Dvorah Ornstein, nee Moser. Dobbie or Dora as she was known was born within the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, during the 1870's. She was the daughter of Yidel and Hannah Moser, and had a brother known as 'Buber' or 'Buba', according to Shirley Korner, (who is one of Frank Austin's daughters). Interestingly Buba usually means grandfather. Even more interestingly the ancient Israelite descended Lemba Tribe of Southern Africa's Limbpopo River region (Zimbabwe and South Africa), have amongst then a clan, who are descended from the Cohenim of the Temple Period. The name of this Cohen descended clan? Buba.
Lemba Member: Professor Rudo G.E.R. Mathivha, President of the Lemba Cultural Society.
Cohen or Buba is a hereditary priestly position inherited only, exclusively from the male line, dating back to the building of the Tabernacles. The very first Cohen was Aaron HaKohen, Cheif Priest of the Tabernacles, older brother of Rabbienu Moishe HaTovia, better known as Moses (The Good).
Yidel & Hannah Moser, 1890's.
Dobbie was married to Mordechai Ornstein, the son of Ephraim Ornstein, who may have been a Rabbi in what is now Ukraine, but back then was a part the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Max or Mark as he was known was born in 1869, and lived in the shtetl or dorph (village or small town) of Jagielnica also sometimes spelt Yahil'nytsia. Max had at least one other sibling, Benjamin. It may be suggested that Max and Ben were half brothers, born to the same mother, but to different fathers, obviously during different marriages. This is believed because Max's fathers name was Ephraim, where as Ben's father was Uri. It may even be further conjecture to suggest that these two fathers were actually brothers, and one had passed away. As in conjunction with biblical law, if a wife is widowed, the brother of her late husband, if unmarried would take responsibility for his late brother's wife and family, which would of course mean marrying her, and perhaps even within time, her bearing him children of his own. Both sons had the Ornstein surname, after all.
Uri was otherwise known as Bernard. His son Benjamin was from Lviv, now Lemburg, then provincial capital of Galitz, the largely Jewish region within the area designated as the Pale of Settlement.
Western Russia: The Pale of Settlement. From 'Jewish Americans' by Robert Stein, 2002
Benjamin and his son Harry who was born 15th September 1893, emigrated to Boston, U.S.A. in the early 1900's from Lviv. Some years later Harry Ornstein would enlist in Uncle Sam's elite fighting force, and become a G.I. He saw action in France during the 1914-1918 war and was wounded during a mustard or poisonous gas attack. He was transported back to England to convalesce. It was here that he met his cousin Leah, born 1902, who would nurse him back to better health, though he would never fully recover, spending the rest of his life disabled with severe breathing difficulties. Leah would emigrate to pastures-a-new, arriving in Boston in September 1924, just before the harsh winter set in. She was hoping to find the American dream, but the grim reality of a life in poverty, looking after a sick husband would eventually befall her. It was up to her children Melvin, Jerry and Rosalyn to lift themselves out of the humble living conditions they started out from.
Winter Years: The last picture of Leah Ornstein aged 99, 2002.
Leah's parents, Dora and Max arrived in the port of Plymouth, Devon, England sometime around the year 1902. They then spent their time between family in Plymouth and the Jewish East-End of London. By 1911 they were living at 25 Vauxhall Street, Plymouth, a stones throw from the bustling quayside.
They later settled in London, living at 11, Weston House, Goldsmiths Row, Hackney. They had family, cousins, aunties and uncles etc there, with the surnames Bigielsky (sic), Moser and Harkaway. By 1914 they resided at 44 Darling Row, Cambridge Road, "Buildings E", Hackney, East London. Max Ornstein would die tragically early on the 3rd day of April that same year. He was just 45 years of age, leaving behind a struggling widow and 7 young children. The cause of his death was Pulmonary Tuberculosis, T.B. He had been a journeyman carpenter, making furniture from bamboo. He may also have been odained as a Rabbi in his home country before coming to England, though so far there is no certainty or proof of this hypothesis, apart from the vague connection by surname and location to the 18th and 19th century dynastic Ornstein Rabbis of Lvov nowadays better known as Lemburg.
Jewish Americans is written by Robert Stein, and published in the U.K in 2002 by The Ivy Press Limited, Lewes, East Sussex, England.
Location:Jagielnica, Ukraine
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