# Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785) <!-- AUTO:BEGIN — generated from GEDCOM; do not edit, overwritten on rebuild --> > 🔵 **Bernstein — Ozzy's side** · Relationship to Ozzy: **5x great-grandmother** **Born** ~1785 **Died** 08/03/1813 · House #230 — [[Łęczna]] **Parents** [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]] · [[Ita (b.1741)]] **Spouse** [[Zelik Mendelsberg (b.1783)]] **Children** [[Brandla Mala Mendelsberg (b.1803)]] · [[Elo Lejb Mendelsberg (b.1804)]] · [[Ryfka Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] · [[Mindla Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] · [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]] **Siblings** [[Pejsach Edelsztajn (b.1764)]] · [[Chaja Edelsztajn (b.1769)]] · [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] · [[Sanel Edelsztajn (b.1788)]] *GEDCOM I508906 · Bernstein tree · synced 2026-07-01* <!-- AUTO:END --> ## Narrative Frajda was a daughter of [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]] — the Łęczna lessee and municipal citizen "Rubin Iłowicz" — and his wife [[Ita (b.1741)]]. Born about 1785, she married [[Zelik Mendelsberg (b.1783)]], and it is through her that the Edelsztajn and Mendelsberg lines join: the couple's children were [[Brandla Mala Mendelsberg (b.1803)]], [[Elo Lejb Mendelsberg (b.1804)]], the twins [[Ryfka Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] and [[Mindla Mendelsberg (b.1811)]], and [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]].[^death] Her daughter Brandla would in turn marry [[Szol Balter (b.1800)]] — so Frajda stands at the knot where the [[Łęczna]] Edelsztajn, Mendelsberg and Balter families all meet. She died young. On **3 August 1813, at four o'clock in the morning**, "*Starozakonna* **Frejda Rubinowa**," aged just **twenty-eight**, died in **House No. 230** in Łęczna.[^death] The record names her by her father's name — Rubin — rather than her husband's, a mark of how well known Rubin Edelsztajn was in the town; her age of twenty-eight also settles that this is his daughter and not some older "wife of Rubin."[^ident] Her death left Zelik a widower with a houseful of small children — the youngest, Josef, barely a year old, and the twins Ryfka and Mindla only about two. The death was reported the next day, 4 August, to Rev. Andrzej Paczewski, parish priest of Łęczna and civil registrar, by two Jewish townsmen who both signed in Hebrew: **Beniamin Janklowicz**, a furrier (*kuśnierz*) of fifty-six, and **Chawel Josefowicz**, a baker (of *kunszt piekarski*) also about fifty-six, then living "in the new house without number" in the town.[^death] [^death]: Death act no. 51 ("*Akt zeyścia Żydowski*"), Łęczna civil register, dated **4 August 1813**, read directly from the scan. Before Rev. **Andrzej Paczewski**, parish priest of Łęczna and civil registrar, the *Starozakonni* declarants **Beniamin Janklowicz**, furrier (*kuśnierz*), aged 56, and **Chawel Josefowicz**, of the baker's craft (*kunszt piekarski*), aged ~56, both of Łęczna, declared that on **3 August 1813 at 4 a.m.** died **Frejda Rubinowa**, aged **28**, in **House No. 230**. Both declarants signed in Hebrew. Age 28 → birth c. 1785. The act does not name her husband or children. Scan: [Akta 51](https://szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/246f361960c366ef8e25c5f337e6d2fb3714f27567b9e7daeae9fc88c01b2095). [^ident]: The act calls her "Frejda **Rubinowa**" (of Rubin) with no husband named. Her recorded age of 28 (b. ~1785) is far too young for her to be a *wife* of [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]] (whose widow died in 1824 aged 82), so "Rubinowa" here is her father's name — identifying her as Rubin's daughter. Her marriage to [[Zelik Mendelsberg (b.1783)]] and her motherhood of the Mendelsberg children come from their birth records (her youngest son [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]] was born the year before she died); no other Frajda's death fits, and both she and Zelik were dead by 1828. ## Research - **Death, 1813, Łęczna (death act no. 51, "Akt zeyścia Żydowski").** Read directly from the scan. **Frejda Rubinowa**, aged **28**, died **3 August 1813 at 4 a.m.** in **House No. 230**, Łęczna; act registered 4 August 1813 before parish-priest/registrar Andrzej Paczewski. Declarants **Beniamin Janklowicz**, furrier, 56, and **Chawel Josefowicz**, baker, ~56, both of Łęczna, who signed in Hebrew. Age 28 → birth c. 1785. No husband or children named in the act. Source: [Akta 51](https://szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/246f361960c366ef8e25c5f337e6d2fb3714f27567b9e7daeae9fc88c01b2095). - **Identification.** "Rubinowa" = daughter of [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]] (age 28 rules out "wife of Rubin"). Wife of [[Zelik Mendelsberg (b.1783)]] and mother of the Mendelsberg children per their birth records; youngest son [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]] born the year before her death. Both she and Zelik deceased by 1828. - **Birth year.** Death act (age 28, 1813) → b. c. 1785; some of her children's records imply a birth c. 1777. Vault uses ~1785 (following the death act). ## Evidence - **1813 death act (Łęczna, no. 51)** — Frejda Rubinowa, aged 28, died 3 Aug 1813 in House #230, Łęczna. Her own death record; fixes her death, approximate birth year (c. 1785), and the "Rubinowa" (daughter-of-Rubin) form of her name. ![[FrejdaRubinowa_1813_death_Leczna_akt51.jpg]] *Death act no. 51, Łęczna civil register, 4 August 1813 — death of "Frejda Rubinowa," aged 28, in House No. 230; declarants Beniamin Janklowicz (furrier) and Chawel Josefowicz (baker) ([szukajwarchiwach scan](https://szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/246f361960c366ef8e25c5f337e6d2fb3714f27567b9e7daeae9fc88c01b2095)).* ## Open questions - **Birth year (1785 vs 1777).** Her 1813 death act gives age 28 (b. ~1785); some children's records point to c. 1777. Her own birth record (Łęczna, c. 1785) or her marriage to Zelik would resolve it. - **The act names neither husband nor children.** The identification as Zelik Mendelsberg's wife rests on the children's birth records rather than on the death act itself; a marriage record for Frajda and Zelik would make it explicit. - **House No. 230.** Whether this was the Mendelsberg household or a relative's is not established.