Tag Archives: Jakob Blumenfeld

Jakob Blumenfeld and Frommet Isenberg

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The graves of my great-great-great-grandparents, Jakob Blumenfeld1 and Frommet, née Isenberg,2 are to be found in the cemetery at Neustadt, Hesse, Germany. The photos of their grave stones are among the oldest “family pictures” that exist.

Here lies (rests) an honest man, Mr. Jakob ha-Kohen, Momberg, who died on the 6th of Schewat [5]609 (= January 29, 1849). May his soul be bound in the bundle of life until he is awakened at the resurrection of the dead, Amen.
Here lies (rests) Fromed, daughter of Salomon. She died on the 2nd of Sukkot (= 16. Tischri), and was buried on the 2nd minor holiday (= 18. Tischri) [5]640 (= October 3, 1879). May her soul be bundled in the bundle of life.

The various records consulted don’t contain much more than basic information. Sources confirm that Jakob was a butcher,3 merchant4 and cattle dealer5. On May 24, 1833, he married Frommet Isenberg, the daughter of Salomon Isenberg and Hanne, née Stiefel, from Gilserberg.6 According to a contract of purchase dated January 24, 1839, they bought house number 100 (old numbering system from 1818) in Momberg. Between 1850 and 1855 they sold this house to the Euler family, who tore it down and built a new house on the site.7 The words “ha-Kohen” on his gravestone refer to which Jewish clan he belonged. Jakob was a descendant of the first biblical high priest Aaron. The Hebrew text could also be translated as “the priest.” However, this designation in no way means that the person so identified was a rabbi.

As a descendant of Jakob, I am also a “ha-Kohen,” because clan membership in Judaism is passed on through the male line. This fact was a source of amusement once when I visited the synagogue in Erfurt, Germany, while attending a church congress (Kirchentag) there. Hearing the name “Bloomfield”, the host rabbi suspected that I had Jewish ancestors. I confirmed his suspicions and added, “And also of priestly descent.” “Is that possible?” he exclaimed, “a Reformed pastor, who is not only of Jewish origin but also a descendant of Aaron!”

An enumeration of the Jewish population and their businesses done by the village of Momberg on September 27, 1858, reveals the following information about Frommet Isenberg Blumenfeld:8

“Jakob Blumenfeld’s widow (Frommet, née Isenberg); 56 years old; butcher shop and operation of a small store, peddling (Nothandel); drives 18 to 20 head of cattle to market yearly; has no capital.”

I have translated the business “Nothandel” in the enumeration with “operation of a small store.” We can assume that Frommet Blumenfeld, who had no capital of her own, made a living by running a small (grocery?) store or by peddling any number of things.9 People in the business of “Nothandel” were also pawnbrokers or junk or second-hand dealers.

At her death, my 82-year-old great-great-great-grandmother had been a widow for 30 years and was living with her son, Abraham, in house number 105, built 1818, near the church in Momberg. The photo of the house below shows the way it looks today.10 The Neustadt registry of deaths records that Abraham had been present when she died. It is also noted that her burial took place without the necessary prior permission by the police. On September 28, 1880, the District Office gave its approval after the fact.11 The Hebrew inscription on her gravestone dates her death according to Jewish dating exactly one year too early. It should read: the 16th of Tishri [5]640 = September 21, 1880.

Jakob and Frommet Blumenfeld’s house in Momberg the way it looks today. (Photo by Kunibert Schmitt, Momberg.)
  1. Blumenfeld, Jakob (1849) – Neustadt (bei Marburg), in: Jüdische Grabstätten, http://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5291 [8.4.2015]. ↩︎
  2. Blumenfeld, Frommet geborene Isenberg (1880) – Neustadt (bei Marburg), in: Jüdische Grabstätten, http://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5339, [5.6.2012]. ↩︎
  3. Trauregister der Juden von Neustadt 1828–1874, in: Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Wiesbaden (HHStAW), Abt. 365 Nr. 629. ↩︎
  4. Sterberegister der Juden von Neustadt 1824–1875, in: HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 630. ↩︎
  5. Geburtsregister der Juden von Momberg 1824–1874, in: HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 628. ↩︎
  6. Alfred Schneider, Die jüdischen Familien im ehemaligen Kreise Kirchhain. Beiträge zur Geschichte und Genealogie der jüdischen Familien im Ostteil des heutigen Landkreises Marburg-Biedenkopf in Hessen, Amönenburg 2006, p. 132. ↩︎
  7. Email from Kunibert Schmitt, Momberg, to the author, August 28, 2017. ↩︎
  8. Schneider, Die jüdischen Familien, p. 308. ↩︎
  9. Rückert, Tanja, Produktivierungsbemühungen im Rahmen der jüdischen Emanzipationsbewegung (1780-1871): Preussen, Frankfurt am Main und Hamburg in Vergleich, Münster 2005, p. 45. ↩︎
  10. Email from Kunibert Schmitt, Momberg, to the author, August 28, 2017. ↩︎
  11. Standesamt Neustadt (Hessen) Sterbenebenregister 1880, Nr. 52, in: HStAMR Best. 915 Nr. 6547. ↩︎