GenPals Cemetery Project Blog

Jewish Will Extracts 18th – 19th Century

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:27:00 +0000

SynagogueScribes are delighted to announce a brilliant new addition to our special section featuring Secular Records.

Ranging from 1682 to the late Nineteenth century, from towns across the United Kingdom and places as far afield as New York, Jamaica, and Australia, from the wealthy slave-owner to the humble general dealer, from Silversmiths and Quill Dressers, Book Sellers, Publicans, Orange Merchants and Cattle Salesmen, these abstracts reflect the extraordinary diversity of Jewish life across two centuries.

You can search for individual names by selecting "Jewish Will Extracts 18th – 19th Century" on the main search page for Secular Records - this will bring up persons of the selected name who have left a Will, or persons with that name featured in Wills left by others; or you can browse the full list from the link further down the same page.

We cannot always be certain of the "Jewish" bona fides of those we have included; some, such as Rebecca HART MYERS (NA 585) were clearly born Jewish but died outside the faith: others, such as Isaac SCHOMBERG (NA 612) were possibly even more removed from the faith of their forebears: others leave us pondering. Our editorial policy in this matter has been based strictly on personal choice and should not be taken as conclusive one way or the other.

These extracts were prepared, and generously contributed, by David Alexander

Burial Grounds at risk in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Back in 2008 Jewish Heritage UK reported on 'Burial grounds at risk' with a list of 9 Jewish cemeteries:

Exeter, Bull Meadow
London, Bancroft Road
London, Hackney [Lauriston Road)
Ipswich, Salthouse Lane
Merthyr Tydfil, Cefn Coed
Manchester, Prestwich Village
Sunderland, Ayres Quay
Swansea, Mayhill
Wolverhampton, Cockshutts Lane

And in 2009 the follwowing burial grounds were added:
London, West Ham Cemetery
Birmingham, Betholom Row Cemetery
Glasgow, Craigton Cemetery
Liverpool, Deane Road and Green Lane (Tuebrook)

CemeteryScribes has been able to record all remaining tombstones found at Bancroft Road, Lauriston Road, Sunderland - Ayres Quay and Wolverhampton - Cockshutts Lane. The latter 2 with the help of generous supporters of our project. We also have some photos of Ipswich - Salthouse Lane, Merthyr Tydfil - Cefn Coed, Exeter - Bull Meadow, Swansea - Mayhill and London - West Ham Cemetery.

As a result of local community efforts, restoration work is underway for Liverpool- Deane Road Jewish Cemetery and their hard work and dedication has recently been rewarded by a well-merited Grant from The Heritage Lottery Fund. Again, following a great deal of research and lobbying, Bancroft Road is scheduled for restoration by Jeecs & the United Synagogues.

Obviously all restoration requires large amounts of money and in this day and age with our pockets being stretched in every direction its not always possible for the relevant bodies to put these tasks top of their lists.

However, there is no great cost involved in taking photos and that does at least serve as a form of preservation of what is there now. So if you are reading this and live near to, or plan to visit :

Exeter, Bull Meadow
Ipswich, Salthouse Lane
Merthyr Tydfil, Cefn Coed
Manchester, Prestwich Village acquired in 1841 - the second oldest burial ground in Manchester
Swansea, Mayhill
Birmingham, Betholom Row Cemetery dating back to 1823
Glasgow, Craigton Cemetery opened in 1880

Please take a few photos for us!

The Guardian exhorts us all to become "Guardians" of our heritage

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:20:00 +0000

It is rare to find a general newspaper article on cemeteries, let alone one that so exactly reflects the philosophy of our project at www.cemeteryscribes.com, but this piece in the Guardian of 30 Dec 2010 hit the nail square on the head.

The article, based on a visit made by BBC Radio 4's Today programme's James Naughtie, and the 93 year old writer Diane Athill, to the historic Highate Cemetery, widened out into a thoughtful piece on the value of old cemeteries in modern society.

"....There are many places like this across Britain where visitors come, sometimes to honour their own particular dead, sometimes to ponder the deaths and the lives of people they never knew. The most resonant kind of cemetery can evoke the history and spirit of a community as eloquently as any written account....."

Those of us who have been lucky enough to visit Historic Jewish Cemeteries such as London's Alderney Road and Brady Street, or the Deane Road Cemetery in Liverpool, currently being restored by the local community, will recognise the truth of that last sentence.

The article then goes on to speak of:

"..another matchless attraction of Cemeteries: the words engraved on the headstones, not just of those who once commanded applause but also........ those whose graves may be marked by "uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture"......

You don't find a great deal of shapeless sculpture in the old Jewish burial grounds, and the inscriptions tend to be factual rather than flowery but, where these inscriptions have survived the depredations of time, they can be invaluable in not only giving us the name of the deceased's father through the Hebrew Patronymic, but sometimes an occupation or a place of origin.

The final paragraph is one that speaks particularly directly to those in the Jewish Community concerned about the sad decline, and often disappearance, of our old Burial Grounds and who are eager to do their bit to stop the rot.

"....Ms Athill and Mr. Naughtie were guided round Highate by a volunteer, herself in her 80s, one of those who in graveyards great and small across the land have redeemed past neglect and made these rewarding places in which to wander, to meditate, and to be serious."

Start your family tree week - your Jewish Family Tree!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 09:44:00 +0000

We at CemeteryScribes and SynagogueScribes fully support the idea of the UK Family Tree week which starts tomorrow 26th Dec 2010.

With the holiday season giving us all time to get together with family we all have the ideal opportunity to make some notes on family relations and find new ones.

Websites taking part in Start Your Family Tree Week are:
Findmypast, Genes Reunited, ScotlandsPeople and Eneclann.
Supporting Start Your Family Tree Week are:
The Society of Genealogists, The Federation of Family History Societies, Pen and Sword Books, BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, Your Family Tree magazine, My History, Family Tree Magazine, Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE, Pandigital, from you to me and Francis Frith.

To start finding your Jewish family tree, go to www.cemeteryscribes.com and use the basic search at the top left hand corner. Enter your family name and see what you find.

We have included mini family trees to help you identify your ancestors and you will also find details of their burial place and transcriptions of tombstone inscriptions.

The top 20 family names found on CemeteryScribes are:
1. Levy
2. Cohen
3. Jacobs
4. Davis
5. Isaacs
6. Harris
7. Hart
8. Solomon
9. Nathan
10. Phillips
11. Samuel
12. Moses
13. Marks
14. Joseph
15. Abrahams
16. Lazarus
17. Benjamin
18. Emanuel
19. Myers
20. Alexander

Then to do some further research go to www.synagoguescribes.com and search through the thousands of Synagogue records we have transcribed with the emphasis being on pre-civil registration records. As civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began on 1st Jul 1837 these are a must to get you back further.

You can also take a look at our getting started pages found here http://synagoguescribes.com/blog/getting-started/
Happy hunting and a very Happy New Year.

