Monday, March 9, 2020

Mendel Morgenstern's second marriage - January 1, 1838 in Kock, officiated by a Gutman

So my grandmother falsely claimed that Mendel Morgenstern was her great grandfather. We know who her parents (Abram Yankel Gutman (1844-19??) and Shaindel Esther Handelsman (1844-1899)) were. Abram's parents were David Gutman (1814-1872) and Tema Haneft (1816-1855). Esther's parents were David Handelsman (1819-1893) and Perla Kawe (1821-1888). David's parents were Berek Gutman (?-1846) and Yenta ? (?-?) of Kock. Tema's parents were Moshe Haneft (1790-1860) and Mnicha ? (?-1824) of Konskowola. David's parents were Beinish Handelsman (1796-?) and Esther Sztul (?-1826). Perla's parents were Levi Kawe (1795-1871) and Dvora ? (1792-1867). Berek's parents were Icek & Mala. Esther Sztul's parents were Moshe and Rachel. Rachel's father was Juda. Juda's father was Joseph.

So Jenny Goodman's great-grandfathers were Beinish Handelsman, a merchant, Levi Kawe, occupation unknown, Moshe Haneft, a clergyman, and Berek Gutman, a baker. All of them born in the 18th century. However there was a Gutman connection to Mendel Morgenstern. Berek's brother Wolf Gutman was a clergyman, not ordained as a rabbi but acting in that capacity for the town of Kock in the 1820's. It is likely that Morgenstern was invited to move to Kock in 1829, from Tomaszow, where he was in conflict with the Jewish religious authorities. However Wolf Gutman continued to officiated at most of the weddings in Kock until his death in 1844. One of these weddings was the 1838 marriage of Mendel Morgenstern and Chaya Lipszycz (Lipszhitz).

The affidavit of that wedding is below, signed in Roman cursive by Wolf Gutman. It is extraordinary that Wolf Gutman could write Roman cursive. Almost all Jewish civil documents were signed in Yiddish at that time. Anyway it is clear that Wolf Gutman, and likely his brother Berek, Jenny's great-grandfather, were intimately involved with Morgenstern. Berek's son David, Jenny's grandfather, and David's son Abram, Jenny's father, were religious scholars and teachers. Abram and Esther married in the mid 1860's and initially lived in Michow, moved to Kock upon the death of David Gutman in 1872 (maybe Abram assumed David's position) and back to Michow in 1891.

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