My grandmother never met her father.

West Philadelphia.

My great-grandfather, Benjamin Cohen owned a tobacco shop in West Philly and was a figure in the neighborhood. He was married to my great grandmother, Rae Cohen, and they had 6 children: Al, Sylvan, Herman, Fran, Max, and Pearl (“Bobby”). Rae was pregnant with my grandmother, Bobby, when Benjamin got the flu and passed, so my grandmother never met her father.

She spoke to me about this fact often, which is why I thought to reach out. Though Fran moved to New York, all the other children stayed in the Philadelphia area, if not the city itself. Al and Sylvan went on to start a law firm together and Sylvan was highly active in the Philadephia/PA legal and civic community. My grandmother was a teacher in Philly and in the suburbs at places like Overbrook Elementary and the Miquon school. She married my grandfather, Maurice Seifert, who was from South Philly. They raised their kids in Springfield/Wyncote. Bobby passed in 2010. My uncle, Ray Seifert (stage name Ray Benson) is in the Philadelphia music hall of fame for his career with the band Asleep at the Wheel.

I grew up in Jersey but my father and I moved to Philly in 2007 and I’ve been here ever since.

Contributed by Sophia Seifert, Granddaughter of Pearl “Bobby” Cohen.