by: laradiamond
Yechiel Suttleman was born in 1850 to Pesach Tzvi (son of Menashe) and Sima Rivka Suttleman, registered in the town of Muravitsa (modern-day Mlyniv, Ukraine). On April 18, 1858, the family's home was burned down. Pesach Tzvi testified that the home was worth 700 silver rubles, and he had no specific suspect.
Later in the 1858 census, the family was living with Pesach Tzvi's brother Efraim Yankel and family, as well as other extended family members in the town of Boremel. Yechiel was still living there in 1875 when he registered for the mandatory Russian Army draft.
Sometime around 1875, Yechiel married Kreina. They had 5 children: Shaindel, Moshe, Baila, Reise, and Tzivia. Kreina died during Tzivia's birth in 1888.
Around 1890, Yechiel married Chana Himmelfarb. She had two children, Rivka and Hinda. During her pregnancy with Hinda, her younger sister Chaya came to help with the kids. After Chana died in childbirth with Hinda, Yechiel married Chaya 30 days later.
Still in Europe, Yechiel and Chaya had 4 children: Jesse, Chaim Dovid, Jennie, and Minna.
In 1904, the first member of the Zuttleman family emigrated to America. Moshe Zuttleman (later Morris Zitelman) arrived in the port of New York on December 20. He then traveled to Baltimore to join a Himelfarb uncle.
Rivka (later Becky) and Hinda followed in 1908 and 1910.
Yechiel and Jesse followed in 1911, arriving in the Port of Philadelphia and then going to Baltimore. They got together money to bring over Chaya and the younger kids.
In October 1911, Yechiel was joined by Chaya (later Ida), Chaim Dovid (later Dave), Charna (later Jennie), and Mania (later Min). All except for Minnie were seasick as soon as they boarded, so the 4-year-old roamed the ship by herself.
The family soon moved to a farm in Annapolis Junction, Maryland where they also had a small country store. The 12th Suttleman child, May, was born in 1913.
As WWI took off and the nearby Camp Meade (today's Fort Meade) was popular, Minnie started a delivery service for the families living on the base.
Meanwhile, Reise Suttleman married Nathan Paciornik, and they moved to Curitiba, Brazil.
Around 1920, the family moved to Baltimore, and many of the kids had various grocery stores in town. They went to Shomrei Mishmeresh Congregation (today part of the Jewish Museum of Maryland)
Yechiel died in Baltimore in 1930 after a series of strokes.
Meanwhile in Europe, Tzivia had married Avraham Tzvi Diamond and Shaindel had married Elli Kriger.
Tzivia's oldest daughter Kreina had married David Mazurik and had a daughter Rivka; all were killed in the Holocaust, along with Tzivia's son Shlomo.
Shaindel's children Kreina, Hershel, and Moshe were killed in the Holocaust as well.
Tzivia's children Pesach (Paul), Devora (Deborah), and David survived, as did Shaindel's son Isaac Wolf.
The relatives in Brazil and Baltimore helped the survivors leave Europe and get on their feet again. The Diamonds ended up in Baltimore, and Isaac Wolf Kriger went to Brazil.
In 2011, descendents of Yechiel Suttleman had a family reunion. Family members travelled from across the United States, Brazil, and Israel.