The
Kradin family (alternative spellings: Kraidin, Krejdin, Craiden,
Criden, Cradin, Creighton, etc.) is a Russian-Jewish family primarily
from the former Kiev Gubernia of the Russian Empire, now the
region around the capital
of Kiev (Kyjiv), Ukraine. Many of these Kradins (of all different
spellings) came from the Justingrad (Yustingrad, Ustingrad) shtetl
(Jewish village) most
likely descended from a common ancestor. The Justingrad shtetl
was created
after Jews were forced out of their homes in the village of Sokolivka
(Sokolovka, Sokolievka, Sokolowka, Sokoliefka). In 1825, Czar
Nicholas I of Russia expelled merchant shopkeepers (non-farmer) Jews
from regular villages to
villages of their own, shtetlakh (plural of shtetl).
Thus, these Jews from Sokolivka moved to
the land on the other side of a quarter mile bridge/damn across a lake
edge. This shtetl was named Justingrad (J pronounced as a Y) in
honor of Justina, wife of the Nobleman who sold the land to the
Jews. Many
of these Kradin families from Kiev, a large number from Justingrad,
left for a better life in the United States around 1900. In
1919, a pogrom made its way through Justingrad. Jewish men were
murdered
and Jewish women were defiled. With WWII, on July 27, 1941, the
Nazis destroyed Justingrad. Currently, the land of
former Justingrad is used as farmland and grazing for livestock from
those of neighboring villages.
My great grandfather, Joseph Kradin, was born December 15, 1886, in Ustingrad shtetl, Kiev Gubernia, Russia (now Ukraine). He emigrated via Liverpool, England, on the February 4th, 1904. He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1904 via the S.S. Cymric. In Boston, he met and married a Jewish immigrant from Kiev, Rose Garber. They had children, including my grandfather Bernard Kradin. Joseph Kradin registered for the WWI Draft in 1917. Joseph owned various deli/restaurants in Cambridge and Boston. The background image of this webpage is a photo of my great grandfather Joseph Kradin and my grandfather Bernard Kradin in one of the family delis. Despite this love for the food services, Joseph Kradin discovered that his calling was the junk recycling business. He learned this from the bottom, starting as a clerk. As time progressed, he started his recycling business. This progressed into a scrap metal recycling business. He left this to his son Bernard Kradin. Currently, this company, Kradin Metal, is run by my uncles, the grandsons of Joseph Kradin.
Kradin Families in the 1907 Voter's list of Justingrad, Kiev
Justingrad References:
My great grandfather, Joseph Kradin, was born December 15, 1886, in Ustingrad shtetl, Kiev Gubernia, Russia (now Ukraine). He emigrated via Liverpool, England, on the February 4th, 1904. He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1904 via the S.S. Cymric. In Boston, he met and married a Jewish immigrant from Kiev, Rose Garber. They had children, including my grandfather Bernard Kradin. Joseph Kradin registered for the WWI Draft in 1917. Joseph owned various deli/restaurants in Cambridge and Boston. The background image of this webpage is a photo of my great grandfather Joseph Kradin and my grandfather Bernard Kradin in one of the family delis. Despite this love for the food services, Joseph Kradin discovered that his calling was the junk recycling business. He learned this from the bottom, starting as a clerk. As time progressed, he started his recycling business. This progressed into a scrap metal recycling business. He left this to his son Bernard Kradin. Currently, this company, Kradin Metal, is run by my uncles, the grandsons of Joseph Kradin.
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| This is a recent satellite photo (thanks to Google
Earth) of the Shtetl Justingrad and
its neighboring village Sokolivka. Since the destruction of
Jutingrad in 1941, it has been used by neighboring villages as
farmland. GPS coordinates: Sokolivka 49° 01'57.15" N
30° 07' 10.73" E; Justingrad 49° 02' 12.05" N 30° 07'
10.73" E. This is approximately 38 km NNW of the city of Uman and
120 miles south of the city of Kiev in the Ukraine. |
Kradin Families in the 1907 Voter's list of Justingrad, Kiev
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My family TreePlease email me if you know any info. about my family or are related to me!
Justingrad References:
Sokolievka/Justingrad : a century of struggle and suffering in a Ukrainian |
THE B'NAI KHAIM IN AMERICA A STUDY OF CULTURAL CHANGE IN A JEWISH GROUP |
