# Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744) <!-- AUTO:BEGIN — generated from GEDCOM; do not edit, overwritten on rebuild --> > 🔵 **Bernstein — Ozzy's side** · Relationship to Ozzy: **6x great-grandfather** ![[I518989.jpg|220]] **Born** ~1744 **Died** 06/16/1817 · House #214 — [[Łęczna]] **Parents** [[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]] · [[Unknown (135)]] **Spouses** [[Ita (b.1741)]] · [[Unknown I520292]] **Children** [[Pejsach Edelsztajn (b.1764)]] · [[Chaja Edelsztajn (b.1769)]] · [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] · [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]] · [[Sanel Edelsztajn (b.1788)]] **📸 Media — from MyHeritage** ![[I518989_1.jpg|180]] *GEDCOM I518989 · Bernstein tree · synced 2026-07-01* <!-- AUTO:END --> ## Narrative **Rubin Edelsztajn** — recorded before surname adoption by the patronymic **Rubin Iłowicz / Illowicz** ("Rubin son of Elo," his father [[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]]) — was one of the substantial Jewish burghers of [[Łęczna]] — a municipal citizen, a moneylender, the holder of the town's slaughterhouse-and-meat-stall concession, and a miller and distiller — born about 1744 and dead there in 1817. He appears in the town's *Akta Miasta* across nearly forty years, from 1773 to 1810. He was admitted to **Łęczna municipal citizenship in 1773**, at roughly twenty-nine[^r1] — a standing restricted for Jews and not lightly granted, marking him as an established burgher rather than a tolerated newcomer. By the end of the 1770s he was lending money on mortgage[^r2]. His money-lending could turn combative. In the spring of 1782 one of his Christian debtors, **Sobestyan Mederski**, had failed to repay a sum he owed Rubin under his own written bonds, and Rubin summoned him before the castle authority to settle. It went badly. On the road to the manor Mederski fell to abusing Rubin with "dishonest words" and branding him a thief; brought before the authority, he refused to wait for judgment at all, announcing that he would go off into town "*żeby mi gorzałka nie skwaśniała*" (lest my vodka turn sour) — for which contempt he was locked a few hours in the tower. Freed and set before the municipal court to close the matter, he caught sight of Rubin in the courthouse and let fly once more: "*Ty Psie Hycku Złodzieju*" (you dog, you knacker, you thief). The magistrates treated the outburst not as a private quarrel but as contempt of **both the castle and the town**, and — weighing Mederski's long record of drunkenness and violence, which even included an earlier assault in which he had set upon a Jewish butcher with a blade — sentenced him to two days and nights in the tower, a fifty-mark fine, a public apology to Rubin, and perpetual silence on the slanders under pain of a flogging and a hundred marks more[^r3]. The decree is a vivid glimpse of the friction a propertied Jew could draw in a mixed town — and of Rubin's standing, that the Christian magistrates backed him so squarely against one of their own. His standing in the town's economy is caught most fully in a **privilege of 2 July 1787, granted under her own hand and seal by the town's owner, Princess Elżbieta z Branickich Sapieżyna** (*wojewodzicowa mścisławska*). To be rid of the stench (*Fetor*) that the old town-centre slaughterhouse had long spread through Łęczna, she had the *szlachtuz* moved out to the riverbank — down among the breweries, below the mill — onto **Rubin Iłowicz's own plot**, and made him and his heirs the sole holders of *both* the slaughterhouse *and* the town's meat-stalls (*jatki*). The town's **butchers (*rzeźnicy*)** — a separate body of men — were henceforth to slaughter and sell their meat nowhere else but in his stalls; Rubin was to keep the buildings in good order, to answer to the Łęczna Treasury for the rent (*czynsz*) the butchers owed, and to pay eight złoty a year for the grant[^r4]. The privilege makes his role unmistakable: **not a butcher himself, but the proprietor of the town's meat trade** — holding the slaughterhouse and stalls, and collecting the butchers' dues, under the magnate's patronage and in perpetuity to his successors. By **1801 he likewise held a mill** — the "Młyn Rubinowy," inspected and restored to working order under the same Sapieha privilege[^r5]. Łęczna in these years was a privately-owned town of the Sapieha magnates, and these grants place Rubin among the burghers who held its productive infrastructure under the owner's patronage. His father **[[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]]** died over the winter of 1795–96, and the settlement of the estate was made by sworn testimony in the Łęczna kahal synagogue, registered in the town books on 26 January 1796[^r6]. Elo's estate was already a working concern in which father and son were entangled: a homestead (by then burned down) whose income the two had shared and in