Thomas Simkoff

Timothy or Thomas Simkoff was one of the eldest of 7 children from the Simkoff family. The parents, Spiridian and Sophie came over from what was then called Galacia and what is now part of the Ukraine. Spiridian came over first and Sophie followed with 5 of the children and had 2 more in NY where they lived on the lower East Side. To my knowledge they had a pretty rough time of it and Spiridian , was politically active and lost his life along with one of his sons, Charlie at and early age. Thomas became the head of the family and did what he could, legal and not to keep everyone fed and clothed. He had a speakeasy in the 20;s, imported booze from Canada, played cards, bet on the ponies, and assorted ventures. he owned a couple of hotels and went though a few fortunes. Elsie was his 2nd wife and he adopted her daughter Mitzi. He was delighted to have 2 more daughters, yet would have loved to have had a son. He was quite the character.