PEOPLE
J
J
JEWISH COMMUNITY
Created by Gail Hussey Weir
November 2023
Created by Gail Hussey Weir
November 2023
INTRODUCTION
Some background on how Jewish merchant families came to Newfoundland is found in "Hebrew Congregation" in The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 2, p. 901:
Between 1880 and 1910, two million of East Europe's Jews immigrated to North America to escape the wave of pogroms that followed the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Most of the new immigrants settled in New York City's East Side...Peddling, and labouring in one of the East Side's numerous garment factories were the predominant means of livelihood. While these two occupations were not lucrative, they did allow the immigrant to settle among relatives, to get by with little English, and observe the Sabbath and holy days with minimal disturbance...In 1891, Israel Perlin, a Russian Jew from Poland, left New York for Newfoundland and began to sell dry goods in the isolated communities of Placentia and Fortune Bays. He and his brother, Frank, opened a wholesale and retail store on Water Street in St. John's, I.F. Perlin & Co., and began to bring relatives and family acquaintances to work for them as peddlers in the outports...By 1913, some of the more successful of Perlin's peddlers had set up their own businesses on Water Street in competition with the Perlins.
During the mining years, Bell Island had a number of Jewish families and individuals, most but not all of whom were business people. I have done some research and you can read what I have written about them by clicking the buttons below. Here are some members of the Jewish community who lived and worked on Bell Island.
Between 1880 and 1910, two million of East Europe's Jews immigrated to North America to escape the wave of pogroms that followed the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Most of the new immigrants settled in New York City's East Side...Peddling, and labouring in one of the East Side's numerous garment factories were the predominant means of livelihood. While these two occupations were not lucrative, they did allow the immigrant to settle among relatives, to get by with little English, and observe the Sabbath and holy days with minimal disturbance...In 1891, Israel Perlin, a Russian Jew from Poland, left New York for Newfoundland and began to sell dry goods in the isolated communities of Placentia and Fortune Bays. He and his brother, Frank, opened a wholesale and retail store on Water Street in St. John's, I.F. Perlin & Co., and began to bring relatives and family acquaintances to work for them as peddlers in the outports...By 1913, some of the more successful of Perlin's peddlers had set up their own businesses on Water Street in competition with the Perlins.
During the mining years, Bell Island had a number of Jewish families and individuals, most but not all of whom were business people. I have done some research and you can read what I have written about them by clicking the buttons below. Here are some members of the Jewish community who lived and worked on Bell Island.
|
Cohen / Kolonel: click the button on the right to read about the Cohen / Kolonel families of Bell Island>>>
|
Glick, Benjamin (Benny) (1907-1978): Merchant. Born February 10, 1907 to Sima and Moses Glick in Bialystak, Poland. He emigrated to Newfoundland in 1925, at about age 18, and was naturalized in 1930. All reports of him indicate that he had an out-going and creative personality, as seen in the following story from March 1931:
Carnivals were regular features at the Arena in those years. Benny Glick took top honours in the Adult Carnival and attracted much attention by his portrayal of the proposed new public building which was a general topic of discussion at that time. He had to be driven to the Arena in a truck, and when his "building" was parked on the ice, smoke began pouring from the chimney as Benny puffed away inside on a cigar.
He was also musically talented as, throughout the 1930s and perhaps longer, he was the conductor of The Melodians Orchestra, which performed at many dances and special events.
On August 2, 1934, he married Mania Lachozwianska, who was born May 12, 1913 in Slonim, Poland.
His dry goods store was located on Town Square near the intersection with Bennett Street, opposite St. Kevin's Boys' School. Because of the wind direction, it seems to have been spared when about 20 stores and homes were levelled in the great fire of January 14-15, 1937.
On February 27, 1954, he opened what was described in The Daily News of Dec. 31, 1954 as "Bell Island's first department store," the Ideal Store on Bennett Street:
...one of the finest of its size in Newfoundland, this store is one of the "showplaces" of the Island's business district. Mr. Glick moved to his new location after leasing his former store on Town Square to Agnew-Surpass, who have opened a modern boot and shoe store in the old building. The new Ideal Store has a frontage of 66 feet on Bennett Street and is set off with six large plate glass windows fronting on the street...The windows are filled with attractive and striking displays... Mr. Glick...first came to Bell Island from his native Poland in 1925, handicapped by a complete lack of English and without money and friends. But by dint of hard work and business ability, he gradually built up a flourishing trade and now has the finest dry goods store on the Island.