which Rubin lived, a market stall (*klitka*), and a distillery (*Winnica*) that Elo had held jointly with two kahal officials. Elo's widow — who calls Rubin her *pasierb*, stepson, so that she was Elo's later wife rather than Rubin's own mother — deposed to the movables and to a testamentary bequest her husband had left her. From the estate Rubin took his share as heir "after his father." The distillery and its apparatus passed to Rubin, and in **1803 he leased the whole *Winnica* out** — with its horse-mill, masonry granary, stable, two distilling kettles and a water-heating vat — to the town's Provisions Clerk Zakrzewski for 450 złp a year[^r7]. His distilling gear was a fixture of the town's economy: a decade later, when the seized *dobra Łęczna* were leased at auction and the whole municipal propination revenue passed for 1813–14 to Leon Niemirowski, one clause of the arenda contract still reckoned with it by name — the town's distilling cauldron (*kocioł gorzałczany*) "*u Rubina Iłowicza*" was to be taken from him and made over to the lessee, so that tavern-keepers who kept no distillery of their own could have their vodka distilled[^r8]. By the 1800s Rubin was one of Łęczna's substantial burghers, holding a cluster of the town's productive property and moving easily between operating it and financing others. Alongside the mill he held a **brewery (*Browar*)**, on the security of which — together with the mill — he twice pledged 1,000 złp in 1804 to guarantee Zelman Mortkowicz, the Jewish lessee of nearby Łuszczów, against the estate's seizure of that lease[^r9]. His **masonry mill**, damaged during the wartime upheavals and idle for six months, was compensated in 1805: the estate acknowledged 967 złp 18 gr of damage to "the mill of Rubin Eliasz" and undertook not to count the lost half-year against his five-year tenancy[^r10]. In **1807 he took a fresh mill lease**, this time of a newly-built mill and a plot from the Łęczna domain, jointly with Hersz Kohen Kadner and Josef Leib Rausenbaum, at about 200 gulden a year with obligations for the mill's upkeep[^r11]. He also held a **masonry house with a corner shop right on the market square** and at least one further *dom murowany* — landmarks named as boundaries in his neighbours' deeds through 1806–1810[^r12] — one of which was very likely House #214, where he would die. His credit reached across the partition border: in 1810 he secured 2,600 złp on his masonry house to guarantee the transit-duty of Leyba Fayn, a merchant of Brody in Austrian Galicia[^r13], and he registered an 1,800-złp bill of exchange owed to him by Raca Koplowna[^r14]. He had moved at the top tier of the town's lessees since the turn of the century. As early as **1800 he headed a three-man Jewish syndicate** — with Chaim Sztybowicz and Lelman Lejbowicz — that took the whole *Arenda Miejska Łęczyńska*, the town's **entire propination**, from the Treasury of its then owner **Józef Mierzejewski**: the right to sell vodka and beer, the brewery below the town and at Ciechanki, the bridge, dam and mill tolls, the town-hall shops, and a string of named taverns (Witaniowska, Grembarewska, Ciechańska, Osierdowska), for one year from 1 July 1800 at **38,000 złp** — a larger sum than any of his later leases — signed at Łęczna that day beside the estate governor Walkowski.[^r19] His standing let him again co-farm the town's entire **fair-toll revenue**: in 1809 the Treasury leased the *jarmarczne* — the fair and market tolls, the Treasury shops by the town hall, the inns during fairs — to Rubin and Mędel Weinfeld for 23,000 złp, Rubin taking a one-third share of 7,666 złp 20 gr in cash, the contract signed by the town's owner, **Count Friedrich von Kalckreuth**[^r15] — the magnate ownership having passed, through Mierzejewski, from the Sapieha under whose privileges Rubin's slaughterhouse and mill had first stood. The acts also catch his family at work. In 1808 Rubin personally stood surety "*for my children*," pledging his whole estate for **[[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]]** — named here as his son — and Zelig Mendelsberg on their contract with the domain to deliver timber and lime to Elbląg[^r16]. To the end he was a fixture of the town's legal life, lending his name as a witness to his neighbours' compromises and donations into 1810[^r17]. He married [[Ita (b.1741)]], and later a second wife whose name is not recovered. His known children were [[Pejsach Edelsztajn (b.1764)]], [[Chaja Edelsztajn (b.1769)]], [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]], [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]] and [[Sanel Edelsztajn (b.1788)]]. He died on **16 June 1817 in House #214, Łęczna**, aged about seventy-three, recorded in death act no. 29[^r18]. [^r1]: 1773 — admitted to Łęczna municipal citizenship as "Rubin Illowicz." APL 35/44, jedn. 1753829, [sc.62](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753829?