Sisters record family history with Galveston County Museum

Two sisters, Francine Beckman and Shelley Kessler, are helping bring their family’s immigration story to a wider audience through a podcast produced by the Galveston County Museum.

In Episode 18 of “Unboxing History,” the sisters recount how their grandparents, Clara Reinhardt and Fred Nussenblatt, arrived in the United States through the Galveston Movement, a Jewish-led immigration effort that operated in the early 20th century.

Between 1907 and 1914, thousands of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe entered the country through the Port of Galveston, rather than the overcrowded port of New York’s Ellis Island. The movement ended when shipping lanes were closed during World War I.

For Beckman and Kessler’s grandparents, the journey began in Bremen, Germany, with an uncomfortable three-week ocean crossing in steerage. Reinhardt was just 17 when she arrived in 1907 with her cousins, the Graber family. Nussenblatt followed in 1911. Their reunion on the Galveston dock, the sisters said, was romantic. Within months, the two married, beginning a new life in Texas.

For Kessler, sharing the story through a podcast was especially fitting.

“It seems to me that podcasts are the way to go these days,” said Kessler. “This new generation, listening to podcasts is how they spend their leisure hours. And so, that’s how they’re going to be getting their information in terms of the museum.”

A key figure in their story was Rabbi Henry Cohen of Galveston’s Temple B’nai Israel, who helped countless immigrant families find their footing. Kessler said the legacy of Rabbi Cohen also resonated deeply with her husband, Rabbi Jimmy Kessler, z”l, a Texas Jewish historian and founder of the Texas Jewish Historical Society. He also was the longtime rabbi of the same synagogue Rabbi Cohen called home.

Rabbi Kessler was so impressed by Rabbi Cohen that he not only penned a biography of the rabbi’s role in the Galveston Movement; he also tried to “emulate a lot of Henry Cohen in the way he rabbi’d,” said Shelley Kessler.

For Beckman, revisiting her grandparents’ experiences deepened her appreciation for what they endured – and what they built.

“When I start to think about my grandparents and the struggles that they went through, I have a lot of admiration for them,” said Beckman. “They stuck it out through the hard times. And it made me realize how not just my grandparents, but so many of early immigrants to Galveston made wonderful lives for themselves.”

The Galveston Movement reminds us that immigration is about lives redirected by history.

“We were the lucky ones, and one of the reasons we were lucky is that the immigration laws at the time allowed us to come,” said Kessler. “I think for our generation and down, we have so much more appreciation of what these immigrants did to get us where we need to be.”

Both sisters are getting their 15 minutes of fame, judging from their children’s and grandchildren’s responses. And the podcast has provided a way for them to start conversations with generations that feel so far removed from that era in time.

For Kessler, participating in the podcast carried a sense of responsibility – and honor.

“It just gives so much credit and honor to my grandparents, who were poor immigrants – just two of 10,000 who came through Galveston – and finally tells their story.”

Beckman said she hopes the podcast is just one of many family stories yet to be told.

“I think it’s fabulous,” said Beckman. “For so many years, we kind of took it for granted. But it’s an important story, and it’s just one of many, and I hope they will be chronicling a lot more.”

“And Jimmy, I know, is smiling,” added Kessler.

Episode 18 of “Unboxing History, The Galveston Movement & Rabbi Cohen” can be found at GalvestonCountyMuseum.org.