At the July 10, 1957 weekly luncheon meeting of the Bell Island Kiwanis Club at the Legion Club rooms, "the sing-song was directed by the club song leader, Benny Glick."
Sometime in 1958, the Glicks left Bell Island to live in Los Angeles, Ca. (He was issued a U.S. Social Security number that year.) They applied for U.S. citizenship in 1960, at which time his occupation was "apartment house owner." He had black hair, blue eyes, medium complexion and weighed 198 lbs at 5' 8". The Glicks had no children. When he left Bell Island, Glick leased his Bennett Street store to Bowring Brothers of St. John's, who operated it as a branch store from 1958 until the mines closed in 1966. The building is still standing in 2023.
In 1969, Glick was a juror on the 2-month-long trial of Sirhan-Sirhan, who was convicted of the June 1968 shooting of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Benjamin Glick died February 16, 1978, age 71. (No headstone was found for him.) Mania Glick died September 3, 2004, age 91. She is buried in Hillside Memorial Park, Los Angeles County, Ca.
Carnivals were regular features at the Arena in those years. Benny Glick took top honours in the Adult Carnival and attracted much attention by his portrayal of the proposed new public building which was a general topic of discussion at that time. He had to be driven to the Arena in a truck, and when his "building" was parked on the ice, smoke began pouring from the chimney as Benny puffed away inside on a cigar.
He was also musically talented as, throughout the 1930s and perhaps longer, he was the conductor of The Melodians Orchestra, which performed at many dances and special events.
On August 2, 1934, he married Mania Lachozwianska, who was born May 12, 1913 in Slonim, Poland.
His dry goods store was located on Town Square near the intersection with Bennett Street, opposite St. Kevin's Boys' School. Because of the wind direction, it seems to have been spared when about 20 stores and homes were levelled in the great fire of January 14-15, 1937.
On February 27, 1954, he opened what was described in The Daily News of Dec. 31, 1954 as "Bell Island's first department store," the Ideal Store on Bennett Street:
...one of the finest of its size in Newfoundland, this store is one of the "showplaces" of the Island's business district. Mr. Glick moved to his new location after leasing his former store on Town Square to Agnew-Surpass, who have opened a modern boot and shoe store in the old building. The new Ideal Store has a frontage of 66 feet on Bennett Street and is set off with six large plate glass windows fronting on the street...The windows are filled with attractive and striking displays... Mr. Glick...first came to Bell Island from his native Poland in 1925, handicapped by a complete lack of English and without money and friends. But by dint of hard work and business ability, he gradually built up a flourishing trade and now has the finest dry goods store on the Island.
At the July 10, 1957 weekly luncheon meeting of the Bell Island Kiwanis Club at the Legion Club rooms, "the sing-song was directed by the club song leader, Benny Glick."
Sometime in 1958, the Glicks left Bell Island to live in Los Angeles, Ca. (He was issued a U.S. Social Security number that year.) They applied for U.S. citizenship in 1960, at which time his occupation was "apartment house owner." He had black hair, blue eyes, medium complexion and weighed 198 lbs at 5' 8". The Glicks had no children. When he left Bell Island, Glick leased his Bennett Street store to Bowring Brothers of St. John's, who operated it as a branch store from 1958 until the mines closed in 1966. The building is still standing in 2023.
In 1969, Glick was a juror on the 2-month-long trial of Sirhan-Sirhan, who was convicted of the June 1968 shooting of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Benjamin Glick died February 16, 1978, age 71. (No headstone was found for him.) Mania Glick died September 3, 2004, age 91. She is buried in Hillside Memorial Park, Los Angeles County, Ca.
|
Goldstone: click the button on the right to read more about the Goldstone families of Bell Island>>>
|
Monkarsh, William (Billy) (1908-1987): Merchant. He was born Wolf Makarz in Zambrow, Lomza, Poland on November 15, 1908. (Source: His 1949 U.S. application for Naturalization.) His parents may have been Rochla (nee Milkewitz) and Nachman Bejba Monkarz. (Source: 1930 U.S. application for Naturalization made by Nachman Monkarsh in Mayville, N.Y.)
