Harry Sunshine Family Papers

Harry Sunshine's father, Benzion Sunshine, was born in Voroshilovskove, Russia in 1868. Benzion married Gussie Spector, a girl from his village, in 1894. She was born in 1876. They lived in a small cottage that had dirt floors. Be Zion was deeply religious and he came from a long line of rabbis. When Benzion came to America in 1913 he was using the name Sensen, the same name he used in Russia. When he landed in Galveston, Texas he was given the name Sunshine. He immediately moved to Rock Island, Illinois, where Gussie's relatives were living. He stayed there for six months but he did not like it and moved to Atlanta where he had some cousins. Harry, who was born in 1896, followed his father to America. He landed in Savannah and moved to Atlanta. When the rest of the family came in 1914 they landed in Baltimore and moved directly to Atlanta. When Harry got to this country, he was seventeen years old. He started to peddle junk and opened his junk metal shop in Anniston, Alabama before he went to serve in World War I. When he returned, he met Lillie Shemper and a year later they got married in Hattiesburg synagogue in 1920. They went back to Atlanta and stayed with his family before moving to New Orleans to go to school. When they returned to Atlanta they bought a house and started a clothing business that blossomed into Sunshine Department Stores. They had four children, their youngest being Phillip. He was a member of Ahavath Achim Congregation. He passed away in Atlanta on APril 18, 1967 at the age of 70.