[1] The Family of Shimon and Anna (Fishman) Goldseker, 1906. Back row ( left to right): Eta, Ida, mother Anna, Cousin Gittel, Pearl. Front row (left to right): Bayla, Charna, Sonny (David). The youngest son, Chuna, is not yet born. ↩

[2] Four Generations of the Shulman family: Middle row (left to right): Pearl Malka Shulman, her mother, Rivka (Gruber) Demb, her father Israel Jacob Demb, her husband Tsodik Shulman, her son-in-law, Saul Meiler. Back row (left to right) Pearl's son, Simon Shulman, son-in-law Shia Koszhushner, daughter Liza Koszhushner, son Ertz Shulman and daughter Nachuma Meiler. Front row (left to right), daughter Clara Shulman, granddaughter Tamara Meiler, daughter Pauline Shulman, daughter Sarah Shulman. ↩

[3] Quoted in essay "The Town of Mlynov," by Joseph Litvak of Jerusalem. In Mlynov-Muravica Memorial Book, 52-53. ↩

[4] On the coachmen, see Sonia and Mendel Teitleman, "People in a Shtetl," Mlynov-Muravica Memorial Book, 90-93. The coachmen are again mentioned by name in "Poor Lives," by Sonia and Mendl Teitleman, Memorial Book, 229-240. The presence of the Gruber men in 1912 and 1913 is captured in the passenger manifests of Simha's sons, Nathan and Samule Gruber, in their immigration to Baltimore. On the size and history of Berdichev, see Wikipedia. ↩

[5] From Sonia and Mendl Teitelman, "People in a Shtetl," in Mlynov-Muravica Memorial Book 90-102. ↩

[6] See Benjamin Nathans, Beyond the Pale, for the term "selective integration" and an account of the various ways that Jews sought integration (not assimilation) in the Tsarist empire with a focus on St. Petersburg. Nathans contests the views that tend to overemphasize the pogroms as the key events shaping Jewish efforts and identity in the period. ↩

[7] Clara Fram was the youngest daughter of Pesse Demb (later Bessie Hurwitz), Israel Jacob and Rivkah's, oldest daughter. Clara immigrated to Baltimore with her mother and two sisters in 1909 to rejoin her father. In 1982, as part of a continuing education seminar, she wrote her memoire. "This is My Story: I Write and Speak of Myself." I am quoting from the memoire with permission of her descendant Mia (Fram) Davidson. ↩

[8] See article on Mlyniv in Wikipedia citing a Ukrainian source Bukhalo, H., Vovk, A. Mlyniv, Mlyniv Raion, Rivne Oblast. "The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR." ↩

[9] Clara Fram, "This is My Story," p. 3. ↩

[15] See Balfouria. According to a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Balfouria had a population of 18 Jews. According to a Jewish National Fund publication of 1949, Balfouria was the first village to be founded in Palestine after the Balfour Declaration. ↩

[16] I want to thank the Schuchman family for hosting me and especially Schuchman descendant, Joyce Jandorf, who has spent quite a bit of time educating me about the Goldbergs. ↩

[17] I learned this fact from a family narrative written by Edith (Spector) Geller. I want to thank Edith and her nephew Harold for all their insights on the Goldberg clan from Mlynov. ↩

[17b] Since Mlynov was a small town, residents often did not use formal surnames. There are many examples in the Mlynov Memorial book where an individual is referred to instead in Yiddish with a possessive form of the father, mother, or father-in-law. Yiddish creates the possessive by adding an "s" sound, like the English "apostrophe s." For example, the children of Aaron Hirsch are referred to as belonging to the "Ahrelas" family, meaning son or daughter of Aharon. Similarly "Gitlas" is used to mean "daughter of Gitla," and "Tobishe" is used use to designate "son of Toba." It seems possible that Leib's orphan son became known as "Leibishe."

This Gelbarg household went through a major transformation from 1850 to 1858. In 1850, Haim-Leib is 42 and head of the family. He is married to a woman named Khina and they have three daughters (Etya, age 15, Eidlya, age 12, and Tsivya age 7). The 1850 census also indicates that Haim-Leib's brother recently died and that his brother's son, Mordko, age 10, is living in the household.

Everything changed by 1858. As that census makes evident, Haim-Leib passed away in 1855 at the age of 49. When he died, he left behind a young son named Freidel who was born in 1850 and was 5-years old when his father died. Haim-Leib's wife, Khina, and his three daughters, who were in the household in the 1850 census are no longer listed. We don't know what became of them. Perhaps after Haim-Leib's death, Khina returned to her family with her daughters or married someone else. In any case, in 1858 the son Freidel is living in the household as an orphan along with his first cousin, Mordko, who is now 25 years old. It is this orphan son, Freidel, who perhaps was known as "Leibishe" son of Leib. ↩

[18] Here is the third cousin relationship between the Shermans and Goldbergs: Ezra Sherman->Etel (Golisuk) Sherman, his mother-> Hannah (Schuchman) Golisuk, her mother->Eta Leah (Schuchman) Gelberg, her sister-> descendants of Labish and Eta (Schuchman) Gelberg. ↩

[19] I want to thank Joyce Jandorf, a Schuchman descendant, who located the proper pronunciation of Yankel's last name. The name was incorrectly transcribed as "Frumiut" in Sokolsky version of the Mlynov Memorial Book translation(p. 108). ↩

[20] The conclusion that Ruchel is Nathan's step-daughter, and not his daughter, is based on his 1927 Naturalization Petition which lists all his children, but leaves Ruchel out, even though she was living with Nathan and Reisel in the 1930 census. A longer discussion of sources in provided in the full length summary of Gelberg story published in PDF at the end of this section. ↩

