Arlen Specter: “the 20th century story of the Shanin Family portrays the success of immigrants in America and the success of America…”

“the 20th century story of the Shanin Family portrays the success of immigrants in America and the success of America itself. The naturalization papers of Freda Mermorvich Shanin show that she traveled from Lugansk, Russia and arrived at Ellis Island on October 31, 1906, with her two children, Lilli and Max, enroute to joining her husband, Mordecai Shanin, in St. Joe, MO. The Shanin Family grew with the addition of five more children: Annie, Louie, Rose, Albert, and Margaret. Mordecai Shanin struggled to earn a living with a variety of occupations including selling Singer sewing machines. Lilli Shanin, later to become my mother, told me about her father dying in her arms form a heart attack in 1916 on the backstairs of the Shanin home at 922 South Ninth Street. My grandmother, Bubbie Freda, told me she was left a widow with seven children and seven dollars. Deeply religious, proud and independent, Freda Shanin raised her children with the help of Lilli, who left school to work in a tablet factory, and the other siblings pitching in when they became old enough to contribute to the family's support.”