in that region, and he gave his birth year as 1885.

In 1891, his father, who was qualified as a rabbi and cantor, moved to New York City to secure a better future for his family. By 1894, Moses Yoelson could afford to pay the fare to bring Nechama and their four children to the U.S. By the time they arrived--as steerage passengers on the SS Umbria arriving at the Port of New York on April 9, 1894--he had found work as a cantor at Talmud Torah Congregation