With all the research I’ve conducted on the family of Jan Savitt over the past 12 days, I thought I’d put it all together to write a bit of a biography of the family .\u00a0 In addition to the information I’ve published on this Blog, I’ve read some biographical information published in books and reference materials\u00c2\u00a0and I’ve found some other data in online indexes, the census, and newspapers, so I have a good amount of background material.<\/p>\n
THE FAMILY OF JOSEPH SARVETNICK<\/strong><\/p>\n Joseph Sarvetnick was\u00c2\u00a0born in Shumsk, Russia .\u00a0 At the time Joseph lived there, Shumsk was located in the Volhynia Gubernia (Governate or Province) of The Russian Empire .\u00a0 Prior to January 23, 1793, this region was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but was annexed to Russia during the Second Partition of Poland .\u00a0 Today, Shumsk is known as Shumskoye<\/a>, located in the Ternopil’ Oblast (Province)\u00c2\u00a0of western Ukraine .\u00a0 Shumskoye is east of Poland, south of Belarus, and north of Romania.<\/p>\n The Sarvetnick family was Jewish and, in fact, most of the shtetl of Shumsk<\/a> was Jewish at the time they lived there .\u00a0 In 1897, the population of Shumsk<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0totaled 2258, 87% of whom were Jews.<\/p>\n Joseph Sarvetnick and Ida Steinberg were married in about 1891 and\u00c2\u00a0had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood .\u00a0 According to Joseph’s naturalization papers, Joseph was born on December 10, 1869, his wife Ida was born in August 1877, their son Morris was born on September 8, 1895, son David was born on April 2, 1901, son William was born on April 9, 1903, and son Jacob was born on July 4, 1908 .\u00a0 All were presumably born in Shumsk, Russia .\u00a0 These dates may be only estimates, however .\u00a0 Nearly every official document lists a different date of birth for the members of Joseph Sarvetnick’s family.<\/p>\n Joseph immigrated to America on the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, departing from Hamburg on November 23, 1906 and arriving in New York on December 10, 1906 .\u00a0 Upon arriving in New York, Joseph traveled to Philadelphia, where he stayed with his brother Isaac Sarvetnick.<\/p>\n The rest of the family probably immigrated to America in 1909, but the details of their immigration are not known .\u00a0 Joseph may have\u00c2\u00a0traveled back\u00c2\u00a0to Shumsk and\u00c2\u00a0returned to Philadelphia with his family, or he may simply have sent for them after he had established himself in America .\u00a0 By 1920, the family had changed their surname to Savitt.<\/p>\n During the period from 1910 to 1930, Joseph worked as a maker of feather dusters, as a dealer (?) and as a motor mechanic in a motor brushes manufacturing factory .\u00a0 By 1920, the family owned their own home in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Morris Sarvetnick (Morris Savitt)<\/strong><\/p>\n Morris married a woman named Sarah .\u00a0 Sarah\u00c2\u00a0was born in about 1899-1900 in Russia .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Between 1910-1930, Morris\u00c2\u00a0worked variously as a manufacturer of feather dusters, as a shoe worker in a shoe factory, and as a cutter in a meat store .\u00a0 The couple\u00c2\u00a0raised\u00c2\u00a0three children: \u00c2\u00a0Thelma (or Tillie) born in about July 1918, Lillian born in about 1920-1921, and Robert, born in about 1926-1927, all in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n David Sarvetnick (David Savitt)<\/strong><\/p>\n David married Hilda V. Joffe .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0David\u00c2\u00a0was born In Shumsk, Russia on April 15, 1898 or 1899 or 1900\u00c2\u00a0and died on October 6, 1964 .\u00a0 Hilda was born on July 5, 1912 in Rochester, New York and died on August 26, 2000 .\u00a0 From 1920-1930 David worked as a cutter and as a salesman in wholesale dresses .\u00a0 David and Hilda had two sons, both born in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n William Sarvetnick (William Savitt)<\/strong><\/p>\n William married Mildred Elizabeth Lehrman .\u00a0 Mildred\u00c2\u00a0was born on July 21, 1917 in New Mexico .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Between 1920-1930, William worked as a salesman in a department store and as a salesman in wholesale shoes .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0William and Mildred\u00c2\u00a0had a son, Richard William, who was born on December 16, 1943 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California .\u00a0 Richard\u00c2\u00a0died on February 26, 2006 in Visalia, Tulare Co., California.<\/p>\n Jacob\u00c2\u00a0Sarvetnick\u00c2\u00a0(Jan Savitt)<\/strong><\/p>\n Although some official documents list Jacob’s birthdate as September 4, 1913, he was most certainly born before 1910, probably about 1908 .\u00a0 Biographies often\u00c2\u00a0list his birthplace as Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Russia, but it’s more likely that he was born in Shumsk, Russia, where his parents and brothers were born.<\/p>\n By 1930, Jacob went by the name of Jay Savitt, and later he adopted the name Jan Savitt .\u00a0 He\u00c2\u00a0studied violin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 1924 to 1930 with Carl Flesch and Richard Hartzer .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0According to the 1930 Census, he was working as a musician in an Orchestra, probably the Philadelphia Orchestra where he played under the direction of Leopold Stokowski.<\/p>\n According to The Big Bands<\/u> by George Thomas Simon (Shirmer Books, New York, 1981), Jan organized\u00c2\u00a0The Savitt String Quartet\u00c2\u00a0and won the Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal Award as well as a radio series on CBS .\u00a0 He was hired to be the musical director at Philadelphia radio station WCAU, and later he was hired by the Philadelphia radio station KYW.<\/p>\n In 1937, Jan formed the popular band The Top Hatters, playing at hotels and ballrooms .\u00a0 The band played with a distinctive beat called a shuffle rhythm, designed around a piano playing at double time .\u00a0 On April 7, 1940, Jan married his wife Barbara in New York City .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The couple had two children.<\/p>\n Jan Savitt and His Top Hatters\u00c2\u00a0continued to play around the country, gaining great popularity .\u00a0 In addition to playing instrumentals, the band employed\u00c2\u00a0the talented singers Carlotta Dale and Bon Bon (George Tunnell) .\u00a0 Bon Bon was one of the first African Americans to work with a white band .\u00a0 Later, the budding movie star Gloria DeHaven performed with the band .\u00a0 In 1944, Jan increased the size of his orchestra and went on tour with Frank Sinatra.<\/p>\n In his career, Jan Savitt played the violin professionally, worked for two radio stations, conducted his own orchestras, and wrote his own\u00c2\u00a0music, including Moonrise<\/em> (1937), 720 in the Books<\/em> (1939), and It’s a Wonderful Life<\/em> (1941) .\u00a0 In 1939, Jan Savitt’s recording of\u00c2\u00a0720 in the Books<\/em> reached #17 in the popular music charts .\u00a0 In 1940, his recording Make Believe Island<\/em> reached #8 in the charts .\u00a0 Recordings of the music of Jan Savitt and His Top Hatters\u00c2\u00a0are readily available on CD today .\u00a0 If that weren’t enough for one career, Jan Savitt also made a couple of\u00c2\u00a0movies, including High School Hero<\/em> (1946) and That’s My Gal<\/em> (1947).<\/p>\n On October 4, 1948, while on tour in Sacramento, California, Jan Savitt died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 40.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2006 by Stephen J. Danko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With all the research I’ve conducted on the family of Jan Savitt over the past 12 days, I thought I’d put it all together to write a bit of a biography of the family .\u00a0 In addition to the information … Continue reading