Bercuson Family
When Jacob (Jack) Bercuson was 18 he fled Romania to avoid army service.
The handsome, blonde youth travelled in steerage to Canada and armed with a few Canadian phrases, became a peddler. Upon his arrival in Alberta, he sent for his cousin Sara Hart, who came with her widowed father and twelve-year old sister Bertha (Segall).
In l906 Jacob Bercuson and Sarah Hart were married by Rev. Hirsch Sosinsky, the father of Ben Sherwood (Sosinsky). In a year or two their son Joseph was born, followed by their daughter Pat (Hector).
Trouble for Jacob and other small merchants came with the opening of the T. Eaton Department Store. Eaton’s prices made competition impossible; and the Bercuson family moved to Montreal.
When Jacob Bercuson was 55, he and Sarah returned to Calgary for a visit. Jacob fell ill and died. Sarah remained in this city they both loved.
