Nechama Kanefsky (1861 – 1939)

Painting of Nechama, her husband Fishel Mendelson, and her son Abraham, by Nacie Arnold, great-granddaughter of Nechama Kanefsky and for whom she was named. You can contact her here.

Nechama Kanefsky was born on April 15, 1861, in Chigirin, Ukraine. She emigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in East Harlem, New York, with her family to escape anti-Semitic violence. Despite many challenges, Nechama and her family built a life in New York.

Life in the Russian Empire

The former center of the shtetl in Medvedivka, Cherkasy Oblast (formerly Chyhyryn Oblast, Kyiv Gubernia), Ukraine. Credit: jewua.org

Before Nechama and her family left the Russian Empire, their last permanent address was in Medvedivka, approximately 230 km southeast of Kyiv. This town boasted a lively Jewish community, established in at least 1790, with synagogues, an active crafting industry, a savings and loans association, and numerous businesses. However, by 1919, six years after Nechama had left, the Pogroms had intensified. The Jewish community was devastated: 62 people were killed, more than 1,300 fled, living as refugees in dire conditions, and by 1926, only 26 Jews remained.1

Medvedivka, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine

Despite their address in Medvedivka, the family did not live there for very long. A little over a year before their departure, their son, Pasi, listed his closest relative as his father, F. Mendelson, who resided in Nesterivka, Ukraine, just under 200 km west of Medvedivka.2

Nesterivka, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine

According to Nechama’s granddaughter, Anne Mendelson Rosenbaum:

“My father and his mother Nechama (nee Kanefsky) lived in a small village called Nesterifka. My grandmother was an amazing woman. She was small, had 10 children: David, Pasi, Ben, Morris, Sophie, Minnie, Hyman, Abe, Faiga and Rose…

“My grandmother ran a general store and gave advice to her customers, medical, legal, etc. – all this between having ten children. At that time there was anti-semitism and frequently the Russian soldiers would come in to kill Jews and destroy the property. My grandmother was best friends with the police captain. Hewould warn her when there would be a pogrom. She kept the store locked, kept her family indoor until the police captain told her it was safe. And so they all survived.

“One day my father got sick and although my grandmother could handle almost anything, she realized this was something else. She put him in a wagon and drove to a hospital in the next town. They told her it was polio nd told her about applying compresses. She took him home, treated him, and he recovered completely.

“When the boys came of army drafting age, my grandmother sent them to America. They all came to NY and settled in Harlem in Manhattan – 101 St. and 2nd Avenue.” -November 17, 1999

1913 Arrival to the United States

According to the incoming passenger manifest at Ellis Island, Nechama (spelled Nechame) Kanefsky Mendelson, 48, set sail from Libau, Russia (now Liepāja, Latvia) on May 27, 1913, and arrived at Ellis Island on June 9, 1913, as a steerage passenger aboard the Kursk. They were processed the following day. She traveled with her husband, Fischel (later Fishel), 50, and their children: daughters Sane (later Sophie), 19, Mirel (later Minnie), 17, and son Avram (later Abraham), 11. Their last residence was Medwedowki (then Medvedovka, now Medvedivka, Cherkasy, Ukraine). The family was born in Zigirin (Chyhyryn, Cherkasy, Ukraine, or the Chigirin Uyezd). Their nationality was recorded as Russian, and their “race or people” was Hebrew.

Fishel was a laborer, Nechama a housewife, Sophie and Minnie were tailoresses, and Abraham was a child. None of them had been to the United States before. All were listed in good health, including Abraham, who was admitted to the hospital. Only Fishel and Nechama were listed as able to read and write. They arrived with $150, and their passage was paid for by Nechama’s son, D. (David) Mendelson, with whom they planned to stay at 318-20 East 101st Street, New York, New York.3

The Kursk, Credit: Dmitriy Lakhtikov Collection via The Ship List.4

The Kursk could carry 120 first-class passengers, 148 second-class passengers, and 1300 third-class passengers.5 Nechama’s family was in the latter.

318-20 East 101st Street, New York, New York

318-320 East 101st Street, East Harlem, New York City, New York is now an open grassy lawn behind an apartment building at 1956 2nd Avenue, New York City, New York.