Ketuba Mystery - Solved!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:17:00 +0000

When it comes to requests for help with family trees, we at www.SynagogeSribes.com are a pretty hard-hearted bunch. We have to be: if we weren’t, we’d finish up spending all our time on other people’s genealogies, leaving none for our core work of finding, transcribing and publishing Jewish community records and, with our other hats on, recording cemeteries for our sister site, www.cemeteryscribes.com So, mostly, we refer such queries to organisations and individuals more dedicated to this kind of work. However, we couldn’t resist a cri-de-coeur from a researcher concerning an unidentified Ketuba, passed to him by his grandmother.

A Ketuba (marriage Contract) is handed to the Bride during the Marriage Ceremony and would remain in her possession throughout her lifetime and be passed to her children on her decease and, thus, remain rather private documents

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=187&letter=K#552 http://www.galleryjudaica.com/articles/TradText.html
The Ketuba in question was quite plain and, fortunately, the personal details were easy to decipher. As was to be expected, there were no English Family names on the document and the Hebrew patronymics, Moshe b. Meir and Hannah bat Uri (Aryeh), meant nothing to our correspondent. That is until he looked at the dates on some civil marriage certificates that had, quite fortuitously, arrived by post that very day and, suddenly, the light dawned; the Ketuba belonged to his Great Great Grandmother’s sister, Hannah Emanuel, who married Morris Myers on 17 February 1864.

The matter might have rested there but, in writing to thank us, our correspondent gave us some details of the parents of the Hannah Myers (nee Emanuel), whose Ketuba we had translated, and her sister Sarah, his own Great Great grandmother. They were Philip Emanuel and Abigail Simmons: two names which chimed with some records we had recently been studying.
The couple had married at the Great Synagogue on 1^st September 1841 http://www.synagoguescribes.com/persondetails.php?value=5363
Abigail’s antecedents, Levy Simmon(d)s and Sarah Cohen http://www.synagoguescribes.com/persondetails.php?value=2792 had been relatively easy to trace. Philip, however, had proved impossibly elusive. And elusive he remains. But something our correspondent spotted concerning the father’s name on Philip’s civil marriage certificate, sent us scurrying back to our SynagogueScribes database [www.SynagogueScribes.com] and over the next week or two we will see if this new line of enquiry leads us out of this genealogical maze, or if we continue to go round in circles, following one false trail after another.

ALS 6 September 2010

Gloucester Old Jewish Burial Ground

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:18:00 +0000

The old Jewish Cemetery in Organ’s Passage Gloucester was finally cleared in 1938 when the land was transferred to Gloucester Council for use as a children’s recreation ground, and the remains transferred to the separate section in the new Gloucester Corporation Cemetery at Colney Hill

The first burial in the Organ’s Passage ground took place in 1784 http://www.cemeteryscribes.com/getperson.php?personID=I11616&tree=Cemeteries and the last, some 100 years later in 1886
http://www.cemeteryscribes.com/getperson.php?personID=I11647&tree=Cemeteries

In the early part of this period, Gloucester was still a busy port, but the difficulties of navigating the shallow tidal stretch of the River Severn approaching the city appears to have acted as a deterrent to foreign-going vessels, which possibly explains why the Gloucester Community, which drew its members from quite a wide area and included the long established Levy family of Ross on Wye http://www.cemeteryscribes.com/getperson.php?personID=I11632&tree=Cemeteries
and the Myer family of Hereford, never grew to match those in other ports around the country, such as Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Southampton.

However, although small, the community was surprisingly well documented; see
http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/provincialjewry/exeteripsw.htm
And, if you can get hold of a copy, Father Brian Torode’s comprehensive study “The Hebrew Community of Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud. © 1989 © 1999 Revised. offers a wealth of useful information. As does Marcus Roberts Jtrails http://www.jtrails.org.uk/trails/cheltenham/places-of-interest

Our comprehensive list of burials, drawn from several sources includes a further 5, not listed in Roth’s “Rise of Provincial Jewry”

It is not our normal practice to list burials without accompanying photographs but, since this is a “lost Cemetery” we felt it right to include these records and we hope, where possible, to provide photographs at some future date.

An Englishman in New York - a success story

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000

The SynagogueScribes and CemeteryScribes websites were born out of our personal interest in Anglo-Jewish genealogy.   We put our work out there on the Web in the hope that others will find it useful. But forget about altruism: we do it because we love it! And, of course, we are always delighted when we hear of success stories from researchers who have used the sites or, as in a recent case, when we were able to help a recent poster to one of the specialised forums, who did not know of our work,and had hit a seemingly inpenetrable brick wall.

The poster’s 3^rd great-grandfather, Aaron Samuel, had evidently left London with his family for the United States around 1857 and, from there, she had successfully traced them until their deaths. On the UK side, she had located him, with wife, children and a named brother-in-law, Elisha Gottheil, in the 1851 Census, and with his father and sibs in the 1841 census. And that was it. No civil marriage had been found, and of course, Aaron’s birth in circa 1823 would have pre-dated the advent of mandatory civil registration in the UK.

Like her, we were unable to locate a civil marriage.   Nor did we find one on the SynagogueScribes website

Basic Search

Family Name = SAMUEL (or SAMUELS)

First Name = Aaron

Result = 0

But basic search identified an almost certain marriage for Aaron Samuel’s father, Lazarus.

Family Name = SAMUEL

First Name = Lazarus

Result = 2, of which one was for 1837 so much too late for him to be a father of Aaron born c 1824

http://www.synagoguescribes.com/persondetails.php?value=2554

Shows that Lazarus SAMUEL (Eliezer Lezer b. Moshe Jacob Aph\Akl\Aachen) married

Saratse NATHAN (Sarah bat Meir Fishman) at the Great Synagogue London on 28 June 1815.

Assuming this is the correct marriage – and it seems safe to do so – we now have a name for Aaron Samuel’s grand father (Moshe Jacob) and the full name for his mother Saratse NATHAN

To see if we could find out more about Saratse’s family, we went to Advanced Search\Keyword and entered the word “Fishman”. This produced 16 results, of which 3 had the family name of NATHAN.   We immediately ruled out the 1812 burial record for Elizabeth as she was a daughter of Solomon Fishman, whereas we were looking for a Meir Fishman. That left Saratse’s marriage and one for an evident brother Simon http://www.synagoguescribes.com/persondetails.php?value=2053 Finding a sib, particularly a male sib, is always helpful as their records, both Community and Civil my contain additional information.

The lack of a civil or community marriage record for Aaron continues to create questions over the true identity of his wife, but this should be overcome if the poster orders civil birth certificates for one or more of their children.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Familyhistoryandresearch/Birthmarriageanddeathcertificates/DG_175628

In the meantime, we thought it might be helpful to find out more about the 1851 Elisha GOTTSEL Brother In Law Married M 30 1821 Shoemaker b. Germany so we conducted a further search in the SynagogueScribes database as follows.

