Early Jewish Influence In Summerville | Culture | Summerville Journal Scene

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Early Jewish Influence In Summerville

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2012 1:59 PM

By Heyward G. Hutson
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Photo Provided

Panelists left to right: Spencer Lynch, Marjorie Lynch, Doris Meyers, Vivian Rose, Melisa Wolper Welborn, and Jane Barshay Burns. Not pictured, Rosalyn Kramer

The first meeting of the Summerville Preservation Society’s 2012 Heritage Series was focused on the early Jewish influence in Summerville. However, it was more like a reunion for the descendants of the prominent Jewish families who served on the panel. Jane Barshay Burns, who now lives in Greenwood SC, said: “I was so excited about coming home to Summerville, I told my husband Tom I would have walked if I had to.” Other panelists included Marjorie Lynch and son Spencer, Doris Meyers, Melisa Wolper Welborn, Rosalyn Kramer Monat-Haller and Vivian Rose.

Jane began the discussion of her roots by revealing that her grandfather Marcus Barshay came to America from Riga, Latvia. Before coming to Summerville, Marcus started a dry goods business in Orangeburg in 1897. Marcus located a mens clothing store in Summerville in 1905. About 1910, Marcus moved his business a couple doors down into the building where another Jewish merchant Solomon Mirmow had established a dry goods store earlier. Marcus maintained the same configuration with a ladies department on the right and a mens department on the left. Marcus once had an opportunity to purchase the Water Works in Summerville that he helped to finance. He declined because he thought it should be a publicly owned utility.

Marcus and his wife Dora Rosenbaum Barshay had two sons Aaron and Sammy who became owners of Barshays upon Marcus’ death in 1942. Aaron was a lifelong bachelor who was a night owl and rode around with policeman George Whaley on his beat. Jane recounted a story about a raid on a card game on Poker Row, the line of houses near the park on S. Main Street below First Citizens Bank. When asked for their names, Aaron replied: “I’m Joe Smith.” Sammy said: “Well I’m his brother, so I must be Smoe Smith.” Aaron inherited the family house at 303 S. Magnolia Street and Sammy and wife Selma lived at 110 S. Hickory Street. They had three daughters: Wendy who married Frank Block (His grandfather came from Riga, Latvia also), Betsy (now deceased) who married Jerry Kaylie, and Jane who married Tom Burns.

Melisa Wolper, who married Southern Baptist Bob Welborn, indicated that her grandfather came from Prussia, near the Polish-Russian border. Her mother’s ancestors the Pearlsteins had local roots in Branchville, SC. Melisa showed a picture of a handsome Master Sergeant Isadore Wolper who served in Iceland during World War II. When he came to Summerville with his new bride Jeanette after the War, his first jewelry store was on Main Street. After moving to Central Avenue, he built the building where Dorchester Jewelers is located today. In addition to Melisa, Isadore and Jeanette had daughters: Sally who married Gary Boyles and Judy who married Michael Garber.

Vivian Rose talked about Saul Alexander since he had no children and both Vivian and her mother worked for him. Saul Alexander came to America from Russia when he was 16 years old. He arrived in New York but emigrated on to South Carolina. Vivian said that Mr. Alexander was an excellent tailor and made alterations himself. Although he appeared to be stern, he was a very kind and generous man. During the hard times in the early 1900s, Saul Alexander and Marcus Barshay were private bankers providing loans for people to buy homes. Like Aaron and Sammy Barshay, Saul Alexander enjoyed gambling. When he died, most of his estate was included in the Saul Alexander Foundation which continues to provide grants annually to charitable organizations in the community. Mr. Alexander also provided pensions for his life long friends Sarah Chinners and her sister Etta Buzard. Mr. Alexander’s house was left to Sarah Chinners and is now owned by Mike and Vivian Rose.

Doris Meyers talked about coming to Summerville with husband Roy in 1952. Doris told a very funny account about how they found a building where Roy could open his practice as a new optometrist. She and Roy were stranded in Summerville by a disabled car and had difficulty in communicating with Pelzer Barry to rent his building. Pelzer was living at Mateeba Gardens without a telephone. Despite the challenges, she and Roy were welcomed warmly and helped by Dr. Izzy Kramer and others. The Meyers stayed for a while at the Peters house on Central Avenue.

Spencer Lynch talked about his parents’ roots. Seymour was born in Charleston and Marjorie came from New York City. According to their son Paul, grandfather Samuel Lynch came to Charleston from New Orleans. Samuel purchased a building on Short Central where his son Seymour had a dry goods store and rented to a black barber shop which was across the street from Bryant’s Barber Shop, another black owned barber shop that catered to a white clientele. Ironically, Bryant’s was next door to where the Ku Klux Klan met in the 1930s. Marjorie Lynch, who had lots of experience as a sales representative with the buyers who came to New York, opened a dress shop in the old Stenders Bakery building. After she and Seymour bought the building, they discovered that much of the foundation was missing and required significant repair. Seymour (deceased) and Marjorie had two sons Spencer who married Elisabeth Miller and Paul who married Suzanne Goldberg. Spencer and Paul purchased the site of the old Kornahrens-Marcotsis-Anderson building on the corner of Short Central that had burned. They built a new building much like the old building and placed a cornerstone with a verse from the Bible in Hebrew and English: “Honor thy father and thy mother.”

Rosalyn Kramer Monat-Haller, who looks very much like her grandmother Etta Kramer, noted that her Kramer grandparents Etta and Moses came to America from Prussia around 1900 and opened a produce market in Summerville on the site where her father Dr. Isadore Kramer later built his drug store. Moses and Etta had five children: Otto, Nadie, Izzy, Pinky and Sarah. Izzy made his college tuition by leading and playing saxophone in a dance band. Izzy married Irma Katzoff and they had four children: Marvin, Samuel, Rosalyn and Debereh who survived for only three weeks. Her death was very painful to Izzy and Irma because Debereh needed the sulfur drugs that were not available at the time. Izzy was a pharmacist. His son Marvin and two of his nephews became pharmacists as well.

Other early Jewish families in Summerville included the Lazarus, Bernstein, Bornstein, Epstein and Friedberg names. Bertha Lazarus married George Breibart and now lives in Charleston. A common theme repeated by the panelists was the warm welcome their families felt when they settled in Summerville.

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