1913 Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry

Fishel, Nechama, Sophie, and Minnie were held for a special inquiry upon arrival at Ellis Island due to concerns they were “Liable to become a Public Charge” (LPC).6 After an initial hearing on June 11th, they were ordered to be excluded and deported. However, a second hearing on June 18th, likely influenced by additional information supplied by her family who were already in New York, led to their admission. Abraham (spelled Abram) was also held for medical reasons but was released with them to be admitted to the hospital.7

Nechama, husband Fishel Mendelson, and son Abraham soon after arriving in New York

1915 New York State Census

In 1915, Nechama (listed as Anna) was incorrectly recorded as being 57 years old. She was living with her husband, Fishel Mendelson (spelled Mandelson), 52, and their children: Hyman, 23; Morris, 21; Sophia, 19; Minie, 18; and Abe, 13, at 339 101st Street, Manhattan, New York. Fishel was unemployed, Nechama did housework, Hyman, Sophia, and Minie were cap makers, Morris owned a candy store, and Abe was a fruit peddler. Everyone in the family was born in Russia. Fishel, Nechama, Sophia, Minie, and Abe had been in the country for two years, Hyman for three years, and Morris for four years. Name listed: Anna Mandelson8

339 101st Street, Manhattan, New York

Their home has been replaced by the Addie Mae Collins Community Services, Inc., an early childhood education program.9

According to Anne…

“My grandmother always said, ‘If you have something good to say – say it! If it is bad then say nothing.” She also said that since she had ten children and none of her children had more than four, the cousins should be like brothers and sisters… On Sunday every family had to visit my grandfather and grandmother. No excuses were accepted and everyone came.

“Every Friday my grandmother shopped for her Sabbath meal. She paid the shopkeeper. Then she wanted extra free supplies so she could cook for poor people. Every Friday there was a line of people at our door for their food….

“In the Jewish religion it is an honor for dead persons to have a baby named for them. My grandmother’s mother was Ann. Her father was Irving. Every branch of our family has an Ann and an Irving.” -November 17, 1999

1920 United States Census

In 1920, Nechama (listed as Anna, 58) and her husband, Fishel Mendelson (spelled Maindelson, 58), lived with their daughter Minnie (21) and son Abe (19) in a rented apartment at 308 East 101st Street, Manhattan, New York City. This location is now on the same plot as 318-320 East 101st Street, where Nechama’s son David lived. The entire family was born in Russia and spoke Yiddish, as did their parents. Fishel and Minnie had started the naturalization process but were still classified as aliens and had immigrated in 1914. Fishel was unemployed, Nechama was a housewife, Minnie worked as a trimmer at a cap factory, and Abe was a self-employed fruits and vegetables dealer. Fishel, Nechama, and Minnie could read and write, but only Minnie and Abe could speak English. Name listed: Anna Maindelson10

According to Anne…

“The Jewish people in the neighborhood wanted to build a synagogue. They asked everyone to contribute. My grandfather gave them all his money. Then he told them he could not pay his rent. So they built him an apartment in the synagogue on 101st St.

“My grandmother became ill. When they took her to the doctor, he said she had an abcess in her throat and it would cost $3.00 for it to be lanced. She got so excited about this large expenditure that the abcess broke and she got better.

“After World War I there was a deadly flu epidemic. My fother got it and was very sick. When he recovered they found that he had a light case of TB and would have to go to Liberty in upstate NY to cure it. When he got there he did get better. It was a resort area and he decided to go into the hotel business. He took an apartment in Liberty. It was decided that I should live with my grandmother and grandfather. They already had my cousin Ben because his mother Sophie had two children in one year and could not handle it. So in three rooms the four of us lived. I spent all summer and holidays at my parents’… I continued to live with my grandparents and qualified to go to Hunter College and Hunter H.S.” -November 17, 1999

1930 United States Census

In 1930, Nechama (listed as Anna, 68) lived with her husband, Fishel (spelled Fischel, 70) Mendelson, in a rented apartment at 1254 Manor Avenue, Bronx, New York City, for which they paid $47 per month. Originally from Russia, they spoke Yiddish. They married when Nechama was 17 and Fishel was 19. They arrived in the United States in 1912 and became naturalized citizens. Although they could speak English, they were unable to read or write. Fishel worked as a sexton at a synagogue, overseeing the maintenance of the place of worship. Name listed: Anna Mendelson11

