# Zelik Mendelsberg (b.1783) <!-- AUTO:BEGIN — generated from GEDCOM; do not edit, overwritten on rebuild --> > 🔵 **Bernstein — Ozzy's side** · Relationship to Ozzy: **5x great-grandfather** ![[I507502.jpg|220]] **Born** ~1783 **Died** 08/04/1813 · House #230 — [[Łęczna]] **Parents** [[Michel Mendel (b.1747)]] **Spouse** [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]] **Children** [[Brandla Mala Mendelsberg (b.1803)]] · [[Elo Lejb Mendelsberg (b.1804)]] · [[Ryfka Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] · [[Mindla Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] · [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]] **📸 Media — from MyHeritage** ![[I507502_1.jpg|180]] ![[I507502_2.jpg|180]] *GEDCOM I507502 · Bernstein tree · synced 2026-07-01* <!-- AUTO:END --> ## Narrative Zelik Mendelsberg was born about 1783, the son of Michel Mendel of Łęczna (Lublin department), and lived his whole short life in that town.[^age] In the town records he appears under several names — **Zelik Michlowicz Mendelsberg** (the patronymic "Michlowicz" = son of Michel, confirming his father [[Michel Mendel (b.1747)]]), the Germanised **Selig Mendelsberg**, and, in his last years, **Zelik Rubinowicz** — this last taken from his father-in-law rather than his father. He married [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]], a daughter of the Łęczna merchant [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]], which drew him into Rubin's family and its business circle; Rubin came to count his son-in-law among "my children."[^inlaw] Zelik was an entrepreneur in the pattern common to Łęczna's Jewish townsmen of the period — a leaseholder (arendarz) of the estate's revenue-bearing rights, working repeatedly in partnership with his brother-in-law [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] (recorded variously as Chaim Rubinowicz, Chaim Edelsztajn, or Chaim Edelstein). In 1808 his father-in-law Rubin pledged his estate "za Dziećmi memi" ("for my children") to guarantee Zelik and Chaim on a timber-and-lime delivery contract to Elbląg with the Łęczna domain.[^akta108] On 8 September 1809 Zelik and Chaim jointly registered (podali do Oblaty) with the Łęczna town office a German-language lease from the estate of Count von Kalckreuth, lord of Łęczna, granting the two men the town's **propination** — the beer-and-brandy (Bier- und Branntwein) monopoly and the drink trade at the town's fairs — running to St. John's Day (Johanni) 1810 for a sum reckoned in Gulden.[^akta158] The following year he took on the town's traffic tolls. On 4 June 1810 "the traditionalist Zelik Michlowicz Mendelsberg, citizen of Łęczna," registered a one-year lease he had won at auction on 1 June from Michał Rydziatowicz, sequestrator of the Łęczna key (klucz): the **bridge and ferry tolls (Mostowe, Przewozowe), the Osierdowska tavern, and the fair-dues (danina od Jarmarków)**, for 4,365 Polish złoty in silver, payable in three quarterly installments of 1,455 złoty. The contract's fourteen clauses regulated everything from firewood and fire-safety in the taverns to toll exemptions for treasury officials and the seven pots owed from each cart of pottery crossing the ferry.[^akta194] That lease turned into a loss. A **cattle plague (zaraza bydła)** broke out in Łęczna just before the St. Giles fair (1 September) 1810 and continued through the autumn; the Masovian merchants and cattle-drovers who normally crossed at Łęczna stayed away, and Zelik and Chaim, as the ferry lessees, collected next to nothing in bridge, ferry, or land tolls. On 21 September 1810 they registered a certificate from the Łęczna magistrate (dated 19 September) attesting truthfully, under the town seal, that the epidemic and the resulting ban on traffic to Łęczna had left them without revenue.[^akta219] On the strength of that certificate they submitted a joint petition, signed the same day, to Count von Kalckreuth's plenipotentiary, asking humbly for a rebate (defalka) of part of the lease sum fixed in their contract.[^akta220] Zelik died young. Frajda and Zelik both died at their house, **No. 230 in Łęczna, on 4 August 1813**; their two deaths were registered together the next day, 5 August 1813, before the Łęczna civil registrar Fr. Andrzej Parowski, on the testimony of the same two Jewish townsmen, Beniamin Janklowicz (the synagogue beadle, "Skulnik," aged 56) and Hersz Josiowicz (aged 56). Frajda's act (No. 51) gives her age as 28; Zelik's act (No. 52) names him **"Zelik Rubinowicz," aged 30**, placing his birth about 1783.[^akta52] He left five children: [[Brandla Mala Mendelsberg (b.1803)]], [[Elo Lejb Mendelsberg (b.1804)]], [[Ryfka Mendelsberg (b.1811)]], [[Mindla Mendelsberg (b.1811)]] and [[Josef Mendelsberg (b.1812)]]. [^age]: Death record (1813, akta 52) gives his age as 30 → b. ~1783; MyHeritage frontmatter (GEDCOM I507502) records father [[Michel Mendel (b.1747)]], and the 1810 lease names him "Zelik **Michlowicz** Mendelsberg" (son of Michel). [^inlaw]: 1808 akta 108, read from [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]]'s record; see `## Research`. [^akta108]: Łęczna town book, [akta 108 (1808)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=237), APL, Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37. [^akta158]: Łęczna town book, [akta 158 (8 Sept 1809)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=371) (contract text continues at [scan 372](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=372) and [scan 