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=62) [^r2]: 1779–1781 — moneylending on mortgage: a townswoman and her son owed him 62 złp against their garden in 1779, [sc.5](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753836?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=5); further credit in 1781, [sc.183](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=183) [^r3]: 1782 (2 May) — municipal decree in *Rubin Iłowicz v. Sobestyan Mederski*. APL 35/44, jedn. 1753834, [sc.329](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=329) [^r4]: 1787 (2 July) — privilege of Princess Elżbieta z Branickich Sapieżyna granting Rubin the slaughterhouse + meat-stall (*jatki*) concession. Jedn. 1753834, [sc.331](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=331) [^r5]: 1801 — oblata restoring the "Młyn Rubinowy" mill under the Sapieha privilege. Jedn. 1753836, [sc.73](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753836?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=73) [^r6]: 1796 — settlement of [[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]]'s estate, sworn in the Łęczna kahal, reg. 26 Jan 1796. Jedn. 1753838, [scans 102–104](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753838?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=102) [^r7]: 1803/04 — lease-out of the *Winnica* (distillery, horse-mill, two kettles) to the Provisions Clerk Zakrzewski, 450 złp/yr. Akta 14, jedn. 1753841, [akta 14](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=17) [^r8]: 1813 — Łęczna municipal propination lease (Leon Niemirowski); art. 29 orders the distilling cauldron "u Rubina Iłowicza" taken from him for the lessee. AGAD jedn. 17742785, [sc.48](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742785?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=48) [^r9]: 1804 — two sureties (up to 1,000 złp on his mill & brewery) for Zelman Mortkowicz, lessee of Łuszczów. Akta 37, jedn. 1753841, [akta 37](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=42) [^r10]: 1805 — the estate acknowledges 967 złp 18 gr of war-damage to "the mill of Rubin Eliasz." Akta 162, jedn. 1753841, [akta 162](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=147) [^r11]: 1807 — lease of a newly-built domain mill (jointly with Hersz Kohen Kadner & Josef Leib Rausenbaum). Akta 50, jedn. 1753843, [akta 50](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=86) [^r12]: Boundary/neighbour mentions of Rubin's masonry house & corner shop on the Rynek, 1806–1810. Jedn. 1753841/1753843, [1806](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=180); [1808](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=215); [1810](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=391) [^r13]: 1810 — 2,600 złp *kaucya* on his masonry house guaranteeing the transit-duty of Leyba Fayn, a Brody merchant. Akta 216, jedn. 1753843, [akta 216](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=452) [^r14]: 1810 — registration of an 1,800-złp bill of exchange owed to him by Raca Koplowna. Akta 170, jedn. 1753843, [akta 170](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=393) [^r15]: 1809 — farm of the town's *jarmarczne* (fair-toll revenue), 23,000 złp; contract signed by Count Friedrich von Kalckreuth. Akta 146, jedn. 1753843, [akta 146](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=352) [^r16]: 1808 — surety "*za Dziećmi memi*" (for my children) for [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] & Zelig Mendelsberg (timber & lime to Elbląg). Akta 108, jedn. 1753843, [akta 108](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=237) [^r17]: Witness to neighbours' acts, 1810 — akta 200 & akta 226. Jedn. 1753843, [akta 200](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=429); [akta 226](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=464) [^r18]: Death act no. 29, Łęczna — d. 16 June 1817, House #214, aged ~73. [scan](https://szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/4b6e7a6e7746f46ad1e401a910f1f1c943325381b90a15b1324dfa028de79ef8) [^r19]: 1800 — *Kontrakt o Dzierżawie Propinacyi w Łęcznej pro 1800 i 1801*: the Treasury of Józef Mierzejewski (hereditary possessor of the Łęczna klucz) leases the whole *Arenda Miejska Łęczyńska* to Starozakonni **Rubin Iłowicz, Chaim Sztybowicz and Lelman Lejbowicz**, 1 July 1800–1801, for 38,000 złp; signed at Łęczna 1 July 1800 (with governor J. Walkowski), dominially certified 3 Dec 1800. Copied into *Miasto Łęczna* vol. IX, AGAD 1/191/0/-/3649, jedn. 17742786, [sc.169](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=169)–[171](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=171); read from the scans 2026-07-06. ## Research *(your reasoning — preserved across every rebuild)* **Pre-surname patronymic: "Rubin Elowicz" (Rubin son of Elo).