Myer Cohen
Myer Cohen worked as a junk dealer and broker. He was among the first Jews to purchase a home on Summer Street and his daughter was the last Jewish person to move from the street. He was active in the city and arranged to have trees planted along the street. He was very active in political affairs for the Progressive Conservative Party and was a director of Congregation Shaarei Zedek. He was well known in the real estate business. Myer Cohen also organized the immigration of other family members from Minsk, Russia after he settled in the city.
Bessie Levine Cohen
Bessie Levine Cohen was the daughter of Louis and Elizabeth Levine and had four brothers – Abe, Isaac, Simon and Nathan, all of whom went into the grocery business – and two sisters – Nelly Haslett and Lillian Kashetsky. In the community, she was a member of the Hadassah WIZO organization and Sisterhood.
The Cohens had three children: Jennie, Israel and Edgar.
Jennie Cohen (1915-2016) lived in the family home at 82 Summer Street for almost her entire life. She lived a quiet life at home as a daughter and then a homemaker. She married Benjamin Cohen in 1949 and they had one daughter – Lorie.
Her husband, Benjamin Cohen (1913-1999) was born in Bath, NB to Aaron and Lena Cohen and had four sisters – Sarah Jacobson, Jennie Pinkus, Leibe Katz, and Minna Rothberg. He moved to 80 Summer Street when he married Jennie Cohen in 1949. Ben served for many years on the board of Congregation Shaarei Zedek and was the first treasurer of the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum from 1983 to 1999. He took an active part in leading the weekly Sabbath services as Gabbai Shanei. He started his career managing his father’s dry goods store but spent most of his working life as a bookkeeper for several businesses in the city.
Jennie and Ben Cohen
Israel H. Cohen (1920-1993) was married first to Lillian Budovitch and they had two sons, Morton and Warren. He then married Teresa McCluskey. He worked as a clerk at the Dominion Food Shop, then was part-owner of Harry’s Mens’ and Boy’s Shop on Union Street before opening the Hillside Grocery on Somerset Street and then in Sussex.
Edgar Cohen (1924-2006)
Edgar Cohen (1924-2006) married Erminie Bernstein in 1948 and they lived for a short time in Sydney, Nova Scotia before returning to Saint John. For more than 50 years, he was the owner of Hoffman’s on Main Street in the north end of the city, selling ladies’ fashions, with his wife. They had two daughters – Cathy and Shelley – and a son, Lee. He was involved in a number of local organizations; including the PC Association of Canada
Erminie Bernstein Cohen
Erminie Bernstein Cohen (1926-2019) graduated from Saint John High School and Mount Allison University. She married her childhood sweetheart, Edgar (Eddie) Cohen in January 1948 and worked alongside her husband in Hoffman’s, a ladies clothing store on Main Street. She was very active as a member of the Sisterhood for the congregation and in Hadassah-WIZO, locally, regionally and was a national vice-president of the organization. In 1991, she was elected as the first female president of Congregation Shaarei Zedek. Erminie was also very active politically and was one of the first women appointed to the Committee for the Status of Women by the Premier of New Brunswick. In 1993, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. As Senator, she made outstanding contributions to the understanding of those in poverty, through hearings held across Canada and a written report entitled Sounding the Alarm. After retiring from the Senate, Erminie was the chair of the newly formed New Brunswick Adoption Foundation and under her leadership the foundation helped more than 1,000 children find families.
See also: Bernstein Family
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)
With thanks to Hon. Erminie Cohen and other family members for personal recollections
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.
