Second Cousins Meet Because of Hattie-Carnegie.com
Again, I will allow Bill's eMail to describe the meeting.........

Dear Amy and family,
 
    So, Ruth and I made the pilgrimage to NYC.  We met Lori at 5 pm at a crowded Starbucks.
 
    We don't have photos because she was a bit nervous about having her picture posted on the internet. Therefore, we will keep this correspondence between us.  Since I already have a national exposure, I don't mind; so, I'll send you something.  Hopefully, I won't frighten you. =)
 
    As you know, Lori is my second cousin.  Her sister, Melissa, also my second cousin, was traveling to the  Hamptons for the weekend.  We'll have to wait for another time to met.  Lori did show us pictures from her recent wedding and at least we got to see Melissa, albeit vicariously.  My cousins are very pretty.
 
    We discussed the people in our family based on the information I gleaned from you and Lori's limited knowledge.  Lori said she was going to try and seek more information from her parents.  I had charted out the family tree as we knew it at this point so we could see who was who and who was from who(m ).   Lori said that her family was 'Kohane' which in the Jewish culture is, I suppose, somewhat like Indian caste culture.  In India, the relative caste to the Kohane would be Brahmin.  The Kohane line comes down from the males and Lori thinks since my great grandfather, Isaac Kanengeiser's name began with a K, it is possible my side is Kohane, too.  You can googlize the name to find out more details. 
 
    I'd characterize our meeting as cordial with an overlay of 'this is amazing.'   After all, it's not like we're best friends and have established a life long relationship.  Also, for me it was somewhat overwhelming to have made a family connection.  The world kind of stood still for an hour.  It's hard to explain my emotions, but I will tell you that they are deep and quiet.  I'm particularly pleased to have been able to trace my heritage back to our great, great grandfather on my birth father's side and my great grand parents on my Mother's.  It also pleases me to be able to pull together this information for my children, my grandson and my nephews.  At some point in their lives, if not now, this research will be treasured.
 
    What I've learned from all this. is that we have a rich Jewish heritage on both my Mother's side and my birth father's side.  Kind of odd since I was primarily raised in a Christian environment when my Mother remarried and remarried.  My blood is a combination of Hungarian and Austrian.  It pleased me that my family, most of whom I've never met, treasures the importance of education.  Both Lori's parents have degrees.  Her dad, names omitted upon request has a degree in math from Brooklyn College and an MBA as well.  Her Mom,, has a degree from Boston University.  Melissa also has two degrees.  Melissa's undergraduate degree is in Math/Economics and an MBA, probably in Finance as she works in the heady field of mergers and acquisitions.  Lori has an undergraduate degree from Binghamton in English (Lori, forgive my poor writing) and a law degree from NYU.  My nephews, Brian and Bradley (both of whom I've met) have degrees in law and engineering, respectively.  My daughter's, Andrea and Laura, have degrees, too.  Andrea has a bachelor's degree in Human Resouces and Laura has an associate degree in Music and is currently working on a bachelor's degree in religion (Christian).  As you know, I have an undergraduate degree in Business Education from Bloomsburg University. a Master's and aDoctorate in Education from Temple University.  My wife, Ruth, has a bachelor's and master's degree in music from Hunter College.
 
    Lori's parents both are retired and live in town omitted, FLorida.  Wouldn't it be amazing if they lived near my cousin, Stuart Landau.  They live in the subcommunity, Cascade.  Can't recall the name of Stuie's settlement.
 
    Some additional info for Lori:  Rose Carnegie Apisdorf, Hattie's sister, had a son, Harold.  Harold would be my Uncle.  He married Judy (died of Altheimer's disease) and they had a son, Peter.  According to June, his second wife, Harold was a very accomplished man.  He received an undergraduate degree from Columbia and a law degree from Yale.  Uncle Harold spoke several languages.  According to an obituary, Harold was an attorney and real estate developer who was born in NYC on July 14, 1912 and died in Longboat Key, Fl on April 13, 2000.  Harold practiced law in Greenwich, CT and in 1980 retired to Longboat Key where he was a member of Temple Beth Israel.  It's a pity we never met.
 
    June couldn't tell me much else about the Carnegie side of the family.  Peter, Herman's his son by Judy, lives in Mexico and, based on June's remarks, is one of those border line functioning people living on the edge.  June had to send him the funds to attend his father's funeral.
 
    The other thing I learned is that Amy Wiggin is a wonderful human being that has made a difference in my life.   Thank you, Amy.
 
Love from your friend, cousin, uncle and father,
 
Bill and Dad