Moishe (Czernichowsky) Sharnik (1871 - 1939)

Born 11 Sep 1871 in Pidhaitsi, Berezhany, Ternopil, Ukraine

Ancestors

Died 18 Sep 1939 at age 68 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mark Shernick [send private message]

Moishe (Czernichowsky) Sharnik has Jewish Roots.

Moishe (Czernichowsky) Sharnik has Ukrainian Roots.

Biography

Moishe "Max" Sharnik (originally Чернихов Czernichow or Tchernichovsky) was born 11 Sept 1871 at house No. 353 in Podhajce, Ukraine. Max was the son of Hersh "Harry" Scharnikow and Harry's first wife, Ester Rawsky.

Well aware that he had a name that was difficult to pronounce, Moishe changed his first name to "Max" when he moved to America in 1904.

The famous Hebrew poet Saul Tchernichovsky was Moishe's cousin.

His personality is described beautifully by his granddaughter Marilyn Mufson in her blog Neon Dreams:

"I never met my grandfather, who died of stomach cancer a year before I was born, but my mother filled me in. He was tall, handsome, well built, articulate and a spiffy dresser. Ladies adored him."

In 1894, at the age of 20, Max married to Anne Bressler, a painter. Annie must have been a very talented artist or wealthy, says Marilyn, because she sure wasn't a looker.

"My mother often wondered aloud why he [Max] married my grandmother when she looked like a monkey and could barely speak in sentences. In all fairness to Grandma Sharnik, my aunt Ann told me she was a talented landscape painter who encouraged her children to appreciate the arts. Then again, Aunt Ann was lavish with her praise of all things Sharnik."

According to Mufson, the name Sharnik "should be Shornik but they messed up on Ellis Island." The name means "Black" or "Dark" in Russian, but Mufson is convinced the name Shornick "means harness maker in Russian, and was the occupation of many generations of Shornik men."

Mufson was apparently never given the inside dope on the family's role as estate managers and "fixers" for the Russian nobility. The Sharniks or Czernichows had friends in high places. Max was connected.

It is not just a coincidence that Max's eldest son Israel "Irving" Sharnik was born near Moscow. Max was clearly stationed somewhere near the Russian capitol in 1894.

The young couple had no more children for the next 10 years.

Efforts to trace Max's movements back-and-forth from Russia to the United States between 1900 and 1914 have been frustrated by the spelling of his name, which tends to wobble a great deal. One runs into some seriously baffling immigration records. Most notably: His immigration papers say he was born 24 March 1874, less than eight months after the birth of his older cousin Moitel Chernoff-- who also, for some reason, used the name "Max."

In 1905, Max and his wife Anne themselves used "the back door" to get into the United States. That is, they sailed for Quebec, then took the train south to the U.S. border and arrived in the United States via Buffalo.

Max was probably leading the Life of Reilly. But on paper he remained nothing but a lowly harness maker. He is listed on the 1910 U.S. Census for Cincinnati as a harness maker.

The 1910 census confirms Max was born ca. 1874 in Ukraine; he married at age 20 (in 1894) to a woman of the same age named Annie; and by her had at least four children:

1. Israel aka Irving Sharnik,
2. Annie Sharnik,
3. Rose Sharnik and
4. Sarah ("Sadie") Sharnik

At this point we notice that there's no way to fake kids -- if Max and Annie were Russian sleeper agents, they were definitely "living their cover."

We also notice the rather startling absence of any record indicating that Max registered for the U.S. draft in World War I. His war years remain a blank.

Max's older brother Moitel died in 1918. The circumstances surrounding Moitel's death are also a blank.

Question: If Max Sharnick were actually a secret agent all along -- if he had actually very carefully created a "legend" or false identity for many years before the war -- would he have registered for the American draft in 1914?

Certainly not.

As a Russian agent who had not yet taken out American papers of Naturalization or become a U.S. citizen, he would not be obliged to serve in the U.S. Army. He would be obligated to return to Russia and serve in the Tsar's army.

That may be exactly what Max and Moitel did: They may have returned to Russia during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Then, at the end of the war, when Moitel died, Max returned from the war to become plain old "Max Sharnick," and file for U.S. citizenship.

We next find Max and Annie Sharnik appearing in the 1920 census for Detroit, Michigan under the name Max Sharnick and also in the 1930 census for Pasadena, California under the name Sharnik (without the "c").

"As automobiles began to replace the horse and buggy," says Mufson, "my grandfather began to look for a new profession, and eventually moved the family from Cincinnati to Detroit to work for the Dodge brothers.

