Bucshester Family Story.
This web page is being prepared by
Leslie Oberman B.A. F.I.E.S. (Aust & NZ),
E.M.I.E.S. (N.A.)
Amateur Genealogist.
President, Australian Jewish Genealogical Society Victoria Inc.
3/1274
Glen Huntly Road, Carnegie 3163, Victoria, Australia.
Tel:
61 (0)3 9571 8251 Fax: 61 (0)3
9571 2046 Mobile:0429 386
381
The BUCSHESTER Family
Story.
Emigrants, Pioneers and Wanderers*.
The progenitors of the family were Avraham
David BUCSHESTER who was born in Moinesti, Romania (See Map) in 1837.
His wife was Henya DAVIDESCU who was born in Iasi, Romania (See Map). They had seven children; 4 sons; Moshe, Pesach Lev,
Israel (Isadore), Zvi Yehuda and three daughters; Sarah Leah, Rachel and
Shulamit.
* Their descendants can be found in
Israel, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela and
Australia.
Derivation of the Family
Name.
How
should the surname be spelt?
In the
Hebrew literature regarding the history of Rosh Pinah, Israel, David's surname
is spelt in three ways.
The
translation from Hebrew produces various renditions:
Bouckshester,
Boucchester, Boocchechter, Bookshester, Buchshester, Buchester, Bukshester, Bukshtetter,
Bucashester, Bucsescu.
Many of
the family in Israel have adopted the surname Oren.
The name
derives from a locality just East of Moinesti, Romania, named, Bucşesti.
This area is some 230.7
kilometres North of Bucureşti / Bucharest the
capital of Romania. In the phonetics of the Romanian alphabet. ‘u’ sounds like
the ‘u’ in push or the short ‘oo’ in book., 'c’ sounds like the ‘k’ in kit,
‘ş’ sound like ‘sh’ in ship, ‘s’ sounds like the ‘s’ in sun. Also, ‘ce’
sounds like ‘che in chest, ‘che’ sounds like ‘ke’ in keg. Hence the variation in the
spelling of the Bookshester name.
Moinesti and
Iasi, Romania.
Moinesti, turn of
the century, shops on Alex Constantinescu Street, the town's main street.
David was a
village shopkeeper and later managed an agricultural farm. Many of the
villagers were fired with enthusiasm to resettle in the land of their
forefathers namely the land of Israel. In 1875 they formed an association for
colonizing the land of Israel. Three of its members were sent to the land of
Israel to explore the land and find country suitable for establishing a Moshava
(village). Those who took part in the expedition were Mr Moishe David SHUB, Mr
David BUCSHESTER and Mr. Zeitel ARDINI. They departed, even though the Turkish
Pasha revealed that their return would be delayed by the uneasy political
situation. Already there was a perception that a war between Russia and Turkey* was imminent.
*
The Ottoman Empire
1875.
On behalf of
the association they purchased the land of Gei-Oni. The life story of Gei
Oni begins in the year 1878. The settlement year of 17 Jewish families from
Zefat (in North Eastern Israel) in the Arab village of Ja Una, at the foot of
Mount Canaan. At their head at that time, stood, Eliezer Rokach, a young Zefat
resident, grandson of Rabbi Israel Beck. Crisis after crisis haunted them until
their strength failed them. They chose to abandon their property and return to
Zefat (Safed).
Prior to
1917, the territory that is now called Palestine and Israel was ruled by the
Ottoman Turkish Empire, and included three Sanjaks (Districts) (See Map). The
name Palestine had not been used since Roman times. It was revived by the
British who received a mandate from the League of Nations after WW1 to
administer Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people.
Emigration.
With the
receipt of the news of the purchase of the land came the preparation for the
immigration of 22 families. Preparation was carried out with fervour. The
immigrants took with them household utensils, tools suitable for agricultural
work, bitumen for construction purposes, for building of wooden houses, planks,
pots, doorways, windows, nails and so on. They took with them 2 personal guns.