Because of the uncertainty of the exact spelling of both his Family and First Name

We entered three letters only in each field

Family Name = GOT

First Name = ELI

This produced one result which can be found at http://www.synagoguescribes.com/persondetails.php?value=6622

From this we learn his wife’s family name and patronymic and, more importantly Elisha’s father’s Hebrew Name: Issachar Berel. If Elisha is Phoebe Samuel’s brother, then that would indicate that she was nee GOTTSEL\GOTTSHEIL\variant spellings and that she, too, would have been bat Issachar Berel.

Another serious possibility arises, however that must be considered.

It may have been that Elisha GOTTSEL’s wife, Anne nee LEVY, was a sister of Phoebe SAMUEL. Phoebe is shown on her tombstone as having been born in London and again on the 1851 census as being born in Whitechapel, whereas Elisha GOTTSEL who is only two years older than her, was born in Germany, so the jury is still out on this one and the Poster still has much work to do.

Harold Lewin ( Birth Records of the Great & Hambro Synagogues London, Second Edition. Harold & Miriam Lewin 2009. ISBN 978-965-91261-0-1) records the birth of their daughter Rose GOTTHEIL (Rahel bat Elia) on 18 July 1850.

The Poster might wish to obtain the will of Elias Gottheil, died 1899 to see what, if any mention is made of additional family members and also his Naturalisation Papers which can be ordered and downloaded online

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=-2201034&CATLN=7&Highlight=%2CGOTTHEIL&accessmethod=0

We do not normally conduct research enquires but, since the Poster did not live in the UK and was, apparently, unaware of our websites, we were more than happy to introduce her to them and show her how she might use them to help with her research. Our work in this respect was far from exhaustive and by some judicious use of the Advanced Search and Keyword options, she may find more of her ancestors therein.   She kindly provided us with a photograph of Aaron Samuel’s tombstone in Washington cemetery in New York and this can be found here.

…………………………….

Our records are regularly updated: further BANCROFT ROAD\MAIDEN LANE burials are in the pipe line on www.cemeteryscribes.com

Hildesheimer & Co

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:20:00 +0000

The German born Hildesheimer brothers along with the Tuck family [http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/raphaeltuck.html] were at the forefront of the fast expanding trade in Greetings Cards in Victorian England.

Siegmund Hildesheimer was born in 1832 in Hallberstadt Germany and settled in Manchester in the mid 1870’s. The 1881 census lists his occupation as Picture Importer, although, according to trade directories, he sold gilt mouldings, published oleographs, chromos and Christmas cards. He went on to trade from London, initially producing advertising cards and then postcards on a variety of subjects, but was best known for Christmas cards. Siegmund specialised in silvered, frosted and embossed cards which were printed in France or Germany, as well as more localised printers. http://www.scrapalbum.com/xmasp10.htm

The London Gazette shows the various changes to the company that took place over the years as well as those of Siegmund’s brother Albert’s partnership with William Faulkner http://www.scrapalbum.com/xmasp10a.htm

Much off the subject matter in these cards is, perhaps, rather “sugary” and sentimental for today’s tastes, but the standard of artistry and reproduction is remarkably high and they can be an interesting barometer of the times: Siegmund Hildesheimer, for example, is said to have been among the first to depict black personages, presumably for the American market.

Great Synagogue Burials added to SynagogueScribes.com !

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:26:00 +0000

We have just added over 3,500 Great Synagogue burial records (BSGSBUR) to our sister site www.SynagogueScribes.com . These have been compiled from transcripts left by the late Rabbi Dr. Bernard Susser, with additional material by the SynagogueScribes team and cover burials from 1791 to 1823 & 1832

Partial text versions of Dr. Susser’s originals can be seen on Frank Gent's website and we are indebted to Frank for allowing us to use this material and for the many hours of additional work he did in editing and updating these very incomplete transcripts. [Please support Frank's latest fund raiser for Cavernoma Alliance UK]

As with many of these early registers, a large percentage of the entries contains no English family or first names. Where possible, we have made positive identifications or suggested lines for further research but we appreciate the difficulties some of you may have with these records and, over the coming weeks, we hope to offer you some step-by-step guides to help you use the two “Scribes” databases more effectively.

How to Search SynagogueScribes - using Basic Search

Searching SynagogueScribes.com - Basic Search

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:25:00 +0000

First in the series of our step-by-step guides to searching SynagogueScribes and getting the best results.

Example 1: Finding a Burial Record for Sarah Nathan CemeteryScribes ref I970

In SynagogueScribes, using basic search which is the search present on every page of the site. The results will cover all the sources, births, circumcisions, marriages, burials.

Enter Family Name = NATHAN           First Name = Sarah

Produces 15 results, of which the last BSGSBUR32 102 is a match.

Note the very slight discrepancy between the dates, probably due to variations on whether these refer to the date of death or the date of burial, and occasional imperfections in the calculations between the Hebrew and the English date.

Example 2.

Looking for a Synagogue marriage for Simon Magnus [1851 6, New Street, Saint Botolph Without Bishopsgate RG number: HO107 Piece:1524 Folio: 670 Page: 7] with wife Julia and Father Nathan.

In SynagogueScribes Using basic search

Enter Family Name = MAGNUS                 First Name = Simon

Produces one result GSM 222/15.   But this cannot be the correct marriage. Why? Because, apart from the fact that this groom’s bride is Sarah, the father in this record is Eliezer.

But don’t give up yet. Why not try an alternative spelling for either Family or first name.

In SynagogueScribes (www.SynagogueScribes.com) Using basic search:

Enter Family Name = MAGNUS           First Name = Simeon

Produces one result, GSM 299/60, where the bride’s name is Julia and, most importantly, the groom’s father is Nathan

Over the coming weeks, we will look at more complex searches.   Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy using both our databases and that they help advance your family history.

Willesden Cemetery; Art, Music and Literature

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:08:00 +0000

Willesden Cemetery , consecrated in 1873, acts as a bridge between the intimacy of the old, historic London Ashkenazi Burial Grounds – Aldernery Road, Brady Street and Lauriston Road – enclosed within high brick walls, their modest, fading stones haphazardly set in grassy plots under shady trees, and the vast modern and largely treeless, grounds, such as Bushey, with their handsome marble and granite memorials, stretching in regimented lines as far as the eye can see. Willesden, with its marked paths and copious vegetation, takes the best of both: a place for solemn, spiritual contemplation , of course, but also as a tangible record of the part played by our forebears in every aspect of English life in the late 19th and early 20th century .

