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Presenter: Israel Pickholtz

Twenty-three years before Israel Pickholtz began doing serious genealogy, his father sent him three bits of family information; one was that Israel's great-grandfather had an uncle Zelig. That information was very important in Israel's research over the last two decades, research that was helped along by traditional sources and more recently by genetic genealogy. But even as he progressed in his research, he could not shake the question "Why did my father know this?" Israel says "My father was eight when his grandfather died and they never spoke much. No one else knew about Uncle Zelig, not even the older cousin who lived with great-grandfather in the same house. My father himself did not recall how he knew." Surely Hersch Pikholz had numerous uncles. What was special about this one? And does it even matter? Israel tells the story of his great-great-great-uncle, what he learned about his family and why now he thinks he knows why his father knew. And yes, it matters.