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Research in Other Countries => Europe => Topic started by: francoso on Friday 05 January 18 22:07 GMT (UK)
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Emmanuel Abrahams is said to have arrived in England from Russia in 1850, by himself at the age of 14, so born about 1834-6. His partner (I do not know if married or not as haven't found a marriage registration in England) was Pauline Krzasny (as far as can be deciphered), born about 1826 +/- in Witkowo, Posen, Poland. She appears to have arrived in England from Poland (West Prussia at that time ?) in 1857-8. I have not been able to find passages to England for either of them.
The first mention of them I have found is in the 1861 census. They both died in early 1900 and are buried together in Plaschet Cemetery. There original granite tombstone reads (as translated for me):
QUOTE At the top is the Hebrew word "lezecorone" (as a remembrance).
The next line you have on the right the words in Hebrew "Morus (Mrs) Pesha ayshes (wife of) Menachem Mendel." On the left of tombstone you have in Hebrew "Menachem ben Avraham."
Under both of these you have their respective Hebrew dates of burial. Then under all of this the five letters, Tof, Nun, Tsadik, Bet and Hey (this is on all Jewish tomb stones).
Next comes the English "In loving memory of Emanuel and Pauline Abrahams", then their respective dates of burial……then "Deeply mourned by their sorrowing son, daughters and relatives"
Then a quotation and at the foot of the stone… "May their dear souls rest in peace."
So it seems I have three names for the same person: Em(m)anuel Abrahams, Menachem Mendel, and Menachem ben Avraham. Presumably Pesha is Pauline (pronounced Paulina) ?
Can someone kindly please explain the Menachem Mendel and Menachem ben Avraham. Presumably Em(m)anuel Abrahams is the anglicized version he adopted on his arrival in England ?
Also can someone please advise which of the names he is likely to have travelled under from Russia (Ukraine ?) to England.
This has been a frustrating search for many, many years so any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
francoso
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There will be no passenger lists from europe to England.
Lauras birth seems to have mmn SCHASNE
?Maybe?
ABRAHAM, FANNY CHESNEE 1861 S Q1/4 in WHITECHAPEL Volume 01C Page 320
ABRAHAM, EZAAC SCHASNER 1865 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 402
1891 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q4KZ-YMM
1881 census https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27S-JZD5
1861? https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2ML-XWWN
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Hello, PaulineJ. Thanks for your response. Pauline Krzasny travelled through Bromberg, to Hamburg and then to London but I couldn't find her passage in the Hamburg Shipping Lists but I have a copy of her passport.
What do you mean by mmn ? On the birth certs of her children her maiden name is give variously as Schasne, Schasner, and Chasney.
francoso
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mmn == Mother's maiden name
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Thanks PaulineJ.
Paulina also is recorded as Selina and Helena. I have all the census records from 1861 to 1911 (they died 1900) and have their death certs. But I am trying to find Emmanuel before he came to England hence my original query concerning the three names by which he was known.
Regards
francoso
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Hello Francoso,
Jewish naming customs are reasonably straight-forward, if you know the system.
Jewish men/boys in the 19th century would have had three given names.
1. The sacred/religious given name (shem kodesh). This is the Hebrew name that is given to the child at the time of circumcisiopn (bris mila). It is the name used in the synagogue and on in any religious context. Your chap's Hebrew name was Menachem.
2. Yiddish name - the name that he was generally known by in the community. There were many standardised pairs of Hebrew and Yiddish names. Mendel was invariably the Yiddish name used by boys/men with the Hebrew name Menachem. Official Hebrew documents would read "Menachem known as (hamekhune) Mendel".
3. Secular name - the name used when interacting with the wider non-Jewish community, particularly, the civil authorities. Your chap may have used his Yiddish name with the Russian civil authorities.
Menachem ben Avraham/Abraham is the Hebrew patronymic form and means Menachem son of Avraham/Abraham.
Pauline's full Hebrew name would have been Pesha bas/bat (daughter of) ??.
Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing that Abrahams was Emanuel's original surname. It may well have been something like Abramovitch (son of Abraham), but it could have been something completely different.
What makes you think that Emanuel came from Ukraine, when the censuses indicate Russian Poland?
Can you upload an image of the document showing Pauline's maiden name? There's no need to, I found the image with your post back in 2014.
If neither Emanuel/Mendel nor Pauline were able to prove that they were Jewish - the usual means would have been to present their parents Jewish marriage cert (ketubah) - they would not have been granted permission to wed in a synagogue. I'm not sure whether they had the option to wed in a registry office around 1860.
Pauline's passport stated that the purpose of the journey was Familien-Angelegenheiten, i.e. family matters. Did she perhaps have a sibling in London?
Justin
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Thanks for the interest and help, JustinL, especially with sorting the names: I knew nothing of the system of naming. As for "Ukraine" that was/is pure speculation as I assume he came from the Pale of Settlements and Ukraine was a guess only (hence the query mark).
