Goldstein Family

The Goldstein Family

Phillip Goldstein (1887-1969) and Rose Rubin Goldstein (1884-1961)


Philip, Rose, Bertha and Maurice Goldstein


Phillip Goldstein came to Saint John from Russia in 1903 with his wife in 1903. He started his working life in Saint John as a tailor and later owned a dry-cleaning business - Phil’s Quality Cleaners on Prince Edward Street.

Rose Goldstein was the daughter of Joshua and Rika Rubin and had a sister.

Philip and Rose Goldstein had three children - two sons, Benjamin (1908-1993) and Maurice (1910-1985) and  a daughter, Bertha (1918-2002).

In his younger years, Benjamin Goldstein studied piano in Saint John under Mose Ewing and in Boston, but was told his left hand was too heavy. He played the music for silent movies in the early 1920s at the Imperial Theatre on Kings Square and at the Opera House on Union Street After “talkies” came in, he turned to playing dance music around the city and in communities in New Brunswick and Maine as part of a 16-piece orchestra under the direction of Alfred Jones and with Bruce Holder’s band. 

Ben Goldstein


He opened Ben Goldstein’s Music Centre at 105 Union Street in 1932. He decided to open the business in order to have better service for ordering sheet music. He faced some challenges choosing to open a store in the middle of the depression, but it turned out to be a very successful venture. Later the store relocated to 101 Charlotte Street. Generations of Saint Johners bought their sheet and recorded music at this store. He also sold instruments and accessories. Ben Goldstein handled the music for the New Brunswick Competitive Festival of Music held each spring in Saint John. The store closed for good in 1975.





Ben and Ida Goldstein


Ida Goldstein (1907–1983) was the daughter of Abraham and Mary Freedman and had a sister – Anne (Holtzman) and three brothers – Jack, R. Bernard and Ben. She married Benjamin Goldstein on June 4, 1933. Ida Goldstein helped out in the store when her husband went off to play in some of the local bands. She was well known in the Jewish community for her baking for community events, including kichel, a delicate dessert made from flour, eggs, and brandy and dusted sugar after baking.

They had two daughters: Roslyn (1936-2020) and Janet.

 



Morris Goldstein married Lillian and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He worked as a shoe salesman before moving away. He is buried in the Beth Israel Synagogue Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

Bertha Goldstein, age 4


Bertha Goldstein married Robert Master in January 1957. They had no children. Bertha was employed as a clerk with Princess Dress Shop, Jacobson’s Furniture Shop, and Dalmy’s Ladies Clothing. She volunteered at the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum and was a member of Hadassah-WIZO and the Shomer Club.

Robert Master (-1979) had served in the armed forces of the United States during the Second World War. After he came to Saint John, he married Bertha Goldstein and worked as a taxi driver.

 




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 1


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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Freedman Family, Part 1

Image
  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 als...
Read more

Calp Family, Part 1

Image
The Calp Family - Part 1   Abraham (1905-2001) and Fena (1907-1989) Calp   Abraham Calp Abraham Calp was born in Odessa, Russia in 1905. He came to Saint John in 1926 with his wife Fena, mother Sarah, brother Jack, and sister Celia. They were escaping from Russia after the family’s specialty men’s clothing shop was confiscated by the Bolsheviks. They left Odessa on December 6, 1924 and crossed the border illegally into Romania with the help of relatives. From there they obtained an American visa, but when American borders were closed to Jewish immigration, they were able to get a visa to enter Canada. They were assisted by a relative in Saint John and the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society. The Calp family arrived in Saint John on December 2, 1926. Abe Calp worked briefly for Harry Davis in construction, but soon turned to peddling, selling clothing he was able to get from the People’s Clothing Store, run by Joseph Stekolsky on Main Street.   He remembered that his cu...
Read more

Home

Image
The Freedman Family Saint John Jewish Family Tree - Introduction The Saint John Jewish community was made up of between 200 and 300 families who came to the city from England and Eastern Europe between 1858 and the late 1940s. Some families arrived together and those who arrived alone encouraged other family members to follow – spouses, children, siblings and parents. Marriage within the community further consolidated family connections. Attempts to trace one family inevitably lead to links to other families in the community and new ways of connecting the community together as a whole. If one had a large enough space, it is quite possible that nearly every Jewish resident of Saint John and their descendants could be linked through a family tree. Exploring those connections and delving into family stories is the focus of this project. Information for the family stories will be gathered from documents (family trees, synagogue and organization records, newspaper clippings, etc.), oral int...
Read more