ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 111589 - Translation - Tombstone - USA - Inkster, Wayne County, MI - Ruby Rubenstein


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Tombstone
Approval Date: 8/1/2025 2:54 PM
Family Surname: Ruby Rubenstein
Country: USA
Town: Inkster, Wayne County, MI
Date of Image: May 7, 2016

Click the picture to enlarge

Thank you for your help in translating Hebrew on the gravestone of Marcus Ruby of Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

Cemetery is "Westwood Cemetery / Hamorean Nusach Hari Cemetery / Mishkan Israel Cemetery" in Inkster, Wayne County, Michigan" (Detroit area).

The image originated on FindAGrave:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/162242896/marcus-ruby

Marcus was born ~1847 in Austria (Galicia). He passed 6 Oct 1923 in Wayne County, Michigan.

Marcus's wife was Sophie Leah Mantell. Marcus's father is unknown.

Marcus had three known children, one used surname "Rubenstein" on marriage document. Question: was Marcus's family surname Ruby or Rubenstein (or both)?

Response

8/1/2025 7:48 PM

The first 2 lines of the inscription reads: Here lies our dear father, the honored Mordechai, son of Naphtali Hertzel. The next 2 lines may be the date of on the Hebrew calendar, but I'm not certain. The final line is a Hebrew acronym for the common phrase on Jewish gravestones "May his soul be bound up on the bond of eternal life."

8/3/2025 12:26 AM

Here lies

our dear father

Mordechai son of Reb Naftali Hertzel

He passed away 26 Tishri 5684

He was 76 years old at his death.

May his soul be bound up in the bond of life.
-----------------------------------------------
Mordechai is a Biblical name, from the Book of Esther.

'Reb' is an honorific; it does not mean rabbi.

Naftali is a Biblical name, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and the father of the tribe of Naftali.

The name Hertzel is a Yiddish name meaning "little heart".
------------------------------------------------
The family name does not appear in the Hebrew text. (This is not at all unusual).

To answer your specific question, I would say that the name was originally Rubenstein, but was "Americanized" by at least some of the family members to Ruby.

If the child who used the name Rubinstein on their marriage certificate was the oldest, perhaps the father changed his name after the birth of the first child?

ViewMate Posting VM 111589

Submitted by Eric B Eubank

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 111589

Submitted by Eric B Eubank