Rachel Morris (1874 - 1982)

Rachel Morris, born Rachel Dik and known later in her long life as Rochel, is the sister-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Morris family HERE. Steckoll family HERE.

The original name of the family was Dik (Dikiene in Lithuanian) and the family came from Raguva. However, when Rachel's eldest brother Jacob arrived in England the clerk did not understand Yiddish and since Jacob called himself Jacob "Monnes" (Menachem), the clerk thought he said Munes was his last name. This was not English enough so the clerk anglicized it to Morris. Later when he brought out other members of his family they changed their name to Morris as well

Parents: Joseph Dik (1851 - 1924) and Golda Chaya (1846 - 1923)

Born: 1874, in Ponevezh, Kovno District, Russian Empire, now Panevėžys, Lithuania,  Ponevezh [Russian], Ponevezh [Yiddish], Poniewież [Polish], Ponewiesch [German], Panevēža [Latvian]

Hebrew name: Rochel daughter of  Yosef

Siblings

• Jacob Morris (1870 - 1947) married Rachel Levin (1873 - 1952) in Liverpool, England in (October - December) 1892
• Dinah Morris (1879 - 1969) married Barnett Bryer (1878 - 1958) in Liverpool in (October - December ) 1902
• Ely Morris (1881 - 1972) married Anne Katz (1888 - 1962) in Johannesburg, South Africa on 15 November 1911
• Michael Dik (1883 - ?)
• Tilly Morris (1886 - 1981) married Isaac Epstein (1884 - 1941)

Migration to England: In Lithuania, at that time, the eldest son was drafted to the Russian army when they reached the age of 18. Therefore, Rachel's eldest brother Jacob left Lithuania planning to travel to America but on arrival in Liverpool did not have enough money to complete the journey. The local Jewish Leadership offered help on condition that he marry a Jewish girl and settle in England.  Once settled in England he brought all his family to join him in Liverpool and all his siblings changed their name to Morris. It is not known when Rachel arrived

Married: Married Nochum Aaron Steckoll, known as Aron, in 1928 in Thaba'Nchu, Orange Free State, South Africa. Aaron was 61 and Rachel 54. Aaron was a widower with 4 adult children, all married by 1928

Antenuptial Contract between Aaron Steckoll and Rachael Morris

The couple signed an antenuptial contract on 28 February 1928. Rachel’s name appears in the document as “Rachael,” and she signed in Yiddish, which implies she may not have been able to write in English. At the time, Aaron was residing in Ladybrand and Rachel in Bloemfontein, both in what was then the Orange Free State Province of South Africa.

Under the agreement, Aaron undertook to pay Rachel £300 in cash. The marriage was out of community of property, with each party retaining full control of the assets they brought into the union.

Rachel was not mentioned in Aaron’s will. He died in 1933, after five years of marriage. Taken together, these details suggest that Rachel may have entered the marriage with the understanding that she would manage the household and care for Aaron in his later years—an arrangement that was not unusual in that period.

Recollection

Her great-nephew, Trevor Morris, remembered collecting her from Sandringham Gardens, the Jewish old-age home in Johannesburg, to take her to Shabbat dinner in Emmarentia when she was about 105. She was a very small woman and, as Trevor put it, she still “had all her marbles.”

Halfway to their destination she suddenly realised she had forgotten the chocolates she intended to bring as a gift. Trevor suggested they could easily buy some along the way, but she would not hear of it. She wanted to give the ones she had chosen herself. They turned around, drove back to Sandringham Gardens, she fetched the present, and only then did they set off again for the dinner.

Death

19 July 1982 in Johannesburg, South Africa age 108.She was buried on 20 July 1982 in the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, grave block U, grave no 463

Tombstone for Rochel Steckoll
Inscription: In loving memory of Rochel [Steckoll] passed away on 19th July 1982 aged 108 years. Ever remembered by her nephews, nieces and families. MHDSRIP

Hebrew translation: Mrs. Rachel daughter of Mr. Yosef, died 28 Tammuz 5742. Abreviation "May her soul be bound in the bonds of life."

