Safir / Saphir
Boruch's paternal line. Revised 2026-09-22 · sources: FamilySearch, Philadelphia Marriage License Index, PA Death Certificates, Sept 2026 branch research pass.
Pinches and Sarah Safier cross in 1904
Pinches Safier arrived in Philadelphia on 17 Aug 1904 aboard the Rhynland from Antwerp, age 10 — travelling together with Sarah/Sarali Safier. Both were Hebrew passengers from Russia, last resident Paris, going to their father at 503 Reese St, Philadelphia; the final letters of the father's recorded name are difficult to read on the manifest and are not force-spelled here. He later changed his name from Pinches Sofar to Philip Saphir by court order, 24 Nov 1943, Petition No. 164882, U.S. District Court, Philadelphia — the same petition number recorded on his own naturalization index card, which also gives his 1943 address as 1901 N. Taylor St.
The 1904 crossing — an open age conflict
The 1904 arrival card gives Pinches's age as 10, implying a birth year of about 1893–94. The 1922 marriage application instead gives 5 June 1894 as his birth date. His 1943 naturalization and 1950 death certificate both point closer to 1889–90, and his 1942 WWII draft card gives a third date, 5 June 1889, with birthplace Schumsk. Three source dates, none flattened into one: 1904-implied ~1893–94, the 1922 application's 1894, and the 1942/1950 records' 1889–90.
Marriage and family
Philip Saphir married Sadie Bluma Bashman in Philadelphia, license #458181, 1922; the marriage return names Rabbi M. S. Barg as officiant, dated 28 March 1922. The application itself records Philip's birth as 5 June 1894, his father William then living and working as a teacher, and his mother Zissel already deceased — names ("William"/"Zissel") that differ from the death certificate's own "Allen"/"Zisel," a variant not resolved here. Their daughter Cecile is Boruch Berman's paternal grandmother; she married a Berman (marriage license index #887056, Philadelphia, 1950).
Philip's family in the 1950 census
Philip, Sadie, Cecile, and Sarah were recorded together at 4825 Gransback Street. Philip, age 60 and born in Russia, is recorded as a cantor in a synagogue — matching the death certificate's later "retired cantor." Both daughters were unmarried at this point and working as teachers.
The 1930 and 1940 censuses — a genuine, disclosed conflict
Both censuses record the same household (Philip/Sadie Saphir, same address pattern, consistent ages 7→17 across the decade) but disagree on this child's recorded name and sex:
Death and burial
Philip Saphir died 17 Dec 1950, buried Mt. Sharon, Delaware County, PA. His death certificate names his father as Allen and mother's maiden name as Zisel, both born Russia, and gives his age as 60 (birth year ~1890).
Unresolved identities — kept open, not merged
Philip's own daughter Sarah (age 4 in 1930, 14 in 1940, at home unmarried in the 1950 census) has her own marriage-license index entry: license #911413, to a groom surnamed Kolodner, c.1951–52.
- Herman Safir/Garber — identity and relationship to this line remain unresolved.
- Samuel/Eva/Sarah Safier (b.1904) — a documented non-match, unrelated to Philip's daughter Sarah above. Do not conflate them.
- Paris Schafir — unlinked to this line by any record found so far.