Here is my great-great-grandfather. He was the father of the legendary Plagoff sisters, who brought their families to the U.S. from Vitebsk, Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. His main distinction, as far as I can tell, is for being very religious and not a good provider, thus inspiring his daughters to pick up and go. Avrum was married to Deena Leviton (b. 1829), his first cousin. Get used to this. The Plagoffs married among themselves quite a lot, and I firmly believe that is why so much of our history has been preserved - there are simply fewer ancestors to trace, and more interconnections by which to find them.
The children of Avrum and Deena were: Benjamin (b.?, he died at age 16), Ester Tamara (b. 1862), Rifka (b. 1864), Fega (b. ?), Rachel Leah (b. 1866), Zelda (b. 1876), Ida (b.1881). (Yes, Deena had her last child at age 52.)
Avrum Mortcha was the son of Yudel (Julius) Plagoff (mother's name unknown); Deena was the daughter of Yudel's sister Fega (and David Leviton); Yudel and Fega's father was Asher Ritchie Plagoff, my great-great-great-great-grandfather and the furthest back I can go on this branch of the family tree. By my calculation, Asher Ritchie would have been born in the late 1700s. Next
