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My paternal grandfather, Itzyk Klinger, was born in Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitskiy region, in 1848. [Starokonstantinov was a district town in Volyn’ province. According to the census of 1897 its population was 16,300, 9,212 of them were Jewish.] In the late 1870s my grandparents and their four children moved to Mayaki [a village in Odessa district, Kherson province. According to the census of 1897 its population was 4,575; 648 of them were Jewish.]
My grandfather was a cabinetmaker. He had a shop where he manufactured doors and window frames. He rented an apartment. He couldn’t afford to buy a house since he just earned enough for the family to make ends meet. My father told me that Grandfather Itzyk was a very religious man. He went to the synagogue, observed the kashrut, kept all holidays and fasted at Yom Kippur. He didn’t work on Saturday.
Grandfather got married in 1869. My grandmother, Milia Klinger, was also born in Starokonstantinov, in 1851. I don’t know her maiden name. She was a housewife. She observed the kashrut, wore a kerchief and kept all Jewish holidays. My grandfather and grandmother spoke Yiddish. My grandmother died in Mayaki in 1883. She was only 32 years old. I don’t know why she died. My grandfather was to raise four children.
In 1884 my grandfather remarried. I don’t remember my father’s stepmother’s name. In his second marriage my grandfather had six children. My grandfather was raising his children religiously: they went to the synagogue on all Jewish holidays, observed the kashrut and Sabbath. My father and his brothers studied in cheder. My grandfather died in Mayaki in 1904. He had a Jewish funeral: my father and his older brother Motka recited the Kaddish and the family sat shivah. My grandfather had ten children.
My grandfather was a cabinetmaker. He had a shop where he manufactured doors and window frames. He rented an apartment. He couldn’t afford to buy a house since he just earned enough for the family to make ends meet. My father told me that Grandfather Itzyk was a very religious man. He went to the synagogue, observed the kashrut, kept all holidays and fasted at Yom Kippur. He didn’t work on Saturday.
Grandfather got married in 1869. My grandmother, Milia Klinger, was also born in Starokonstantinov, in 1851. I don’t know her maiden name. She was a housewife. She observed the kashrut, wore a kerchief and kept all Jewish holidays. My grandfather and grandmother spoke Yiddish. My grandmother died in Mayaki in 1883. She was only 32 years old. I don’t know why she died. My grandfather was to raise four children.
In 1884 my grandfather remarried. I don’t remember my father’s stepmother’s name. In his second marriage my grandfather had six children. My grandfather was raising his children religiously: they went to the synagogue on all Jewish holidays, observed the kashrut and Sabbath. My father and his brothers studied in cheder. My grandfather died in Mayaki in 1904. He had a Jewish funeral: my father and his older brother Motka recited the Kaddish and the family sat shivah. My grandfather had ten children.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Isaac Klinger