We have only just skimmed the surface of Todd Knowles generous contribution of photographs, but we have already recorded half a dozen founders of major national institutions; banks, commercial enterprises, etc. Numerous young men, from both old Jewish families and new immigrants, who laid down their lives for their country in two world wars. And a cross section of those who achieved fame, both at home and abroad, in all fields of literature and the arts. Notable among these are:

The artist Solomon J SOLOMON R.A. P.R.B.A http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/paint/solomons.htm

The singer Henry Morris IMANO http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/I-J/ImanoHenry.htm

Henry Imano’s mother-in-law, Eliza Davis, who corresponded with Charles Dickens, taking him to task for his characterisation of Jews as represented by villainous Fagin in Oliver Twist

http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/charlesdickens.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/dickens-greatest-villain-the-faces-of-fagin-509906.html

Ellen Zangwill, mother of the writer and Israel Zangwill whose book “Children of the Ghetto” remains the outstanding chronicle of the Jewish East End is still in print today. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/zangwill.html

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/histories/jewish/settling/zangwill_1.htm

Wolverhampton Old Jewish Burial Ground (Cockshutts Lane)

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:15:00 +0000

We were recently contacted by Alan Isaacs who asked whether we would like copies of some photos taken at Wolverhampton Jewish Cemetery. Our readers will know that the answer was a resounding "Yes please!"

Alan, whose interests lie in electronics, has a virtual Radio Museum and also provides genealogy research services to some of his customers, kindly sent us the photos which we have now been able to add to CemeteryScribes.

According to an article originally published in the local Wolverhampton paper and repeated in the Jewish Chronicle, the first Jewish person to settle in Wolverhampton was a Mr Harris, who arrived there in 1833, and the first to die was a Mr Aaron. As a result of Mr Aaron's death the Duke of Cleveland presented the Jewish Community with a piece of ground in Green Lanes in 1851.

So far we have been unable to conclusively establish the identity of Mr Aaron, but it is likely that he was a member of this family

In 1860 the papers reported on the trial of a couple of grave robbers. Apparently, they had disturbed the grave of Rhoda Wolf, who died on 19 Aug 1858 and was buried 4 days later. There is no record in the death registers of a Rhoda Wolf dying in Wolverhampton but there is, however, a Rose Wolfe who we think was very probably the same individual.

The Wolverhampton entries can be found here.

33 Jewish Charities in London - 1850

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:35:00 +0000

According to "The charities of London. Comprehending the benevolent, educational, and religious institutions. Their origin and design, progress, and present position (1850)", there were 33 specifically Jewish charities in London at the time of its publication.

Each charity is listed with the address, date of establishment and their presidents, treasurers and other officers.

For example this entry for the Jews’ Hospital in Mile End.

JEWS' HOSPITAL. Mile End. Founded 1807.

Affords both an asylum for age; and a place of refuge for youth where they are taught the modes of procuring a regular maintenance by the acquirement of trades, in order to become good and useful members of society. The present number of inmates comprise 12 aged persons, 55 boys and 20 girls; the total number who have been received in the house, 463.

Founded by the exertions of the late Messrs. Abraham and Benjamin Goldsmid, who, about 1799, commenced collecting donations from their friends for the purpose, of which not one was above £400, and but one under £50; and, upon February 17, 1806, having accumulated to £20,000, it was applied to the foundation. The hospital was purchased for £3,300, and has subsequently been considerably enlarged ; the amount of present funded property, is £48,143.

President, F. H. Goldsmid, Esq.

Treasurers: Aaron Joseph, Esq.; Lawrence Myers, Esq.

Physician, Dr. Southwood Smith.

Surgeon, Thos. Blizard Curling, Esq.

Apothecary, Mr. Joseph Kisch.

Solicitor, Mr. Sampson Samuel.

Superintendent and Sub-Secretary, Mr. Samuel Howe.

House-Steward and Matron, Mr. and Mrs. Myers.

Governess, Miss Hanbury.

Bankers, London and Westminster Bank.

Secretary, Mr. Samuel Solomon, 5, Hounsditch.

Others listed are;

HAND-IN-HAND CHARITABLE INSTITUTION Asylum, St. James's-place, Aldgate. Established 1840.

WESTERN JEWISH PHILANTHROPIC and Pension Society, 4, Manor-street, Chelsea. Established 1827.

JEWISH LADIES' BENEVOLENT LOAN AND Visiting Society, 31, Nottingham-place, Whitechapel-road. Established 1844.

INSTITUTION FOR THE RELIEF OF THE INDIGENT BLIND, of the Jewish Persuasion, Bevis-marks. Established 1819.

PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY, for Relieving Distressed Widows and Families of the Jewish Persuasion, 5, Hounsditch. Established 1825.

Jews’ Orphan Asylum, 69 Leman Street Goodman’s Fields. Established 1831.

Gates of Hope and other Charity Schools, 11 Bevis Marks,

The National school, founded 1664 called Sheare Ticksa in Hebrew, or Gates of Hope, situate on the synagogue premises in Heneage Lane Bevis Marks, An upper

National and Infant School or Path of Trust, situate also on these premises, which admits children from the age of 2 years, both boys and girls.

Secretary: Mrs S. Almonsino

The Orphan School, situate on the synagogue premises, founded in 1703.

Jews Free School Bell-lane, Spitalfields. Instituted 1817.

WESTERN JEWISH GIRLS' FREE SCHOOL, 20, Dean-street, Soho. Instituted 1846.

WESTERN JEWISH FREE SCHOOL for Boys, 59A, Greek-street, Soho,

WEST METROPOLITAN JEWISH SCHOOL. Boys' school, 256, High Holborn ; opened 1845 ;

Society for Helping the Fallen ;

For Relieving the Poor in Confined Mourning ;

Of Independent Friends ;

For Distributing Bread and Coals ;.

For Distributing Bread, Meat, and Coals, during the Winter ;.

For Distributing Five Shillings per Week during the Winter;

For Relieving Distressed Persons (Holborn);.

For Clothing Poor Jewish Boys ;

For Clothing and Apprenticing Boys ;

Asylum for Aged and Infirm Widows ;

Widows Pension Society ;

Widows' Friendly Society ;

Ladies' Charity, Burton-crescent ;

Ladies' Benevolent Association for Clothing Female Children ;

Society for Cheering the Needy at Festivals;

For Allowing Weekly Stipend to the Needy;

Lying-in Charity for Indigent Women;

Society for Relieving the Indigent Poor in the Holy Land ;

The Knowles Collection

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:06:00 +0000

Most people researching Jewish families in the UK will have heard of the Knowles Collection: if you haven't, we recommend you visit the familysearch website without further delay. The collection is based on the pioneering work of the late Isobel Mordy, lodged at the Society of Genealogists in London, and Todd Knowles' additional research.

Todd, the great great grandson of Morris David Rosenbaum, explains his interest in British Jewry in his recently launched Blog, 'The Knowles Collection', which includes some detailed research on individual families. One recent blog tells the story of Todd's research into the Glucksteins and J. Lyons and Co. Another introduces a new way to search the 60,000 individuals in his collection: see Family Search Community Trees here; and for more information on all the current collections to be found on the Community Trees click Here They include:

•   British Isles: Peerage, Gentry and Colonial American Connections
•   England: Residence of London extracted from Boyd's "Citizen's of London"
•   England: Norfolk Visitations, 1563
•   Scotland: Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae
•   Wales: Medieval Records Primarily of Nobility and Gentry
•   And many more collections from across the globe

And, if all that is not exciting enough, Todd contacted us a while ago and kindly offered to send us numerous photos of Wilesden Cemetery. Soon CemeteryScribes will have its own mini Knowles (Photo) Collection!

