Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Solomon (Shleimah) Melamed

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Descendants of Solomon (Shleimah) Melamed

6. JACOB³ MELMED (SOLOMON (SHLEIMAH)² MELAMED, ABRAHAM¹) was born March 27, 1879 in Ponevez, Lithuania, and died 1965 in Port Elizebeth, SA. He married (1) REBECCA (RIVEL) FIJANKS June 25, 1903 in Germany. She was born 1881 in Vistitas, Lithuania, and died May 03, 1943 in Port Elizebeth, SA. He married (2) FANNY NOACH August 1944. She was born 1888 in Shavel, Lithuania, and died 1956 in Port Elizebeth, SA.

Notes for JACOB MELMED:

I. He was nine when his dad died. he had to work in a factory. He rose early and left home before 5 am to walk a few miles to work and returned after dark.

II. Jacob was apprenticed with his step-grandfather, David, to become a sofer.

III. At 14, he went to London, to escape military conscription, and studied English and at age 17 (about 1896), travelled by a cattle ship to the USA. He didn't like it there, and went to Cape Town, South Africa.

IV. Stayed with AP.

V. Went to Queenstown. Ran into his cousin, Paul Kruger.

VI. Employed with Morum Bros.

VII. Started firm called "Melmed and Kruger", with Paul Kruger, dealing in wool, skins, and hides and general merchandise.

VIII. Active in building Queenstown's first synagogue.

IX. Took a travelling job.

X. He opened a furniture store close to the Balmoral Tearoom.

XI. Bought the Central Hotel in Middelburg which was also in the Cape Provence, for 5000 pounds and after a lot of renovations and additions, renamed it the Grand Hotel. Jacob and Rivel ran the hotel for 17 years.

X. Moved to Port Elizabeth in March, 1939 to live with Hertzie and Gertie.

XI. Jacob visited the USA in 1950. He visited his son David, and sisters Ray and Malka.

XII. Jacob was a Freemason

XIII. According to "The South African Jewish Year Book, 1945" Data Base, Page 57, Jacob was born in Panevezys, Lithuania in 1878, and arrived at Port Elizabeth, SA in 1898. He married Rebecca Fainks in 1903. There is a picture of him in the yearbook, on Page 57.

XIV.

Jacob Melmed Family History
(1879 - 1965)

      This article was written by the late Phyllis Boall (nee Melmed) who had the foresight to obtain her father's life story from him and to set it down in writing.

      The opening paragraphs of the original article which do not appear here, listed the places of residence and occupation of our forefathers. These details were used by me [Jos Aronson], and formed the basis for putting into proper perspective our family's early history, and for this we are all indebted to her.

      Jacob's parents, Solomon and Freida, struggled financially. When their youngest child, Rachel, was 4 years old, Solomon died. The four older sons, Avram Pinchas, Nathan, Myer and Jacob went out to work in factories to help their widowed mother in her plight. Jacob, who was only nine years old, had attended school for but a few years and his lot was a sad one. He rose early and left home before 5 a.m. to walk a few miles to work and returned after dark. In winter this was particularly hard on the boy.

      His grandfather, David, had a particular love for him, and before long had him apprenticed with him to learn the trade of making Torahs, Tefillin, Mezzuzahs, etc. Jacob became very proficient in this work but at the age of 14 it was decided to try and get him out of Lithuania before being called up for military training. His brothers, Nathan and Meyer, were already in the army. Meyer was a trumpeter in the band. Avram Pinchas was by then in Cape Town, South Africa and Malka had married and settled in the U.S.A.

      Young Jacob only had sufficient money to get him to London where he went to a dear family friend. He was guided by their advice to stay on first and learn English and gain working experience before going further. So he found employment in a men's outfitting store and worked there for three years, during which time he studied English at night school.

      At the age of 17 [1896] he decided to go to the U.S.A. In order to conserve his meagre savings, he took a job on a cattle ship. He had many hair-raising experiences on this ship with a bunch of hard-drinking gamblers and cattle thieves. But he did his job tending the cattle in lieu of his free passage. This brushing with the lowest of the low in human beings made him more determined then ever to try and rise as high as he possibly could in the social and civic worlds.