Westpark Cemetery details for Rochel

Jewishgen Cemetery record for Rochel

Place of Birth

Rachel Morris was born in Panevėžys, Lithuania

PANEVEZYS (Panevezhis; Lith. Panevežys; Rus. Ponevezh), city in Lithuania. In 1766 the Jewish community numbered 254; in 1847, 1,447 Jews were registered, and in 1897, 6,627 Jews (50% of the total population) lived in Panevezys. An ancient Karaite community is also known to have existed there. A number of noted rabbis officiated in Panevezys, among them Isaac Jacob Rabinovich (Itzele Ponevezher), Joseph Kahaneman, and Jeroham Leibovich. The Hebrew poet Judah Leib Gordon served as a teacher in the city from 1853 to 1860. Naphtali Friedman, a noted advocate, served as delegate from Panevezys to the third Duma.

In May 1915, during World War I, the Jews of Panevezys were sent along with other Lithuanian Jews to the interior of Russia by the Russian military authorities. Most of them returned after the Russian Revolution. In 1923 there were 6,845 Jews living in Panevezys (35% of the total population), most of them occupied in small trade and crafts and some in larger business enterprises and industry.

The community had an active social and cultural life. Its educational institutions included Hebrew and Yiddish primary schools, two Hebrew secondary schools (one belonging to the Zionist-orientated Tarbut educational system and the other, for girls, to the religious Yavneh), a Jewish pro-gymnasium, and libraries.

The Panevezys Yeshivah, which had a high reputation, was founded by Liebe Miriam Gavronsky, daughter of K.Z. Wissotszky. When the Jews were expelled during World War I, the yeshivah was first moved to Ludza in Vitebsk province and then to Mariupol (Zhdanov) in the Ukraine. After World War I Rabbi Kahaneman founded the great Ohel Yiẓḥak yeshivah in Panevezys with about 200 students. In 1944 the yeshivah was reestablished by Rabbi Kahaneman in *Bene Berak, Israel.

Panevezys was occupied by the Germans in 1941 a few days after the outbreak of the German-Soviet war. A ghetto was established from which Jews were transported and murdered in September 1941. They were buried in 12 mass graves. In 1968 the Jewish cemetery at Panevezys was destroyed.

Jacob Morris (1870 - 1947)

Jacob Morris, born Jacob Dik, is the husband of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Levin family HERE. Morris family HERE 

The original name of the family was Dik (Dikiene in Lithuanian) and the family came from Raguva. However, when Jacob arrived in England the clerk did not understand Yiddish and since Jacob called himself Jacob "Monnes" (Menachem), the clerk thought he said Munes was his last name. This was not English enough so the clerk anglicized it to Morris. 

Parents: Joseph Dik (1851 - 1924) and Golda Chaya (1846 - 1923)

Born: April 1870 in Ponevezh, Kovno District, Russian Empire, now Panevėžys, Lithuania,  Ponevezh [Russian], Ponevezh [Yiddish], Poniewież [Polish], Ponewiesch [German], Panevēža [Latvian]

Hebrew name: Yaacov Menachem son of Tsvi Yosef

Siblings

• Rachel Morris (1874 - 1982) married Nochum Aaron Steckoll (1867 - 1933)
• Dinah Morris (1879 - 1969) married Barnett Bryer (1878 - 1958) in Liverpool in (October - December ) 1902
• Ely Morris (1881 - 1972) married Anne Katz (1888 - 1962) in Johannesburg, South Africa on 15 November 1911
• Michael Dik (1883 - ?)
• Tilly Morris (1886 - 1981) married Isaac Epstein (1884 - 1941)

Migration to England: In Lithuania, at that time, the eldest son was drafted to the Russian army when they reached the age of 18. Therefore, he left Lithuania planning to travel to America but on arrival in Liverpool did not have enough money to complete the journey. The local Jewish Leadership offered help on condition that he marry a Jewish girl and settle in England.  Once settled in England he brought all his family to join him in Liverpool and all his siblings changed their name to Morris

Naturalization

Jacob and his family became British citizens in 1902 when age 32. His occupation is listed as a butcher and his children are Elijah age 8, Gertrude age 5, Isaac age 4 and Abraham age 10 months.