They left
from the port of Galati/Galatz on the Danube river on the morning of the 18th.
August 1882 aboard the SS "Thetis" .
SS Thetis.
In 1882 the first group of 228
Romanian emigrants assembled in Galatz/Galati, on the Danube River, not far
from the Black Sea on the ship SS Thetis. This is a photograph of the whole
group boarding the ship. These people came from Moinesti, Botsani, Birlad,
Bacau and Galati. When the ship arrived in Haifa, the passengers were refused
landing permits by the Turkish authorities. Since most were Romanian citizens
and since Romania had joined Russia to wage war against Turkey a few years
before, the Turks were in no way sympathetic to the plight of the passengers.
Time and again the ship shuttled between Beirut, Haifa, Jaffa and Egypt. After
three fruitless attempts to disembark permission was granted. Another version
is that the Jewish emigrants mingled with a crowd of Christian pilgrims and
were allowed to land disguised as Christian pilgrims.
On the way, aboard ship, a
quarrel broke out between the people from Galatz and those from Moinesti
regarding religious practice. The people from Galatz did not act precisely to
the commandments whereas the people from Moinesti were Orthodox. The people
from Galatz decided to separate from them and settle elsewhere. But they
travelled to Haifa, and besides them, nine families from Moinesti also
separated and commenced to request a place of their own to settle in. Henya DAVIDESCU/BUCSHESTER's
sister Rivka Chava and her husband Arie LANDMAN were part of the separated
group and helped found the colony of Zamarin now named Zikhron Ya'akov.
The immigrants left the
city towards Zefat/Safed that was ahead of them by way of the mountain road
four days riding on donkeys and asses. On the way one of the companions of the
immigrants gave birth to a daughter and the travellers tarried for a mazel tov.
The Arab Ass drivers were accustomed to vandalism. they stole and mocked the
death of a young animal. The patience of the Romanian Jews cracked, they
alighted from the animals and demonstrated the strength of their arms. The ass
drivers were taken back by this behaviour of the Jews who were a novelty to
them, they accepted the judgement and continued on their way in silence. The
convoy arrived in Zefat at the end of Ellul/September 1882). The Jews of Zefat
came out to meet them with food and drink and to put up the immigrants in their
houses during the Sabbath. After the Sabbath the immigrants paid rent to the
families.
Foundation of Rosh Pina.
Between the New Year and
Day of Atonement 1882 there took place in Zefat, a meeting of settlers. Moshe
David SHUB asked them whether they had sufficient money to enable
them to exist until the harvest. It became abundantly clear that there
was not enough money. SHUB had proposed a plan to the immigrants whilst they
were still in Romania, which said that every family required 2000 Francs to
settle, in addition to the land, the majority of the immigrants had less than
2000 Francs whilst a few had from 2000 to 5000. A few of the family
were totally without means and were dependant on relief. SHUB proposed that at
least in the first year all the families would cultivate the land in partnership,
and everyone insert their money in a general fund into the hands of an elected
treasurer. The committee to be concerned with construction of the houses,
arranging the communal work, and and the general economics, afterwards to
apportion the land in equal lots. The majority agreed to SHUB’s plan. The
immigrants from Birlad and surrounding districts did not agree so they rose and
separated from the group, returned to Haifa and joined the families from
Galatz, that had previously separated from the convoy. In the end of it all 25
families stayed to settle in "Gei-Oni", and accepted the name ROSH
PINA, inside themselves they were rejoicing but they were devoid of resources.
The settlers then decided
to sell part of the land that was within their territory, in order to reduce
their debt and so they did. The sale was one third of the area to a few
immigrants from Russia and in this way they lessened the debt on the land by an
amount of 9000 Francs. In possession of the Romanian immigrants, there remained
an area of 2500 dunam of land suitable for ploughing in addition there were
pasture fields and gardens.
