Chaim-Efraim Blei was born in 1844 in Sadagora, just north of Czernowitz. Chaim’s father Simon Dov ha-Levi (Levi tribe) Blei, likely emigrated to the area from a town called Debica, as the marriage record reads that the groom is “son of Selig Blei from Dembica”. This could be Debica, Poland, which was part of the province of Lesser Poland, part of the Sandomierz Voivodeship.

Debica and the origin of the surname Blei

Evidence of a Jewish community in Debica, Poland (later Galicia) dates back to the 1600s, where, according to author Daniel Liebel in his History of the Jews of Dembitz, the fees for the Jewish slaughter of animals were included in a butcher’s guild charter. In the first Polish census of the area in 1764, there were 911 Jews in residence – though this was probably not accurate, and there were many more who avoided the census taker as a matter of course. In that census, the professions of the Jews included one grain dealer, 1 cantor, several teachers and tradespeople, and 1 medic. In 1773, the region became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1787, Ashkenazi Jews were required to take German surnames by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II to promote assimilation. “Blei” translates to “lead” or “lead worker” in German, so it might explain the origin of this surname in my family. This is all just an educated guess on my part. My research of early Galicia records shows many with the name Blei.

According to researcher Mimi Taylor, in her History of Jewish settlement in the Bukowina, the increase in the Jewish population of the Bukovina in the mid 1800s can be attributed to immigration from Galicia and other areas where Jews had fewer civil rights and were subject to discrimination by the Polish majority who wanted to break away from Austro-Hungary.

Life in Sadagora

Sadagora is to the north of Czernowitz, across the Prut river. When Chaim was born there in 1844, the town was part of Austria, as was Czernowitz. Sadagora was a Jewish cultural center, surrounded by over ten communities  with shifting borders: Rohozna, Neu-Zuczka, Cameral-Lenkoutz, Privat-Lenkoutz, Bila, Buda, Unter-Szeroutz, Szubranetz, Zadobrowka, Waschkoutz, Czernawka, Rarancze, Toporoutz, and Dobronoutz.

A great synagogue and weekly market were part of local life. Citizen life centered around the market, with many merchants, makers of shoes, clothing, bread, butchers, barbers, and street vendors, and coachmen handling passengers and goods traveling between Sadagora and the bigger city of Czernowitz across the Prut River.

According to the Czernowitz chapter of the book “On the history of the Jews in Czernowitz“, an event of crucial importance for the Jews in Austria was the passing of the Land Ownership law on December 21, 1867, bringing the right for Jews to own land and move freely within Austria. This brought on an increase in the Jewish population. In the year following the passing of the law allowing Jewish land ownership,

Marriage and Children

On 2 June 1868, Chaim Blei married Chana Rose Stanger in the Czernowitz area. The rabbi was Dr. Lazar Igel, who was known to be a free thinker and a divisive figure in the religious community.

For the next twenty years, a ridiculous number of children are credited to Chaim and Rose. They say that fresh country air is stimulating, or perhaps Chaim and Rose did not have very much in common, so they needed diversion.

• January 15, 1869 – Brane Blei is born, a daughter.
• May 30, 1871 – Samson Selig Blei is born on 8 May (my great-grandfather). Samson goes on to marry Golde Sandberg in 1897 and has six children (Sigmund, Samuel, Ettel (my grandmother), Isidor, Adolph, Mina and Regina).
• April 27, 1873 – Leon Leib Blei is born, on 27 April. He married Marjem Freiberg in 1897, and they had six children. Lieb and Marjem both died at the Bug river in Transnistria.
• July 10, 1875 – Ester Marjem is born (and died the same year, on 10 July)
• 1877 – Mordche Blei is born, 20 March (his short life ended on 15 April of the same year)
• 1878 – Chaja Blei is born, listed as “unehelich” (illegitimate), and died on 23 July the same year.
• December 27, 1879 – Rebecca Blei is born
• November 14, 1881 – Beile Blei is born
• 1882 – Chaje Blei is born
• 1885 – Ruchel Blei is born
• 1887 – Samuel Blei is born, and a person of the same name married a Flora Kreisler in 1911.
• 1889 – Josef Blei is born
• 1891 – Ettel Blei is born.