William emigrated to Newfoundland in 1929 at the age of 20. His arrival on the scene in Bell Island was noted in The Daily News in March of that year and Addison Bown, in his "Newspaper History of Bell Island," commented:
William Monkarsh arrived from Russia that winter. He was said to be able to speak seven languages. Like Bennie Glick, who had come out from Poland previously, he was soon able to add another language to those he already had, ie. English.
He had a dry goods business on Bell Island in 1929 and it was reported in July of that year that he and Ben Glick, another shopkeeper, gave a house-warming party to celebrate the opening of their new home.
When Ralph Monkarsh (1906-1988) travelled from St. John's to Chicago in February 1931, he gave his brother, William of Bell Island, Newfoundland, as his contact person. Ralph seems to have been living on Bell Island, as Bown reported that Ralph Monkarsh moved to New York to study nursing in the winter of 1932.
William became a Naturalized citizen of Newfoundland December 11, 1934.
In the summer of 1935, The Daily News reported that Monkarsh took over the store on Bennett Street previously occupied by Hiram Bennett, who operated it as a meat store. Eileen (nee Newton) Stadler, who turned 95 in 2022, recalled the Monkarsh shop being opposite the Roman Catholic Church on the corner of Bennett and Main Street.
On December 9, 1941, The Daily News reported that Mr. Monkarsh was closing his business on Bell Island and moving his stock to Placentia that week. He had been in business on Bell Island for 12 years.
On February 13, 1943, he married Ella [aka Helen] Apple (1916-????) of Chicago, Illinois.
He is listed in the 1945 Census for Placentia, along with his wife, Ella, and their one-year-old daughter, Lynne.
Robin McGrath, in her 2006 book Salt Fish & Shmattes: a history of the Jews in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1770, page 194, says that Monkarsh eventually moved to California with his friend, Benny Glick (see above). His 1949 U.S. application for Naturalization gives his residence as 1511 S. Cardiff Ave., Los Angeles, Ca., and says that he had been living continuously in the U.S. for two years, since February 1, 1947, with his last place of residence being Bell Island, Nfld. His occupation was now "property manager." He was a white male of medium complexion, with brown hair and eyes, 5' 5.5" tall, and weighed 170 lbs. Besides daughter Lynne, they now had a son, Dennis Jay, born in 1948 in Culver City, Ca.
William Monkarsh died May 13, 1987 in Los Angeles. No headstone was found for him or Ella. A headstone was found for Ralph Monkarsh, 1906-1988, buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, Ca.
William emigrated to Newfoundland in 1929 at the age of 20. His arrival on the scene in Bell Island was noted in The Daily News in March of that year and Addison Bown, in his "Newspaper History of Bell Island," commented:
William Monkarsh arrived from Russia that winter. He was said to be able to speak seven languages. Like Bennie Glick, who had come out from Poland previously, he was soon able to add another language to those he already had, ie. English.
He had a dry goods business on Bell Island in 1929 and it was reported in July of that year that he and Ben Glick, another shopkeeper, gave a house-warming party to celebrate the opening of their new home.
When Ralph Monkarsh (1906-1988) travelled from St. John's to Chicago in February 1931, he gave his brother, William of Bell Island, Newfoundland, as his contact person. Ralph seems to have been living on Bell Island, as Bown reported that Ralph Monkarsh moved to New York to study nursing in the winter of 1932.
William became a Naturalized citizen of Newfoundland December 11, 1934.
In the summer of 1935, The Daily News reported that Monkarsh took over the store on Bennett Street previously occupied by Hiram Bennett, who operated it as a meat store. Eileen (nee Newton) Stadler, who turned 95 in 2022, recalled the Monkarsh shop being opposite the Roman Catholic Church on the corner of Bennett and Main Street.
On December 9, 1941, The Daily News reported that Mr. Monkarsh was closing his business on Bell Island and moving his stock to Placentia that week. He had been in business on Bell Island for 12 years.
On February 13, 1943, he married Ella [aka Helen] Apple (1916-????) of Chicago, Illinois.
He is listed in the 1945 Census for Placentia, along with his wife, Ella, and their one-year-old daughter, Lynne.
