My Family history: Minnie Gould (1914

Thursday, 22 May 2025

Minnie Gould (1914 - 2002)

Minnie Gould is the neice of Simon Glynn, who is the husband of Esther Reizel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Glynn family HERE. Levin family HERE

Parents: Benjamin Gould (1889 - 1947) and Annie Glynn (1891 - 1972)

Tombstone for Annie and Benjamin Gould. They are buried in the Broadgreen Cemetery in Liverpool, England

Born: 2 April 1914 in Kamenitz, Grodno, Russian Empire, nowadays known as Kamyanyets, Belarus

Married:

Berko Rubin in (January to March) 1935 in Liverpool, Engalnd. Berko was age 22 and Minnie was age 20

Children

Their only child was born in 1937 when Minnie was 23 and Berko 25

Robert Stephen Rubin 1937 -

Ocupation

In 1932 Berko and Minnie Rubin set up the Liverpool Shoe Company, a small fashion wholesale footwear business. As Midland bank refused a loan of £500, £100 in capital was raised from family and friends. Minnie was recalled by her granddaughter Carrie as a very strong-willed lady and business woman, with a strong work ethic, who ran the family shoe shop for over 30 years after the death of Berko. And she was very tough.” “There was only one newspaper my grandmother would read. And that was the Financial Times,” said another grandchild, Andy. “All she wanted to talk about was business.” The Liverpool Shoe Company became quite diversified, manufacturing men’s, ladies’ and children’s fashion footwear in the 1940s to 1960s, followed by pioneering the outsourcing of footwear manufacturing to Asia in the early 1970s. Its “Beatle boots” were a big hit in the 1960s.

Census details

1921

In the 1921 census taken on 21 June of that year Minnie and her parents are living in a seven-room house at 180 Grove Street, Liverpool, England. Her father Benjamin is 31 and two months and a wholesale clothier. He is an employer operating out of premises at 36 St Anne Street, Liverpool. Her mother Annie is 30 years and 11 months and Minnie is age 7 years and 2 months.

1939 Register

In the 1939 Register conducted on 29 September 1939, Minnie and her husband Berko Rubin are at 18 Beauclair Drive, Liverpool, England. He is a wholesale boot merachant and the redacted line is their child Robert Stephen Rubin. Also living with them are Minnie's parents Benjamin and Annie, her brother Arnold and a 16 year old domestic servant, Olive Harding. It is probable that the house was that ofAnnie and Benjamin Gould and that Berko and Minnie and their baby son were just visiting as their permanent address at the time was 39 Montclair Drive, Mossey Hill, Liverpool, England

Travel

Minnie and her son Robert travelling on the Highland Chieftain from Buenos Aires to London arriving on 19 October 1948

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Berko and Minnie and their son Robert travelling from New York to Southampton arriving on 14 September 1951. Their addess is given as 5 Abbey Lodge, London N.W.8 and their occupation is company director

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Berko and Minnie travelling from Southampton to New York on 9 November 1959. Their addess is given as 5 Abbey Lodge, London N.W.8

Electoral Register

Berko and Minnie listed on the 1968 electoral register. Their address is given as 5 Abbey Lodge, Park Road, London, England

Death

8 January 2002 at age 87 in London, England. She is buried in the Bushey Jewish Cemetery in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England

Place of Birth

Minnie was born in Kamenitz, Grodno, Russian Empire, nowadays known as Kamyanyets, Belarus

Kamyenyets or Kamyanyets (Belarusian: Камянец), is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kamyenyets District.The town is located in the northwestern corner of Brest Region on the Lyasnaya River, about 40 kilometres north from Brest. The Leśna Prawa river flows through the town. In 2002, its population was approximately 9,000. The Jewish Population was 2,722 in 1897.

Jews likely settled in Kamyanyets in the 16th or early 17th century, during a time when many towns in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth welcomed Jewish settlers. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Kamyanyets had an organized Jewish community with a synagogue, schools, and various religious and social institutions. Jews played a significant role in the town's economy, often working as merchants, artisans, and traders. The Jewish population grew and established a vibrant community, including Hasidic influences. After World War I, the area became part of the Second Polish Republic. Despite growing antisemitism, the Jewish community in Kamyanyets remained active, with political and cultural organizations such as Zionist groups and Hebrew schools. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, and Kamyanyets was occupied shortly after. In 1942, most of the Jewish population of Kamyanyets was murdered during the Holocaust, either in local massacres or deportations to extermination camps.

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