Ellman Family, Part 1

 The Ellman / Elman Family - Part 1

Israel (1879-1940) and Celia (1880-1968) Ellman

The Ellman Family



Israel Ellman (1879-1940) arrived in Saint John from Dnepetprovosk, Russia with his wife Celia in 1912. The family escaped from Russia in 1905 with their three young sons by travelling down the Dneiper River by raft with other family members. Their journey took them from Antwerp, Belgium to Liverpool, England to New York and finally to Saint John.

Israel Ellman

Israel Ellman organized and served as president of the Saint John Jewish Immigrant Aid Society and was national vice president of The Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in Canada. He was the founder and president of the Ezra Lodge, Zionist Order of Habonim and this group’s members were among those who welcomed a young David Ben-Gurion to Saint John in 1917. Ben-Gurion was actively recruiting men to join the Jewish Legion and was on his way to training camp at Fort Edward, near Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Israel Ellman was one of the advocates responsible for the amalgamation of the two early synagogues- the Ahavith Achim (Brotherly Love) and the Hazen Avenue Synagogue - one for the Jews from England, the other for the Jews from Eastern Europe into the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue. He was president of the Congregation from 1924 to 1925. He also shared his knowledge of Jewish traditions with the community’s youth through Hebrew School and Young Judaea.

He supported his family as owner of the New York Shoe Repair shop on Main Street.

His wife, Celia Rozovsky Ellman (1880-1968) had four brothers: Abraham and Nathan Rozovsky who lived in Saint John, Louis Rozovsky who lived in Halifax and Malach Rozovsky who lived in Buenes Aires, Argentina - and a sister: Ida (Mrs. Harry Davis).

 

They had three sons – Hyman (1902-1973), Isadore (1903-1983), and Maurice (1904-1980), and an adopted daughter Naomi (1912-1990), who was part of a group of Lithuanian orphans brought to Canada after the First World War.

 

 

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: Elman Family Part 2 and Boyaner 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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