      He was not too enamored with the people he met in the U.S.A. and in general found the way of life very far removed from the staid, gentlemanly one he had left behind in London. So he decided to go to South Africa and would then decide whether to set roots there or in the U.S.A. He left for Cape Town and after staying with Avram Pinchas for a short time, received word of the exciting discovery of gold in the Transvaal. He was advised to go North and seek his fortune. He took a train bound for Johannesburg in the hinterland of Southern Africa, but while en route news of the Boer War was received. The train had to proceed via a detour to avoid the battle zone. So they went in an easterly direction and on reaching Queenstown in the north-eastern Cape Province, they again had disturbing war reports. The train conductor advised all the passengers that the train was not going any further, as fighting was in progress due north of Queenstown, thus preventing continuation of the journey to Johannesburg which was still in the hands of the Boers.

      So young Jacob, by that time known as Melmed, not Melamed, (when Avram Pinchas Melamed came to South Africa, the Immigration officials in Cape Town registered his name as Melmed. His brothers followed suit when they arrived overseas and the family name has since then been Melmed) with bag in hand, took a walk into town. To his utter amazement he met his cousin Paul Kruger in the main street, Cathcart Road. Paul insisted that he come stay with him and his wife, Martha, and infant daughter, Rachel. Within days, Jacob was employed by Morum Bros. and was earning good money owing to his knowledge of English and London business experience.

      Before long Jacob persuaded Paul Kruger that they should venture into business on their own. Paul was also in a job at the time. They decided to travel in the country districts and do business with the farming community. Between them they had only enough money to buy a wagon and span of oxen, but Jacob managed to get goods on credit due to his good name at Morum Bros. and also Peacock Bros., who knew him well by then. The two young men did very well and besides their business success had many amusing stories to tell of their experiences "on the road". After a short time Jacob decided to start a wholesale business in Queenstown. Paul was hesitant at first but soon decided to throw his lot with Jacob. The firm of Melmed and Kruger came into being and they dealt in wool, skins and hides and general merchandise. Enjoying a good name for their honest dealings with the old established firms they had previously dealt with, they were assisted financially by them. Jacob was also active in the Jewish community in Queenstown where he played an important role in the establishment of the town's first synagogue.

      During these events in his life, Jacob got to hear about Rivel Fainks (later Harris) from Martha who was her second cousin and he decided to go and meet her. Being now quite wealthy, he decided to visit her in Lithuania via the U.S.A. to once again meet up with an old girl friend of his in America. He decided to first meet Rivel before deciding which of the two women would make a better wife. Upon meeting Rivel, he decided there and then that "this is the one". He stayed on to get to know her better and eventually they married on 25th June, 1903 in Germany. The reason they got married in Germany was because Jacob dared not set foot in Lithuania for fear of being arrested for evading his military training. Rivel lived in the town of Vistitas (pronounced Vestinitz) which was on the shore of a lake across from which was the German border. Jacob stayed on the German side of the lake at Vistitas, going across daily after dark.

      After their marriage and reception at the home of a family friend in Germany, they went for a honeymoon to London and Europe before departing for South Africa. On arrival in Queenstown, they lived with the Krugers until their first child, David, was born when they set up home for themselves.

      "Melmed and Kruger" went from strength to strength. The two families built identical homes alongside of each other in Robinson Road. Jacob brought his brothers, Meyer and Louis, to Queenstown and arranged jobs for them in his firm. They later ventured out on their own, married, and raised their families in Queenstown.

