Samuel Goldfeather
Samuel Goldfeather was the son of Isaac and Hinda Goldfeather. He was born in Poland and came to Saint John as a young man and remained in the city for more than 50 years. He was trained as an optometrist and founder of S. Goldfeather and Son which had offices on Mill Street and then on Kings Square North.
He was one of the charter members of the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue and was a member of the Habonim Lodge which was focused on Zionist activities.
Samuel Goldfeather married Esther Poyas in 1898. They had three daughters: Clara (married Mitchell Bernstein), Fannie (married Rabbi Burr Yampol), Rose (married Hyman Cornblat) – two sons – Bernard who became an optometrist and Louis who died young.
Erminie Bernstein Cohen shared this information about her grandparents:
“Esther and Samuel Goldfeather immigrated to North America at the beginning of the 20th century. They brought with them Esther’s mother, Etta Poyas, who had been a postmistress in their hometown of Kow[v], situated on the border of Poland and the Ukraine.
The small family lived for a short time in Camden, New Jersey, then moved to Chipman, New Brunswick with a third move to Saint John where Esther’s sister, Kayla and her husband Don Boyaner, lived with their family. The Goldfeathers lived first on Prince William Street, moved up to Wellington Row and finally over to Elliot Row, where they lived most of their lives.
Samuel practiced optometry and serviced small communities in southern New Brunswick and Grand Manan, traveling to these places by horse and buggy. He was well liked and very respected, cutting a dashing figure with his erect posture and precise grooming. Samuel took great pride in his public profile. In later years, he opened an office of optometry on Dock Street and was there until Urban Renewal when he moved his office to the Paramount Theatre building – an office that his son Bernard would late occupy when he too, became an optometrist.
Esther’s life was dedicated to her family and her religion. She had a wonderful sense of humour that combined with her love to laugh, and which proved to be her saving grace during difficult times. She was adept with her hands and she crocheted tablecloths and doilies for all her children. Esther taught herself to read and write English, writing her letters to her family in phonetic English. In the summer, the family would travel by streetcar to Saint’s Rest Beach for a day in the sun and water. Short vacations in the summer were spent in a rented cottage in either Renforth or Bloomfield.
In the earlier years, Esther would offer room and board to a few young men who were looking for a kosher home. By saving her pennies, Esther was able to purchase a Sefer Torah that she donated to the Synagogue in memory of her first-born son, Louis who died at the age of eighteen. This Torah is still in the Oren Kodesh in the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue with her name embroidered on the bottom of the cover.
Louis Goldfeather (1899-1918)
Louis Goldfeather (1899-1918) was only 18 years old when he died from an illness which followed an operation on October 2, 1918.
Clara Bernstein (1902-1964)
Clara Bernstein (1902-1964) was born in Camden, New Jersey and moved to Saint John with her family where she spent the remainder of her life. Clara married Mitchell Bernstein several years after meeting him at a Y.M.H.A. dance. Mitchell was so smitten with the 17-year-old sweetheart that he took “room and board” in her parents’ home so he could visit with her when he was in Saint John. Mitchell waited for Clara to come of age, and they married in June 1922. Clara enjoyed her life as a wife, mother and homemaker. She was an active member of the Women’s Hospital Aid, representing the Jewish community of Saint John, and played a volunteer role in the Saint John Music Festival for many years. Within the Jewish community, she was a member of the Daughters of Israel, Hadassah–WIZO and the Sisterhood of the Synagogue. The Bernsteins had two children: Erminie and Mortimer.
Fay Yampol
Fay Yampol married Rabbi Samuel Burr Yampol on August 28, 1923. He was then the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Zedek. They moved to Chicago, Illinois where they raised their family.
Rose Cornblat (1906-2002)
Rose Cornblat (1906-2002) married Hyman Cornblat on November 21, 1943. They both worked as insurance adjustors and made their married home on Dufferin Row. They had a daughter Lynn.
Dr. Bernard Goldfeather (1909-2004)
Dr. Bernard Goldfeather (1909-2004) studied at Vanderbilt University, a prestigious private university in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Goldfeather was an optometrist for more than thirty years and had his offices in the Paramount Theatre building on Kings Square. He married Fritzie Cohen of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and they had two children, a son, Lorne and a daughter, Elaine.
See Also: Bernstein Family and Elman 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.
