Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain December 2017, Vol 25, 3
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SHEMOT JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN DECEMBER 2017, VOL 25, 3 Shemot cover.indd 1 03/11/17 9:52 PM Contents An introduction to local and comparative Anglo-Jewish epitaphic epigraphy Michael Jolles 1 St Albans Masorti Synagogue: mapping SAMS Roots Pauline Symons 6 One big family – the Shuvals in Russia Jeremy Schuman 9 Remembering what went before – a farewell to Who Do You Think You Are? Live Daniel Morgan-Thomas 15 New York’s historical synagogues Moriah Amit 17 Jewish hairdressers in London in the nineteenth century Daniel Morgan-Thomas 19 The Hebrew Schools for Boys and Girls, Palestine Place, Bethnal Green Gina Marks 21 American censuses and substitutes. Part 2: finding substitutes for the 1890 and other censuses Ted Bainbridge 24 The Ziments from Kolbuszowa David Conway 26 Harry Levy, 1892–1917: an attempted biography of my great-uncle Derek Stavrou 29 A list of East End occupiers Stanley Melinek 37 Tracing the family name in nineteenth-century Germany Eva Lawrence 39 Happiness and sorrow go hand in hand Cynthia Shaw 42 Curiosity killed the Kohen Russell Eisen 44 Is there an actor in the house? My theatrical ancestors Danielle Sanderson 48 The (Berko)wiczes of East Warsaw: Part 1. How American Jewish genealogy can break down your English and Polish brick walls Leigh Dworkin 53 The light of the Lindos Doreen Berger 59 Cover photo: Leigh Dworkin’s great-grandparents Harris and Sarah Bercovitch in Warsaw (see his article on page 53 for their story). Shemot is the journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. It is published three times a year and is sent free to members. We publish original articles, submitted by members or commissioned, on a variety of topics likely to be of interest to our readers. We particularly welcome personal experiences that include sources and research methodology, explanations of technological developments and innovations, articles highlighting archival material and the work carried out by volunteers to preserve our heritage, biographical or historical accounts, and practical research tips. We also publish book reviews and letters. If you would like to write or review for Shemot, please contact the Editor at [email protected] to request our guidelines for authors. This issue of Shemot was edited by Jessica Feinstein, typeset by Integra Software Services Private Ltd in Pondicherry, and printed by The Print Shop, Pinner, London. The journal is published by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. © 2017. ISSN 0969-2258. Registered charity no. 1022738. Shemot_25.3.indb 1 15/11/17 11:59 AM An introduction to local and comparative Anglo-Jewish epitaphic epigraphy Michael Jolles Introduction Epigraphy, the analytical study of inscriptions, when applied to epitaphs (as on a headstone, chest tomb, obelisk, plaque, etc.), is of particular value to genealogists. It has not yet been established if the specific epigraphic features reported here have been observed in other Jewish cemeteries in the UK, or described elsewhere. Few printed articles in Shemot or elsewhere relate to local conventions of headstone artwork.1 Comparative studies exploring epigraphic features that differ between cemeteries are yet to be made in any detailed fashion. During a recent visit to the main Jewish cemetery on the south side of Colley Road, Ecclesfield, Sheffield, I noticed a special feature that I do not recall having encountered before, despite having visited dozens of Jewish cemeteries. This is the inclusion within the internal hexagon of a Magen David (literally the Shield of David, but usually known as the Star of David) of the initials of the deceased. This observation was also made at the nearby much smaller cemetery on the north side of Colley Road and at the cemetery at Walkley, Sheffield, but not elsewhere. For comparison and in order to broaden the subject, fifteen other cemeteries, mainly in London and the East Midlands, were visited. Further interesting observations are set out here. These provide examples of local and comparative Anglo- Jewish epitaphic epigraphy, a research field still in its infancy and one which genealogists are well placed to develop. In this article, all observations, especially quantified ones, are, of course, subject to verification, as it is impossible to always gain safe access to, let alone locate, observe and double-check, all the features on all the stones in these cemeteries, whose total burials add up to well over fifty thousand; minor oversights are thus liable to have taken place. What, then, are the customary features to be found on a