      After the birth of Jacob's second son, Bennie, Paul Kruger took his family and Rivel and her two sons on a trip to Vistitas. Shortly after their return, a depression overtook the country and resulted in bankruptcy for many businesses including Melmed and Kruger. From then on, it was a financial struggle for Jacob. He was determined to meet every debt and repay every penny he owed. He and Rivel worked hard to straighten out their financial affairs and make as good a living as was possible for themselves and their seven children. Jacob took on a travelling job while Rivel ran a tearoom (cafe) in the heart of Queenstown, called the Balmoral Tearoom. Later, Jacob opened a furniture store close to the tearoom, so that after his store was closed in the afternoons, he could go to The Balmoral to relieve Rivel. It was such a terrible struggle that they decided to make a move. They bought the Central Hotel in Middelburg which was also in the Cape Province, for 5000 pounds and after a lot of renovations and additions, renamed it the Grand Hotel.

      Jacob and Rivel ran their hotel for 17 years. In March 1939, after the death of their fourth son, Julie, they sold the hotel and retired to live with their, as yet, unmarried children, Hertzie and Gertie, in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. There, Jacob remained until the end of his days. Rivel died on 3rd May, 1943 and Jacob was never to get over the loss of his most loving and devoted wife. He remarried a widow, Fanny Noach, who had four grown children, in August, 1944. As was expected, it was not a successful marriage. His love, admiration and respect for Rivel had been so great that he could never have been accustomed to, nor satisfied with any substitute. He was never again to enjoy the happiness and contentment he had known and treasured in his life with Rivel.

      Jacob did make one more trip to the U.S.A [in 1950]. This time to see his son, David, and sisters Malka and Rachel. It must have been a joyful and yet sad final visit. Fanny died in 1954 and Jacob lived on his own, except for brief sojourns with his various children, for the next eleven years until his death at age 86 in 1965. Jacob now rests peacefully in Port Elizebeth alongside his dear Rivel.

XV. The Jewish country community of Paarl, South Africa, was founded by Dutch and German settlers in the 1850's. Later Lithuanian immigrants from Plungyan / Plunge and Birzh / Birziai, formed the majority of the community. The book "The Light of Israel, The Story of the Paarl Jewish Community" by Charles Press, 1993, lists some of the families who formed the nucleus of the community and the towns they came from.

The following list is NOT an exhaustive list of all families, just those whose town of origin were known.

PLUNGYAN / PLUNGE:
------------------------------------
Sarembock
Shapiro
Sacks
Krawitz
Maisel
Schiff
Kaufman
Stein
Field
Becker
Borochowitz

BIRZH / BIRZIAI:
--------------------------
Bloom
Rabie
Melamed
Birkan
Singer
Semer
Maros
Orolowitz
Abraham Katz
Swiel
Klitzner
Jankelewitz

RAKISHOK / ROKISKIS:
-------------------------------------
Silberstein
Hyman
Hurwitz
Gross

VIZUN / VYZUONOS:
--------------------------------
Back

UTYAN / UTENA:
--------------------------
Louis Berman
Leon Back
Skop

VABOLNIK / VABALNINKAS:
----------------------------------------------
Davidowitz

KOVNO / KAUNAS:
-----------------------------
Jacob Kaplan
Harry Katz
David Nelson (original name Noll)

VIKOVISHK / VILKAVISKIS:
------------------------------------------
Yasvoin
Geffen
Segal of Wellington
Volks (via Manchester and Dublin)

SHAVL SIAULIAI:
---------------------------
Moffson
Morris Kesler (his wife was from Lublin, Poland)

SHADOVE / SEDUVA:
---------------------------------
Forman

POPILAN / PAPILE:
------------------------------
Isaac Silbert

VIDUKLA / VIDUKLE:
--------------------------------
Solomon Abrahams

DUSYAT / DUSETOI:
--------------------------------
Yeine Berman
Orlin
Chatzkel

ABEL / OBELIAI:
--------------------------
Berman

ZASLE / ZASLIAI:
---------------------------
Roup brothers

DOTNEVA / DOTNUVA:
------------------------------------
Sevitz

PASVITIN / PASVITINYS:
---------------------------------------
Trope

ZHAGER / ZAGARE:
-------------------------------
Fuchs
Estermann

PONEVEZH / PANEVEZYS:
------------------------------------------
Abramowitz
Schlomow

