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Marsha “Fannie” Faye Lieber Korn Friedman Cohn Myerson Goodman
My amazing grandmother by Janet
A BOAT TICKET TO NEW YORK
My little grandma could neither read nor write, but she learned to sign her name, which was a good thing, because she became a successful businesswoman.
In the late 1800s, a family of wealthy New York cousins sent a boat ticket to Russia, inviting 14-year-old Marsha to come live with them as a nanny. When she landed in Ellis Island, she was informed “Marsha” wasn’t a popular American name, but “Fannie” was, so she became Fannie.
My grandmother worked hard, along with the cook and another maid, caring for five children. She learned to make American-Kosher meals, which prepared her for marriage three years later to handsome Hyman Friedman, who had come to America from Alsace-Lorraine, the “French” section of Germany, where he worked as a tinsmith.
FANNIE GETS MARRIED
Fannie and Hyman married October 30, 1895, and settled in Brooklyn. Hyman worked long, hard hours as a tailor, earning enough money to support their four children—Rose, Etta, Birdene, my mother, and, finally, the long-awaited boy, Abraham. As the much-anticipated, beloved baby boy, Abie was very spoiled. He loved nursing and just wouldn’t stop. Fannie didn’t want to say “no” to her precious boy, so, ever practical, Fannie got some balloons from a nearby store. She tied them to a chandelier. “Look,” said Fannie, pointing to the balloons. “You must stop nursing. The boobies are up there!”