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In this birth certificate, a man named “Mordka Yosif Zlocower,” twenty-five, reported in front of two witnesses on August 14, 1891, that, on June 15 (according to the Julian calendar then in use, thirteen days behind the U.S. Gregorian calendar), in the afternoon, his wife, “Miriam Ruchla Migdal,” twenty-four, gave birth to a female baby given the name “Chawa.” At the bottom of the document, among the signatures, there is one by “M J Zloczewer” So despite the certificate’s earlier reference to “Zlocower,” he signed his last name “Zloczewer.” Eve’s father’s casual relation to recorded birth dates is indicated by his reporting his child’s birth almost two months after the event.

In the United States, Chawa sometimes also claimed March 31, 1891, as her birth date—perhaps a date with special meaning, a sign of her determined self-making, and a sign of her culture’s casual relation to recorded birth dates.

In the documents concerning Eve's life, her first and especially her last name are spelled in a variety of ways, exhibiting the same casual relation to a standardized spelling. Standardization was a value that developed later with capitalist industrialization.

Eve's birth certificate via Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, Oddział w Mławie, Narutowicza 3, 06-500 Mława, translated from the Russian thanks to Liliana Ossowski. Comments and corrections are most welcome.

Last edit March 20, 2021, 5:17 PM ET.