Don’t Break the Chain

BC Genealogical Society Annual Book Award to Shirley Barnett and Philip Dayson

On Wednesday evening June 13^th, siblings Shirley Barnett and Philip Dayson were honoured at the BC Genealogical Society annual Book Award presentation.   Barnett and Dayson were honoured for their book Don’t Break the Chain which portrays the journey of Abraham and Toba Nemetz from Svatatroiske in the Ukraine to Vancouver and points in-between. Fleeing from pogroms in 1922, Abraham and Toba began a new life in Canada. Page 162 of Don’t Break the Chain outlines how Abraham and Tova’s family of 9 children grew into 196 descendants. Family trees and portraits – both individual and group – are part of a fascinating picture of a family whose lives became an important part of both the Jewish and general communities of Vancouver.

In her acceptance of the award, Shirley Barnett said that, while researching the book, numerous family members (known and previously unknown) were reached with 100% cooperation from them in helping to provide information for the book. The title of the book comes from Ben Dayson, Barnett and Dayson’s father.  Although he married into the family, because of his belief in the value of family ties, Ben Dayson often “ended his conversations and speeches with the sentence, ‘don’t break the chain’.”

Barnett also thanked the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC for their support and rich accumulation of archival material. For more information, interested readers may access www.nemetzfamily.ca or the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC at www.jewishmuseum.ca

Congratulations to Shirley Barnett and Philip Dayson for being honoured by the BC Genealogical Society of BC who recognized the positive impact of this family and this book on the history and development of our entire province.