Lithuania
Unidentified man
Cardboard frame is stamped "S. Bielodoubrovsky, Kovna on Prospect de Nicolas." We assume that this gentleman remained in Lithuania.
Lithuania
Unidentified lady
This well-dressed lady wears a dress of a style popular in the 1880s with a necklace, a collar brooch, and delicate earrings. Frame is stamped "Visit Portrait."
Mariampol
Unidentified couple
A wedding or engagement portrait, about 1885, they may be Tuviash and Kreine Beylman or a related couple. The frame imprint says "Cabinet Portrait" in English.
Mariampol
David Girsh Beilman
This portrait has been identified as David Girsh (Hersh) Beilman about 1890. The original portrait was taken in the vicinity of Mariampol.
Warsaw/Brześć Litewski
Unidentified man
Possibly from the Levenson clan, this man is otherwise unknown. The reverse shows name of the G. Linder studio in Warsaw or Brześć Litewsk, Poland.
Mariampol
Raytzel & sons
Raytzel Markson Beilman and her youngest sons, twins Benjamin (left) and Mordecai (Max, right), circa 1916. Benjamin died sometime before 1918.
Pilvishki
Chaya Peshe Levenson
In Pilvishki she was Chaya Peshe, but in El Paso she adopted the name Bessie Pauline Levenson, dauagher of Jocheved and the late Samuel Levenson.
Sakiai, Mariampol
Mordecai Beilman
Mordecai (Max) Bellman traveled to El Paso with his mother Raytzel in 1921, joining his brothers in the running of the Bellman Mercantile in El Paso.
El Paso, Texas
Sam & Helen Bellman
Samuel Bellman, oldest son of David and Raytzel Bellman, and his bride Helen Krupp, who was related to the merchant Krupp family, circa 1912.
El Paso, Texas
Lamar Bellman
Known as Leib Bellman when he was born, he became Lamar Bellman in El Paso and Safford, Arizona, joining his brother in merchandising.
El Paso, Texas
Celia Lebiush Bellman
Celia Lebiush, who changed her name to Levy when she emigrated, became the wife of Lamar Bellman in 1918. She was from Suwalki in Poland.
La Mesa, New Mexico
Charles Bellman
Charles Bellman pictured in 1918 shortly after registering for WWI. He and his brothers Alex and Lamar also served. It's the only photo we have of Charles.
El Paso, Texas
Sam Isaac Bellman
This studio portrait was taken in the mid-1930s when Sam Bellman and his Krupp in-laws were prosperous department store merchants.
El Paso, Texas
Sarah Gordon Bellman
Sarah Gordon, born in Lithuania in 1900, was the wife of Alex Bellman. They married on March 7, 1922 in El Paso, Texas. This is her engagement portrait.
El Paso, Texas
Alec Bellman
Alec Bellman, born in Lithuania in 1896, joined his brothers in El Paso and Safford to work with them in their merchandising business.
Safford, Arizona
Rachel Bellman Krupp
Ray or Rae Bellman Krupp, about 1923. Ray was the second child of David Girsh and Raytzel Beylman, later Bellman. Ray married Eli Paul Krupp in 1910.
El Paso, Texas
Mary Bellman Long
Mary (Miriam) Bellman was the youngest daughter of David and Raytzel Bellman, born in 1899. She married Curtis William Long after 1930 in El Paso.
El Paso, Texas
Raytzel Bellman
Raytzel Bellman about 1930 shortly before her emigration to Israel. In almost every photo, Raytzel wears her distinctive locket-like pendant.
Israel
Raytzel Bellman
Raytzel emigrated to Israel in the 1930s. This is a new year's card from her around 1935 sent to her children with greetings in Hebrew.
Safford, Arizona
Eli and Ray Krupp
Eli Paul Krupp and Ray Bellman Krupp about 1940. Both from Lithuania, Eli was a merchant in Safford, where he and Ray had four children.
Safford, Arizona
Bellman's Store
Bellman's Department Store, shown here in 1954, was described by the Arizona Daily Star as "Safford's finest clothing and dry goods establishment."
