Jewish community in St.George in the East: 'Sura'

[paul*]

I recently obtained a birth certificate detailing my g-grandmother's forename as Sura.
A quick check of the BMDs for all births containing this name resulted in 76 persons, born
between 1887 & 1919, 73 of whom were registered in St George in The East, the other
3 in neighbouring parishes.

Does anyone know the origins of this name.

Is it possible that it is used by people from a particular group or area of Europe, who settled
in this relatively small area of East London, or is that just a coincidence?

[aghadowey]

Think Surah/Sura is a form of Sarah.

[JustinL]

Hello Paul,

The spelling does reflect a particular Yiddish dialect, of which there were several, i.e. western, transition and eastern. Eastern Y was further subdivided into northwestern (Lithuanian), central (Polish) and southern (Ukrainian).

If you would let us know your ggm's surname that would possibly help narrow the search.

Justin

[aghadowey]

If you would let us know your ggm's surname that would possibly help narrow the search.

Names of any other known siblings might also give us clues.

[paul*]

Thanks to all for your replies, yes sorry, her maiden name appears to be Piros, and she married Israel Deutchman(n). None of her siblings are known, and the only children I can be certain of so far are Polly and Philip - I have the former's marriage cert 1896, and the latter's birth cert. 1889. I can find no trace of Israel & Sura on the 1891 or 1901 census, so cannot suggest a country of birth. However there is a single Philip Deutchman on the 1901, fitting the exact age and pob, son of Isaac & Fanny. The oldest members of this family seem to have originated from a place called 'Bresh'.

[JustinL]

Hello Paul,

Can you post snippets from any of these documents showing the surnames and any placenames, especially if they are not clearly legible.

Piros sounds more Greek than anything, but I think there were Sephardi communities in Greece.

Have you tried doing a phonetic search on FreeBMD for the surname Deutchman? You'll find Deutshman and Deutschman. They could both be related.

Justin

[aghadowey]

If you put just the surname 'Piros' in an LDS search lots come up- Hungry, etc.

[paul*]

Thanks again for the replies. The only place name I'm unsure of is Bresh (image attached) any ideas??

I checked the LDS, yes, lots with that surname from Hungary and Czechoslovakia, although it does sound very Greek!

[JustinL]

Hello Paul,

That's pretty clearly Bresh. We just have to imagine how it would have been written in an east European language. I shall check a few databases for you.

Is the document showing the name Piros as legible? Could it be anything else?

Incidentally, Piros means red in Hungarian apparently.

Where and whom did Polly marry in 1896?

Fanny was the common anglicisation of the Yiddish name Vogele = little bird.
Israel would have commly been anglicised to Isidore. I would not be certain that Isaac and Fanny were Israel and Sura.

Justin