Emanuel's son was clear that his father came from Russia: census records show: 1861 -- Poland; 1871 -- Russia; 1881 -- Russia; 1891 -- Russia. Census records for Pauline show: 1861 Selina from Germany; 1871 Helena from Germany; 1881 Selina from Germany; 1891 Pauline from Germany.
I have looked at Alien arrivals on Ancestry.co.uk but can find no sign of arrivals of Pauline or Emmanuel, except I did find:
MENDEL Abraham, a Taylor from Prussia, who arrived at Hull on 13 August 1850 on the ship "Harmonia" from Hamburg. But that is not at all conclusive.
And, again, thanks for the information regarding the qualifications to marry in a synagogue. All news to me.
In regard to Pauline's passport, it appears to have been issued initially in 1850 and then re-validated in May 1857 (1850 und sieben). Again, speculation makes me wonder if she was supposed to accompany Emmanuel in 1850 but her passage was put on hold for another seven years ?
Again, in the far distant grey cells of my mind, there is a "feeling" that I was told many, many years ago that Pauline came to England as part of a family of six. That doesn't seem to have been the case, or at least I have found no trace of them, and could be my mind playing tricks.
Perhaps this is an unbreakable brick wall, though I will keep scratching away, and any help will be much appreciated.
Regards
francoso
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Hello Francoso,
This is certainly a high, thick brick wall.
The chances that Mendel did not come from the Pale of Settlement are very slim. And you are right that the Pale included Ukraine.
I too found that Mendel Abraham in the Aliens' register. However, I think that he and his fellow travellers came from Prussia, not Russia.
I can't imagine that Pauline was meant to have travelled with Mendel. They lived in different countries and it is most unlikely that they knew each in 1850.
Maybe it's time to revisit the sibling story.
Justin
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Thanks, Justin. I suppose there is a chance that the clerk writing the Aliens List for that ship could have misheard Prussia for Russia but a slim chance and would need another more credible confirmation.
As for Krzasny, Krzasniy, Schasne, Schasner, Chasney, Chesney, Kresny, Krasny I have had no joy in checking all of these variations for family members in UK. The odd Kresny in USA only.
francoso
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Hi, Justin. Perhaps you can help me with likely synagogues where Emmanuel and Pauline may have been married, if they did marry (I have found no civil records of a marriage). Pauline's passport issued in May 1857 was valid for travel for one year. In the 1861 census they are living at 2 Millers Court, Spitalfields. If they married it would have been between middle of 1857 and March 1861 presumably in the Spitalfields area. Do you know of the synagogues in that area; I may be able to find a record of their marriage.
Regards
francoso
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Hello Francoso,
As it happens, I do have a list of London synagogues. At the time of Emanuel's and Pauline's probable marriage the only synagogues were:
The Great Synagogue - St James's Place, Aldgate. E. London (1620, rebuilt 1790)
Hambro' Synagogue - Church Row, Fenchurch Street, E.C. London (1725 ‘til 1893)
New Synagogue - Great St Helen's, E.C. London (1838) [originally in Leadenhall St. from 1760]
Central Synagogue - Great Portland Street, W. London (1855)
All these and later ones were administratively incorporated under the umbrella organisation the United Synagogue in 1870. I would urge you to make enquiries at the US.
This link https://www.theus.org.uk/category/find-marriage-record (https://www.theus.org.uk/category/find-marriage-record) takes you to a marriage records for the period 1880 - 1901. Obviously, you won't find Emanuel's and Pauline's marriage there, but maybe those of their children. The marriage of Louis Grouse and Sarah Abrahams on 9 Aug 1887 in the Central Synagogue is recorded. This record demonstrates that Sarah was able to prove that she was Jewish, so I'm hoping that the US holds records of her parents' marriage.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for advice on searching AND a contact email address. Use that address to ask about Emanuel and Pauline.
Did Fanny and Isaac marry?
Rgds, Justin
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Again, thanks Justin for your knowledge. I will check with US, though I think I did check many years ago and came up empty but worth another go.
Yes, Fanny married Woolf (Ze'ev) Shotlander (Shortlander) at the Great Synagogue, Dukes Place, Parish of St James on 07 Nov 1883. They later emigrated to Australia. Unfortunately they didn't have any children. I don't know if Isaac/Ezaak married or not.
Regards
francoso
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Hello again.
I've been giving your conundrum a lot of thought.
Online records and databases indicate that the only surname similar to Krzasny adopted by a Jewish family in Poland was Krzesny. In 1845, Joseph Chrzesni of Lautenburg in West Prussia (now Lidzbark) adopted the surname Krzesny for himself, his wife and children. As it happens, his eldest child was Pauline.
The slight hitch here is that Lidzbark is about 100 miles NE of Witokowo and was in West Prussia, not Posen.
There was also a Krzesny family in Silesia in the later years of the 19th century.