The settlers in Rosh Pina
approached the building of houses. SHUB began to prepare building materials,
for instance, rocks and lime etc. a little while before the convoy arrived. In
the fields that he had purchased there were two Arab houses in the vicinity of
the Arab village Ja-Una. The village committee also decided to build more
houses in close proximity to the existing houses. The plans that were already in
the hands of the immigrants abroad, that advised the need to build tall
and elaborate houses and paved streets like in big cities , they were disregarded.
Instead they built according to the plans of a Jewish architect from
Zefat, small homes crowded close together limiting the use of land. So they
commenced to build 14 houses. A portion of the settlers left Zefat and settled
in two of the Arab houses, the remainder stayed in Zefat and daily came to Rosh
Pina to work, with completion of the building of a house more families came to
settle.
The interference in the
building work progress came around the month of December. An ornate order came,
forbidding entry of Jews into the Land of Israel, also to cease building in the
village, the Turkish authorities in Zefat send soldiers to Rosh Pina to delay
the construction in the village. On the advice of their kinsfolk from Zefat,
Moishe David SHUB travelled to Damascus and with the assistance of
knowledgeable people there presented himself with difficulty to the (Wali)
district governor and he managed to get the order rescinded. SHUB had
explained his request with the argument, that the immigrants were Jews from
Romania, who were previously under the rule of the Sultan and they understood
that they were citizens of Turkey. He received the permit. The governor in
Zefat came to the village and brought with him the building inspector and he
proposed to the settlers that all of them become officially naturalized. They
received the necessary papers and building recommenced. The cost to the
settlers of the disturbance in building work, in payment of debt , the business
in Damascus and Zefat was not a small sum.
On
the second day of Tevet 5643 (12 December 1882) the settlers went to the fields
to plough and sow. After the first day of work they gathered and arranged a
modest but exciting celebration. There was much conversation and singing of
songs and a cooperatively arranged meal. The second day of Tevet from then on
became a holiday for generations to come.
This
how Sir Laurence Oliphant described Rosh Pina on his visit in 1886.
Extract from “HAIFA or Life in Modern
Palestine”
By; Laurence Oliphant 1886.
Published By William Blackwood and
Sons, London,
1887
Page 71
Jauna, which was the name of the
village to which I was bound, was situated about three miles from Safed, in a
gorge, from which, as we descended it, a magnificent view was obtained over
the Jordan valley, with the Lake of Tiberias lying three thousand feet below us
on the right, and the waters of Merom, or the Lake of Huleh, on the left. The
intervening plain was 3. rich expanse of country, only waiting development.
The new colony hall been established about eight months, the land having been
purchased from the Moslem villagers, of whom twenty families remained, who
lived on terms of perfect amity with the Jews. These consisted of twenty -
three Roumanian and four Russian families, numbering in all one hundred and
forty souls. The greater number were hard at w ork on their
potato-patches when I arrived, and I was pleased to find evidences of thrift
and industry. A row of sixteen neat little houses had been built, and more were
in process or erection. Altogether this is the most hopeful attempt at a colony
which I have seen in Palestine. The colonists own about a thousand acres of
excellent land, which they were able to purchase at from three to four dollars
an acre. The Russians are establishing themselves about half a mile from the
Roumanians, as Jews of different nationalities easily get on well together.
They call the colony Rosch Pina, or "Head of the Corner," the word
occurring in the verse," The stone which the builders rejected, the same
is become the head of the comer."
Seven children; 4 sons; Moshe, Pesach Lev,
Israel (Isadore), Zvi Yehuda and three daughters; Sarah Leah, Rachel and
Shulamit.
Moshe Bucshester and his family.
He was raised in Romania. His father
was David and his mother Henya. He studied in the Rosh Pina school and by 1899
he was a farmer. He married Mina/Mintsi/Manche Hershkovitz. The farmer who grew
up and educated in Rosh Pina and who excelled with a stout heart in overcoming
his fear of terrorists and his heroic deeds enlarged the respect of all the
other farmers. During the first world war he was the authorised plantation
watchman. He died in 1955. His children were David, Yaakov, Joseph, Henia (The
wife of Zion Levin from Metula) Miriam (Salomon), Pnina (Zilberman), Esther
(Zilberman), Ahuva (Ben-Ami), Zvi.