1254 Manor Avenue, Bronx, New York City

1254 Manor Avenue (the right side of the above building) in the Bronx was built in 1926 and was sold in 2015 for $900,000. It contains six units and is listed on many apartment-finder websites.12

The Mendelson Family

The Mendelson Family at Ruth Kornbluth Zuckerman’s wedding, May 26, 1930. Fishel and Nechama are marked in the right-center of the picture. Some of the people have been superimposed.
Nechama and Fishel Mendelson

Death of Nechama Kanefsky Mendelson – November 12, 1934

Nechama passed away at home on June 13, 1934, in the Bronx, New York City, at the age of 73 years, 1 month, and 28 days. Her final address was 1248 Manor Avenue, Bronx, where she had lived for 21 years. She was a housewife, and her husband, Fishel Mendelson, was the executor of her will. Nechama died from a cerebral hemorrhage, which she had suffered from for two days, along with hypertension and myocarditis. Born in Russia to Irving and Anna Konephy (Kanefsky), she was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Saddlebrook, New Jersey.13

Sources

  1. “Cherkassy region: Shtetls: Medvedovka,” History of Jewish Communities in Ukraine (https://jewua.org/medvedovka/ : accessed 15 April 2021). ↩︎
  2. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” S.S. Vaderland arriving 8 May 1912, sailing from Antwerp,Belgium to New York, NY, entry for Peisech Mendelsohn, list 10, p. 28, line 6, image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021), citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 1855. ↩︎
  3. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” S.S. Kursk arriving 10 June 1913, sailing from Libau, Russia to New York, NY, entries for Fischel, Nechame, Sane, Mirel, and Avrum Mendelson, list 32, p. 86, lines 16-20, image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021), citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 2100. ↩︎
  4. S. Swiggum and M. Kohli, “Kursk 1910,” TheShipsList (https://www.theshipslist.com/pictures/kursk.shtml : accessed 15 April 2021), updated 25 February 2006. ↩︎
  5. “New Steamer From Russie Due Here To-Day,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, 12 November 1910, picture section, p. 1, cols. 5-7, image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/75727020/ : accessed 14 April 2021), clip page by user genistory. ↩︎
  6. Nancy Loe, “Immigrants Detained at Ellis Island,” 4 February 2018, Sassy Jane Genealogy (https://www.sassyjanegenealogy.com/immigrants-detained-at-ellis-island/ : accessed 15 April 2021). ↩︎
  7. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” S.S. Kursk arriving 10 June 1913, sailing from Libau, Russia to New York, NY, form 518: Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry, entries for Fischel, Nechame, Sane, and Mendelson, p. 98, image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021) citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 2100. ↩︎
  8. 1915 New York Census, New York County, population schedule, New York, p. 187, line 16, Anna Mandelson, image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021) citing New York State Archives, Albany, New York. ↩︎
  9. “Addie Mae Collins Community Services, Inc.,” Candid (https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-6183590 : accessed 15 April 2011). ↩︎
  10. 1920 U.S. Census, New York, New York, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 1234, p. 116 (stamped), 4B (penned), dwelling 5, family 84, Anna Maindelson, image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021), citing NARA microfilm publication T625, microfilm 236, roll 1218. ↩︎
  11. 1930 U.S. census, Bronx County, New York, population schedule, Bronx Boro, New York City, enumeration district (ED) 3-433, p. 17A, dwelling 112, family 314, Anna Mendelson, image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 April 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, microfilm 2341213, roll 1478. ↩︎
  12. “1254 Manor Ave, Bronx, NY 10472,” realtor.com (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1254-Manor-Ave_Bronx_NY_10472_M48680-24219 : accessed 15 April 2021). ↩︎
  13. “State of New York, Department of Health of the City of New York, Bureau of Records,” image, NYC Municipal Archives Historical Vital Records (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/6262026 : accessed 31 May 2024), death certificate for Anna Mendelson, certificate no. 5339, filed 13 June 1934. ↩︎

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