Bath Jewish Burial Ground - Restoration

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:44:00 +0000

A recent article in the Jewish Chronicle reports that the first stage of the £50,000 restoration work at the old Jewish Burial Ground at Combe Down had been completed. For more information go to the Jewish Chronicle article here

CemeteryScribes has 26 tombstone photos taken at the Bath cemetery along with inscriptions for each of these individuals there are also mini family trees. Family names include: Jacobs, Jacobson, Keseff, Leon, Rees, Sigmond, Simmons, Sloman and Somers.

Click here to see further information.

Balls Pond Road Jewish Cemetery now complete!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:04:00 +0000

We have added over 500 photos to CemeteryScribes.com taken at this cemetery. Each entry includes the tombstone photo, inscriptions and in most cases the immediate families of those buried there.

Balls Pond was opened in the early 1840's and is owned by West London Synagogue. It was described by Mrs Basil Holmes in ‘London Burial Grounds’ 1896, Fisher-Unwin as being neatly kept and full of very large tombstones

Of course not all the tombstones are still there or if they are they are not all legible. In many cases the names of the individuals have gone leaving only the marks made by the lettering, something of a 'dot-to-dot' puzzle to be able to read them. If you do not find the details of individuals you are looking for we recommend http://www.apex.net.au/~tmj/balls-pond/ which includes information taken from burial records.

You can browse through each entry here or use the search on the home page here

Bancroft Road Jewish Cemetery - Restoration Update!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:44:00 +0000

The good news keeps coming!

Today we received confirmation from Leonard Shear that the restoration work is definitely being undertaken by the United Synagogue Burial Society.

They will be levelling the ground, clearing all the rubbish, turfing the areas that need it, planting bushes and pruning the trees. All of this is ongoing and seasonal.

Then, once all this has been completed, the U.S. will collate the burials and photograph the tombstones.

As Leonard so aptly says "all of this work will take time but most importantly a start has been made".

We will continue to keep our readers informed of the restoration work and its progress. While the photo here shows the current state of the cemetery we are so looking forward to being able to bring you the 'before' and 'after' shots!

Bancroft Road (Maiden Lane) Jewish Cemetery - Restoration Project

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:58:00 +0000

**** The list has been updated and a further 40 names added, see here :
http://cemeteryscribes.com/blog/?p=499
****
In Sept 2008 we received this email:

"I am delighted to see this website. About 30 minutes ago I was walking the streets of Bethnal Green, and to my horror I came across a Jewish cemetery which was in a bad state of disrepair. I took photos and as soon as I got home I emailed the Jewish Chronicle, now after a bit of research I realise it Bancroft Cemetery and I know it was bombed during the war and so was not necessarily vandalised. I am greatly encouraged by this project to see our heritage is preserved. Thanks for giving me a bit of hope. Susie Clapham"

We replied, drawing Susie’s attention to JEECS (Jewish East End Celebration Society) who have been interested in trying to provide assistance in restoring the grounds for some time.
Since then Susie has instigated an article in the JC (Oct 2008) highlighting the state of Bancroft Cemetery, joined JEECS and become a committee member along with helping to drive forward the restoration of Bancroft Cemetery.

There have been numerous articles and please for something to be done over the years so you can imagine our delight at hearing this week that plans are in motion, talks have taken place, and some agreement reached!
The first task will be to tidy the area, turn fallen stones, and turf the grounds. Following this, pieces of shattered tombstone will be collected and incorporated into a permanent memorial to commemorate every individual buried at Bancroft and whose tombstones have long since gone or been destroyed. Of course creating such a worthwhile memorial will require additional funding. We understand that an appeal is being set up and will bring you more details of this when we can.

With this in mind, Susie contacted us for help in finding the names of all those who were buried there, or at least as many as possible, an especially difficult task as the records were destroyed years ago.
Below is a list of those we have found so far, but do you know more? Were your ancestors buried there? Do you have any old photos showing the cemetery?

Please leave a reply below with details of anyone you know was buried at Bancroft (Maiden Lane) Jewish Cemetery or the 'contact us'.

