When Samuel Tenen arrived in the U.S. in 1905, he changed his family's last name from "Tenen" to "Stern."

• Parents of: Alfred Stern

• Grandparents of: Andrea Stern, Karen Stern Brenner-Stein

• Great Grandparents of: Shelly Spiegel, Terry Spiegel Thal, Jamie Spiegel Levick, Brad Spiegel, Wendy Brenner Palat, Mitchell Brenner, Dan Meredith-Stein

• Great Great Grandparents of: Ben Spiegel, Will Spiegel, Olivia Levick, Harrison Levick, Stephanie Palat, Max Palat, Indigo Meredith-Stein, Huck Meredith-Stein, Seegar Meredith-Stein

Samuel Tenen* and Esther Goldschlager were married in 1890 Volovets, which is now part of western Ukraine. At the time, Volovets was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Samuel and Esther had 12 children. Seven of the children -- Anna, Adolph, Jenny, Herman, Gus, Nellie, and Oswald -- were born in Romania. Five children of the children -- Fred, Lillian, Lawrence, Albert, and Alfred -- were born in the U.S.

The Stern Family lived in Radauti, Suceava, Bukovina which today is part of Romania.

In 1904, Samuel left Romania for the U.S.because he had guaranteed a debt for a friend that had come due and he was unable to pay the debt. At the time, in Romania, people who did not pay their debts were treated as criminals and sent to Debtor's Prison. Upon his arrival in Baltimore, Maryland., Samuel changed his name from "Samuel Tenen" to "Samuel Stern."

Esther and the children did not make the trip with him because they did not have the money to pay for passage to the U.S.

Samuel spent about a year working as an assistant to a furrier in Baltimore and saved enough money to purchase a small farm on Staten Island in NY. His oldest son, Adolph, joined Samuel in Staten Island to help him run the farm.

Together, Samuel and Adolph saved enough money to pay for Esther, and the five children who had remained in Romania to join them in the U.S.

In 1905, Esther and the children entered the U.S. through Ellis Island in New York.

The Stern farm in South Bay was 500 acres.