Caught in the Fortean nexus, he was, himself, disdainful of Forteans.
Benedict Abramson was born 25 August 1898 in Kadenei, Lithuania. I cannot find him in the U.S. census from 1910 or 1920—not especially surprising, really—but later records indicate his family emigrated early in the new century, reaching New York (from Hamburg, Germany) on 3 July 1901, aboard an unknown ship. They then made their way to Chicago, supposedly reaching it on 6 July. Ben—as he became known—was the eldest of five children, all the others born in Chicago.
The Abramsons were Jewish—it may be that they left their homeland because of anti-Semitism—and found support from the Jewish community. Benedict attended the Jewish Training School of Chicago, which had been established by German Jews at the end of the 19th century to help assimilate immigrants to their new homes. At first, the school’s course focused on handwork—in addition to language and history—hoping to create a class of Jews who were not peddlers. Abramson attended toward the end of the school’s career, when there was some debate over whether it was still necessary, and apparently when clerical and related skills were also being taught. He when he was 18—so around 1914.
Benedict Abramson was born 25 August 1898 in Kadenei, Lithuania. I cannot find him in the U.S. census from 1910 or 1920—not especially surprising, really—but later records indicate his family emigrated early in the new century, reaching New York (from Hamburg, Germany) on 3 July 1901, aboard an unknown ship. They then made their way to Chicago, supposedly reaching it on 6 July. Ben—as he became known—was the eldest of five children, all the others born in Chicago.
The Abramsons were Jewish—it may be that they left their homeland because of anti-Semitism—and found support from the Jewish community. Benedict attended the Jewish Training School of Chicago, which had been established by German Jews at the end of the 19th century to help assimilate immigrants to their new homes. At first, the school’s course focused on handwork—in addition to language and history—hoping to create a class of Jews who were not peddlers. Abramson attended toward the end of the school’s career, when there was some debate over whether it was still necessary, and apparently when clerical and related skills were also being taught. He when he was 18—so around 1914.