Ann Goldman Cohen: Perseverence Was Her Key to Survival

by Linda Harris Sittig

Strong women don’t always live extraordinary lives, but they often live during extraordinary times.

Like Ann Goldman Cohen.

Annie was born on December 5, 1885. That, in and of itself, is not extraordinary until you learn that she was born as a refugee on Gotland Island, Sweden. Her parents had been offered asylum after fleeing the pogroms of the Ukraine, where Jews were unfairly targeted.

Annie’s parents, Sophie and Moishe Goldman, left behind everything they knew and clung to the hope of a future free of fear for their children. In Annie’s youngest childhood years, she undoubtedly heard frightening stories about the Bolshevik’s treatment of the Jews.

In 1891 Annie’s family of seven (parents + five children) left Sweden for passage to the United States, where they hoped to start a new life. They traveled first to Liverpool, England, then to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally landed in southwest Virginia in a spot named Pocahontas.

It seems to have been a strange landing spot since they were the only Jewish family in town. However, they could take up residence on a small farm, and since Jews could not own land in the Ukraine, the Virginia farm was their first measure of success in the new country.

Moishe had been a rabbi, but with no other Jewish families around, he took the first job he could find. He became a ragman going door to door to retrieve rags that would later be washed, dried, and resold as fabric scraps. In addition, he farmed the land.

Annie begins her school life in America, where her family is solidly entrenched in the Jewish culture, but where Annie has no Jewish friends.

Moishe perseveres and becomes a successful junk dealer, and the family moves to Roanoke, where they can finally join a synagogue.

Annie also perseveres, studies hard in school, and begins to realize the importance of education.

In 1904 Annie met and fell in love with Hyman Cohen. Although he was Jewish, he only operated a local saloon, and both Sophie and Moishe wanted better for their daughter.

Undeterred, Hyman worked hard and changed the saloon into the Lynhaven Kitchen, specializing in oysters. The restaurant became quite popular, and Hyman earned permission to marry Annie.

At age 19, Annie became Mrs. Hyman Cohen and the head cashier of the Lynhaven Kitchen Restaurant.

Children quickly followed, but fate would soon test Annie’s mettle as heartbreaks also occurred.

Their firstborn child, Solomon, dies at the age of 3 months. Then, two daughters are born in successive years, Esther and Blanche.

At age 25, Annie develops appendicitis. Because she also has a rheumatic heart, she travels to Baltimore, where a Jewish physician can perform the appendectomy. Back home in Roanoke, a nursemaid takes care of Esther and Blanche, and the girls go outside to play.

The weather was hot. The girls were dressed in light cotton dresses and tossed a ball to each other. The ball rolled out onto the new asphalt road, and Esther, age 5, ran into the street to retrieve it. Running across the freshly laid tar caused a spark to ignite, and her dress caught fire. She did not survive. It was a tragedy that pierced the entire family, and Annie blamed herself for going to Baltimore.

But as with other strong women, Annie picked herself up and continued to add another child to the family, Danny. Within the next four years, Annie gives birth to twins. The boy baby fails to thrive and dies at six weeks, and the girl, Gertrude, survives.

Annie has lost three children but adds the last children to her family with two more boys, Sammy and Michael.

As her husband’s restaurant prospers, Annie uses their money to supplement the children’s education. Three sets of encyclopedias in the home broaden their knowledge, and Annie provides them with classical music lessons. By the end of 1928, she has placed Blanche, Danny, and Gertrude in college.

And then the Great Stock Market crash of 1929 wipes out every penny of Annie and Hyman’s savings, and the restaurant goes under, and they lose their house as well.

Annie writes to her brother in Chicago with the creditors closing in and not knowing what else to do. She sends Hyman ahead to the city to see if he can get a job, and she procures a truck. With the driver’s help, they load whatever furniture and keepsakes will fit in the back and set out for Chicago.

Annie and Hyman and their two youngest sons, Sammy and Michael, lived in a one-room Chicago tenement apartment. Annie’s brother is in the wrecking business, where he collects the salvage from razed buildings. At 12 and 13, Michael and Sammy work for their uncle instead of attending school, and Hyman takes a job with the wrecking business as well.

Not one to complain or be bitter, Annie had started life as a refuge baby, then became an American immigrant, and finally a businesswoman in partnership with her husband. She had buried three children, had risen to a solidly middle-class American life, and then plunged into bankruptcy.

By age 49, she paid the consummate price when her heart stopped beating.

You may be wondering why I chose her for my strong woman this month. I did because of the legacy she left behind.

Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all inherited her can-do attitude. They learned to surmount their obstacles in life and became doctors, lawyers, engineers, rabbis, artists, movie producers, firefighters, railroad executives, and prosperous farmers.

Today, all four granddaughters carry Annie’s name, keeping her legacy and her spirit alive.

Thank you to blog follower Ann Paciulli for sharing Annie’s story with me.

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Until next month, you can catch me on my website www.lindasittig.com. Or find my novels and books at local bookstores and on Amazon.  Cut From Strong Cloth, Last Curtain Call, Counting Crows, and B-52 Down! They all feature strong women😉