"After classy Anne and sexy Rose married, my grandparents and spiteful Shirley moved to Hollywood to pursue the American Dream. That dream took the form of a little nut stand tucked into a spacious driveway on Hollywood Blvd., across the street from Dupar's Cafeteria.

"Grandpa's roasted nuts became the talk of the town, beloved by movie stars and moguls. It is said that Shirley almost fainted when Errol Flynn stopped by for a bag of cashews; Grandma Sharnik told him he was so handsome he should be in the movies.

"The success of the nuts made it possible for the Sharniks to buy a little house on DeLongpre Ave. where Shirley planted trees and flowers in their tiny backyard, and began a lifetime obsession with parakeets, canaries and antique doorknobs. Irving, who had moved to California before them, was a frequent visitor at their dinner table."

Max seems to have retired in the mid 1930s, just a few years before his death in 1939.

"Eventually, Grandpa Sharnik entrusted his nuts to his wife and daughter and spent most his days philosophizing about life on the beautiful beaches of southern California, waiting until the ocean was cold as ice before plunging fearlessly into the waves. My mother said her father-in-law took to the beaches because he couldn't stand to be around his wife. She also confided that Grandpa was a card carrying Communist, which thrilled me no end when I was a college student going through my wild-eyed radical phase. I was sad that I never knew my grandfather. I'd have loved to have sat on the beach listening to him talk about communism and capitalism and Arthur Miller."

Max Sharnik passed away in Hollywood, California on 18 September 1939. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

SOURCES

Mufson, Marilyn. "The Family" Neon Dreams Blog, 14 June 2011 (retrieved 18 March 2020)

1871 Birth Record

Sources:

• Gesher Galicia All Galicia Database - GesherGalicia.org
• Pidhaitsi - Wikipedia
• Pidhaitsi, Ternopil, Ukraine - Google Map
• Berezhany, Ternopil, Ukraine - Google Map

Abraham Moses [no surname] son of Hersch SERNIK & Chaje

• Birth record: 1871
• Date of Birth: 11 SEP 1871
• Sex: M
• Town of Record: Pidhaitsi
• Town of Birth: Podhajce
• House Number: 353
• Father's Occupation: day laborer
• Document issued in: Podhajce

This record comes from the Podhajce Jewish Births (1854-1881, 1884, 1886-1889) database, fond 701, series 1, scan 097, volume 273, scan 097. The original records are held in Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv (TsDIAL) and were added to this search engine on 2 December 2019. The Gesher Galicia unique record ID is GG-podhajce_b_1853_1881_1884_1886_1889_701_1_273_276_278_280_28-1751.

Nov 1904 Arrival in Quebec City, Quebec onboard the S.S. Tunisian

M Shornik Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922

• Name: M Shornik
• Event Type: Immigration
• Event Date: Nov 1904
• Event Place: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
• Gender: Male
• Age: 30
• Birth Year (Estimated): 1874
• Birthplace: Russia
• Ship Name: Tunisian

Record Collection:

Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922

Document Information: Affiliate Film Number T-484 Digital Folder Number 004542208 Image Number 00184

Citing this Record "Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2Q34-328 : 11 March 2018), M Shornik, Nov 1904; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-484, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Aug 1905 Canadian Border Crossing at St. Albans, Vermont

Max Sharnik Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954

• Name: Max Sharnik
• Event Type: Immigration
• Event Date: 1905
• Event Place: Vermont, United States
• Gender: Male
• Age: 29
• Birth Year (Estimated): 1876
• Birth Country: Russia

Record Collection: Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954

Document Information:

Affiliate Publication Number M1464 Affiliate Publication Title Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895-1924 Affiliate Film Number 30 GS Film Number 001561116 Digital Folder Number 007542656 Image Number 00321

Citing this Record

"Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK3Y-7VVQ : 16 August 2019), Max Sharnik, 1905; citing M1464, Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895-1924, 30, NARA microfilm publications M1461, M1463, M1464, and M1465 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, publication year); FHL microfilm 1,561,116.

