Iancu Moise Mattes

This is my maternal grandfather Iancu Moise Mattes. He wasn’t a rabbi, but he was religious. He wore a beard and a cap all the time.

The name of my grandfather from my mother’s side was Iancu Moise Mattes, and my grandmother’s name was Tauba. She was a housewife and my grandfather had a store in Sulita, too. That’s how it was in small towns – trading was the occupation of Jews.There were also Jews who dealt in buying and selling cereals, there were Jews who raised sheep. People said Jews weren’t good at agriculture – I must be objective. There were Jews who owned land, but they didn’t toil it themselves, they leased it to other people. There were 2 brothers. Their name was Blumer – my parents were friends with them – who were partners and had 2 mills, but they were no rudimentary mills, a windmill and a water mill – for there was a river there, but don’t ask me the name of that river, for I no longer remember. Such were the people of Sulita, and they were doing fine, they were rich enough, even very rich. There were also very many Jewish handicraftsmen in Sulita. There were shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, tinkers… all kinds.

This grandfather had a manufacture store – fabrics only. I know that my grandfather from my mother’s side bought merchandise from Iasi. My grandfather died in Sulita, he is buried there. I really want to go to Sulita, to visit his grave. He died around 1934-1935, for we went to Falticeni to a wedding in 1936, and grandfather was no longer alive.