I typically try to provide a bit of biographical information about those who were interred in the graves of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plots in Montefiore and Beth Moses Cemeteries in New York.
Boris, however, has been difficult to track.
BORIS
BONDAR
BELOVED HUSBAND
JUNE 19, 1898
AUG. 25, 1981
Boris' gravestone does not include the usual Hebrew name and patronymic. Rules for accessing New York City death records do not allow non-relatives access to one so recent.
Online searches at Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage have not located any census records (the most recent available would be 1940), directories, or any other records that I can tie to this man. I have searched online indices on the Yad Vashem website (seeking any relatives he may have identified as victims), on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website (for currently online records for survivors). I have searched the online Joint Distribution Committee Archive and HIAS. I have searched online newspapers for obituaries or any other articles in which he might have been mentioned.[1] Nada!
The only record I have found for him thus far is his application for Social Security card (Form SS-5), which I ordered from the Social Security administration.
Boris' mother was Lyuba and his father was Shlema Bondar. Boris reported that he was born in Odessa. I have check JewishGen's unified database and have not found any records available yet for him Boris or his parents.
He registered for Social Security when he was 80 years old (probably on November 6, 1978). At that time, he lived in Manhattan at 225 Park Avenue South. His Social Security Death Index record (in this case located on Ancestry) indicates his last residence was in Brooklyn.
His gravestone indicates he was mourned by his wife. There are no other Bondar's in this plot. I checked recent indexes for marriage licenses in New York City (thank you Reclaim the Records!) - there are no records for Boris Bondar. We do not know his wife's name.
Without further information, it is not possible to say why his grave was included in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in Beth Moses Cemetery. More often than not I have been able to identify a kinship connection between those who were not from the town of Labun yet were buried in one of the landsmanshaft plots. This one is, so far, still a mystery
Since Boris signed his name in Cyrillic, it is possible that in 1978 he was a fairly recent immigrant. That would account for the paucity of records.
Boris Bondar's grave is in the the Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, New York, First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association Plot, Block 24, Maccabee Road.
Notes:
1. It is certainly possible that other records, such as those in probate files, might be located onsite in NYC. Those kind of searches will have to wait until I next plan a visit. One possible next step would be to call the cemetery and see if they have any information they might share regarding Bondar family contacts.
