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The Color of Water Family Tree

2

Bubeh

1

Zaydeh

"Bubeh was a warm, funny woman who spoke no English and was full of life... She was clean as a whistle."

Ruth's Grandfather. He was a jolly man and was known for his long beard. Ruth loved Zaydeh and his wife Bubeh. When he died, it was Ruth's first encounter with death.

"I remember when Zaydeh died in that apartment. I don't know how he died, he just died."

Ruth's grandmother who lives in New York-- Bubeh was one of Ruth's family members who cared for her well being. Bubeh took care of Ruth, at a distance, when she left home after her graduation of high school.

pg. 17

pg. 132

Aunt Betsy

3

4

Aunt Mary

Aunt Laura

5

Hudis's oldest sister. Laura helped Hudis and her family emigrate to the United States.

Aunt Betsy helped Ruth when she was going through with her abortion. When Ruth married a black man, Betsy wanted nothing to do with Ruth. She is also Hudis's sister.

Ruth's aunt and Hudis's sister. She treated Ruth as if she wasn't good enough or rich enough to be in her family. She was married to Uncle Issac, but was having an affair with her best friend's husband, Mr. Stein. Aunt Mary employed Ruth and Andrew Dennis. Her factory was where Ruth they met.

6

Hudis Shilsky (Mameh)

7

Fishel Shilsky (Tateh)

"It's not a bird who flies. A bird who flies is special. You would never trap a bird who flies... Feygele, feygele, gay a veck."

pg. 218

"I was afraid of Tateh and had no love for him at all. I dreaded him and was relieved anytime he left the house." Ruth, pg. 42

Hudis is Ruth's mother who suffered from polio her whole life. She was very reserved, and she let her husband treat her as if she was nothing. Ruth loved her mother, Ruth was her eyes and ears in America since she didn't speak English. Ruth always felt guilty for not taking enough care of her mother, and leaving home, especially after her death.

Fishel Shilsky was Ruth's father and Hudis's husband, Fishel was a strict, religious man. He was racist, greedy and abusive. He sexually abused Ruth and mentally and emotionally abused his children and disabled wife.

"I've always held that to this day, that guilt, that I left Mameh, because all her life I was the one who translated for her and helped her around. I was her eyes and ears in America...her reason for living just slipped away."

"...he was nobody to fool with, my father. He was hard as a rock." pg. 3

pg. 217

Sam Shilsky

Aunt Candis

25

Gladys Shilsky (Dee-Dee)

9

Aunt Candis was Andrew's favorite aunt. Candis went to help out Ruth with the kids after Andrew's death. She helped Ruth impress her second husband, Hunter, by cooking meals for him before they were engaged.

Sam is two years older

than Ruth. He is sensitive

and Tateh is very hard on him.

He runs away at age 15 and is later killed in WWII.

Ruth's younger sister Gladys (Dee-Dee) was much shyer than Ruth. Ruth promised Dee-Dee she would never leave home, but Ruth broke that promise. Because of that, Dee-Dee refused to help Ruth when she was desperate after Dennis's death.

"Sam was like a shadow. He was short and stocky, with a heavy head of hair, thick eyebrows, and heavy arms and legs. Because he was two years older than me, he had plenty of power over me and Dee-Dee, yet he didn't use his older-brother status over us."

"Marry that man, Ruth. Marry him!"

pg. 246

pg. 61

"'I know you're going back. Please don't go back. Promise me you'll stay.' She sat on the bed and buried her face in her hands and cried, my little sister. 'Promise me,' she sobbed. 'Promise me you'll stay.'"

pg. 201

26

Linwood Bob Hinson

Aunt Candis's son. A quiet, humorous, religious man who had a kind heart. Bob looked a lot like Andrew. Because this resemblance, James wanted a closer relationship to him in hopes of getting a glimpse of how his father was. Bob worked in a post office.

"If my son grows up to be like Bob, I'll be a happy man."

24

11

Andrew Dennis McBride

10

Ruth McBride-Jordan

Hunter Jordan

-James, pg. 254

Hunter is the second husband of Ruth. Hunter entered Ruth's life a few months after the death of Dennis. They shared the same views on things such as religion, education, and how to raise children. Ruth and he had four children togehter; however, Hunter was the father figure to all of the children. He loved them and they loved him back.

Andrew-Dennis McBride was Ruth's first husband and the father of her first 8 children. Ruth and he met in her aunt's factory. Andrew was the first man to show Ruth love, and he was the one who introduced her to Christianity. Ruth and Dennis started New Brown Memorial Church He is the father of James. He developed cancer and died when Ruth was pregnant with James.

"Her oddness, her complete non-awareness of what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what I perceived to be imminent danger from blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world. She saw none of that."

Ruth is a Polish Jewish immigrant. She is a mother to 12 successful children. Ruth has endured the situations where any other person would of given up. Ruth did anything and everything for her children. All she wanted in life was for them to be successful and happy, no matter how much pain it put her in. Ruth was very religious, being introduced to Christianity by her first husband, she believed God and education were all anyone needed to survive. In the beginning of the memoir, Ruth struggled with her personal history, but as the book progressed we began to see her come to peace with her past.

