Jacob Jancowitz was born 1869, in Bucharest, Romania. He emigrated to New York City between 1880 and 1890. Sophie Brill was born 1880, also in Bucharest. She emigrated to the U.S. between 1885 and 1895 with several. She briefly lived in Montreal, Canada but settled in New York City. One of Sophie's relatives was Jeannette Brill who become on of the first woman juvenile court judges in New York. She also had an uncle Henry who had a jewelry store in New York.