ISAACS from Poland

[MillieBB]

Yes you’re right but then they change to Isaacs (as was my mother’s maiden name) and later in become Wilson!!
Goodness knows what their real names were!!

[Ashtone]

TNA's website offers this guidance:

Records of immigration, aliens and naturalisation
Anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia in the 1880s drove Jewish communities west and thousands of Jewish people from these communities came to the UK to settle or to move on to America.

People born outside the country and who did not have British parents were classed as ‘aliens’. The government established an Aliens Office in the 19th century and various Aliens Acts were passed.

Search records of alien arrivals 1810-1811 and 1826-1869 by name, date, port of arrival or country/place of origin at Ancestry.co.uk (charges apply). https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/1587/

NOTE: If your ancestors didn't enter the UK until the 1880s, they probably won't appear in Ancestry's record collection above.

Now that you know Jane's maiden name, try searching Family Search for any applicable records. Might be more useful to search her name (Beber) rather than her husband's surname (whatever it originally was).

This Ancestry blog link should offer some guidance: https://blogs.ancestry.co.uk/ancestry/2019/09/17/immigration-challenges-tracing-eastern-european-jewish-family-to-england/

Finally, the LMA provides this helpful info regarding Passenger Lists to the UK:

"There is also a series of inward passenger lists which survive for 1878-1960; these list all the passengers on vessels which originated from outside Europe and the Mediterranean which means they are usually of limited help to the Jewish genealogist, but occasionally if a vessel had begun its journey outside these areas the master would include names of passengers picked up later in the voyage".

[MillieBB]

Thank you so much!! Have something to work on now as I was completely stumped.

Very interesting what you say and your insights.

Very grateful to you and all who have replied so far.

[Ashtone]

Another avenue for you to explore via Family Search's website and Ancestry:

Passenger Lists
"The Polish ports of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Szczecin (Stettin) were primarily freight ports. Not many passengers sailed from these ports. Most emigrants went by train to Germany and then embarked from a German port.
The major ports of departure for emigrants from Poland were Hamburg and Bremen, but because Hamburg had more agents and advertising in Eastern Europe, it served more Polish emigrants than Bremen did.
The passenger lists of Bremen have not been preserved, but those of Hamburg from 1850 to 1934 are preserved and accessible for research.
Information in these lists varies but usually includes names, ages, occupations, and destinations. In addition, relationships and last residence or birthplace may be given".

These passenger lists and indexes are most fully described in Hamburg Passenger Lists.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Hamburg_Passenger_Lists

Also, don't be confused if your ancestors' birth country is alternately listed as Poland and Russia.
It's important to remember that three empires controlled Poland. There was Russian-governed Poland; Austrian-governed southern Poland (Galicia); and also areas under Prussian (German) rule.

[MillieBB]

Thank you sooo much. You know so much!
Am very grateful for your help.

I’m not an ancestry member so your help is invaluable.  My mother told the family very little for some reason. We still don’t know why her father Arthur actually went to Bristol selling brushes - where he died -whilst leaving his wife and children in London.

[Ashtone]

I’m not an ancestry member so your help is invaluable. 

Family Search is free to use. Just register with them, in order to view their record images.
According to the 1911 census, widowed Jane indicates 35 years (for "years married"). So that suggests she and Isaac/Goodman (etc) married about 1876 in Russian Poland.

If you do locate a Passenger record for them (in Hamburg Passenger Lists) look for a family which incudes their 3 oldest children. Locating a Passenger record for the family may be the only way to confirm where they came from in Russian Poland.

Good luck with your searching!

[MillieBB]

😊 thank you

[JustinL]

Hello Millie,

Unfortunately, I doubt that you will ever find a record, i.e. passenger manifest, of the Isaacs family's arrival in the UK. I am fairly certain that the passenger lists for the short passage between continental Europe and the UK were not retained. The collection of passenger lists available on the well-known subscription sites are for sailings to the USA, Australia and South Africa.

Possible options for establishing the Polish home town of this family involve tracing Arthur's older brother, Solomon/Sidney. According to the 1891 census, he was born in Poland. According to the 1901 and 1911 censuses, he was born in East London. I can't find a matching birth registration, i.e. with MMN Beber, on the GRO site, so maybe the 1891 census was the correct record.

Have you looked for a naturalisation record for him?

Arthur's burial location is a bit of a mystery. It wouldn't have been unheard of for the remains of individuals to be transported back to London for burial. What is the date of death on the certificate. It would be really useful, if you could post his death certificate.

To do this, you first need to check that file is no larger than 500 MB. Click on the 'Attachments and other options' below the message box, and then 'Choose file'. Navigate to the file on your PC, laptop, etc. and click 'Open'. When you click on 'Post', the file will then be attached to the post.

The attached picture is of the gravestone of Arthur's father, Goodman. The  inscription confirms that his Hebrew/Yiddish was Gutman ben (son of) Yitschak.

Do you know when his mother, Jane, died?

I'm also looking for occurrences of the surnames Merzinsky and Beber (and variants) in Polish records.

Justin

[MillieBB]

Justin, you are a little star!!

I found out in the last week that Arthur is buried in Edmonton cemetery- Jewish section. From find a grave. Who had him buried there is a mystery because my grandmother was relatively poor with 4 children and I would’ve thought it cost money.
Fancy you finding Goldman’s grave. Unbelievable. Which cemetery was it please?  I never realised he had a Hebrew name, which is foolish as my mother did. Hers was Esther Yetta and we put it in brackets in her coffin to honour her Jewish roots.
I have no idea when Jane died or where and I can’t find any trace of Solomon. I do know Jacob/John who changed his surname to Wilson emigrated to the US in the 1910s. Apparently Arthur visited him in New York in 1921/22 travelling on the Mauritania. Would’ve thought John paid the passage.
It’s still a mystery why Arthur moved to Bristol though to sell Brushes. My mum always said he was a tailor!!  The family didn’t go with him though .
I am immensely grateful for your help. The family knew absolutely nothing about mums family really - just snippets for some reason - until I started this journey with enormous help from people like you.