** The 1796 estate record names him thus, inheriting [[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]]'s estate (cited on [[Rubin (b.1694)]]). Variant spellings **Illowicz / Iłowicz** (son of Iło = Elo) place him in the Łęczna *Akta Miasta* earlier than his previously-known records (which begin 1795): - **1773** — admitted to Łęczna municipal citizenship as *Rubin Illowicz*. APL 35/44, jednostka 1753829, sc.[62](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753829?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=62) (age ~29). Extraction: [[Łęczna - 1716-1810 - Akta Miasta]]. - **1779** — creditor (Michałowa Witkowa & son owe him 62 złp from 1777, mortgage on their garden). Jednostka 1753836 sc.[5](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753836?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=5). Extraction: [[Łęczna - 1779-1810 - Akta Miasta]]. - **1781** — creditor. Jednostka 1753834 sc.[182](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=182)–[184](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=184). - **1782** (2 May) — a municipal decree in the suit **Rubin Iłowicz (plaintiff) v. Sobestyan Mederski (his Christian debtor)**: Mederski, owing Rubin a sum under his own written bonds and summoned to the castle authority to settle, twice publicly reviled Rubin as a thief and defied both castle and town — sentenced to two days in the tower, a 50-mark fine, a public apology to Rubin, and silence under threat of flogging + 100 marks. **CORRECTION (re-read from the scan 2026-07-04):** this record does **not** say Rubin was a butcher. Rubin is the creditor/plaintiff; the phrase "*żyda rzeźnika*" (a Jew butcher) refers to a **different man**, an *earlier* victim of Mederski's violence, cited to show Mederski's bad character. Jednostka 1753834 sc.[329](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=329). - **1787** (2 July) — privilege of **Princess Elżbieta z Branickich Sapieżyna** (town owner) moving the town slaughterhouse — removed from the centre for its stench (*Fetor*) — onto **Rubin Iłowicz's own riverside plot** (among the breweries, below the mill), and making Rubin and his heirs the **sole holders of the *szlachtuz* and the meat-stalls (*jatki*)** in perpetuity. The town's **butchers (*rzeźnicy* — a separate body)** may slaughter and sell only there; Rubin keeps the buildings, answers to the Treasury for the butchers' rent (*czynsz*), and pays 8 złp/yr for the grant. **He is the concession-holder/proprietor of the meat trade, NOT a butcher himself** (re-read from the scan 2026-07-04). Jednostka 1753834 sc.[331](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=331). Extraction: [[Łęczna - 1768-1789 - Akta Miasta]]. - **1801** — Obywatel Łęczyński; oblata reporting his **mill (*młyn*)** restored to good order under Princess Sapieżyna's privilege (the "Młyn Rubinowy," inspected 1800). Jednostka 1753836 sc.[73](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753836?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=73). Extraction: [[Łęczna - 1779-1810 - Akta Miasta]]. **Identification CONFIRMED.** The MyHeritage record list already cites jednostka **1753836 sc.73** as a Rubin Edelsztajn record — and that record reads "*Starozakonny **Rubin Jłowicz**, Obywatel Łęczyński*." So Rubin Iłowicz / Jłowicz / Illowicz = "Rubin Elowicz" = this man. Documented Łęczna career **c.1773–1801**: municipal citizen, moneylender, holder of the town's **slaughterhouse-and-meat-stall concession** (1787), and miller — the slaughterhouse and mill both under Princess Sapieżyna's privileges. (He was **not** himself a butcher — see the 1782/1787 corrections above.) b.~1744, d. House #214, 1817. ### Notarial acts 1796–1810 — deep-read from the scans (Akta Miasta Łęczna, APL 35/44) Recorded as **Rubin Iłowicz / Jłowicz / Edelsztein / Aydelsztayn** (all = "Rubin son of Iło/Elo"). Court-hand; readings best-effort with `[?]` on doubtful words. **Father's estate (1796), jednostka 1753838:** - **1796, Elo's estate** (sworn testimony in the Łęczna kahal *szkoła*, registered in the town/wójt books 26 Jan 1796; witnesses depose 3 Jan 1796 before Rabbi Judka Peysach, Szabsa Leyzorowicz and Moszek Abram, spiritual directors) — establishes Rubin Iłowicz's inheritance from his late father **Iło (Elo) Rubinowicz**. The estate: a *Domostwo* (homestead, which had **burned down**), a *klitka* (market stall/shop), and a *Winnica* (distillery); father and son had **shared the homestead's income and Rubin had lived in it**; witnesses Kalman Dawidowicz and Leyb (kahal *wiernik*) held the Winnica jointly with the late Iło. After Iło's death Rubin, "as [heir] after his father," received 40 [złp] from the sale proceeds. **Elo's widow deposes and calls Rubin her *Pasierb* (stepson)** — i.e. she was Elo's later wife, not Rubin's mother; her husband had legated her 36 złp/year from the klitka income to her death and lodging in the Winnica. [scans 102–104](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753838?