KUPISHOK / KUPISKIS:
------------------------------------
Miller (originally Melnick)
Movsowitz
Kling of Wellington via Oudtshoorn

KURSHAN / KURSENAI:
-------------------------------------
Press
Balkin

KRAKINOVO / KRAKINAVA:
-------------------------------------------
Varkul

VILNA / VILNIUS:
---------------------------
Amasowitz
Feigel

VINDAVA / VENTSPILS, LATVIA:
---------------------------------------------------
Lipschitz
Beckman

ZILUPE, LATVIA:
--------------------------
Leibov

DVINSK / DAUGAVPILS, LATVIA:
---------------------------------------------------
Faktor
Myerson

RIGA, LATVIA:
-----------------------
Haim Silbert
Bach

ROSTOV-ON-DON, RUSSIA:
--------------------------------------------
Bach

IVENETS, POLAND:
-------------------------------
Cywes

WARSAW, POLAND:
--------------------------------
Goss

KERELITZ / KORELICHI, POLAND:
-----------------------------------------------------
Phillips
Pernick

VITEBSK, POLAND:
-------------------------------
Hoffman

MINSK, BELORUS:
-----------------------------
Minitzer
Shoolman
Hodes
Solly and Alec Myers (original name Koleditzky) via Paris

PUCHEWITZ / PUCHOVICHI:
--------------------------------------------
Sutin

MOGILEV:
----------------
Dubovsky

LONDON, ENGLAND:
---------------------------------
F.H. Sutton
Abe Levy (parents from Kovno)

WALES:
-------------
Freeman

OSTHEIM, GERMANY:
-----------------------------------
Hertz
Max Adler

BERLIN, GERMANY:
--------------------------------
Leopold Sobotker

BRESLAU, GERMANY:
------------------------------------
Herman Lichtenstein via New York

MIDDELHARNIS, NETHERLANDS:
-----------------------------------------------------
Droomer

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS:
-------------------------------------------------
Van Gelderen
Van Biene
De Jong
Hartogs

More About JACOB MELMED:
Burial: 1965, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Residence 1: Lived with Paul Kruger
Residence 2: Robinson Road, Queenstown, South Africa

Notes for REBECCA (RIVEL) FIJANKS:

I. Rebecca is Martha Kruger's cousin.

II. Ran a tearoom in Queenstown, SA, called The Balmoral Tearoom.

More About REBECCA (RIVEL) FIJANKS:
Burial: 1943, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

More About JACOB MELMED and REBECCA FIJANKS:
Marriage: June 25, 1903, Germany

More About JACOB MELMED and FANNY NOACH:
Marriage: August 1944

Children of JACOB MELMED and REBECCA FIJANKS are:

19.	i.	DAVID⁴ MELMED, b. March 22, 1904, Queenstown, SA; d. November 16, 1989, Stamford, Fairfield County, CT, USA.
	ii.	ESTHER MELMED, b. 1906, Queenstown, SA; d. 1906, Queenstown, SA.
20.	iii.	DR. SOLOMON (STEPHEN) MELMED, b. 1909, Queenstown, SA; d. 1969, Port Elizebeth, SA.
	iv.	LAZARUS MELMED, b. 1912, Queenstown, SA; d. 1912, Queenstown, SA.
	v.	PHYLLIS MELMED, b. 1914, Queenstown, SA; d. 1980, Johannesburg, SA; m. SAM BOALL; b. 1902, Lithuania; d. 1994, Port Elizebeth, SA.

More About PHYLLIS MELMED:
Date born 2: 1914

	vi.	JULIE MELMED, b. 1915, Queenstown, SA; d. 1939, Capetown, SA.
21.	vii.	HERTZIE MELMED, b. 1917, Queenstown, SA.
22.	viii.	GERTIE MELMED, b. 1919, Queenstown, SA.
23.	ix.	DR. BENJAMIN MELMED, b. 1905, Queenstown, SA.

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