Esther Helfet is the sister-in-law of Sarah Ann Levin, my 2x great aunt. Helfet family HERE. Dobrofsky family HERE
Born: 1 May 1886 in Chernuch, Russian Empire, nowadays Chornukhy (Ukrainian: Чорнýхи; Russian: Чернýхи), a rural settlement in Lubny Raion, Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine
Migration: The family came to Liverpool, England in 1892 when Esther was 6 years old. Esther then migrated to the USA in February 1903, age 16
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Married: Jacob (Jake) Dobrofsky in Chicago, USA on 6 September 1904 when Jake was 21 and Esther 18
Children
Their first child was born in 1905 when Jake was 22 and Esther 19. Their last child was born in 1919 when Jake was 36 and Esther 33
- Lilian Dobrofsky (1905 - 1979) married George Greenspan (1903 - 1968) on 14 May 1932
- Katherine Dobrofsky (2 March - 27 December 1909)
- Tola Dobrofsky (1911 - 2010) married Milton Apel (1902 - 1994) on 16 June 1935
- Ruth Dobrofsky (1919 - 2005) married Jerry Adler (1920 - 2018) on 25 October 1943
- Naomi Dobrofsky (1919 - 2005) married Edward Zinkow (1921 - 2015) on 9 June 1946
Census details
1901
The younger members of the Helfet family are, following the death of their parents, living at 23 Warren Street, Liverpool, England. Esther is age 20 and she is living with her siblings; Harry age 20, Sarah age 16 and Minnie age 14. Also at the house is her married sister Mary, her husband Nathan Dobrofsky and their infant child Jacob
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1910
In 1910 Esther and her husband Jacob are living at 2a Main Street, Newcastle, Nebraska, USA. Jacob is age 27 and a store owner, Esther is age 26 and their child Lily is age 4
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1920
In 1920 the family are living in Hinton, Plymouth, Iowa, USA. Jake is 37 and a store owner and Esther is age 35. The children are Lilian age 14, Tola (Sarah) age 8, and Ruth and Naomi (Mary L), the twins, are infants
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1930
In 1930 the family are living at 211 South Central Avenue, Chino, San Bernardino, California, USA. Jake is 46 and a merchant and Esther is age 45. The children are Lilian age 23, Tola age 19, and Ruth and Naomi both age 10. There is also a servant, Lean Sutton, age 41
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1940
The family are living at 341 South Euclid Avenue, Upland, California, USA. Jacob is 57 and an owner operator of a retail enterprise and Esther is 55. The two children still at home are Ruth and Naomi, both age 20
Biographical information
Esther's husband wrote a detailed autobiography entitled "This is my Life", which is available HERE
Getting Acquainted With Chino Business Men
J. DOBROFSKY Merchant
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That adage which has long been impressed upon us is well adapted to the subject of our sketch. this week. To us, who might not have been similarly situated, the life of this Chino merchant affords cause for some merriment and yet, pondering well the problems he has faced, one can readily realize the seriousness of the situations.
Picture in your mind a small village in Southern Russia where Jacob Dobrofsky was born on September 16, 1882, to Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Dobrofsky, who were engaged in the wholesale fishery business. He was the youngest of seven children, three sisters and three brothers being older. In this environment young Dobrofsky lived for sixteen years of his life when finally persecution of his race caused the father to take his family to Liverpool, England, sacrificing practically all of his life's earnings to escape to a country where he could rear his family and live in peace and happiness. Something of the dogged determination which has ever characterized the people of Jewish descent bad been transmitted to this young man, today one of the leading merchants of Chino.
At the age of 20 young Dobrofsky decided to try his fortune in South Africa and purchased his ticket for that promised land. In doing so he spent 35 of of the 50 pounds sterling he had as his worldly wealth only to discover that a law required that he have considerably more finances before he could land in South Africa. So he traded his ticket for one to America and landed at Philadelphia in May of 1902. After three months he went to Sioux City, lowa, and for eleven months worked in grocery store.
Fortune favored the immigrant and he decided to try life in Chicago. There in 1904 he met and married Miss Esther Helfet. Sioux City still held its attractions and in 1907 the family returned to the city on the banks of the Missouri river. He remained there for a year and three months before chasing a general store at Newcastle, Nebraska. In this business the Dobrofskys prospered in spite of the small size of the village. But misfortune stood around the corner and on July 4, 1911, while most of the townspeople were elsewhere on celebration, a carelessly thrown fire cracker set fire to a nearby building and before help could reach the little town, the business district was wiped from the face of the earth. The Dobrofskys arrived back in Newcastle just in time to see the roof of their store fall. With that fire went all the possessions of the family and relatives in Sioux City had to help them return to that city.