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=102). **Jednostka 1753841 (1804–1806):** - **1804, akta 14** (contract, Łęczna 15 Apr 1803; oblated 1804) — **Rubin Iłowicz leases OUT his *Winnica* (distillery)** with its *Młyn Konski* (horse-mill, Rubin adding one horse), a *szpiklerz murowany* (masonry granary), a stable and all appurtenances, plus **two distillery kettles** (*kotły gorzalczane*) and a third water-heating vat, to JP. Zakrzewski (Provisions Clerk) for **450 złp/year**; Rubin covers the mill's ironwork and half other repairs, provides two cows; 2-year term with provisions for his death/heirs. [scan 17](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=17). - **1804, akta 37** (two *Kaucye*/sureties, Łęczna 4 June 1804, oblated 4 June 1804; witnesses Euzebiusz Beczalski, F.E. Perschke) — Rubin twice guarantees, up to **1,000 złp secured on his *Młyn i Browar* (mill and brewery) in Łęczna**, the Jew **Zelman Mortkowicz, lessee (arendarz) of Łuszczów**, against the Łęczna Dominium's seizure of the Łuszczów lease-revenues and of Zelman's movable goods. [scans 42–43](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=42). - **1804, akta 39** (German "Cautions Instrument," oblated 13 June 1804 at the instance of **Wolf Ickowicz**, re a masonry house sub No. 24 pledged for 2,000 gulden; before Schweitzer, *Justitiarius*) — **Rubin (as "Rubin Eliar/Elowicz") signs as a co-witness** (*Mitzeuge*). [scan 45](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=45). - **1805, akta 162** (Rubin oblates 16 Aug 1805 a 1803 estate declaration by *Müge*, the Łęczna estate's special plenipotentiary) — the estate acknowledges **967 złp 18 gr of war damage done to "the mill of Rubin Eliasz,"** which stood idle 6 months, and promises to pay him that sum from the estate treasury and not to count the idle half-year against his **five-year mill possession**. [scan 147](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=147). - **1806, akta 200** (oblata by Chaim Leybowicz Bergierman, 13 Jan 1806, of a 23 Apr 1805 sale of a masonry house in the middle of the Rynek by Szloma Boruchowicz Weinberg & wife Beyla née Symchowiczówna Rabinowna) — **Rubin appears as a boundary/neighbour**: the house adjoins his own *Dom mieszkalny murowany i Sklep narożny* (masonry dwelling **and a corner shop on the market square**). [scan 180](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753841?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=180). **Jednostka 1753843 (1807–1811):** - **1807, akta 50** (oblated 10 Nov 1807; German contract dated Łęczna 24 June 1807) — **lease from the Łęczna *Dominium* of a plot and the newly-built *Mühle* (mill)** to **Rubin Edelstein, Hersz Kohen Kadner and Josef Leib Rausenbaum** jointly; ~200 Polish gulden/year, terms on mill repairs and running to Michaelmas; Rubin signs. [scans 86–88](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=86). - **1808, akta 98 & 99** (27 Apr / 25 Apr 1808; sales of a masonry house by Beyla née Judkowiczówna Rabinowna & her husband Szloma Boruchowicz Weinberg to Chaim Arie Leybowicz Bergierman) — **Rubin as boundary/neighbour**: the house adjoins his *Dom murowany Rubinowy Iłowiczowy*; akta 99 also cites a prior **arbitration decree (*Dekret Arbitrowski*/*Kompromis*) between the sellers and "Rubinem Iłowiczem"** over a disputed plot-with-cellar formerly of the late Leyzor Moszkowicz. [scans 212–217](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=212). - **1808, akta 108** (oblated 22 Jun 1808) — **Rubin Iłowicz Edelsztein stands surety "*za Dziećmi memi*" (for my children)**, pledging his whole estate incl. his Łęczna *grunta i domostwo*, for **Chaim Edelsztein and Zelig Mendelsberg (Mandelsburg)** on their 14 May 1808 contract with the Łęczna Dominium to deliver **timber (belki) and lime (wapno) to Elbląg**. Explicitly names Chaim Edelsztein as his son (= [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]]); "*za Dziećmi*" implies Zelig too is a child/son-in-law. [scans 237–238](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=237). - **1809, akta 146** (Rubin oblates 2 Jun 1809; contract signed by *Friedrich Graf Kalckreuth*, Łęczna 15 May 1809) — **farm/lease of the town's *jarmarczne* (fair/market-toll revenue)** for 1 Jul 1809 – 30 Jun 1810 by the Treasury (Skarb) to **Rubin Edelsztein and Mędel Weinfeld**, total **23,000 złp**; Weinfeld pays two shares (15,333 złp 10 gr), **Rubin one share (7,666 złp 20 gr)** in cash. Covers the Treasury shops at the town hall, inns during fairs, and tolls on merchants/horses/oxen/wagons. [scans 352–353](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=352). - **1810, akta 170** (Rubin Iłowicz Edelsztein oblates 11 Jan 1810 a *Wexel* translated from Hebrew) — **Rubin registers a bill of exchange he holds**: 1,800 Polish złp in pure silver at 18%/yr, issued 5 Dec 1805 by **Raca (daughter of Kopel) Jakubowa Koplowna** (witnesses Jankiew Aria Nowakowicz, Mordka Mordkowicz) — i.e. Rubin is the creditor of an 1,800-złp debt. [scans 393–394](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=393). - **1810, akta 216** (Rubin Iłowicz gives a *Kaucya*, 14 Sep 1810) — **Rubin pledges 2,600 Polish złp secured on his own *dom murowany* in Łęczna (sub N. [214?])