The beginning

The patriarch of the family according to my work is Harry (Hirsch) Levin.  What little I know about him I gained from census records. In the 1900 US census, he's listed with his son Isaac (my great grandfather), in Princeton MN.  His occupation was listed as a notions peddler, the same as Isaac.  The census says he was born in July, 1833 in Russia. 

 He was also listed in the Minnesota State census of 1895, living with Isaac. This census says he lived in the state for 14 years, and in Princeton for 6 years one month.  Since the census was in June, he and Isaac must have moved to Princeton in May, 1889, probably from Minneapolis St. Paul.

Harry had 8 children.  Isaac was the oldest.  One, Minne or Mina, stayed behind and was lost during WW II.  The rest emigrated from Kovno district, Lithuania, according to most evidence.

I have never located any death record for Harry, even after calling a number of counties in Minnesota.  Since he did not appear after the 1900 census, it is most likely that he died sometime between 1900 and 1905. 

Some years back, Evelyn Dale, a cousin of my father, sent me his picture.  Although there is no date on it, I suspect it was taken in the 1880s.