Freedman Family, Part 1

 The Freedman Family - Part 1

Abraham (1872-1944) and Mary (1875-1948) Freedman

 

Abraham and Mary (Guss) Freedman

Abraham Freedman

Abraham Freedman was one of the first immigrants from Dorbian, Lithuania, arriving in Saint John in 1899. He arrived without language, luggage or money. When his ship docked at Long Wharf, he noticed that a friend from his home village of Dorbian was working on the dock as a longshoreman. The friend convinced Abraham Freedman to stay in Saint John. Five years later, he brought his wife, Mary, and son, Jacob (J.J.) and his father, Marcus to join him.  The women in the village told Mary that her husband would never send for her because many men, after arriving in the "New World", did not send for their wives and children. However, true to his word, he did send for his wife and child and the family grew and prospered. Abraham and Mary had four more children in Saint John: Ben, Rube, Ida and Anne. Members of the extended family also settled in the city including Abraham’s four sisters – Lena Baxt, Sarah Lampert, Katie Lampert, and Ada Rosenwieg, and Mary’s two brothers – Morris and Max Guss.

 

A. Freedman and Sons

Abraham Freeman started as a peddlar and was later the founder and first president of A. Freedman and Sons Ltd., a scrap metal business on Long Wharf. This was one of the first scrap metal businesses in the city. As their circumstances improved, they moved from a flat near the waterfront, to a home at 79 Summer Street in the 1920s. Summer Street was a quiet tree lined street in the “valley” area of Saint John, which was home to many Jewish families.

 

Mary Guss Freedman arrived in Saint John five years after her husband and became involved in community affairs, assisting with immigration and women’s organizations in the Jewish community.

 

Benjamin Freedman (1906-1967) worked at A. Freedman and Sons with his father Abraham and brother Jack. He had also been secretary of the board of Congregation Shaarei Zedek. He married twice, first to Norma Tanzman (1907-1947) and had two children - Melvin and Ellen, and then married Naomi Ellman.  

Ben and Ida Goldstein




Ida Freedman Goldstein (1907-1983) married Benjamin Goldstein and they had two daughters - Roslyn (Avery) and Janet (Stern).  She worked alongside her husband in Ben Goldstein’s Music Centre which sold sheet music, instruments and records to several generations of customers from 1933 to 1975.

 





Rube Freedman (1911-1956) worked as a scrap metal dealer in Halifax, as part of his father and brother’s business. He was married to Lillian Gelb and they had two children - Mark and Eleanor.

 


Anne Freedman Holtzman (1915-1986) left school early to help her father in his scrap metal business after he suffered a heart attack – this included doing the bookkeeping and driving a truck through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. She married Harry Holtzman in 1939 after they met through Young Judaea and they raised two children – Norman and Myra – in a home on King Street East. She was an active member of the local Hadassah chapter and of Sisterhood, serving terms as president of both organizations. Anne also organized weddings in the Synagogue by planning the seating arrangements and the order of the processionals. She helped her husband at her husband’s furniture store – mostly in the office and was well-known as a problem-solver.

 

 


 

References: 

  • Louis I. Michelson Archives and Research and Exhibition Files, Saint John Jewish Historical Museum 
  • Marcia Koven, Weaving the Past Into the Present (Saint John: 1989 and 2008) 
  • The Evening Times Globe / The Telegraph Journal (Saint John newspapers)

 

See also: Freedman Family Part 2, Goldstein Family, Guss Family and Holtzman Family


To comment on this story please send an email to sjjhm@nbnet.nb.ca 





This project is made possible with funding from the Archaeology and Heritage Branch, Province of New Brunswick through their Exhibit Renewal Digital Component program and the unwavering support of the Jewish families who made Saint John their home.

 


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