Yonaton Laroche is the name of Joel Levy’s 2 great grand father on mother’s side. He owned a flourmill in Bressan in Bella Ruz in White Russian where Minsk is the capital of the region http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&time=...389&z=6&om=1. One night his wife heard trouble out side. It was Cossacks. One horseman used a whip with a metal tip to decapitate her, as she stood silhouetted in her front door.

Yonaton was only allowed to take one son out of the country because the Russians had strict conscription laws. The second son, Joel Levy’s great grand father on mother’s side, Jacob is whom Joel Levy and Jason Pollens are named after, was placed with his sister Zelda’s that was going to Canada. Yonaton knew the Kaufman family through his oldest daughter who married into the family. Zelda later died and her husband married another sister. The Kaufman’s were Yonaton’s machatunim. Jacob took the Kaufman name and went to Canada. Yonaton and his other son, Sam Lash, went to New York City.

Jacob became a button whole maker and met and married Miss Gold in Canada. He never got along with his mother in law and it could be because of the way he romanced her daughter. This is the story. Jacob had a friend who was a furrier. The furrier friend told Jacob that he found the girl he was going to marry and asked Jacob if he should go to NYC before he asked her to marry or after he went. Jacob said that he would take a look at the girl and render his advise. He looked and said you should go to NYC.117

He had red hair and a long red beard.  My grandmother (Anna) told a story about some young Irish hoodlums teasing him and pulling his beard on the streets of NYC.  Chaim was over 6 feet and strong.  He took both boys head and bopped them together.  An Irish cop who saw the whole thing, then thanked our great-great grandfather for "finally" disciplining these constant troublemakers.30

Joseph P. Lash remembers with a yellow beard when Joseph was under the age of 8.118

Cause of death cancer or prostate21