The Smud FamilyAsk

The boy in the Mariupol birth record

Marcos Smud

Born on 25 January 1899 in Mariupol. His birth record is the most important document in this story: it is what made it possible, a century later, to learn who his father and grandfather had been.

Documented1899 – 1951

He reached Buenos Aires at the age of five, on 23 December 1904, with his mother and his two siblings. He went to primary school in Buenos Aires and qualified as a bookkeeper at the Antonio Bermejo School of Commerce.

He found work in Aranguren, Nogoyá department, in a general store owned by the Jozami brothers. Around 1922 he married Esther Klaiserburd. He lived in Aranguren and in Ramírez. He died in 1951.

His gravestone, in Paraná, preserves his Hebrew name: it calls him Meir Smud, and names his father as Folke. In other words, on the Argentine side the gravestone says the same thing the birth record says on the Russian side —the son was called Meir, the father Folke— but with the surname already in its Spanish form. It is the piece that joined the two halves of this story.

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. 1899

    The Mariupol birth record

    On 25 January Meyer —later Marcos— is born, and his birth is recorded at the Mariupol synagogue. The record names three generations: the child, his father Falik and his grandfather Kopel.

  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. c. 1922

    Marcos marries Esther Klaiserburd

    Marcos marries Esther Klaiserburd. He lives in Aranguren and in Ramírez.

  6. 1951

    Marcos dies

    Marcos dies. His gravestone, in Paraná, preserves his Hebrew name and his father's.

  7. 2026

    The circle closes

    Thirty years after Rubén's text, the original documents come to light. The Mariupol record closes the circle: the Meyer in the synagogue register and the Marcos on the Paraná gravestone are the same boy. In August this research is published.