacked a Jefferson’s ground sloth (Jeffersonii megalonyx). Ground sloths were covered in armor (like armadillos) and thick fur and had long claws built for digging extensive tunnels where they often sheltered. This species weighed about a ton or 4 times the size of a saber-tooth. The canine could have been broken during a struggle or if the cat bit down on a hard part of the sloth’s body instead of the soft throat. The cat died within a few days of this incident.

The specimen is estimated to be between 13,600-13,400 years old. The environment of southeastern Iowa then was an open spruce woodland interspersed with grasslands. Evidence suggests saber-toothed cats became extinct a few hundred years after this specimen lived.

Reference:

Hill, M.; and D. Easterla

“A Complete Sabertooth Cat Cranium From the Mid-Continent of North America and its Evolutionary and Ecological Context”

Quaternary Science Review 307 May 2023