Born in Latvia in 1830, Abraham Mandelstam was a watchmaker. He perhaps traveled more than once across the Atlantic. Whether or not it was true, on the 1900 census, he indicated that he first arrived in the U.S. in 1860. (On the 1910 census, both Abraham and Bascha are noted to have arrived in 1891.) All of Abraham and Bessie's children emigrated to the U.S. (with the possible exception of Sarah, about whom nothing is known), most from about 1888 to 1891.
A family legend is that the name Mandelstam had once been Balk, or vice versa, when a wealthy family "adopted" a son to perform military service in place of one of its own sons. DNA matches indicate a link between Mandelstam and Balk cousins, yet Abraham's father Ze'ev ("Wolf"), born around 1800, was already known as Mandelstam. (Coincidentally, Abraham's son-in-law Lazarus Grimm was said to have been named Balken before changing his name to Grimm.) As likely, the name Balk could have been Falk, his mother Rebecca's maiden name as found on a record of Abraham's sister Blume Rosa Luchansky. Their parents Ze'ev and Rebecca Mandelstam never traveled to the United States.
At the time of Abraham's death, he and Bessie had been married some 59 years. Abraham and Bessie had six children and at least 23 grandchildren. Four of their five known children are buried in nearby Woburn cemeteries (Max lived and was buried in Maine).
Born in Latvia in 1830, Abraham Mandelstam was a watchmaker. He perhaps traveled more than once across the Atlantic. Whether or not it was true, on the 1900 census, he indicated that he first arrived in the U.S. in 1860. (On the 1910 census, both Abraham and Bascha are noted to have arrived in 1891.) All of Abraham and Bessie's children emigrated to the U.S. (with the possible exception of Sarah, about whom nothing is known), most from about 1888 to 1891.
A family legend is that the name Mandelstam had once been Balk, or vice versa, when a wealthy family "adopted" a son to perform military service in place of one of its own sons. DNA matches indicate a link between Mandelstam and Balk cousins, yet Abraham's father Ze'ev ("Wolf"), born around 1800, was already known as Mandelstam. (Coincidentally, Abraham's son-in-law Lazarus Grimm was said to have been named Balken before changing his name to Grimm.) As likely, the name Balk could have been Falk, his mother Rebecca's maiden name as found on a record of Abraham's sister Blume Rosa Luchansky. Their parents Ze'ev and Rebecca Mandelstam never traveled to the United States.
At the time of Abraham's death, he and Bessie had been married some 59 years. Abraham and Bessie had six children and at least 23 grandchildren. Four of their five known children are buried in nearby Woburn cemeteries (Max lived and was buried in Maine).
Inscription
The Crown Has Fallen
Woe! Alas!
Here rests
our dear father
An honest and straightforward man
Justice rests with him
Avraham
Son of Mr. Ze'ev
Died during Hanukkah
In the year 5674
May his soul be bound in the bonds of life
Avraham
Mandelshtam
Gravesite Details
Whether born in February or March 1830 (as found on different records), Abraham Mandelstam was 83 years old when he died on December 31, 1913 (incorrectly calculated and engraved as age 84 on the gravestone).
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