Migration to Palestine

Some time shortly after the 1921 census the family emigrated to Palestine. 

Jacob's passport issued on 23 November 1919 for travel to Latvia, Egypt and Palestine. He appears to have travelled to Palestine in late 1919 and returned to England in 1920 via Toulon, France. He is recorded in the June 1921 census as residing in Liverpool, before presumably returning to Palestine for good as the family settled there. His height is given as 4 feet 11 inches with brown eyes and black hair. He was 49 years old when the photograph was taken.

Occupation: Butcher, and later on a draper

Married: Rachel Levin in (October - December) 1892 in Liverpool, England. Jacob was 42 and Rachel 37

Rachel and Jacob Morris

Children

Their first child was born in 1893 when Jacob was 23 and Rachel 19. Their last child was born in 1912 when Jacob was 29 and Rachel 26 

• Eli Morris 1893 - 1956
• Gertrude (Gertie) Morris 1897 - 1948
• Isaac Morris 1898 - 1984
• Abraham (Abe) Morris 1901 - 1988
• Amelia (Millie) Morris 1903 - 1981
• Leah (Lily) Morris 1907 - 2001
• Minnie Morris 1912 - 1942

Census details

1891

Jacob should have been in England on the night of the 1891 census but I am unable to locate a record for him

1901

In 1901 Jacob and Rachel are married and living at 30 Fairclough Road, Liverpool, England. Jacob is 30, a butcher on his own account and working from home. Rachel is 26. The children are Elijah age 7, Gertrude age 4, Isaac age 2 and living with them is Jacob's sister Dinah age 27 and a machine knitter

1911

In 1911 the family is living at 29 Paddington Lane, Liverpool, England in a house with 5 living rooms. Jacob is 39 and still a butcher on his own account working from home but he is now also listed as a dealer, so maybe he is now in the wholesale trade? Rachel is 36 and the children are Elijah age 17 and a picture framer canvasser and enlargers, Gertrude age 14, Isaac age 12, Abraham age 9, Emelia age 7 and Leah age 3. The census return also lists one child who has died. I don't know their name but as they were not listed in the 1901 census they must have been born and died between 1893 (after their marriage in late 1892) and 1901 or 1901 and 1911. There is also a housemaid, Elizabeth Curran age 21

1921

In the 1921 census taken on 19 June 1921 the family is living in a house with eight rooms at 154 Grove Street, Liverpool, England. Jacob is age 50 years and two months and is now a draper on his own account operating from home. His place of birth is given as Panevezy, Kovno, Lithuania. Rachel is age 46 years and seven months and is listed as being born in Svisloch, Grodno. The children are Eli age 27 and nine months and a draper on his own account operating from home, Abraham age 19 years and eight months and a wholesale boot warehouse assistant for H. Hyman leather factors, Amelia age 17 years and six months and Leah age 13 years and 7 months. Both Amelia and Leah are attending educational institutions

Photos

Rachel and Jacob Morris outside their home in Bat-Yam during the British Mandate of Palestine late 1930s

Rachel and Jacob Morris in their home in Bat-Yam during the British Mandate of Palestine late 1930s

Left to right: Shaul Hareli, his wife Lily and her parents Rachel and Jacob Morris, mid-1940s. Lily served as a secretary in the Administration of the British Mandate of Palestine. Shaul was a Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature in the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, USA

Jacob Morris and his grandson Danny Schechter in Palestine in 1946

Biography

My family, the Dick family had its origin in eastern Europe. My grandfather Yaacov-Menachem (Munes) Dick was born in Ponevezh, Lithuania in April 1870, the eldest son to an ultra-orthodox family. They were Litvaks “Misnagedim” which opposed the Hasidic Jews. Already in Lithuania he belonged to the Zionist movement and saw “going up” (emigrating) to Palestine as his mission.