** to guarantee the consumption-duty (*cło pro consumo*) owed through the Łęczna customs house by **Leyba Fayn, a merchant of Brody in the Austrian partition**, on goods in transit to Brody. [scans 452–453](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=452). - **1810, akta 169** (Maryanka Matysówna's debt to Maier Leybowicz Karfinkel, 10 Jan/29 Sep 1809) — **Rubin as boundary/neighbour**: her house No. 103 lies "*pomiędzy Domami: Rubina Iłowicza Edelsztejna i Rubina Hersza Czyżowicza*." [scans 391–392](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=391). - **1810, akta 200** (arbitration/*Komplanacya* between the Christian townsmen Marcin Kopeć and Marcin Zakrzewski over a field & 1805 harvest; original decree Apr 1806, oblated 11 Aug 1810) — **Rubin Edelsztein signs as a witness** (Yiddish); Mendel Weinfeld guarantor. [scans 429–431](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=429). - **1810, akta 226** (Manes Leybowicz's quittance/donation to his father-in-law Herszek Kodenski of a house in the Rynek No. 202, 27 Dec 1810) — **Rubin Edelsztein signs as a witness** (with Moszek Janklowicz). [scans 464–465](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=464). **What these acts add to the picture.** Beyond the slaughterhouse-and-meat-stall concession (1787) and the "Młyn Rubinowy" (1801), the deep-read shows Rubin held a **whole cluster of productive property in Łęczna** — a *Winnica* (distillery, with horse-mill, masonry granary, stable and two distillery kettles), a **brewery (*Browar*)**, at least one **masonry mill**, a **masonry house with a corner shop on the Rynek**, and a further *dom murowany* (probably House #214, where he died). He ran these as an operator and as a financier: leasing the distillery out (1803), standing large sureties for other Jews and for his own children (1804, 1808, 1810), co-farming the town's entire fair-toll revenue for 23,000 złp (1809), lending on and holding bills of exchange (1,800 złp, 1810), and being compensated by the estate for war damage to his mill (967 złp, 1805). The town's ownership passed from the **Sapieha** (Princess Sapieżyna, 1787–1801 privileges) to **Count Friedrich von Kalckreuth**, who personally signs Rubin's 1809 fair-toll contract. Two of his children surface directly: **Chaim Edelsztein** (named his son, 1808) and, by strong implication, **Zelig Mendelsberg**. ### 1800 Łęczna town propination lease — Miasto Łęczna vol IX (deep-read from the scans) - **1800 (1 July), *Kontrakt o Dzierżawie Propinacyi w Łęcznej pro 1800 i 1801*** (copied — headed "Kopia" — into *Miasto Łęczna* vol. IX, AGAD 1/191/0/-/3649, jedn. **17742786**, sc.[169](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=169)–[171](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=171)). The Treasury of **JW. Józef Mierzejewski**, hereditary possessor (*Dziedziczny Possessor*) of the Łęczna klucz, leases (via his plenipotentiary) the whole *Arenda Miejska Łęczyńska* — the town propination (*gorzałka*, beer, brewing), the **brewery below the town and at Ciechanki**, the *Mostowe–Grobelne* (bridge & dam) tolls, the **mill**, the town-hall shops (*Sklepy, Ratusz*), and the taverns **Witaniowska, Grembarewska, Ciechańska, Osierdowska** (the fair-*szynk* alone reserved to the Treasury) — to three **Starozakonni obywatele Łęczy: Rubin Iłowicz, Chaim Sztybowicz, and Lelman (Lejzman) Lejbowicz**, for one year from 1 July 1800, **for 38,000 złp** (28,000 down, remainder in installments). Signed at Łęczna 1 July 1800 by **J. Walkowski, Gubernator of Łęczna**, and the three lessees; dominially certified (Latin *attestatur*) 3 Dec 1800 by plenipotentiary Rogalski, and oblated in the Łęczna dominial acts. sc.[169](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=169), [171](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=171) (read by eye). **This is Rubin Iłowicz (= this ancestor) as lead co-lessee of the ENTIRE Łęczna town propination in 1800 for 38,000 złp** — the largest of his known leases, predating the 1809 fair-toll farm (23,000 złp). *(Ownership note: the facing page, sc.171, begins the **1801** lease under **Adolf Graf von Kalckreuth** — so the Łęczna klucz passed from Mierzejewski to Kalckreuth by 1801, earlier than the 1809 Kalckreuth contract already on file.)* ### 1813 Łęczna municipal arenda — his distilling cauldron (deep-read from the scan) - **1813, Łęczna municipal *czopowe*/propination lease** (contract executed at **Chełm, 3 July 1813**, before notary Aleksander Zakrzewski; copied — headed "Kopia" under the *Fryderyk August, Król Saski Xiąże Warszawski* formula — into the AGAD *Miasto Łęczna* administrative file vol. VIII, jedn. **17742785**, sc.