typical Jewish upright headstone erected during the last 150 years in the British Isles? There may be, at the top, in the pediment, a motif. Sometimes there is a Magen David. The inscription, with the Hebrew text at the top and followed by the English text below, may begin with an introduction (pe nun or pe tet, discussed below) and may finish with a phrase indicated by five Hebrew initials at the bottom, derived from the first book of Samuel. The text, in whichever language, always includes the name and usually the full date of death. Attributes (e.g. attestations of character), biblical phrases, the names of principal mourners, along with other textual material, are often included. Although this pattern is considerably varied, it is favourably amenable to description and analysis. (pe tet) פ׳ט pe nun) and) פ׳נ The use of pe tet, for women), denoting) פ׳ט pe nun, for men) denoting ‘here lies’ or) פ׳נAt the top of a headstone, two Hebrew letters ‘here is interred’, are usually found. Sometimes one letter is flanked on each side of a Magen David or they are both placed within its internal hexagon. פ׳נ At Willesden, Edmonton and Streatham, and at many other cemeteries, certainly a century ago, the convention of being applied to men and women respectively was adhered to in most cases. One may thus justifiably imagine that פ׳ט and may have been constant throughout the country, but this convention is no longer held in פ׳ט to פ׳נ the ratio of the use of .now predominates פ׳נ ,many cemeteries. Instead as are over 80 per ,פ׳נ At Leicester’s Gilroes cemetery’s new section (1970s onwards; 300 burials) about 65 per cent are cent at Coventry, about 85 per cent at Northampton, about 90 per cent at Derby (opened in 1902), and almost all at Sheffield is now being construed as denoting פ׳נ and Nottingham (Loughborough Road; 1940s onwards). One explanation is that thereby rendering superfluous the use of ,(פה טמונה for women (instead of פה נטמנה for men and (פה נטמן or) פה נקבר both Paradoxically, at Brandwood End cemetery . פ׳נAt Witton cemetery’s old section at Birmingham, about 99 per cent are .פ׳ט פ׳ט being seen in well over 95 per cent of stones, the ratio of פ׳נ at Birmingham (1918 onwards; about 550 burials), despite applies to men. All these ,פ׳ט abbreviated to ,פה טמון ,has actually increased since about 1990. Even so, confusingly פ׳נ to phrases mean ‘here lies’ or ‘here is/was buried’. The Magen David It may also be thought that the Magen David had been an inconstant feature of the headstone. In Europe it appeared on stones towards the end of the eighteenth century. In Britain, it was only after the mid 1940s that it became increasingly popular, but in some cemeteries only. At Witton, less than five per cent have a Magen David. The earliest Magen David spotted on a stone there is dated 1905. There are also at least six between 1911 and 1918. At Norwich there is a prominent one at the apex of the stone’s pediment (1920). At Brandwood End, the earliest is dated 1924. There are then about six more before 1939. There were proportionately more during the 1940s but the number increased in later decades such that from 2000 every stone has one. Shemot_25.3.indb 1 15/11/17 11:59 AM 2 MICHAEL JOLLES The earliest Magen David at Northampton (opened in 1902) is on a stone dated 1939. In Leicester’s old section (about 500 graves) the earliest spotted is dated 1945, but there is also one dated 1915 in a reasonably convincing contemporary stone. Dating of a stone may be very difficult where it also includes a later inscription relating to the widow or widower or if there is an almost identical but separate stone. Would a second stone be a later copy of the first or would they both have been set at the later date? In Leicester’s new section every single stone has a Magen David. In each case but two, these are of a stylised double-stranded interlocking design. In Nottingham, all but 24 out of around 800 stones have a Magen David, representing 97 per cent. In Coventry’s new section (mid 1950s onwards), about 80 per cent have a Magen David, whereas in the old section (1866 to mid 1950s mainly) there is only one Magen David (1947) out of over fifty legible stones. At Oxford, there are just over forty Magen Davids out of over 300 stones; the earliest is dated 1955 except for an earlier Imperial War Graves Commission stone. In both sections of Hoop Lane cemetery, London, the Magen David is seen in less than one per cent of stones before 1950 (an early one is dated 1923). At Streatham (8000 burials), where the earliest one spotted is dated 1916, Magen Davids were rare until the 1940s, after which they gradually increased until about thirty years ago; they now appear on about half the recent stones.