Mr. Dobrofsky borrowed finance enough to start himself again in the grocery business and for four yours enjoyed prosperity again. In 1915 he sold his business in Sioux City and went to Hinton, lowa, where he purchased a general store which he operated successfully for seven years. Fortune had been too good and he sold out to enter the cleaning and dyeing business in Sioux City. That enterprise spelled another ruin and only enough was saved from a good-sized bankroll to bring the family to Los Angeles in 1924.
He entered the wholesale grocery business in that year and then in 1926, in partnership with Herman Cohen, bought the Chino Mercantile Co. from I Cline. A year later Mr. Dobrofsky purchased the interest of his partner and has since continued the sole owner of the business.
During the years that fortune fluctuated, Mr. Dobrofsky retained a cheerfulness which carried him over the humps. His happy situation today is probably due to this optimistic outlook on life. He and Mrs. Dobrofsky have four lovely daughters, the two youngest being twins about nine years of age who provide enough diversion for any person, according to Mr. Dobrofsky.
During his residence in Chino Mr. Dobrofsky has taken part in the civic and social life of the community. He served as a member of the board of directors of the Chino Business Men's association and is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. Chino Champion Fri, Sep 12, 1930
Death
Mrs. Dobrofsky Mrs. Esther Dobrofsky, 69, died yesterday at her home, 824 NE 75th St. She came here recently from Upland, Calif. Surviving are her husband, Jacob, and four daughters, including Mrs. William Greenspan, of Miami. Services and burial will be in Los Angeles, Calif., with the Riverside Beach Memorial Chapel, Normandy Isle, in charge locally
Poltava Region
Jews began to settle in the region during the early 17th century in the process of Jewish participation in the colonization of Ukraine. By 1610 there was a Jewish community in Berezan (to the north of Pereyaslav), and within a few decades about a dozen Jewish communities were established in the districts of *Pereyaslav and Mirgorod, of which the largest were in Pereyaslav and *Lubny. Jews engaged in commerce and the leasing of estates, flour mills, liquor distilleries, breweries, and inns. There was strong competition from Christian towns-men, and during the *Chmielnicki massacres of 1648 these communities were among the first to be destroyed. After the region came under Russian rule Jews were not permitted to live there until the first partition of Poland in 1772. Individual Jewish families, however, settled in various estates under the protection of their owners despite frequent expulsions by the authorities.
After the first partition of Poland in 1772, Jewish settlement on the eastern bank of the river Dnieper was renewed, and by 1792 there were over 700 Jews in the region, most of whom lived on estates or in villages. In 1794 this region, which then formed part of the province of Yekaterinoslav, was incorporated within the *Pale of Settlement. In 1803 there were 82 Jewish merchants and 2,030 Jews classed as townsmen living in the province of Poltava, which was formed in 1802. The community of *Kremenchug was the largest in the district, and developed in particular owing to its position on the Dnieper, the main waterway from Lithuania to the south. It accounted in 1897 for 30% of the Jews in the province. In 1847, 15,572 Jews were counted in the 18 communities of the province (which also included the Jews in the small settlements and their environs). Their numbers increased as a result of a large emigration from Lithuania and Belorussia, and were estimated at 84,000 in 1881. The census of 1897 recorded 111,417 Jews (4% of the total population) in Poltava province (the lowest percentage of Jews in all the provinces of the Pale). The Russian-Ukrainian majority had a strong assimilationist influence on the Jews in the province, who were a minority in all the towns; it was only in Kremenchug that their numbers approached half the population. On the other hand, *Chabad Ḥasidism, which penetrated from the north, was an important spiritual influence (the tomb of *Shneur Zalman of Lyady, the founder of Chabad Ḥasidism, is in *Gadyach in Poltava province).
About one half of the Jews of the province of Poltava earned their livelihood from commerce (in contrast to 38.5% in the whole of Russia), and about 30 percent were engaged in crafts and industry. Commerce was principally conducted in grain and other agricultural produce. Although some Jews owned sawmills, brick-kilns, flour mills, alcohol distilleries, and other enterprises, the overwhelming majority of the workers in them were non-Jews. During the spring of 1881 pogroms occurred in the north of the province of Poltava. In 1905 a wave of pogroms swept across 52 settlements of the province. The most severely affected were Gadyach, Kremenchug, Romny, and Zolotonosha.