[42](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742785?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=42)–[48](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742785?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=48)). The *dobra Łęczna*, seized for tax arrears by royal decree of 17 Oct 1811 and placed under the treasury, were leased at public auction: **W. Leon Niemirowski** took the *arenda miejska Łęczyńska* — the municipal *czopowe Dominikalne* (excise on vodka, beer-malt and mead sold in town), the Wieprz-river ferry tolls and a suburban tavern — for one year from **1 July 1813 to 30 June 1814**. Among the contract's operating clauses (art. 29): *"Do liszowania gorzałek dla szynkarzy tych ktorzy nie maią swoich winnic ma być kocioł gorzałczany **u Rubina Iłowicza** znaydujący się, od tegoż odebrany i Arędarzom dany"* — **the distilling cauldron (*kocioł gorzałczany*) located at Rubin Iłowicz's is to be taken from him and made over to the lessee**, for distilling vodka for those tavern-keepers who have no distillery of their own. Attests **Rubin Iłowicz as the owner of a distilling kettle in Łęczna in 1813**, four years before his death — consistent with the *Winnica* and its two kettles he had held and leased out in 1803 (akta 14). **Identity:** "Rubin Iłowicz" of Łęczna, owner of distilling apparatus and alive in 1813, = this man (= Rubin Edelsztajn, the prominent Łęczna distillery/mill-holder). sc.[48](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742785?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=48). *(NB: an earlier reader index mislabeled this contract "1802"; reading the scan by eye dates it firmly to the 1813 lease.)* ## Evidence Full-page scans identifying **Rubin Iłowicz / Illowicz** (= Rubin son of Iło/Elo = "Rubin Elowicz") in the Łęczna *Akta Miasta* (identification reasoning under ## Research): ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1773 Leczna citizenship (Rubin Illowicz) jedn1753829 sc62.jpg]] *1773 — admitted to Łęczna municipal citizenship as "Rubin Illowicz." APL 35/44/0/1/24, jedn. 1753829, sc.[62](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753829?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=62).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1782 butcher (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn1753834 sc329.jpg]] *1782 (2 May) — municipal decree in **Rubin Iłowicz v. Sobestyan Mederski**: Mederski, Rubin's Christian debtor summoned to settle, twice publicly reviled Rubin as a thief and defied both castle and town authority; sentenced to two days in the tower, a 50-mark fine, a public apology to Rubin and enforced silence. **Rubin is the creditor/plaintiff here — NOT a butcher**; the record's "żyd rzeźnik" (Jew butcher) is a **different** man, an earlier victim of Mederski's, cited to show his character (re-read from the scan 2026-07-04). APL 35/44/0/1/29, jedn. 1753834, sc.[329](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=329). (File name below is legacy — its "butcher" wording is superseded by this caption.)* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1787 szlachtuz (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn1753834 sc331.jpg]] *1787 (2 July) — privilege of **Princess Elżbieta z Branickich Sapieżyna** moving the town slaughterhouse (removed from the centre for its stench, *Fetor*) onto **Rubin Iłowicz's own riverside plot**, and making him and his heirs the **sole holders of the *szlachtuz* and the meat-stalls (*jatki*)** in perpetuity; the town's butchers (*rzeźnicy* — a separate body) may slaughter and sell only there, Rubin answering to the Treasury for their rent and paying 8 złp/yr for the grant. **Rubin as concession-holder / proprietor of the meat trade — not a butcher himself.** APL 35/44/0/1/29, jedn. 1753834, sc.[331](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=331).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1801 mill oblata (Rubin Jlowicz obywatel) jedn1753836 sc73.jpg]] *1801 (27 June) — oblata by "**Starozakonny Rubin Jłowicz, Obywatel Łęczyński**": his mill (młyn) restored to good order and milling resumed under Princess Sapieżyna's privilege (the "Młyn Rubinowy," inspected 20 Oct 1800). This is the record already listed as his in the MyHeritage block — the one that confirms the whole identification. APL 35/44/0/1/30, jedn. 1753836, sc.[73](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753836?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=73).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1781 creditor (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn1753834 sc183.jpg]] *1781 — "Rubin Iłowicz" as creditor. APL 35/44/0/1/29, jedn. 1753834, sc.[183](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=183) (of sc.182–184).