In Lithuania, at that time, all firstborns were drafted to the Russian army when they reached the age of 18. When my grandfather reached 17, he ran away from Lithuania planning to immigrate to America but he did not have enough money to complete the journey so he got stuck in the port city of Liverpool in England without a penny. The local Jewish Leadership offered help with one condition that he will marry a Jewish girl and settle in England. His bride Rachel Levin had a crippled right hand but it did not affect her. She compensated for that and was able to perform all the home chores expected of a woman in that period.

When he arrived in England, when the immigration officer asked my grandfather for his name, he answered Munes (Menachem). The officer made two mistakes. He thought that Munes is the last name but not English enough so he Anglicized it to Morris although Dick was a common English name. At the end of the 19th century, my grandfather brought his entire large family to England and they got the last name of Morris. As time passed members of the family emigrated to other countries including South Africa, the United States, Australia, Italy and Israel. In 1902 my grandfather received British Citizenship.

Before World War 1 my grandfather sent his first-born son Elia אלי אליהוto to study in the Agricultural High School “Mikveh Israel” in Palestine which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. My uncle did not find his place in Palestine and returned to England. Because of the World War (in which the Ottoman Empire was an enemy) my grandfather sent my father, Isaac, to study in a Hebrew school in Liverpool, so when my dad arrived in “The Country” he was already fluent in Hebrew. Among the newspapers that my dad read was one named “Small World” (In Hebrew Olam Katan) a Hebrew magazine for children from beginning of the 20th century published in Wien. My grandfather had a public library in Hebrew but there were not many readers.

My grandfather’s profession was a butcher(shochet) and he also performed circumcision (mohel) although I am not sure that he liked his work since he could not stand blood. He did like his work as a librarian, although it provided very little income. This was the reason that he was also lending money.

My dad, Isaac and my grandfather Jacob Menachem came up to the country (emigrated to Palestine) at the beginning of the third wave of immigration in the year 1920. First emigrated my dad. He checked the conditions and informed my grandfather that he can also emigrate and that work is available. Both knew Hebrew so the immigration was easy. 

I don’t know what my grandfather did in his first years in Palestine but he built a very large two story house in Jerusalem in the new Rehavia neighborhood on Iben Gabirol Street, opposite the shack of Yitzhak Ben Zevi and his wife Rachel Yanait. Ben Zevi, many years later became the second president of Israel and turned his shack to the official presidency residence. During my childhood, my grandparents’ house was named the Morris house. At the center of the first floor was a large room that was used for dining and accommodating guests. It had several doors leading to the other rooms. This design was common during that period. The second floor had a few rental apartments.

Toward the end of the 1930s my grandfather sold his house in Jerusalem and moved to the center of the country to a neighborhood called first “Bait Vagan” and later “Bat Yam”. When I asked him why he move he answered that he wanted to contribute to the settlement of the country so he wanted to settle in a new place and help its establishment. I was about four years old when he told me that, it left a deep impression in my memory. In 1938 he built a one-story house there with two apartments and the option of building additional floors. The house was on King George street but after the war of independence was named Independence Avenue. I spent a lot of time in this house with my grandparents and I enjoyed being with them. To get to their place from Jerusalem I first took the “Eged” cooperative bus to Tel Aviv and continued with the Drom Yehuda cooperative bus to Bat Yam going through Arab Jaffa. When I visited my grandparents, I enjoyed reading the “Olam Katan” magazine.

I enjoyed spending my vacations at my grandparents. My grandfather was very religious and went to synagogue every day. On the Saturday I joined him and he explained everything. Although he was very religious, he opposed the Hasidism movement that created empires of followers who saw their rabbis as a middleman between their followers and God. On Saturday he had a “Goy Shel Shabbat” (A gentile of Saturday) That was turning the light around 10 at night. The Goy Shel Shabbat (That's the name I gave it) was actually an old alarm clock that was connected with wire to the light switch. When the preset alarm time arrived to the alarm clock would ring and pull the wire that was turning the light off.

I loved seeing the preparation for Saturday. My grandfather placed the meat in salt on top of a metal grid while my grandmother cooked the rest of the food. I especially liked the Challah that she baked in the oven, taking them out when their color became yellow and breaking it for me.

I admired my grandparents as a team. Although my grandmother had a crippled right hand, she was an awesome baker and magnificent cook and my grandfather helped her in everything.