[20b] Aisik's wife Perel is called the daughter of Itzi Shochet and is taken by descendants as a surname. But there is indication that it was in fact a description (Itzi the kosher slaughterer), not the surname. In the list of martyrs, Pesach Gelman is listed as a shohet and scribe and as son of R. Itzi the shohet. I conclude that Itzi the shohet had the last name Gelman and that Perel was his daughter and had the surname Gelman. ↩

[20c] The name "Moishe Nahmanis" appears to be a possessive construction that in Yiddish means "Nachman's Moishe." Normally this construction in the Mlynov Memorial book is used to describe a child by his or her father's name, as in Henye Ahrelas, which means Henye daughter of Aharon. At times, it is also used to describe a person based on his mother's name (if his father has passed) as in "Moishe Toybes," meaning Moishe [Fishman] son of Toba. In this case, neither his father or mother are named Nahman and thus it is uncertain where the name originates. There is a grandson named Nachman (son of Yankel) which seems to confirm that the name Nahman was important in this family line. It is also interesting that a Nachman Gelberg is a father-in-law living in the household of Moishe's son, Yeshea/Yehoshua who married Sima Gelberg. While it remains unclear why he is called Moishe Nahmanis, it seems highly probable that this Moishe Holtzeker is the man with that nickname since the children called sons and daughters of Moishe Nahmanis in the Mlynov martyr list correspond to the names of children remembered for this Moshe Holtzeker. ↩

[21] According to Herman family traditions, Moshe was born in 1850. However, according to his passenger manifest to the US, he was born in 1865 which seems more likely given the birth of his oldest son Israel in 1881. I want to acknowledge the help of descendants from the Herman family: Lynne Sandler, Miriam Berkowitz, and Debra Weinberg in understanding the Herman family history. ↩

[22] Clockwise from the bottom right: Sonia (or Sophie) Herman, Moshe and Chava Golda Herman, Bessie Herman (seated left), Hershon (Isaac?) Herman (standing left), Israel Herman (standing center), Shmuel [(Herman?) or husband of Sonia]. Notes from the family are not clear on identity of each person in the photo. ↩

[23] I'd like to thank Marla Nudler, Olivia and Emily Gampel, for their research and narrative on Morris's story, and to Barry Stadd who helped me understand the Polishuk story. Finally to Helen (Nudler) Fixler, who was willing to speak with me and allow me to interview her. ↩

[24] Sarah's passenger manifest shows she is going to this address in 1913. Israel Schwartz's Petittion from 1920 shows he is still at this same address. ↩

[25] An essay on Solomon Mandelkern by his great, great nephew, Col. Bernard Feingold, "Solomon Mandelkern" In Generations. Jewish Historical Society of Maryland. Vol. II:2. 1981, 10-19. ↩

[26] Shulman signed his Petition For Naturalization on July 6th 1928 ↩.

[27] On Kalman Schulman (aslo Shulman), see "Kalman Schulman" in the YIVO Encyclopedia. An excellent essay on Schulman, "Kalman Schulman: The First Professional Populizer," appears in a chapter called "Reaching the Masses" in Shmuel Feiner, Haskalah and History: The Emergence of a Modern Jewish Historical Consciousness, 247-273. Trans. Chaya Naor and Sondra Silverton. Oxford and Portland, Oregon, 2002. ↩

[28] Four generations in Mlynov of Demb/Shulmans. Second row seated (right to left): Pearl (Demb) Shulman, Pearl's parents, Israel Jacob and Rivkah (Gruber) Demb, Pearl's husband, Tsodik Shulman, their son-in-law, Saul Meiler.
Back row (left to right): Tsodik and Pearl's daughter, Nachuma (Shulman) Meiler, son "Ertz" (Harry) Shulman, daughter Liza (Shulman) Koszhusner, Liza's husband Shia Koszhusner, Tsodik and Pearl's son Simon Shulman. Front row (left to right): daughters Sarah Shulman, Pepe Shulman, Clara Shulman and baby, granddaughter, Tamara Meiler. ↩

[29] On Nafatli Herz Schulman, see "Ideological and Literary Ferment," in David E. Fishman, Russia's First Modern Jews: the Jews of Shklov. New York: New York University, 1995. ↩

[30] There are a number of references to the Count in the Memorial book. Joseph Litvak from Jerusalem ("The Town of Mlynov," Mlynov-Muravica Memorial Book, 53-59; Sokolsky translation, p. 15) recalls that:

Across the river in a vary large park, surrounded by a fence, was the Count's palace. Only very few Jews ever were able to enter the palace because the Count's family was extremely anti-Semitic.Whenever the Count had business dealings with Jews, he never dealt with them directly, using intermediaries instead. Also Jews were afraid to walk around the park because the Polish workers and servants employed by the Count would often release their dogs upon the Jews, or they would throw rocks at the Jews. Finally, in September 1939, after the Soviets took over the area, neighboring farmers ransacked and robbed the palace. For a few days afterwards, the Soviet government opened the palace to crowds of people who wished to see how the Count once lived.

The main attraction of the town was the Count's mansion. No one was allowed to enter the estate except for my grandfather, Hersh (also Hirsch) Goldseker. He was a 'useful Jew' and worked for the Count. When a Jew needed a favor from the Count, Hersh Goldseker was the intermediary. He was the one in town who had favor in the eyes of the Count. My grandfather used to tell us wonderful stories about the lives of the Count and his family.

[31] This digital image is in the public domain. ↩

[32] Quoting from Clara Fram, "This Is My Life," Part I, p. 6. ↩

[33] The interesting possibility that what the Shulmans remember as "Meiler" may have been also Malar was suggested to me by Joyce Jandorf, a descendant of the Schuchman family from Mlynov. ↩