Researching Jewish ancestry

[JustinL]

After such flattery from Brigidmac, I had better come up with a structured response 

(Hard to believe that the Fellman odyssey was back in 2014/5)

I assume that you have ordered certificates for deaths in 1911, 1916 and 1919. I have the following corresponding burial information:

1911: 25 Jul, age not reported, at Plashet Jewish Cemetery, East Ham
1916: 11 Apr, aged 70, at Edmonton Federation Cemetery
1919: 15 Jun, aged 69, at Edmonton Federation Cemetery

Interestingly, the ages quoted in the burial records differ from those that appear in the civil registration index.

The original burial registers of the Edmonton cemetery are held in the London Metropolitan Archives.

Are you certain when Annie died? There are three or four possibilities.

Annie's maiden name in its anglicised form appears to have been SLOTKY. In 1862, a Bernard Slotky married Matilda Solomons. I have identified the births of 10 children, but can find only one census entry. Bernard and a 15-year-old son, Abraham, were recorded in Westminster in 1891. Bernard and Matilda appear to have died in Brighton in 1911 and 1921 respectively.

I am fairly confident that the original surname appears in the records as SLODKI, or SLODKA for women. You'll find quite a few records for these surnames in JewishGen starting in the 1820s. SLODKI is a documented Jewish surname and is believed to be derived from the Polish word for "sweet".

In 1879, a Jacob Slotky married Esther Martin. They were still alive in the 1939 and recorded in the "census" of that year.

The 1901 census recorded Samuel Slodki, aged 39, with his brother, David, aged 26, in Mile End Old Town.

SLOTKI/SLODKI are sufficiently unusual in the UK to make it a distinct possibility that Annie was related to the aforementioned men who were all born in Poland. Maybe by researching them, you might find their places of birth.

[Itchyknickers]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to help me, it’s really appreciated..

Those are the 3 possible dates I had for Joseph’s death.  I’m thinking the later two death dates are more likely, as the family members that remained of Jewish faith (very few of them!) were buried at either Edmonton or Rainham.  I think I know Annie’s likely death date, as I found a matching burial record at Edmonton, I have also ordered her death certificate and if this proves not to be right, I’ll order more.

That’s great tips re the possible relatives of Annie, I just presumed they would all still be in Poland, I’ll certainly research those possible family members you mentioned.  I’d tend to agree with your suggestion that she was Slodki, she did use that surname on a document I’ve seen, but also a Slodski variant.... 

My father never really talked about his family, but the one thing he did use to say, was that Joseph travelled from Russia and picked up Annie from Poland (kind of ran off with her) and that she was a Rabbi’s daughter.  I have heard this same story from several other family members, although I realise it could be a tall tale!  My mother has also told me that my dad told her Joseph had a previous marriage and children in Russia and that the mother died and he left his children in Russia to come to England with Annie, again I’m not sure how true this is, although his age would suggest it could be his second marriage.... 

Anyway, you’ve given me lots to explore, so thank you once again 😊

[JustinL]

Sorry about the delayed reply. I resisted the temptation to be distracted by genealogy from the tedious job search.

It's certainly worth a try looking into namesakes. I think there was a tendency for emigrants to join family members in a new country. My great-grandfather joined two of his older brothers in London in the 1870s.

You've obviously seen the same burial list for the Edmonton Federation Cemetery. Let's hope that it doesn't take too long for the death certs to arrive.

Family lore is wonderful stuff. At least you have something to investigate.

[Josephine]

In terms of being from Poland or Russia, didn't the borders change quite a bit over time? Someone Polish might have technically been from Russia at the time of emigration but s/he might have still considered it Poland. This might explain the disparity in what's recorded in some places.

Have you checked this site:
https://jri-poland.org/

Regards,
Josephine

P.S. Have you searched for any mentions of them -- including obits -- in the newspapers?

[JustinL]

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 created the final version of the Kingdom of Poland, which is often referred to as Congress Poland. It was part of the Russian Empire following the partitions of sovereign Poland in the late 18th century and only enjoyed a degree of semi-autonomy for a few years. The borders didn't change until the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Immigrants wouls have been aware whether their gubernia of birth was in Congress Poland or the Russian Pale of Settlement.

[Itchyknickers]

Hi

Thanks for all the replies, I thought that too about the Poland/Russia changes, but there were so many disparities in the census, that I think it’s more likely to be more a translation issue, as I believe Joseph and Annie spoke very little, if any at first, English....

I have looked through newspapers and have found a few items of interest, but funnily enough no obituaries.  I got very excited when I found an article about an adopted lady looking for her family and  recognised the names in the article and realised that she was my second cousin!  She had hired a genealogy ’expert’ to trace her family and I thought it might be my big break.  Unfortunately he hadn’t even managed to trace as far as Joseph and had a few facts wrong, so I had got further than him! 

I must admit, I’m quite enjoying the puzzle - I haven’t even started looking at my mum’s side yet, as it is too easy!

I have used Jewishgen and the Poland section, but no luck as yet....

[Josephine]

Oh, I didn't realize that JRI Poland was part of the JewishGen website.

[brigidmac]

Following with interest ..if we are distant relatives you'd probably have to trace back to 1850then find all descendants

[Itchyknickers]

Following with interest ..if we are distant relatives you'd probably have to trace back to 1850then find all descendants

I’m awaiting my DNA results, have you done a test?