Abraham SOLOMON died 1^st Sep 1811?
Abigail MOSES wife of Philip Moses of Swallow St, died 1814
Leah daughter of Phineas wife of Moses b Hayim died 1814
Michael LEVY of Borough Road, died 1815
Isaac ISAAC (Isaac b Hayim) of East St Marylebone died 1817
Samuel LAZARUS aged 68 died 1817
Moses HYAMS aged 54 died 1818
Emanuel ABRAHAM died 1823
Michael SIMONS died 1824
Maria HARRIS wife of Ephraim died 1824
Moses b Abraham Mordecai died 1824
Michael SIMONS 1824
Mirlah wife of Simon EMANUEL aged 64, died 1829
Jacob died 1830/1
Wolf PISER (Benjamin Zeib) son of Rabbi Nathan of Copenhagen died 1837
Ephraim HARRIS late of Marylebone lane, 1840
Simon EMANUEL of Marylebone Lane Simon b Menahem aged 82 died 1840
Isaac LEVY of Flemings Row aged 45 died 1844
Joseph LEVY of the Poultry died 1846
Samuel ISAACS died 1846?
Emanuel JACOBS died 1854
Alkia? wife of Mr [Mor...] Reuben .... died Sun 24 Sivan buried [Wed] 27 5619 (died 26/6/1859).
Abraham COLLIS died 1860
Hannah LEVY (wife of Aaron) died 1/11/1865
Hannah (Anna) BRAHAM (Mrs) died 28/10/1867
Kenandel b Jacob died 10/12/1866
Israel b Nathan died 4/9/1869
Louis KYEZOR buried 14/10/1869 [added 13/12/09 - H. Pollins, see source list below *]
Rev’d David JOSEPH died 11/8/1871
Dinah ANSELL (Mrs) stone setting 27/12/1874
Juliet ABRAHAMS of Holloway Road, 1875
Lewis HARRIS died 9/4/1877
Lewis SOLOMON stone setting 18/8/1878
Hyman Jonas MORELL died 20/8/1879
Caroline EMANUEL (wife of Simeon) died 15/12/1879
Hannah HART (wife of Aaron) died 4/3/1880
Juliet & Fanny MARKS, stone setting 27/2/1881
Joseph MURRAY died 5/5/1881
James JACOBS died 18/9/1881
Elizabeth MARKS (wife of Charles) died 2/11/1881
Hyam (or Hyman) AARONSON of 188 Kings Road, Chelsea died 17/3/1882 [added - H. Pollins] stone setting 18/2/1883
Alexander JACOBS died 1/3/1883
David DAVIES of 10 Green St, Leicester Square, stone setting 8/4/1883 [added 13/12/09 - H.Pollins]
Joseph COLLISS died 17/11/1883
Israel ABRAHAMS age 61, died ~~15/8/1885~~ 15/8/1884 (fire) [corrected 13/12/09 - H. Pollins]
Julia MARKS (Mrs) 86yrs (Israel ABRAHAMS’ wife’s mother), died ~~15/8/1885~~ 15/8/1884 (fire) [corrected 13/12/09 - H. Pollins]
Mark ABRAHAMS age 32yrs died ~~15/8/1885~~ 15/8/1884 (fire) [corrected 13/12/09 - H. Pollins]
Lily ABRAHAMS age 19 yrs died 1~~5/8/1885~~ 15/8/1884 (fire) [corrected 13/12/09 - H. Pollins]
Simeon EMANUEL of 22 Store Street, died 27/11/1885
John JACOBS died 30/12/1885
Ann (Nancy) COLLINS of 44 Lower Marsh, Lamberth stone setting 11/7/1886
Leah LEVY (wife of Morris) of 81 Drury Lane, stone setting 15/8/1886
Mark COLLINS of 28 Broad Street, Bloomsbury stone setting 29/8/1886, died 7/5/1886 [14/12/09 date of death added - H. Pollins]
Lydia COLLINS (wife of Mark) died Jul 1887
Caroline SIMONS (wife of Moses) died 1/9/1888
Philip JACOBS died 14/3/1889
Charles SOLOMON, musical composer, stone setting 27/7/1890, died 16/5/1890 [14/12/09 date of death added - H. Pollins]
Bernard WINKEL, Shamas of Maiden Lane Synagogue, stone setting 27/7/1890
Ernest LAZARECK, died 22/9/1890, stone setting 27/9/1891 [added H. Pollins]
Phoebe EMANUEL died 1892
Maximilian GONZAWA died 28/5/1892
Michael GABRIEL died 1894
Charlotte MORELL (nee MOSSEL) died 26/1/1894
Samuel (Unknown) died 23 Jan 1895
Julia ABRAHAMS (wife of Moss) died 1895
Hannah JACOBS died 21/2/1895
(unknown) JOSEPH died 1898
James S. LYON, theatrical upholsterer of High Holborn died ~~7/1/1898~~ 31/12/1897 [amended - H. Pollins], Buried 2/1/1898 [added - H. Pollins] in a reserved grave next to his wife. Stone setting 11/9/1898 [added - H. Pollins].
Keila widow of ... bar Moshe .. Fri 26 Adar 5655. (22/3/1895)
Robert LYON (brother of James S. Lyon) died 11/9/1898
Moise MOCH of 18 Southampton Row aged 70, stone setting 14/2/1902
Philip PHILLIPS died 18th January 1918 in 91st yr as Minister Maiden Lane /Western Synagogues [added 14/12/09 - E. Samuel]
Abraham ben Isaac … [died] Sun [7] .. Elul? [buried] Mon 9 560[6]
Beila bat ... died [Wed / Thur] 6 Tishri 563[?] ...
Martha ABRAHAM?
Rosetta (Unknown)
Levi b Jacob HaLevi aged 67
David LEVY
Dinah LYON
Daughter of Rev Jacob MOSES late of Birmingham

Sources:
CemeteryScribes
Jewish Chronicle
The Western Synagogue through two centuries 1761 - 1961 Arthur Barnett
* Pollins, Harold; Rosewarne, Vic. Louis Kyezor : 'the King of Whitton', c.1796-1869 (Borough of Twickenham Local History Society paper, 82). Twickenham: Borough of Twickenham Local History Society, 2002. 44 p. ISBN 0903341751.
See here for our previous blog on Bancroft Cemetery.

Research outside UK & GenAmi

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:47:00 +0000

As our ancestors travelled and moved from one country to another before arriving in the UK we often need to obtain information from records held in other countries and sometimes we receive photos from cemeteries outside of the UK. Regular visitors to CemeteryScribes will have noticed that we recently added headstone photos from the small Jewish Cemetery in Landstuhl, Germany. We also have photos from Hong Kong Jewish Cemetery and will be adding, in the near future, headstone photos and plaques from Singapore Jewish Cemetery.

One website we always visit when needing help outside the UK is GenAmi, the Association of Jewish Genealogy. With their Head Office in Paris, France, associate members across Europe and beyond, they generally come up trumps.

Micheline Gutmann, GenAmi's president, explains their sole objective as being to help members know their ancestors and understand their history.

Their website is overflowing with information, articles, details of what's new, recent research trips, family trees, records, quarterly reviews and in addition to all this, their Forum where members can ask for help and help each other. There are over 9,000 posts, which gives an idea of how well used it is.

To keep on track with our Cemetery theme, GenAmi have also researched several parts of the Montparnasse Cemetery (Jewish Section) with details of burials in Divisions 5, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 available to members. A fascinating resource, where I have been lucky enough to find several of my own families' burial details. These records include the date of death, birth, place of birth, spouse, plot details and when the plot was purchased.

While GenAmi do require a very small annual membership fee (30e) they also provide information to non-members see here and the site is available in English or French.

If looking for a nice Hanukah present for the genealogist in your family, membership of this fabulous resource may well be the answer!

Note:
GenAmi have provided information for the following family entries on CemeteryScribes:
TUCK family : ID:19908
LION family ID: I9918
BRUNSWICK family ID: I2957
BING-JACOB Rosine ID: I9919
MEYER Fanny (Jeanetta) (Feigla) ID: I2958
SAMUEL / WEIL family (F1940) ID: I8605
COHEN Abigail
COHEN Adelaide [Lydia b Chaim HaCohen]
COHEN Andrew Asher
COHEN Caroline
COHEN David Hyman
COHEN Elizabeth
COHEN Frances
COHEN Judah Hyman

Announcing our new sister site SynagogueScribes!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:38:00 +0000

The Cemeteryscribes website, www.Cemeteryscribes.com (previously www.Genpals.com Cemetery Project) has now been running for three years and, from the number of hits and the regular flow of comments and contributions we continue to receive, we believe you have found it useful.

We now have over 10,000 individuals on the site and some 3,330 headstone photographs, with many more still to be processed and several new burial grounds still to be catalogued: enough to keep us busy for a few more years! But, to keep us on our toes, and to make better use of some hitherto unpublished, Burial records, we decided to launch a new sister site SynagogueScribes

This one-stop gateway to Anglo-Jewish community records will offer a unique and fully searchable database of London Ashkenazi Synagogue records, with the emphasis on pre UK civil registration, which began on 1st July 1837.

The database already contains the names of over 11,500 marriage partners, drawn from the major London communities, The Great, The New, The Hambro and the Western Synagogues: more than 1,500 Birth Records from the registers of the Great and the New Synagogues: and over 1800 Circumcision Records from two Mohel Registers. And, finally, approx. 600, never previously published, Burial Records dating from 1774 to 1810. These exciting new records, taken from one of two registers held by the University of Southampton Library Archives & MS dept., [Ref MS 116/107 AJ] are still being transcribed and many more will be added over the coming months.

