Yankel Waxman, the son of Yussel Waxman and his wife Zlottie, was born in Kalarash around 1859. He was a joiner [carpenter] who had a store in Kalarash that made fine furniture. His union with Beyla Cohen was an arranged marriage. They had two children: Iser (born 1888) and Chaika (born 1892). Jacob --- as he became known in America --- was a free-thinker who felt smothered by Jewish religious life in Kalarash. He wanted to emigrate to America, but Beyla did not want to go with him, so they divorced amicably and he went to New York by himself.
Jacob came back to Kalarash after a few years and married a Bessarabian woman named Chana (Annie). He realized that he had made a mistake in returning to the shtetl so, prior to 1905, he emigrated a second time and took his new wife with him. Between 1906 and 1908, he sent ships' tickets to his two children and Beyla's second husband Joseph Einbinder. In 1909, Beyla sold her business in Kalarash and joined the rest of her family in New York. While living in New York, Jacob worked as a cutter in the ladies' hat industry. He died in 1910 at the age of 50 and is buried in Mt. Zion cemetery in New York.
Credits: Photograph, text, and page design copyrighted © 2007 by Helene Kenvin. Page created by Helene Kenvin. All rights reserved.