Robin McGrath, in her 2006 book Salt Fish & Shmattes: a history of the Jews in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1770, page 194, says that Monkarsh eventually moved to California with his friend, Benny Glick (see above). His 1949 U.S. application for Naturalization gives his residence as 1511 S. Cardiff Ave., Los Angeles, Ca., and says that he had been living continuously in the U.S. for two years, since February 1, 1947, with his last place of residence being Bell Island, Nfld. His occupation was now "property manager." He was a white male of medium complexion, with brown hair and eyes, 5' 5.5" tall, and weighed 170 lbs. Besides daughter Lynne, they now had a son, Dennis Jay, born in 1948 in Culver City, Ca.
William Monkarsh died May 13, 1987 in Los Angeles. No headstone was found for him or Ella. A headstone was found for Ralph Monkarsh, 1906-1988, buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, Ca.
Pettcoff / Petcoff / Petticoff / Petkoff / Petkov, Gordon (1896-1972): Miner. Born in Bulgaria in 1896. He emigrated to Newfoundland in 1928 and was Naturalized in 1933. No listing was found for him in the 1945 Newfoundland Census. A page on wikitree.com, author unknown, gives the following information about their "uncle Gordon":
He was ethnically Sfardi...The terrible Chirpan-Plovdlv earthquakes in Bulgaria in April 1928 left 264,000 people homeless. This is very probably why he left Bulgaria, probably on a German freighter, as we sold iron ore to Germany, and Germany was the biggest consumer of Bulgarian agricultural produce...Uncle Gordon left the ship at Bell Island in 1928 and became a naturalized citizen of Newfoundland in 1933. Though he was thoroughly non-communist, to keep in touch with his homeland, he latterly received the Bulgarian newspaper Sofiiska Pravda. Working as a miner in Bell Island's iron ore mines, he was also a herbalist, and many people would come to him for herbal remedies...Husband of Daisy Maude Stares, married 22 Aug 1953 in St. John's, Newfoundland. (Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Petkov-4; accessed Dec. 16, 2022.)
Garry Peddle, who lived on King's Avenue (off Main Street) across from Gordon Petcoff in the early 1960s, remembers him as a tall, slim man, very friendly, with a German accent, who rode around on an old motorcycle with a sidecar on it.
Daisy Maud Petcoff, age 51, of Bell Island, died November 12, 1959. Gordon Pettcoff died in 1972, age 76. They are buried in St. Boniface Anglican Cemetery, Bell Island.
He was ethnically Sfardi...The terrible Chirpan-Plovdlv earthquakes in Bulgaria in April 1928 left 264,000 people homeless. This is very probably why he left Bulgaria, probably on a German freighter, as we sold iron ore to Germany, and Germany was the biggest consumer of Bulgarian agricultural produce...Uncle Gordon left the ship at Bell Island in 1928 and became a naturalized citizen of Newfoundland in 1933. Though he was thoroughly non-communist, to keep in touch with his homeland, he latterly received the Bulgarian newspaper Sofiiska Pravda. Working as a miner in Bell Island's iron ore mines, he was also a herbalist, and many people would come to him for herbal remedies...Husband of Daisy Maude Stares, married 22 Aug 1953 in St. John's, Newfoundland. (Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Petkov-4; accessed Dec. 16, 2022.)
Garry Peddle, who lived on King's Avenue (off Main Street) across from Gordon Petcoff in the early 1960s, remembers him as a tall, slim man, very friendly, with a German accent, who rode around on an old motorcycle with a sidecar on it.
Daisy Maud Petcoff, age 51, of Bell Island, died November 12, 1959. Gordon Pettcoff died in 1972, age 76. They are buried in St. Boniface Anglican Cemetery, Bell Island.
Swedlin, Theodore (Teddy) (c.1891-1944), born in Vilna, Russia, to Ruth and Jacob Swedlin, was a retail dealer on Bell Island in 1913. He and his wife, Elizabeth (c.1882-1961), also born Russia, were living in Boston, Mass. in 1935. Teddy was the brother of Lottie Cohen of Bell Island, wife of Nathan Cohen. Teddy died July 4, 1944, age 53; Elizabeth died September 11, 1961, age 79. They are buried in Chevra Kadusha of Chelsea Cemetery, Woburn, Middlesex County, Mass., U.S.A.