Emlekezik - Remember

Interestingly, while Zsigmond was born in 1871, the birth was not recorded until 1896.

The birthplace was previously known as Verbocz, Hungary. It is now known as Verbovets', Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine. It is at N 48° 10′ 5″, E 22° 54′ 32″. It is in the Beregszasz District, Ukraine. It got its name from the stream of similar name that flows through the village. Vrbovac is a word of Slavic origin, which means a place overgrown with willow. Verbőc belonged to the Tiszáninnen district of Ugocsa County at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. According to the 1910 census, Verbőc had a population of 585, of which 568 were Hungarians, 17 were Ruthenians, 64 of whom were Greek Catholics, 468 were Reformed and 39 were Jewish.

Bilky, where Zsigmond and Sura Feiga raised their family, is about 40 Kilometers northeast of Verbocz.

https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb%C5%91c

For Zsigmond Klein and his father Izrael Klein, the occupation is listed as "kisbirtokos" ("smallholder"). Per the excellent website http://www.berecz.us/tutorial/civil/notes.htm (retrieved 04 JAN 2021) - "KISBIRTOKOS: Prior to 1848, the term "smallholder" was not often used. When it was used, it meant a nobleman who owned only a very small piece of land -- one section or less. After "serfdom" was abolished in 1848, it also applied to those landed peasants who had taken full legal ownership of the land they farmed. "

For Dovid Veisz (father of the bride), the occupation is listed as "korcsmáros" - innkeeper.
For Chaja Stern (mother of the bride), the occupation is listed as "haztartas" - housewife.

"Kisbirtokos" is "smallholder"). Per the excellent website http://www.berecz.us/tutorial/civil/notes.htm (retrieved 04 JAN 2021) - "KISBIRTOKOS: Prior to 1848, the term "smallholder" was not often used. When it was used, it meant a nobleman who owned only a very small piece of land -- one section or less. After "serfdom" was abolished in 1848, it also applied to those landed peasants who had taken full legal ownership of the land they farmed. "

In the olden times, the marriages were prearranged by the parents of the bride and groom. Naturally, they always looked out for the welfare of their children's future. The young couple did not see each other before the wedding.

My mother's father, his name was David, was 19 years old when he married her mother Chaje at age 15. In many cases these marriages worked out very well but my grandmother (my mother's mother) was a city girl. She came from Palanka, near Munkacs, and she found herself suddenly on the outskirts of a little town Bilke, on top of a mountain where the next neighbor was miles away. The land as far as she could see belonged to the parents of her bride groom the Weiss family and besides that, they were mining ore of which iron was made.

The young groom did not know too much about the business. He was attending schools, Yeshivas, in the big cities. After the wedding, he had to learn the business part and his father did everything to break him into it. At the same time, naturally, they found that the bride needed to be improved also.

Her parents were business people. They traveled far and wide for merchandise which consisted of silks from France, lace from Switzerland, and iron work from Germany and other commodities which brought profit to the business. They were the Strobel family from Palanka. Between the two families was a big gap. except that they both were wealthy.

The bride arrived with beautiful silk dresses and capes. Her mother-in-law, my mother's grandmother, wore peasant-like dresses more suitable to the life of the surroundings. The countryside there in itself was so overwhelmingly enchanting that the beautiful silk dresses were lost there completely.

One morning the young bride got up and found her sun umbrella stuck in the vegetable garden to serve as a scarecrow to scare away the birds. This was the limit! She picked herself up and went home which was not an easy thing to do. At that time, there was no railroad. With a horse and buggy, it took her a week to reach her destination.

In the 1800's, this was a revolutionary thing to do for a young woman to leave her husband. Her parents were terribly upset, beside the shame this brought upon them. They could not handle the situation. Needless to say, they tried everything to persuade her to go back to her husband but there was no way. After a while, she must have felt that she was not welcome anymore in her parents' house. But she finally came up with a solution. Chaje told her father that if he would give her another dowry, she would go back to her husband.

She soon arrived in Bilke with a bundle of money and bought in the center of the town a big piece of land and had a beautiful house built on an elevation far from the main road. It had a terrace and a cellar. The terrace continued as a gangway around the house. The rooms were very large. But the most outstanding feature was in the kitchen. It had two stoves stacked one upon another. The whole town came to see this invention. In another room, the ceiling was painted with beautiful ornaments on wooden boards.

Eva Klein - Daughter

According to the death record, the cause of death appears to be listed as "csont torvadaj." When the image was posted on a Facebook translation group, it was translated as "bone atrophy." This matches what I was told by my father Meynhart Klein that grandfather Zsigmond died of a leg infection.

David 12/30/2020

Happy Birthday, Grandpa. May You Rest In Peace. עליו השלום

Happy 125th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!!!

גליקלעך יאָרטאָג באָבע און זיידע

You died much too young.

May You Rest In Peace. עליה השלום

Your Grandson,

David