Pesach Lev Bucshester.
He was born in Moinesti in 1880. and
died 30 June 1915 at the young age of 35. He founded an organisation together
with Mendel Grabovsky to protect Rosh Pina. He married a Sarah Horowitz who was
born in Holland and died in Rosh Pina in 1915. Their children were Chaya Hilda
(Bloom), David, Pnina, Dvora (Rozenkevitz), and Yitzhak.
David married Esther Sarfati and they
had seven children; Aryeh, Vladimir Benjamin, Yaacov, Nissim, Hymie Jaime,
Hirsch and Sara. Aryeh's son Hirsch Boucchechter wrote;" My
grandfather David who was born in Rosh Pina left Israel (Palestine) in 1914 for
Brazil, South America in order to escape serving the Turks. From Brazil they
went to Colombia and then Venezuela, where they lived the rest of their lives.
I spent 1980-1987 in
Israel. I returned to Caracas, Venezuela for 7 years then moved to Atlanta ,
Georgia, U.S.A.
Shulamit Bucshester and her family.
Sara Leah Bucshester
Rachel Bucshester
Israel Isador Bucshester
Zvi Hersch Yehuda Bucshester
School in Rosh Pina
The school in Rosh Pina was founded
in1899. Isaac Epstein was the Principal and Hilda Bucshester was a teacher.
Contributed by:
Dan Bucsescu Architect
145 Palisade Street, Suite 372
Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522
Tel:
914
674 4289
Web Site: www.bucsescu.com
My name is Dan Bucsescu. My father , who passed
away at the age of 91 last year in April, was David Bucsescu, born in Moinesti
in 1913. He was a direct decendent of the branch of the family that stayed
behind in Romania ( one brother of the David Bucsester who settled Rosh Pina). We emigrated to the US in
1965. I have two sons, Marcel Bucsescu and Daniel Bucsescu. Their
mother, Eva Margarita Johansson is from Sweden.
From: Vata Noastra (“Our Life”) Israeli
Romanian language newspaper ,
Friday 8,
September 1972
“From Moinesti to Eretz Israel.”
How Rosh
Pina was founded- From the memoirs (1882-1883) of David Moshe Shub
the
delegate of ‘Society of Colonization of Eretz Israel Through Agricultural Work’
“In the day of 19 Kislev, the year Tav Reis Mem Bet ( 11 December
1881) I left the village of Moinesti.
All the inhabitants of the village saw me off and wished me success.When I
started my journey my wife was pregnant in the ninth month. Four days later I
received in Galati, a telegram announcing that my wife gave birth to a girl. My
only son, David, was two years old at the time. ‘Society of Colonization of
Eretz Israel” Through Agricultural Work’ gave me part of the money for the
trip, and the rest I paid out of my own pocket.
I
started from Istanbul towards Beirut with a Russian boat full of Russians and
Turkish soldiers. The sanitary conditions on the ship were below any acceptable
standards. We were only two Jews: myself and an old man who was returning to Tsefat.
The trip from Istanbul to Beirut lasted two weeks, Friday 22 Tevet, or 13
January 1882 I arrived in Beirut. There
I stayed at the roadside rooming house owned by Betzalel Barsah. On Monday of
the following week the old man and myself rented two donkeys led by two Arabs
(“metuali”) to guide us on the road to Tsefat.
On the first day we arrived in Sidon, where we spent the night. When we crossed
the river Kasmia, the old man pointed with his hand and told me that that was
the boundary of the Holy Land. I don’t have the words to describe my emotions.
I got of the donkey and kneeled and kissed the ground and recited the prayer
“Sheehianu”. I couldn’t pull myself from
the ground if it were not for the Arab guide who forced me up to continue
moving on.”
In the old Tsefat of
yesterday.