During World War I thousands of refugees and Jews expelled from the battle zone arrived in the province of Poltava and found refuge in the Jewish communities. During the Civil War, the communities of the western section of the province suffered especially from pogroms by bands of Ukrainians and the "volunteer army" of A.I. *Denikin. In 1926 there were approximately 93,000 Jews in the five districts (Kremenchug, Lubny, Poltava, Priluki, Romny) of the former territory of the province of Poltava.
26 April 1956 in Miami, Florida, USA age 69. Esther was cremated and her remains are in the Home of Peace Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Mausoleum, Corridor of Remembrance, Crypt 207 SW
Place of Birth
Esther Helfet was born in Chernuch, Russian Empire, nowadays Chornukhy (Ukrainian: Чорнýхи; Russian: Чернýхи), Chernich (Yiddish) and Chernuchi (German), a rural settlement in Lubny Raion, Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine.
Chornukhy
The earliest known Jewish community was by the end of the 18th century. In 1900 the Jewish population was 275 and in 1926 it was 366. Chornukhy was occupied by the Germans on September 17, 1941. During that month 132 Jews were shot by local police in the Chornukhy County park. The village was liberated by the Red Army on September 17, 1943. The present town population is 1,000-5,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.
Poltava Region
Jews began to settle in the region during the early 17th century in the process of Jewish participation in the colonization of Ukraine. By 1610 there was a Jewish community in Berezan (to the north of Pereyaslav), and within a few decades about a dozen Jewish communities were established in the districts of *Pereyaslav and Mirgorod, of which the largest were in Pereyaslav and *Lubny. Jews engaged in commerce and the leasing of estates, flour mills, liquor distilleries, breweries, and inns. There was strong competition from Christian towns-men, and during the *Chmielnicki massacres of 1648 these communities were among the first to be destroyed. After the region came under Russian rule Jews were not permitted to live there until the first partition of Poland in 1772. Individual Jewish families, however, settled in various estates under the protection of their owners despite frequent expulsions by the authorities.
After the first partition of Poland in 1772, Jewish settlement on the eastern bank of the river Dnieper was renewed, and by 1792 there were over 700 Jews in the region, most of whom lived on estates or in villages. In 1794 this region, which then formed part of the province of Yekaterinoslav, was incorporated within the *Pale of Settlement. In 1803 there were 82 Jewish merchants and 2,030 Jews classed as townsmen living in the province of Poltava, which was formed in 1802. The community of *Kremenchug was the largest in the district, and developed in particular owing to its position on the Dnieper, the main waterway from Lithuania to the south. It accounted in 1897 for 30% of the Jews in the province. In 1847, 15,572 Jews were counted in the 18 communities of the province (which also included the Jews in the small settlements and their environs). Their numbers increased as a result of a large emigration from Lithuania and Belorussia, and were estimated at 84,000 in 1881. The census of 1897 recorded 111,417 Jews (4% of the total population) in Poltava province (the lowest percentage of Jews in all the provinces of the Pale). The Russian-Ukrainian majority had a strong assimilationist influence on the Jews in the province, who were a minority in all the towns; it was only in Kremenchug that their numbers approached half the population. On the other hand, *Chabad Ḥasidism, which penetrated from the north, was an important spiritual influence (the tomb of *Shneur Zalman of Lyady, the founder of Chabad Ḥasidism, is in *Gadyach in Poltava province).
About one half of the Jews of the province of Poltava earned their livelihood from commerce (in contrast to 38.5% in the whole of Russia), and about 30 percent were engaged in crafts and industry. Commerce was principally conducted in grain and other agricultural produce. Although some Jews owned sawmills, brick-kilns, flour mills, alcohol distilleries, and other enterprises, the overwhelming majority of the workers in them were non-Jews. During the spring of 1881 pogroms occurred in the north of the province of Poltava. In 1905 a wave of pogroms swept across 52 settlements of the province. The most severely affected were Gadyach, Kremenchug, Romny, and Zolotonosha.
During World War I thousands of refugees and Jews expelled from the battle zone arrived in the province of Poltava and found refuge in the Jewish communities. During the Civil War, the communities of the western section of the province suffered especially from pogroms by bands of Ukrainians and the "volunteer army" of A.I. *Denikin. In 1926 there were approximately 93,000 Jews in the five districts (Kremenchug, Lubny, Poltava, Priluki, Romny) of the former territory of the province of Poltava.
Residences
In 1930 the family are living at 211 South Central Avenue, Chino, San Bernardino, California. Where the property was has been replaced with a car park