We have already made several links to burials in Brady Street Cemetery. Many of these record the deaths of children and stillborn or miscarried births and, whilst they may not add materially to your research, they may help to explain apparent age gaps between children. The Jewish schoolmaster, Hyman HURWITZ of Highgate, suffered several such losses.

We have sometimes been able to connect a "missing" spouse to their partner. CemeteryScribes I7647 Samuel b. Zachariah was buried in Brady Street 1799-1800. We have not located a grave for his widow but, from the Burial Register, we now know she died some 9 years later [DPL 0563 Burial 1809 [2 Jul] Widow ZACHARIAH) of Samuel ZACHARIAH Samuel (Samuel b. Zachariah) Gun Street Spitalfields.

Our most positive "find" to date is the listing of the 1801 death of R. Feivel b. Abraham Goldsticker. This record not only fixes the date of death for one of the Great Synagogues earliest members (# 247 in Roth's list published in Vol VI of the Miscellanies of the Jewish Historical Society) but it also adds two further generations to the family of CemeteryScribes ID I2603 Avigdor ABRAHAMS, and perpetuates their highly specialised business as Gold Embroiderers. This record is not yet on SynagogueScribes but will be added when we next update the website.

We ought to point out that Synagogue Scribes is a database of transcribed records which are not open to amendment or expansion. And we regret that we do not offer a Message Board facility, nor can we act as a recipient or publisher of Personal Genealogies, Family Trees, etc. We would, however, be delighted to hear from you if you are able to link any of the new burial records to any of the tombstones recorded in Cemeteryscribes.com

The First Jewish Cremation in Britain - 1888

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:36:00 +0000

We have many entries on the CemeteryScribes database for individuals who were famous for their charity and good deeds , their professional and financial achievements, or their contributions to the Arts and Sciences, but this is the story of a person who was famed, not for his life, but for his burial.

Camillo Roth, a Viennese member of the London Stock Exchange, was born in 1846. He took British nationality in either 1868 or 1872; there are two entries for the same name on the National Archives website. Despite being a British Subject, we have found no evidence of a permanent domicile. In the 1871 Census he was lodging, alone, at a small hotel in Conduit Street and, thereafter, he seems to have taken up residence at Hatchetts Hotel in Piccadilly. His collection of paintings included works such as 'Charlotte and Sarah Hardy, the Daughters of Colonel Thomas Carteret Hardy' by Thomas Lawrence 1801, now to be found at The Cleveland Museum of Art. But whether these works of art adorned the walls of his rooms in Hatchetts Hotel, to be enjoyed on a daily basis, or whether they were stored unceremoniously in some dusty Bond Street Gallery cellar, remains a mystery. Like much else about this rather elusive man.

Camillo died at Hatchetts Hotel on 9th April 1888. We have found no mention of any family, either in London or on the Continent, so we may assume that it was his considered, personal and, for the times, highly contentious, choice to be cremated.

The cremation, which took place in Woking, Surrey was reported in the Jewish Chronicle in such detail as to make unpleasant reading; the reporter evidently torn between the twin emotions of disbelief and wonderment. The Crematorium at Woking had been built less than ten years earlier, so the practice was not widely known, but it was probably that this was the first ever cremation of a Jewish person in Britain that led to such morbid interest. Surprisingly, The Jewish Chronicle adopts a very moderate and enlightened tone on the general subject of Cremation, suggesting it would not be contrary to Jewish Law. And the 'Daily News', in its account of the cremation of Mr. Roth, reaches a similar conclusion, citing the fact that Mr. Lazarus of the West London Synagogue was present and Professor Marks conducted a service, as proof of its acceptability.

We can only wonder at the discussions that may have taken place prior to the agreement for the subsequent burial of the ashes at Balls Pond Jewish Cemetery, the first discussion of its type in the UK: would cremation be contrary to Jewish Law; remains artificially disintegrated rather than naturally returning to dust, versus the fact that these remains, or ashes, would be returned to earth as required by the Law.

The Jewish Chronicle reports that the Executive were guided by the Ministers regarding the interment when granting the application. The length of time between Mr. Roth's death on the 9th Oct, and the burial of his ashes some 5 days later, suggests the Ministers did not rush into a decision.

Mr. Camillo Roth was buried at Balls Pond. His tombstone holds no clues as to the turmoil that his choice of burial must have caused amongst the community, nor the notoriety that followed it. There is no mention in the inscription and any visitor passing by it would never know.

Tales from ChathamJewish Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:32:00 +0000

There would appear to have been a couple of unusual burials at Chatham and, in one case, perhaps no burial at all.

In the middle of Jun 1786 Mr Levi Israel a silversmith in Chatham, and lease holder of the Synagogue, received a parcel sent to him from London. The parcel contained a small coffin with the body of a young male child aged between 7 to 10 days. The letter enclosed with the parcel asked that Mr Israel bury the child.

Sadly the Times article of Jun 26 1786 doesn't record the name on the letter and therefore there is no indication as to who the child's parents were, but we can imagine that they were from Chatham and perhaps travelling to London.

The article does however confirm that the baby was buried in Chatham cemetery by Mr Israel in the presence of a Constable.

According to records held by Medway City Ark, Levi Israel died between 1794 and 1808 and therefore would not have been alive at the time of the Abraham Abrahams affair. Had he been, I wonder if the decision would have been the same?"

It is said that, following his execution in August 1819, Abraham Abrahams was buried at Chatham cemetery. In the transcriptions of the legible tombstones at Chatham there was one Abraham Abrahams buried in 1800 aged 60 years, so obviously not the same person.

A search of the Times for 1819 brought up one quite detailed account of the execution of Abraham Abrahams. He, along with others, including Judah and Joseph Solomons were indicted as accessories before the fact in a burglary at Sheerness on 30th Jan. They were all being held at New-Gaol, Maidstone when the sentences for Judah and Joseph were commuted to transportation (transported 8th Oct on the Prince Regent). The sentence was reported as being the result of the evidence of the principal witness, Abraham Buckee, and 'corroborated by a long chain of 'circumstantial evidence'. Buckee, who turned King's evidence, received the Royal Pardon for his part in the burglary.

Joseph Solomons was Abraham Abrahams father-in-law and had brought him up from a child. He was allowed to meet with Abrahams at 6am on the morning of his execution but refusal was given for a minyan to meet and pray with the condemned man the previous night.

When Abraham's body was released it was placed in a coffin, with the intention of it being taken to Chatham for burial the same day. However, a letter was received from Dr Hyam of Chatham, stating that the body should be taken to Sheerness and not to Chatham. The hearse and attendants seem to have ignored this and made their way to Chatham but were refused entry on arrival. The result being that the coffin was eventually conveyed by water to Sheerness and interred there the next day.

The story of the trial and execution of Abraham Abrahams has been extensively covered in the book by Jeremy I. Pfeffer "From one End of the Earth to the other: The London Bet Din 1805-1855 and the Jewish Convicts transported to Australia: Sussex Academic Press.