In Tsefat of that time there was not one public accommodation for
the traveller (no hotel).There were not even roads. Horse wagons were a rare
sight. Those (Jews I guess)who came
to live here (or better said - to die here and be buried here- because at Tsefat
only the old came) had first gone to Beirut or Haifa, and from there they were
taken on the backs of mules to Tsefat.
This trip took two days from Haifa or four days from Beirut. They arrived there
tired to the bone hardly able to move. The Arab (travel facilitators) took them to an empty terrain in the middle
of the town named “the Square with coals”, which was in fact a large heap of
garbage.
On that site, daily, arrived a local official to collect a
tax from everyone newly arrived. Why this tax? For whom? Here are some of the
questions no one was allowed to ask and the poor arrivals were forced to pay.
After that they stayed there until someone who knew them came to take them.I
was the first to revolt against this inhuman deed and refused to pay the tax.
Slowly, slowly the situation improved.
The
Delegation of the coordination committee from Galati.
During the time when I was searching around Eretz Israel in search
of land for an agricultural settlement, in Romania there were formed several
societies for resettlement based on
the letters received from me. The center was in Galati. There was general
meeting of the representatives of all such groups. At this meeting it was
decided to form a committee that would travel to Eretz Israel to consult with
me as to the next steps. Four delegates were selected. From Moinesti , David Bucsester (the brother of my great grand father), a man who possessed considerable knowledge about agriculture. The other delegates were
Alter Klapper from Galati, a capable businessman, Shlomo Brill, farmer, and
Avram Ezra Friedman who spoke arabic and being born in Tsefat knew the local
culture and traditions.
The delegates arrived three days before Pesach/Passover on April
1,1882 having travelled through Haifa and Tiberias/Tveria. When I saw them I
lost my courage. While myself and my companion, Tipris were dressed in Arabic clothes and travelled on donkeys and
conducted all our transactions discreetly they arrived on horses in the manner of English and American
tourists brought by the travel agency Cooks. Because of this, they could have
triggered suspicions among the Arabs in the various villages that we were rich
American Jewish millionaires who could be milked for more money. I told them
immediately that by their ways of behavior they were damaging our dreams. And,
what I was afraid of happened.
Since they returned back to Romania without any doing anything.
Once back in Romania they described the country in dark colors.
The Romanian delegation returned home after Lag B’Omer and myself
together with my friend Bucshester went to Jerusalem to look at other land in Judah.
From Tsefat to Jerusalem we travelled on the backs of donkeys- through Tiberias/Tveria,
Jenin and Shechem.
After four days we arrived in Jerusalem . Reb Dov Frumkin, the
editor of the newspaper ‘Hehavateler’
gave us advice regarding the acquisition of land for agricultural settlement.”
The
purchase of land at Rosh Pina.
The
village of Ja Una is situated below a mountain named Har Canaan, about an hours
walking distance from Tfat. There were three springs, from which the Arabs were
irrigating their gardens and orchards. I found that place suitable for us. The
land we bought was partly hilly, partly flat land, at an altitude of 350 Meters above the
Mediterranean sea. The air was dry and clean.The north wind brought a gentle
cool breeze from Mount Hermon. That why I loved that place immediately and was
sorry to have to leave it. It is true that there were no direct access roads
with the center of the country. But I thought that with time that would change.
On 24
July 1882, I bought two thirds of the village lands. The other third was bought
by several Russian families that had just arrived. On the same day I send a
telegram to the society in Moinesti informing them about the just completed
transaction. The news traveled like lightning throughout Romania. People from
around the country came to Moinesti asking to buy a parcel of land. Even the
group from Galati, which had returned.From their trip empty handed asked us for
land sufficient to accommodate 20 families.That they were planning to send to
Eretz Israel, Among others were families from Birlad led by Rabbi Mordecai
Carmiel and others.
To Israel
via Paris
There was
a saying at the time: To Eretz Israel via Moinesti.”
