The Smud FamilyAsk

Bookkeeper · general store in Maciá

Alejandro Smud

The eldest of the three siblings. Born in Berdyansk on 11 March 1897, he reached Buenos Aires at the age of seven. He settled in Maciá, Entre Ríos, with his own store opposite the railway station.

Head-and-shoulders portrait of Alejandro Smud: bald, with a trimmed moustache, a dark jacket, white shirt and tie. On the left of the print there is a row of round perforations.
Portrait of Alejandro SmudAlejandro Smud, the eldest of the three siblings. The perforations on the left are those of an identity document. Undated.Documented

Documented1897 – 1959

He went to primary school in Buenos Aires and later completed his studies at the Antonio Bermejo School of Commerce, where he qualified as a bookkeeper. With that qualification in hand he found work in rural Entre Ríos.

In Entre Ríos he worked in Maciá, Rosario Tala department, in Elías Loyber’s general store. There he met Isabel Loyber, the owner’s niece, who was in Maciá on holiday. They married in mid-1920.

Around 1926 he left the Loyber firm and set up on his own, with a general store and grain-collecting business, and a house of his own, opposite the railway station. He died in 1959, aged sixty-two.

Photographs

  1. Studio portrait of the Smud family: Ester Malka seated, in a dark dress with a lace front; beside her Aida, in a light dress; Marcos and Alejandro in short suits and bows, one of them holding a cane; and Felix standing, his hand on one of his sons' shoulder.
    Felix Smud and Ester Malka with their childrenFelix Smud and Ester Malka with their three children: the girl is Aida; the two boys are Alejandro and Marcos (Meyer), though it is not known which is which. Undated.Documented

In the timeline

  1. 1897

    Alejandro is born

    On 11 March Alejandro is born in Berdyansk.

  2. August 1904

    Malke leaves Berdyansk with the three children

    Malke leaves Berdyansk with the three children. They cross southern Russia and central Europe to the port of Bremen, by cart and probably by train for some stretch.

  3. 23 December 1904

    The ship docks in Buenos Aires

    The ship docks in the port of Buenos Aires before dawn. In the immigration register the surname is written “Smud or Smod”.

  4. c. 1915

    Malke dies and the siblings move to Entre Ríos

    Malke dies. The three siblings —Alejandro, Marcos and Aida— move to the province of Entre Ríos.

  5. 1920

    Alejandro marries Isabel Loyber

    Alejandro marries Isabel Loyber, niece of the owner of the Maciá general store where he worked.

  6. 1926

    The store opposite the station

    Alejandro sets up on his own opposite the railway station. In October, Aida marries Pablo Freiberg.

  7. 1959

    Alejandro dies

    Alejandro dies, aged sixty-two.

  8. 1996

    Rubén types three pages

    In October, Rubén —Alejandro's son— types three pages with what Alejandro, Aida and a cousin had told him. Almost everything he wrote down from memory was later confirmed by documents no one could consult at the time.