Peller was born in Russia in 1902, one of eight or nine children born to Wolf Swerdlove (Swerdlov/Sverdlov; died 1949) and Yudis (aka "Julia") Tilkin (or Tilken; died 1952). The family emigrated to the United States when she was a child, settling in Chicago. In 1925, Clara Swerdlove married a local jeweler, William Peller. The couple had two ...