Never the
less, Jehoshua Sin Leih, who changed his name to Jehoshua Ben Arie, arrived in
Israel via Paris. He was not allowed to debark in Palestine and his ship took
him to Constantinopol. There he encounters a family of Jewish refugees and
joins them on their travel to Paris, with the thought of soliciting Baron
Rothschild for support to enter Palestine.
After
many adventures including a journey on foot from Marseilles to Paris, the young
man arrives at the mansion of Baron Rothschild, where a tall gentleman asks him what he wants:
-
I came to get your help in going to Palestine.
-
And if we don’t want to help you ?
-
If you don’t want to help me , I will get there on my own means.
The
answer pleased the aging gentlemen who turned out to be no other than, Sir
Michael Orlanger, the baron’s right hand in charge with philanthropic work in
Palestine. With the support of the baron, Jehoshua arrives in 1884 in Jaffo, with a
letter of introduction that would allow him to claim a place to live in any of
the baron’s properties in Palestine. After visiting all such settlements, he
chooses to stay in Rosh Pina.
How we
became Ottoman Citizens
I
travelled on business together with two other Jews. We travelled North, though
the Hula Swamps
until the village Banias, the where starts the river Jordan. Having arrived in
Damascus I went together with Rabbi Markado Alkalay, to to visit the “Wali”
(the governor of the region).We explained what was the settlement of Rosh Pina
which we founded and told him that we were emigrants from Romania and that we
consider ourselves Turkish Citizens.
Willing
to live under the blessing of his majesty, the sultan. We told him we bought
the land with our money and wanted to live honestly out of our work of the
land. The chief Rabbi (Haham Bashi) supported our request and explained all to
the “Wali”.
After a
few days, the ‘Wali’ told us that he send a favourable recommendation to
Istanbul and to be patient until we receive the answer. We waited six weeks
without an answer.
When we
returned to Tsefat we found out that the approval had come directly there and
that we could continue the building of houses.
Upon our
return to Rosh Pina, the mayor of Tsefat gathered together all the Jewish
inhabitants of Rosh Pina and told them that they had received permission to
build and that it would be to their benefit if they became Ottoman citizens. We
all took his advice and became Ottoman citizens.
The mayor
than gathered all the Arabs from the neighbouring village, said a few good
words about the Jewish new comers from Romania and advised us all to live in
peace and friendship.
Nevertheless,
during construction tensions arose between the Arabs and the Jews due to
discovery of some graves uncovered by the escalations. At the end the mayor
decided that the remains be exhumed and relocated in another place and the
construction could continue. It was understood that this was associated with a
considerable amount of money given to the villagers. Dov M. Schub
About Moinesti
(where my father was born in 1913)
Town in
Moldavia, Eastern central Romania.
Tombstones
from 1740 and 1748 prove the existence of a Jewish settlement predating the
foundation of the town (1781) and dating back to the discovery of oil in the
vicinity. There were 42 Jewish families taxpayers in 1820, 500 hundred families
in 1885, and 2398 individuals in 1899 (50.6% of the total population). The community was organized in 1885 and had 5
prayer houses: a ritual bath and a primary school for boys (founded in 1893) as
well as one for girls (founded in 1900).
The
locality played a prominent role in the history of the colonization of Eretz
Israel. Jews from Moinesti were founders of Rosh Pina. In 1881 a group of 50 families
was organized which sent David Schub as a delegate to Eretz Israel. He
purchased the plots of land where 22
families settled in the summer of 1882, together with other families from other
Moldavian cities. The Moinesti Jews addressed a call to all Romanian Jews; The
Pre-Zionist movement Yishuv Eretz Israel was subsequently established. Between
the two world wars the number of Jews decreased to 1761 )26.6% of the
population). After emancipation (1919) there were Jewish members on the
municipal council, and in 1930 Moinesti even elected a Jewish Mayer. Tristan
Zara (Sami Rosenstein) a founder of the Dada movement, was born in Moinesti.
During
the WW II the Jews of Moinesti were expelled to Botosani. About 80 families returned
after the war. The Jewish population numbered 480 in 1947, 400 in 1950 and about 15
families in 1969.