373](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=373)), APL, Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37. [^akta194]: Łęczna town book, [akta 194 (4 June 1810)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=423) (continues at [scan 424](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=424)), APL, Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37. [^akta219]: Łęczna town book, [akta 219 (registered 21 Sept 1810; certificate dated 19 Sept 1810)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=456), APL, Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37. [^akta220]: Łęczna town book, [akta 220 (19 Sept 1810)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=456), APL, Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37. [^akta52]: Łęczna civil death register 1813, [akta 52 (drawn 5 Aug 1813; death 4 Aug 1813)](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/246f361960c366ef8e25c5f337e6d2fb3714f27567b9e7daeae9fc88c01b2095); the adjacent akta 51 records Frajda's death at the same house No. 230, registered the same day by the same witnesses. ## Research *(your reasoning — preserved across every rebuild)* **Son-in-law of [[Rubin Edelsztajn (b.1744)]]** — through his wife [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]], who was Rubin's daughter. In 1808 ([akta 108](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=237)) his father-in-law **Rubin pledged his estate "za Dziećmi memi" (for my children)** to guarantee Zelik alongside Rubin's own son [[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]] on a timber-and-lime-to-Elbląg contract with the Łęczna domain — Rubin counting his son-in-law among "my children." This likely explains why Zelik's 1813 death record gives his surname as **"Rubinowicz"** (known by his father-in-law Rubin's name). (Read from Rubin's record 2026-07-04.) - His further records were deep-read from the scans on 2026-07-04 (Łęczna town book, APL Akta miasta Łęcznej, ref. 35/44/0/1/37): - **akta 158 (8 Sept 1809, [cur=371](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=371)–[373](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=373))** — Zelik ("Zelik Mędelsborg"/"Selig Mendelsberg") and **[[Chaim Edelsztajn (b.1779)]]** ("Chaim Rubinowicz"/"Chaim Edelstein"), citizens of Łęczna, register (oblata) a **German-language propination lease** from the estate of **Count von Kalckreuth**, lord of Łęczna: the beer-and-brandy (Bier/Branntwein) monopoly and drink trade at the fairs, running to **Johanni (24 June) 1810**, for a sum in Gulden (~10,520 Gulden [?] — figure not fully legible). Continuation scans are boilerplate lease clauses. - **akta 194 (4 June 1810, [cur=423](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=423)–[424](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=424))** — "Starozakonny **Zelik Michlowicz Mendelsberg**, citizen of Łęczna," registers a **one-year lease of the Łęczna bridge & ferry tolls (Mostowe, Przewozowe), the Osierdowska tavern, and fair-dues**, won at auction 1 June 1810 from sequestrator Michał Rydziatowicz, for **4,365 Polish złoty in silver**, paid in three quarterly installments of 1,455 zł. (20 June / ~1 Oct / 1 Jan); contract "od 1 Junii 1810." The patronymic **Michlowicz** = son of Michel confirms father [[Michel Mendel (b.1747)]]. - **akta 219 (registered 21 Sept 1810; certificate dated 19 Sept 1810, [cur=456](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=456))** — Zelik and Chaim register a **certificate of the Łęczna magistrate** attesting that, because of a **cattle plague (zaraza bydła)** that began before the St. Giles fair (1 Sept) 1810 and still continued, the Masovian merchants and drovers stayed away and the two men, as ferry lessees, collected no bridge/ferry/land tolls. - **akta 220 (19 Sept 1810, [cur=456](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=456))** — on the strength of that certificate, Zelik and Chaim, "the ferry lessees at the town of Łęczna," petition **Count von Kalckreuth's plenipotentiary** for a **rebate (defalka)** of part of the lease sum in their contract. Signed jointly "Chaim Rubinowicz Edelsztein, Zelik Mendlowicz Mendelsburg." - **DEATH akta 52 (drawn 5 Aug 1813; death 4 Aug 1813, [skan](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/246f361960c366ef8e25c5f337e6d2fb3714f27567b9e7daeae9fc88c01b2095))** — "Akt zeyścia Żyda": **Zelik Rubinowicz**, aged **30** (→ b. ~1783), died at **Łęczna house No. 230** on 4 Aug 1813; declared by Beniamin Janklowicz (Skulnik/synagogue beadle, 56) and Hersz Josiowicz (56). The adjacent **akta 51** ("Akt zeyścia Żydowski") records the death of a woman (age 28) at the **same house No. 230**, registered the same day by the same witnesses — this is [[Frajda Edelsztajn (b.1785)]], confirming the pair's linked deaths and the "Rubinowicz" naming. ## Evidence ## Open questions - **akta 158 lease sum** — the propination lease amount is in German court-hand and only partly legible (read tentatively as ~10,520 Gulden); worth re-checking the figure against scan [cur=372](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1753843?p_p_id=Jednostka&_Jednostka_delta=1&_Jednostka_cur=372). - **Death act naming** — akta 52 records Zelik under the surname **"Rubinowicz"** (his father-in-law Rubin's name), not Mendelsberg/Michlowicz; the same "Rubinowa"/"Rubinowicz" convention appears for Frajda in akta 51. Consistent with the son-in-law relationship, but note the mixed use of Michlowicz (paternal) vs. Rubinowicz (affinal) across records.