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1813 Leczna arenda cauldron (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn17742785 sc48.jpg]] *1813 (Łęczna municipal *czopowe*/propination lease to Leon Niemirowski; contract Chełm, 3 July 1813, copied into AGAD *Miasto Łęczna* vol. VIII) — art. 29 orders **the distilling cauldron (*kocioł gorzałczany*) "u Rubina Iłowicza" taken from him and made over to the lessee** for distilling vodka for tavern-keepers without their own winnice. Attests **Rubin Iłowicz as owner of a distilling kettle in Łęczna, 1813** (four years before his death). AGAD 1/191/0/-/3648, jedn. 17742785, sc.[48](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742785?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=48).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1800 Leczna propination lease (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn17742786 sc169.jpg]] *1800 (1 July) — *Kontrakt o Dzierżawie Propinacyi w Łęcznej pro 1800 i 1801*: the estate of **Józef Mierzejewski** leases the whole **Łęczna town propination** to **Rubin Iłowicz, Chaim Sztybowicz and Lelman Lejbowicz** for one year at **38,000 złp**. Copied into *Miasto Łęczna* vol. IX. AGAD 1/191/0/-/3649, jedn. 17742786, sc.[169](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=169).* ![[Rubin Edelsztajn - 1800 Leczna propination lease signatures (Rubin Ilowicz) jedn17742786 sc171.jpg]] *1800 — the contract's close, signed at Łęczna 1 July 1800: **"Rubin Iłowicz," "Chaim Sztybowicz," "Lelman Lejbowicz,"** with the estate governor **J. Walkowski**; dominially certified 3 Dec 1800. jedn. 17742786, sc.[171](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742786?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=171).* ## Open questions - **"Chaim Rabinowicz" and "Mortko Sanelowicz" (unproven leads).** 1810 akta 217 (jedn. 1753843, sc.453) lists **Chaim Rabinowicz** ("Chaim son of Rubin") among the townsmen farming the Łęczna *Czopowe* (liquor excise, 14,000 złp) — plausibly Rubin's son [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] under the patronymic. 1810 akta 227 (sc.465) is a donation by **Mortko Sanelowicz** — "Sanel" being the name of Rubin's son [[Sanel Edelsztajn (b.1788)]]; unrelated on current evidence but flagged. Neither read in full. - **Elo's 1796 widow was Rubin's *stepmother*, not his mother.** In the estate testimony (jedn. 1753838, sc.104) Elo Rubinowicz's widow calls Rubin her *pasierb* (stepson). So Rubin's own mother ([[Unknown (135)]]) was an **earlier** wife of Elo; the woman deposing in 1796 was Elo's later wife. The widow's given name is not clearly legible on the scan — a target for a re-read. - **Co-heirs to Elo's estate.** The 1796 testimony speaks of a division "*między Dziećmi*" (among the children) of the late Iło Rubinowicz, implying Rubin had siblings sharing the estate, but names none of them in the pages read. Consistent with the separate candidate-sibling lead below (Moszko & Morek Iłłowicz). - Candidate undocumented sibling(s), same *Iłowicz/Elowicz* (son-of-Elo) patronymic: **Moszko & Morek Iłłowicz** (jednostka 1753834 sc.[244](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753834?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=244), 1786) — possible further children of [[Elo Rubinowicz (b.1719)]]. Unproven. (Earlier *Majer Ilowicz*, 1735/1755, predates Elo b.1719's fatherhood — a different Iło.) - **Not him (disambiguation):** a "Starozakonny **Rubin Skowicz** (Skowir)," the Łęczna *krupka* (kosher-tax) farmer arrested by the Mayor in 1811, appears in the AGAD administrative volume *Miasto Łęczna vol. I* ([[Łęczna - 1811-1812 - Miasto Łęczna vol I]]). Despite "Rubin + Łęczna + c.1810," his byname is **Skowicz**, not *Elowicz/Iłowicz* — so he is a **different man**, not this ancestor. Flagged only to close the loop for future "Rubin, Łęczna, 1811" lookups. - **Possible son/heir lead (unproven):** in 1819 the *jatki* (butcher-stall) rent of Łęczna is collected by "Starozakonny **Janel / Jankiel Rubinowicz**," a Łęczna resident (*Miasto Łęczna vol. II*, jedn 17742779 [sc.234](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/17742779?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=234); [[Łęczna - 1813-1819 - Miasto Łęczna vol II]]). The *jatki / szlachtuz* had been **this man's own concession** (he held the town slaughterhouse-and-meat-stall grant from 1787; d.1817). A *"Jankiel son of Rubin"* drawing the jatki rent two years after his death **could be a son/heir** — but "Jankiel" is not among his five recorded children (Pejsach, Chaja, Chaim, Frajda, Sanel), so this is a lead to test, not a match. - **1795 notarial record (Łęczna *Akta Miasta*, scans 81–82, with Szmul Moszkowicz)** — cited in the family MyHeritage biography but not yet deep-read/incorporated. [scan](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/bb73dbc7f85f06bae5525769acaa20e45d79c24e13f67a006ac1eaefc6a6e9d1)