Chaim (Henry) and Brana Kelman were my great grandparents. They were the parents of my maternal grandmother, Rose Kelman Androphy. Chaim died before I was born and I am named after him as is my Uncle Howard Androphy, my mother’s brother.  I remember meeting with my great grandmother, Brana, who was referred to as “Baubie.” It must have been when I was very young since she passed away when I was six years old. I remember that she was very ill at the time but she wanted to see her great grandson.

    Chaim and Brana Kelman were originally from Kishinev, the capital city of modern day Moldava, in what was then called Romania. My great grandfather, Chaim Kelman, was most likely born in Kishinev. My great grandmother Brana Boord, was born in 1871 probably in Balta which is about 70 miles north west of Kishinev, although her son, Max Kelman, thought that she was also born in Kishinev.

    Kishinev and Balta are located in the territory known as Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian) which has changed hands between Romania and Russia several times. Kishinev is also referred to as “Chesanow or Chisinau” which is its original Romanian pronunciation. Jews lived in Kishinev for many years. According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, “A Jewish cemetery is known to have existed in a village near Kishinev during the 18th century.” In 1898 there were 16 Jewish schools in Kishinev with 2,100 students. 700 Jewish pupils attended general school.” In 1900, Kishinev had a sizable Jewish population of over 60,000. However, after the Pogroms of 1903 in Kishinev the population steadily declined.

    Chaim was born on December 25, 1868. His Hebrew name was Chaim Benyamin. He changed it to Henry Bernard when he came to America. Chaim Benyamin is my Uncle Howard Androphy’s and my Hebrew name because we are named after him. Bebe said that her grandmother called her husband “Chaim” and she often used the nickname “Benuman” that was a variation of his middle name. His father was Moses (Moshe) Kelman.  According to cousin Kelman Cohen, some family members were originally from Spain and that they left Spain during the Spanish Inquisition sometime around 1492 and migrated to Odessa.

    My grandmother, Rose, said that her father’s family were costumers in the theater. Cousin Bebe Kagan also confirmed this when she told me that Brana said that Chaim and his family supplied costumes to the theater and that it was a very good business.  Chaim's mother’s first name was Faga but no one can recall her maiden name. He had three sisters, Rayna, Rachel and Fagel who were all younger than him. We had a visit once from the Joe Throbrieter and his wife from Copenhagen. His mother was evidently one of Chaim's sisters.

    Brana was born September 17, 1872.  Her father was Louis Boord who was an inn keeper. Louis was probably the English version of his Hebrew name, “Eleazer”, since Brana’s gravestone says that she is Brana, bat (daughter of) Eleazer. She had at least five siblings, Shii, Jacob, Etta, Hasa and Hia. She was probably the youngest child. The inn was evidently a good business since Brana told her grandchildren that she was from a wealthy family. Bebe said that the inn was a larger enterprise than just an inn. It also sold grain and other supplies. Brana also told Bebe about how her father had to hide the inn’s silver and other valuables during the pogroms. Bebe also told me that Brana’s brother Jacob, who had come to America, went back to Romania to run the inn since life in America was too tough for him.

    Bebe said that Brana told her that she first saw Chaim when he came into her father’s inn. Although she already had a boyfriend who was a “cobbler”, which meant that he was below her in class and financial status, she was attracted to Chaim from the beginning because he was very handsome. For whatever reasons, posted on the walls of the inn were the names of those who were killed or injured during the pogrom. Chaim evidently made some type of humorous or sarcastic comment about Branas’s name not being on the list and she slapped him! (I’ve have also heard that she hit him with a beer bottle!)

    Despite this rocky start, Chaim and Brana were married in Kishinev in 1892 or 1893. Chaim was about 24 and Brana was about 20. The picture at the top of the page was supposedly taken on their wedding day. They look very well to-do in the picture that seems to have been taken in a photographer’s studio. Chaim is holding a book, but I am not sure of what. Perhaps it is a prayer book or some sort of scholarly text. He also seems to have a large watch fob attached to his vest. Brana is wearing a large necklace and is holding a flower of some sort in one hand and a large pocketbook in the other. It is amazing how much my sister Ellen looks like Brana and Cousin Elliot Androphy looks a bit like Chaim.

Six of their eleven children were born while they lived in Kishinev.  I am including the women’s (my great-aunts) married names for easier reference. These were Maurice (Morris) born in 1894, Mary Kelman Kolen born in 1896, Max born in 1898, and my grandmother Rose Kelman Androphy born in 1900. Grandma sometimes claimed that she was born here in 1902, but Max wrote that she was actually born in Russia, probably around 1900.

The Family Comes to The United States

    Uncle Max Kelman wrote that his father left Kishinev in 1901 because of the pogroms. My great grandfather, Chaim, came to this country first leaving Brana behind with the children. He came by himself most likely because they did not have the money to send everyone at once or perhaps they felt it would be better to send Chaim first to see if they could accommodate themselves to living in America..

    He came to USA in a ship called the "Westerland" that sailed from Liverpool England on August 21, 1901. Cousin Rabbi Ronald Androphy checked and, regrettably, there is no copy of the ship’s register on file. He arrived in Philadelphia on August 31, 1901 as was met by cousins who lived there. One of the Philadelphia cousins kept in touch with the family for years. Her name was Sylvia Feldman and she was a granddaughter to Henry’s sister Faga (Fannie).

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