1890 Czernowitz Census

The 1890 Census of Czernowitz documents the Blay (or Bley) household residing in Czernowitz, Bukovina, led by the head of household (Wohnungsinhaber) and father, Chaim Blay. Born on March 2, 1843, in Dębica (Tarnów district, Galicia), Chaim worked as a coachman (Kutscher) and had been resident in Czernowitz for 36 years; notes indicate he possessed a marriage certificate (Trauschein) and was allegedly legally married. His wife, Chana Rosa Stanger (born in Czernowitz 1849), managed the household (führt den Haushalt). Both parents, along with their eight unmarried children, were of the Jewish faith (mosaisch), spoke Yiddish/German (jüdisch deutsch), and shared legal citizenship status (Zuständigkeit) belonging to Dębica, Galicia.

The family included eight children, all born in Czernowitz:

• Brana (daughter, b. Jan 15, 1869), who assisted with household duties (hilft im Haushalt).
• Samson Selig (son, b. May 30, 1871), for whom a birth/baptismal certificate (Taufschein/Matrikelschein) was noted.
• Leib (son, b. Apr 27, 1873), a tailor’s assistant (Schneider Gehilfe), though his certificate was missing.
• Ester Mariem (daughter, b. Jul 10, 1875), employed as a domestic servant (Dienstmagd).
• Rebecce (daughter, b. Dec 27, 1879), a student in the 2nd grade (Schülerin der II Klasse), with a recorded birth certificate.
• Beile (daughter, b. Nov 14, 1881), a student in the 1st grade (Schülerin der I Klasse).
• Chaje (daughter, b. 1882).
• Ruchel (daughter, b. 1885).

Career

On his marriage license, Chaim is listed as working as a Kutscher (coachman). In the book History of the Jews in the Bukowina, there is a colorful scene from the life of a coachman.

“There stood an old stone bridge over the Moszkow stream; this was also a waiting area for the wagon and carriage drivers, in other words, the hub of traffic, next to a considerable number of guest houses. One traveled from here to Czernowitz and to the Sadagura train station...The competition was fierce, and not uncommonly there were bloody fights among the drivers for the goodwill of the traveling public. The fights among the coachmen originating in their business competition were often waged with wagon parts and wheel wrenches, while at the same time providing the opportunity to settle long overdue family feuds.‘ Related: From the Ehpes Blog: Coach Ride in Czernowitz (photos)

By 1898, he was working as a Makler (estate agent). His business address was listed as  #3 Pumnulgasse (now Arona Pumnula Street.) This part of Chernivtsi is in a residential area, with the pretty, pink stone buildings reminiscent of Vienna, so probably built during Habsburg rule, from 1775 to 1918. Nearby, in present-day there is a small grocery store “Magazin Produkty.”

In the 1908 Czernowitz Census, Chaim was working from home as a Vermittler (mediator) at Jenknergasse #13. It appears to be a pretty rural lane with pink stucco cottages. There is a mention of Chaim Blei in an article in the newspaper “Bukowinaer Rundschau”, dated 6 July, 1906. He is listed in an article as part of the “Jewish Community Association of Czernowitz” along with the names of Anna Gruber, Johann Blazinsli, Josef Stein, Levi Honig, and others. LINK

In 1921 a mention of Chaim Blei appears in the newspaper Judische Presse – a German weekly reflecting an Orthodox viewpoint. Chaim is mentioned in a section headed, “Spendenausweis” (Proof of Donation) for “Judengruppe” (Group of Jews). Chaim died in 1924, in Czernowitz, and is buried in the Czernowitz Jewish Cemetery, Area 109, Parcel 46b, Plot 177.