1910 U.S. Census [Cincinnati, Ohio]

Mark Sharnik United States Census, 1910

• Name Mark Sharnik
• Event Type Census
• Event Date 1910
• Event Place Cincinnati Ward 18, Hamilton, Ohio, United States
• Gender Male
• Age 36 [b. 1874]
• Marital Status Married
• Race White
• Race (Original) White
• Relationship to Head of Household Head
• Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Head
• Birth Year (Estimated) 1874
• Birthplace Russia
• Immigration Year 1904
• Father's Birthplace Russia
• Mother's Birthplace Russia
• Sheet Letter B
• Sheet Number 5

Household

• Mark Sharnik Head M 36 Russia [b. 1874]
• Annie Sharnik Wife F 36 Russia [b. 1874]
• Israel Sharnik Son M 16 Russia [b. 1894]
• Annie Sharnik Daughter F 9 [b. 1901] Russia
• Rose Sharnik Daughter F 7 [b. 1903] Ohio
• Sadie Sharnik Daughter F 3 [b. 1907] Ohio

Citing this Record

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLFS-Q1Z : accessed 19 December 2015), Mark Sharnik, Cincinnati Ward 18, Hamilton, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 208, sheet 5B, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,375,206.

United States Census, 1910 District ED 208 Sheet Number and Letter 5B Household ID 97 Affiliate Name The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Affiliate Publication Number T624 Affiliate Film Number 1193 GS Film Number 1375206 Digital Folder Number 004973199 Image Number 00207

Ontario Births, 1869-1910 Reference ID 032453 GS Film Number 2358406 Digital Folder Number 4529929 Image Number 01146

1920 U.S. Census [Detroit, Michigan]

Max Shirnek in the 1920 United States Federal Census

• Name: Max Shirnek [Max Shirnak]
• Age: 46
• Birth Year: abt 1874
• Birthplace: Russia
• Home in 1920: Detroit Ward 3, Wayne, Michigan
• Street: Medbury Ave
• Race: White
• Gender: Male
• Immigration Year: 1901
• Relation to Head of House: Head
• Marital Status: Married
• Spouse's Name: Anna Shirnek
• Father's Birthplace: Russia
• Mother's Birthplace: Russia
• Native Tongue: Yiddish
• Able to Speak English: Yes
• Occupation: Trimmer
• Industry: Auto Body Mfg
• Employment Field: Wage or Salary
• Home Owned or Rented: Rent
• Naturalization Status: Naturalized
• Able to Read: Yes
• Able to Write: Yes
• Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members:

• Max Shirnek 46
• Anna Shirnek 45
• Alvin Shirnek 24
• Rosie Shirnek 18
• Anna Shirnek 16
• Sadie Shirnek 12

Source Citation

Year: 1920; Census Place: Detroit Ward 3, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_804; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 106; Image: 1210 Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City). Description

This database is an index to individuals enumerated in the 1920 United States Federal Census, the Fourteenth Census of the United States.

1930 U.S. Census [Pasadena, California]

Max Sharnik in the 1930 United States Federal Census

• Name: Max Sharnik
• Birth Year: abt 1874
• Gender: Male
• Race: White
• Birthplace: Russia
• Marital Status: Married
• Relation to Head of House: Head
• Home in 1930: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California
• Map of Home: View Map
• Street address: North Euclid Avenue
• House Number in Cities or Towns: 869
• Dwelling Number: 158
• Family Number: 166
• Home Owned or Rented: Rented
• Home Value: 36
• Radio Set: No
• Lives on Farm: No
• Age at First Marriage: 21 [married 1895]
• Attended School: No
• Able to Read and Write: Yes
• Father's Birthplace: Russia
• Mother's Birthplace: Russia
• Language Spoken: Norwegian
• Immigration Year: 1905
• Naturalization: Naturalized
• Able to Speak English: Yes
• Occupation: Wholstern
• Industry: Auto Co.
• Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker
• Employment: Yes

Household Members:

• Max Sharnik 56
• Anna Sharnik 55
• Shirley Sharnik 22

Source Citation

Year: 1930; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 168; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 1225; Image: 789.0; FHL microfilm: 2339903 Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Description

The 1930 Census contains records for approximately 123 million Americans. The census gives us a glimpse into the lives of Americans in 1930, and contains information about a household’s family members and occupants including: birthplaces, occupations, immigration, citizenship, and military service. The names of those listed in the census are linked to actual images of the 1930 Census.

Social Security Claim Index

Max Sharnik in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

• Name: Max Sharnik
• Gender: Male
• Spouse: Anna Bressler
• Child: Shirley Sharnik

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007. Description

This database picks up where the SSDI leaves off, with details such as birth date and parents’ names extracted from information filed with the Social Security Administration through the application or claims process.

Find A Grave Memorial

Max Sharnik in the U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Go to website: Find A Grave Memorial No. 6773897

• Name: Max Sharnik
• Birth Date: 24 Mar 1874
• Death Date: 18 Sep 1939
• Cemetery: Hollywood Forever Cemetery
• Burial or Cremation Place: Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
• Has Bio?: Y

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. Description

This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find A Grave.