GenPals Cemetery Project has new name and Site!

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:53:00 +0000

Great News!

We decided a while ago that with the success of the project our use of a spare domain name that we had available was not good enough and we have now created a brand new name and site for the Cemetery Project www.cemeteryscribes.com

And to go with our new site there's a new blog found at http://cemeteryscribes.com/blog/ :

Recent additions include some photos, inscriptions and mini family trees from Bath Jewish Burial Ground, additions to Balls Pond Cemetery, West Ham Cemetery, Willesden Cemetery and coming soon Plashet Cemetery (section A).

Hope you all like our new site!

Stonemasons and Monumental Masons

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:53:00 +0000

A recent message on one of the forums reminded that for, some time, I had been mulling over a piece about Stonemasons. Who and where were they? What were the particular skills of their craft? Was this a trade (or craft) that was handed down from father to son, or could any likely lad become apprenticed?

It is believed that the early stones were carved by local, non-Jewish, stone masons and that the bereaved family would visit the mason, look round his work and select something that most closely matched their needs. Certainly it’s fair to say that there are symbols that are used both on Jewish headstones as well as Christian ones, and similar themes, in particular those representing a young life lost with broken columns, cut flowers, cut branches etc.

I wonder how they managed with the Hebrew inscriptions and whether that would explain some of the anomalies that crop up from time to time? Did the deceased’s family write out the Hebrew for the stone mason to try and copy?

It seems more likely that it would have been the responsibility of a Synagogue functionary since, according to the Laws of the Congregation of the Hambro Synagogue published in 1844, the Rabbi of the Burial Society would check all inscriptions, before they were engraved, to ensure that the wording was correct and proper. In the event that he allowed a stone or tomb to be set that contained an error, he would apparently have been liable to pay for any alterations or corrections; a powerful incentive to get it right!

It would clearly be extremely difficult to trace these early masons but slightly simpler to find out about more recent practitioners

We have on site the details of James Samuel founder of J. Samuel and Son monumental masons who lived at Jews Burial Ground, Stepney according to the 1841 and 1851 census.

In 1873 J. Samuel and Son advertise as Monumental Masons and undertakers at 147 Sidney Street, Mile End. Established over fifty years (so before 1823) and providing headstones, tombs and monuments for all cemeteries, in stone, Aberdeen granite and marble, with the 'imperishable lead letters'. Although I doubt any one came back to complain I think its fair to say that the lead letters were not entirely imperishable.

Other's I have found are:

Barnett LEVY stonemason of Princes Street Coverleys Fields who had Sun insurance in Feb 1815.

In 1858 the partnership of John Lyons undertaker of 1 Alie Street, Goodman's Fields and Philip Levy, sexton and stonemason at Wellington Road Forest Lane was dissolved.

1861 the bankruptcy of Levi Lee 1 Carlton Road, Kentish Town.

1873 Barnett Levy monumental mason of 10 Sion Square advertises alongside J. Samuel and son in the Jewish Chronicle. A year later in 1874 there is E. Harris & Co at 1a Braumont Street, Mile end. E. Harris is advertising immediately below J. Samuel and son and includes in their advert "18 years at Messrs J. Samuel and Son"

In 1875 there is a change, E. Harris is now Harris and Barnett monumental masons. Their advert includes the "18 years with J. Samuel and Son".

1879 and John W Legge, sculptor of Aberdeen, advertises monuments and tomb furnishings, 'best quality from £5'.

By 1883 there are three London stone masons advertising. A. Van Praagh of Leman Street, Whitechapel along with J. Samuel and son, and Harris and Barnett monumental masons. All three saying that they provide designs on application.

1894 Directory has B. S. Polack of Bow E, Lincoln House, Lincoln Street, with his works at Gough Road, Stratford, adjoining the Jewish Cemetery: A. Van Praagh of 14 St Mark Street and works at Baron Sclater Street.: Harris and Son (rather than Harris and Barnett) at 1 Beaumont Street: and J Samuel and son at 147 Sydney Street.

Most of the above firms are clearly Jewish, but were the Masons employed to do the actual carving also Jewish?

This is very much a work in progress and it would be greatly appreciated if any of you out there who have further knowledge of London Stonemasons and their history would make contact.

Sources: London Gazette, Sun Fire Insurance, Jewish Chronicle, Directory of Jewish tradesmen 1894.

The fascinating story of Abraham Isaac, died 1733

noreply@blogger.com (CemeteryScribes.com) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Whilst searching on the National Archives website I came across the mention of a petition regarding an Abraham Isaac dated 1733. It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to know more so I ordered a copy the next day.

The petition briefly tells us the story of what became of Abraham in mid May 1733, sadly there isn't a great deal of detail, leaving a lot to the imagination or, better still, further research!

Abraham was travelling to, or from, his home in Dukes Place in the City of London when on, or about the 16th May 1733, he died from a fall from a wagon on Barham Down.

Did this take place on what is today the A2 trunk road? Was this his wagon or possibly the mail coach? What caused him to fall? Was he attacked by a local highwayman such as the notorious 'Black Robin' known for shooting down coachmen? did the horse take fright, or the wagon hit a rock causing him to lose his balance? We will probably never know as there doesn't seem to have been an inquest.

However, we can learn a little about his family. He had at least one daughter. Her name was Eve and she was married to Jacob Isaac, a baker in St Mary Axe, London. Unfortunately no ages are mentioned, but just to add a little to the story, we could suppose that Eve was at least 20 years old given that she was married, she may of course have been older, and that perhaps Abraham was 20 when she was born, so it would place his birth in the late 1600's.

Abraham was probably travelling alone, at least not with friends or family or any one that knew him or his background. Presumably he wasn't carrying any papers either and therefore the village was unable to easily contact his family or, if they were able to, it took several months for the notice of Abraham’s death to reach them.

In view of the situation the decision was made to bury him and on the 16th of May 1733, Abraham Isaac was buried in the Church Yard of Barham. The local church would be St John's Church, noted for its magnificent beech trees, an ancient church going back to the 9th Century and mentioned in the Doomsday Book.

Sometime between May and Nov 1733 Abraham's family hears of his death and place of burial. His daughter Eve then petitions the Archdeacon of Canterbury, humbly praying for permission to remove the corpse of her father, Abraham Isaac, of the Jewish nation, from the Church Yard at Barham to be interred in the Jewish Burying Ground at Mile End, London. The decree is granted in court on the 8th Nov 1733.

There is nothing to say when exactly the body was moved or to which burial ground although the grounds in Alderney Road seem the most likely.

This contemporary record of a Jewish burial takes us to within 70 years of the Readmission of the Jews to the United Kingdom. It occurred only 35 years after the final purchase of the Alderney Road Burial Ground and over a decade before the acquisition of the Three Colt Yard extension. But Abraham and his pack, lying on the dusty Kentish road while, back in London his daughter anxiously waits for his return, is as vivid to me as if his story had just featured on the late evening TV News.