This is a photo of my great-grandparents', Julius and Rebecca (Betty), marriage license when they were married in 1932. My great-grandfather had grown up in Lodz, but as a teenager, his mother and sisters immigrated to the United States, leaving him in Poland. He finally left to come to America in 1927. He worked in the silk industry, and was among those who made his new home Patterson the silk capital of the world. But after working in Paterson for a couple years, he was kicked out of the country. The only way he could return was by marrying a United States citizen. My great-grandmother was a United States citizen, living in Brooklyn at the time. So Julius struck a deal with my great-great-grandfather, with whom he had previously done business with, that he would marry Betty even though he did not know her. This deal would allow Julius to return to the United States, and is documented on their marriage license, which is from Montreal. On the certificate, Julius has his Yiddish name listed, not the American ones he would use. When he left Lodz he was Idel, and when he arrived in America he was Julius. The certificate is a testament to the obstacles my great-grandparents had to overcome to establish their lives in the United States.

– Solomon Medintz

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