The origins of the surname are far from clear. As you have already been told, krzesny is the dialect form of chrzestny, which means godfather. There is a school a thought that suggests that the surname arose as a rough approximation of the Hebrew word (and surname in a few instances) sandak/sandek which is the person who holds a baby boy during circumcision. This was not a permanent occupation, merely an honour.
We need to bear in mind that Pauline was illiterate (unkundig - as reported on her passport), so her surname may have been misspelt.
Given that two of Emanuel and Pauline's children married in synagogue at a time when it was essential for both bride and groom to demonstrate their Jewishness, we must conclude that Pauline was herself Jewish and that she was married to Emanuel. Interestingly, the rabbi at the Hambro Synagogue from 1855 to 1900 was Samuel Gollancz, who was born in Witkowo (!!!) in 1823 or so. He would have been Pauline's contemporary.
I think it would be useful to at least establish Pauline's full Hebrew patronymic name. From what you wrote in your first post, it does not appear on her tombstone. It should, however, have been recorded in the burial register for Plashet cemetery. I would urge you to make enquiries.
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Not wishing to confuse you, but I should add that in 1833 the Jews of Posen were offered the opportunity to become 'naturalised', that is to gain certain limited civil rights. This was a long way from full emancipation and equality. The criteria were quite onerous, particularly when it came to wealth and occupation. The outcome was that fewer than 50% of the household heads became naturalised. Those that did were recorded with their newly adopted permanent surnames. I have a copy of the list for Witkowo and it does not include Krzesny. In fact, Krzesny does not appear anywhere in the full list covering all the Jewish communities of Posen.
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As suggested, Justin, I have emailed the US to request them to help find the marriage of Emmanuel and Pauline and am awaiting a reply. I will also email them to check the burial register for Pauline's full Hebrew patronymic name.
I think, from the writing on the back of her passport that Pauline was staying with her father in Gniezno/ Kreis Gnesen (District) of Posen before departing for England or was Gnesen only where her passport was validated for travel ?
Do you agree that Pauline's name on the passport appears to be Krasnij ?
I was told some time ago that Kresny in Russian meant "red", and that there are variations of the spelling of it in various east European languages.
Regards
francoso
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I am searching for the Russian family of the above. Apparently, Em(m)anuel always said he came from Russia, by himself, to England at the age of 14 in 1849/50.
1851 Census, not found
1861 C shows him as Emanuel Abrahams, Head, Mar, 25, Glazier, b. Poland;
1871 C as Edmund Abrams, Head, Mar, 40, Tailor, b. Russia
1881 C as Emmanuel Abrahams, Head, Mar, 46, Clothier & Outfitters, b. Russia
1891 C as Emanuel Abrahams, Head, Mar, 55, Outfitter, b. Russia
He died 24 Jan 1900 and is buried in Plashet Cemetery together with his "wife" Paulina nee Krzasny, who died 27 Feb 1900 and was buried in adjoining plot on 01 Mar 1900.
A person from United Synagogue visited the double grave and emailed the following: "The English inscription reads "In Loving Memory of EMANUEL and PAULINA ABRAHAMS who Departed this Life Jan 24 1900 aged 67, and Feb 27 1900 aged 76" "Deeply mourned by their sorrowing son, daughters and relatives" "In Death They Were Not Divided" "May their dear souls rest in peace." The Hebrew inscription reads: at the top is the Hebrew word "lezecorone" (as a remembrance). The next line reads, on the right, the words in Hebrew "Morus (mrs) Pesha ayshes (wife of) Menachem Mendel" while on the left "Menachem ben Avraham." Under both of these there is their respective Hebrew dates of burial (26 Jan 1900 for Emanuel and 01 Mar 1900 for Paulina). The next line contains the five letters: Tof, Nun, Tsadik, Bet and Hey (this is on all Jewish tomb stones). [Mendel, the Yiddish nickname for Menachem.]"
I have searched for Em(m)anuel's passage to England in the Hamburg passenger lists and can only find one possibility, that of Mendel Abrahams, Tailor, arr. 13 Aug 1850 on "Hamania" from Hamburg to Hull, but cannot be sure this is him
In about 1858 to 1860 he "married" (no record found) Pauline Krzasny from Witkowo in Poznan (Posen), Poland (her passport is dated 1857 and valid for one year). She was born about 1825.
Can anyone please help me find where Em(m)anuel came from in Russia (presumably somewhere in the Pale of Settlement) and how to find his Russian ancestors. Again, presumption is that his family sent him to England to escape conscription in to the Russian Army.
All help much appreciated, and I acknowledge JustinL's earlier help with Em(m)anuel, and in trying to track down Paulina's ancestors (which I have failed to achieve).
Regards
francoso
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To prevent duplication of efforts/information - previous thread here
Threads merged.
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Looking again at my latest posting, it does seem somewhat disrespectful of the time and effort put in earlier by posters. For that I apologise; I was just thinking that perhaps something further may have come to light to help efforts to trace what may well be untraceable.
Again, thank you to those who contributed earlier.
Kind regards
francoso