Milly Levan’s Lineage: A Mystery So Thick, Even the Matzo Ball Soup is Jealous
(Now with Extra Schmaltz)
Adrienne’s maternal roots wind back to Milly Levan, born Minnie Arnowitz a woman whose family tree has more plot holes than a Purim spiel. Her father, Jacob Arnowitz (born 1899 in Holland), pulled the ultimate Jewish rebrand in 1949: swapping “Arnowitz” for “Phillips” by deed poll. One imagines the logic: “Phillips? Solid. British. No one will ever ask if we’re related to the Aronowitzes in aisle three.” Yet the Arnowitz branch remains as elusive as the last latke at Hanukkah crumbly, fragmented, and fought over by relatives. Decades of research, fuelled by oral histories, cryptic documents, and contributions from kin like Gunter and Myra Lawson (née Aronowitz—“spelled Arono,’ darling, we’re fancy”), have left us with more gaps than a bagel.
The Wonsoff Sisters: When Your Family Tree is a Knish (Layers Upon Layers)
Meet Hannah and Miriam Wonsoff, the sisters who married into a family so intertwined, their relationships could give a pretzel an identity crisis. Hannah wed Abraham Harris Arnowitz; Miriam tied the knot with Aaron Levy Aronowitz. Records claim the men were uncle and nephew—but plot twist! They were practically the same age. Cue the classic Jewish shrug: “Uncle? Nephew? Could be both. Ever met a family where your cousin is also your great-aunt?” When Milly began this genealogical tchotchke hunt, she knew she had Arnowitz cousins but couldn’t crack the code and work out how they were related. Enter Luke, a Dutch historian with the patience of a Talmud scholar and the determination of a bubbe at a white sale. Together, they untangled the Wonsoff sisters’ link, proving that Jewish genealogy is 10% documents, 90% arguing with the universe.
Name Changes & Hidden Histories: Or, How to Make Ancestry.com Weep
Recent intel reveals some Wonsoff descendants went full “Oy, blend in already!” and anglicized their name to Harris in England. This opens doors to living relatives like siblings Jack and Janet Harris, whose memories might finally explain why Salmon Street haunts family lore like the ghost of last year’s charoset. (Was it a fishmonger’s paradise? A secret synagogue shortcut? Or just where Great-Grandma Rivka hid her good silver?)
Collaboration as Key: Because Bubbe Always Said “Ask the Neighbours”
Milly’s branch of the tree has been quieter lately than a shul during Shabbat nap time—but the stories are begging to be told. The evidence faded photos, cryptic notes, and that one aunt who insists “We’re descended from Maimonides!” demands fresh eyes. Did the Wonsoff sisters still gossip after marrying into the same family? How did “Harris” go from Amsterdam to Essex? And why does Salmon Street sound like a bad deli order? These questions loom larger than a gefilte fish at a vegan seder.
All related to Millie. By the Numbers: A Family Tree That’s Farshtunken (But in a Good Way)
353 Individuals: Because “small family” is a concept as foreign as chametz on Passover.
196 Family Groups: Spanning continents, because Jews love a good diaspora drama.
143 Surnames: From Arnowitz to Phillips to Harris a trilogy of assimilation, confusion?!”
Earliest Recorded Birth: 1845. Most Recent: 2025. Mazel tov it’s a timeline with more twists than Fiddler on the Roof!
List of Unique Surnames all connected to Millicent Levan nee Phillips
Abramowitz, Adler, Amdor, Amerongen, Arden, Arno, Arnow, Arnowitz, Aronowitz, Aronowitz-Giles, Arrons, Baker, Bernstein, Berman, Blacker, Bloom, Bornstein, Bourne, Brightstein, Burden, Calander, Calender, Campbell Simpson, Cannon, Casson, Chazan, Chen, Clark, Cohen, Cohn, Coleman, Combs, Crammer, Davgovski, Davgovsky, De Angelo Passarella, Dood, Dvortzan, Dubins, Eisenberg, El Ad, Elberg, Essex, Faulds, Finkelstein, Fishman, Freedman, Gardner, Genender, Geppert, Gerber, Gerst, Giles, Ginden, Goldberg, Goldman, Goldstein, Gordon, Handel, Harding, Harris, Hildenbrand, Hillman, Hirsh, Hizer, Holmes, Horowitz, Ison, Jacobs, Jansen, Jetha, Joffe, Jones, Kool, Koren Cohen, Lancaster, Landeweer, Lawson, Leder, Leshem, Leven, Levan, Levie, Levine, Lewin, Linden, Lowy, Machin, Martin, Mateja, McBribe, McShane, Mednick, Meurkens, Morpurgo, Neidorff, Nellor, Nelson, Neville, Noriega, Orolowitsch, Otten, Paleson, Passarella, Peters, Phillips, Priestman, Rasch, Ratoet, Regan, Regazzoni, Regazzoni-Wood, Robin, Rodin, Rose, Rosen, Rosenblum, Rosenfield, Rosenheim, Rosenthal, Roth, Rubins, Salata, Sceales, Schlotte, Schwartz, Segal, Shalkinska, Sharky, Silverstein, Slifkin, Slosower, Staal, Straz, Swift, Tanhoff, Taylor, Tsirlia, Tsur, Valencia, Van Amerongen, Van Der Wilk, Vaughan, Veiner, Wonsoff, Wonshoff, Wonsou, Wonschow, and Wood
A Call to Action: Let’s Solve This Megillah Already
This family tree isn’t just history it’s a telenovela with better wigs and more noodle kugel. DNA tests, archive spelunking, or a chat with Jack and Janet Harris could crack mysteries older than your bubbe’s fruitcake. If your Zayde ever muttered “Arnowitz” while kvetching about the weather, or you’ve found a Salmon Street deed tucked between the couch cushions, speak up!
The search continues, fuelled by the eternal Jewish creed: “They tried to erase us? We’ll outlive them AND annotate the receipts.” Let’s turn “Who knew?” into “Who’s coming for Shabbat?”
Got a clue? Reach out. We’ll supply the babka and the side-eye. 🥨