NAME: Pressman or Pressneau
This is for descendants of the couple, Samuel and Sarah Pressman / Pressneau, born in Russia about 1894 and 1900, respectively. They are not our ancestors, however we stumbled upon their data when researching ours. It is information that could be pivotal in their life story. Unfortunately, it is data that is wedged within the cracks, such that anyone looking for it, would likely come up empty handed.
THE GRAPHIC: Recognition of Foreign Data
The above graphic is extracted from the ledger of interest. The hope is that a familiar ancestor might see it and immediately recognize the content. We cannot keyword what we cannot read. Samuel professed to speak English; Sarah, only Russian. Their verbal answers were being penned by an interrogator, a Canadian border official.
Note that “Pressman’ is our read, while the name was interpreted as Pressneau
THE LEDGER Of INTEREST: Canadian Immigration Service / Border Crossings
The Canadian Immigration Service provided its “Reports of Admissions and Rejections” at the Port of Sydney, BC for the month ending June 30, 1926. It was captured in the collection “Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada 1908-1935” at Ancestry.com. However, Canada has two Ports of Sydney; in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. This ledger is pointed toward “Nova Scotia > Manifests” such that persons appeared to present at the Atlantic, rather than the Pacific Port.
STATUS: REJECTED
“Rejected” is not offered as a search criterion. That said, the reason for the rejection and perhaps, next steps was noted on “PG 23” of the underlying document which is not included in this search. That is, if it was preserved in the Library and Archives, CA.
KEYWORDS (For any Pressman out there filling a search box)
Samuel Pressman. Born Russia about 1894 in Lugansk. Nationality Russian. Race Russian. Religion Jewish. Occupation Merchant. Destination Victoria BC. Reason Visitor. / Name, Relationship and Address of Nearest Relative in the Country From Which You Came? – Mother: Mrs. B Pressman. Lugansk.
Sarah Pressman. Born Moscow Russia about 1900. Nationality Russian. Race Russian. Religion Jewish. Occupation Housewife. Destination Victoria BC. Reason Visitor. / Name, Relationship and Address of Nearest Relative in the Country From Which You Came? – Father: forename Alexander. Shanghai
Rejected at Canadian Border. 30 June 1926. Port of Sydney British Columbia.
PSA, The Adoption Witness, Stay Tuned
Hopefully, someone will find our “public service announcement” useful. Adoption was not a factor in this Pressman family matter. Please stay tuned, though, because this same data set complicated the story of an international (three country) adoption of our ancestor. It will post soon: “The Baroness of Skog-Vefsn Emigrates to Lake Cowichan”.
Please leave comments, questions and corrections below notes and sources.
Notes and Sources
Library and Archives Canada; 1908-1935 Border Entries; Roll: T-15350 Ancestry.com. Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Library and Archives Canada. Border Entries. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, n.d.. RG 76-C. Department of Employment and Immigration fonds. Microfilm reels: T-5461-T-5507, T-15249-T-15344, T-15346-T-15393.
MarileeWein.com 
Puzzling, isn’t it?
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For sure! What could go wrong?
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