"The children woke up and they were huddled together crying and I started to cry. Part of me died when Dennis died. I loved that man more than life itself and at times I wished the good Lord would have taken me instead of him, because he was a much better person for living than me. He just had so much more to give the world than me. He brought me new life. He revived me after I left my family, brought me to Jesus, opened my eyes to a new world, then passed on himself."

"...I knew he was going to die and I had to blink black my tears. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I hoped with all my heart that he would get better, but I could not formulate the words in my mouth."

pg. 8

27

-James pg. 128

-Ruth pg.244

Ruchel Dwarja Zylska--> Rachel Deborah Shilsky--> Ruth McBride Jordan

28

Jacqueline (Jack) Nelson

Richard Nelson

(Big Richard)

"Everybody loved Jack. You could talk to Jack about anything."

"He could walk into a night-club and sniff danger instantly, backing out right away."

Jack's husband. Richard taught James many life lessons when he stayed with Richard and his wife over summer vacation. James describes him as a handful for Jack and he always had a lit cigarette between his teeth.

Andrew's daughter from a previous marriage, who lived in Harlem. Jack took care of Helen when she ran away from home, she also took care of James for a summer when he was acting up.

pg. 76

pg. 144

23

20

22

Judy Jordan

James Mcbride

Henry Jordan

15

Kathy Jordan

Hunter Jordan

13

16

David McBride

17

Rosetta McBride

14

21

18

Richard McBride

19

12

Helen McBride

William McBride

James half-brother. Hunter became a computer consultant.

Dorothy McBride

Andrew McBride

David is James older brother and Williams partner is teasing their siblings. He went on to become University Chairman of African-American History at Pennsylvania State University.

James youngest half-brother who hated their mother's cooking, but would eat it anyway. Henry attended North Caroline A&T University.

James grew up with 11 other siblings. Growing up he goes through behavior problems, such as doing drugs and ditching school. Once James learns about who his mother really is, he becomes more aware of where he belongs. James grows to become a very successful, intellectual man just like his other siblings.

He is a musician, songwriter, author and screenwriter. He has written for Spike Lee and with Spike Lee. He won the National Book Award in 2013 for his novel The Good Lord Bird.

http://www.jamesmcbride.com/

Kathy is the younger sister of James. she was the "more attractive sister." Many boys would ask James about her, while James questioned why they wanted anything to do with his ugly sister. Kathy grew up to become a special education teacher. Ruth moved in with Kathy once all the other children had grown.

The older brother who is closest to James age. James followed Richie through many things. Just like James, Richie has a passion for music and is a musician. Girls liked Richie. He had a very creative talent. Richard became a chemistry professor.

James oldest sister. Rosetta's main goal was to keep her younger siblings out of trouble. James tells us that she is the toughest. Rosetta later went on to become a psychologist.

A.K.A Billy, William is James older brother who would always tease his other siblings. Billy later went to Yale University.

Judy is James half-sister who played piano in church after Helen left. She became a teacher in New York.

The oldest of all the McBride and Jordan children. Andrew was an artist. He made sure his role as an older brother was succeeded. Andrew became very successful. He marched on Washington and went off to medical school. Ruth was very proud of Andrew. She wanted all of her children to turn out just as he did.

"... one Sunday morning my youngest sister Judy was nine at the time and also played piano, was suddenly pressed into service."

Helen is James older sister. She was gentle, naive, talkative, and curious. She was also the pianist at church. Helen was very passionate about political events. She dropped out of school because "white man's education" was not for her, When she dropped out, she became a 'hippie'. Helen left home at age 15 because she was tired of her siblings not agreeing with her views. She returned at age 20 with a nursing degree and a baby.

"Helen was at war with the white man and took it home and laid it at Mommy's feet."

James older sister who later became a medical office manager.

"Naw. If they put Jesus in this picture here, and He ain't white, and he ain't black, they should make Him gray. Jesus should be gray."

"I would walk down the street and some big dude I'd never seen before would say, "Yo. How's Kathy?" "Okay," I'd shrug. I got my nose nearly broken over Kathy a few times. There's nothing worse than having to fight for you crummy, ugly sister whom half the neighborhood was in love with. It was a real problem."

pg 71

pg. 53

pg. 71

"The certainty that lived inside me began to dissipate; the ache that the little boy who stared in the mirror felt was gone. My own humanity was awakened, rising up to greet me with a handshake as I watched the first glimmers of sunlight peek over the horizon. There's such a big difference between being dead and alive, I told myself, and the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life. And the greatest sin a person can do to another is take away that life."

"My older brother Billy, whose memory would later serve him well enough to take him through Yale University Medical School, marched to the front of the church wearing a suit and tie, faced the congregation, started out, 'When Jesus first came to . . . ' then blanked out completely."

pg. 72

"Dennis had finished college. Dennis had gone to Europe. And now, for his crowning achievement, Dennis, oh glorious Dennis, oh mighty Dennis--Dennis! Dennis!--sought the highest, most wonderful, most incredible achievement any human being, any son, could hope to achieve.

Dennis was going to be a doctor. "

pg.53

pg. 229

pg. 70

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