My grandfather died on the 30th of November 1947. One day after the UN resolution to partition Palestine between an Arab and a Jewish State. On that day my Grandfather was no longer conscious but my father, who spent those last days with him, told him about the resolution to establish a Jewish State, in the hope that he understood it. My father buried my grandfather in the Nahalat Yizhak Cemetery. The Shiva was done in the house in Bat Yam. My father handled the sale of all my grandfather property and brought my grandmother to our home in Jerusalem. I was 16 years old when my grandfather died and I was very sorry that I did not get to know him better. (Extracted from the Hebrew Autobiography of David Morris, son of Isaac and Rey Morris, grandson of Jacob and Rachel Morris.)

Death

5 December 1947 (22 Kislev 5708) in Bat Yam, Palestine. He is buried in the Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery, Givatayim, Tel Aviv, Israel, Block 2, Area 56, Row 11, Plot 2

Tombstone for Jacob Morris 
Hebrew:פ״נעקב מנחם מוריס

בר צבי יוסף ז״ל

משכיל ובר אורין

נאמן לה׳ ולתורתו

מראשוני חובבי ציון באנגליה

עלה ארצה בתרע״ח

נפ׳ בבת-ים כב כסליו תש״ח

בן ע״ו לחייו

תנצבה

English translation:

Here Lies Yaakov Menachem Morris

Son of Tzvi Yosef, of blessed memory

A scholar and a man of learning 

Faithful to God and to His Torah

One of the early Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) in England Immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1918

Passed away in Bat Yam on the 22nd of Kislev, 1947

Aged 76 at his death

May his soul be bound in the bond of life

Probate

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF TEL AVIV

Probate (Appl.) No. 172 In The Matter of the Will of Jacob Morris (also knows Jacob Menahem Morris) of Bat Yam, Palestine, deceased. petitioner: Isaac Morris, of Jerusalem, represented by Mes. S. Horowitz & Co., Advocate of Jaffa Road, Mizpah House Jerusalem. In Virtue of an order of the District Court of Tel Aviv, bearing date this do I do hereby cite all and all manner of persons to appear the said Court in 15 days from the date hereof, and show cause, if any they have, why the last Will of Jacob Morris (also known as Jacob Menahem Morris) of Bat Yam, deceased, should not be proved, approved and registered, and probate thereof granted to Isaac Morris, the executor named there-in, as, in default thereof, the Court will proceed to grant the same accordingly. Dated this 9h day of March, 1948.

(Sgd.) ELIAHU MANIS, Registrar, District Court, Tel Aviv (Palestine Post 11 March 1948)

Place of Birth

Jacob Morris was born in Panevėžys, Lithuania

PANEVEZYS (Panevezhis; Lith. Panevežys; Rus. Ponevezh), city in Lithuania. In 1766 the Jewish community numbered 254; in 1847, 1,447 Jews were registered, and in 1897, 6,627 Jews (50% of the total population) lived in Panevezys. An ancient Karaite community is also known to have existed there. A number of noted rabbis officiated in Panevezys, among them Isaac Jacob Rabinovich (Itzele Ponevezher), Joseph Kahaneman, and Jeroham Leibovich. The Hebrew poet Judah Leib Gordon served as a teacher in the city from 1853 to 1860. Naphtali Friedman, a noted advocate, served as delegate from Panevezys to the third Duma.

In May 1915, during World War I, the Jews of Panevezys were sent along with other Lithuanian Jews to the interior of Russia by the Russian military authorities. Most of them returned after the Russian Revolution. In 1923 there were 6,845 Jews living in Panevezys (35% of the total population), most of them occupied in small trade and crafts and some in larger business enterprises and industry.

The community had an active social and cultural life. Its educational institutions included Hebrew and Yiddish primary schools, two Hebrew secondary schools (one belonging to the Zionist-orientated Tarbut educational system and the other, for girls, to the religious Yavneh), a Jewish pro-gymnasium, and libraries.

The Panevezys Yeshivah, which had a high reputation, was founded by Liebe Miriam Gavronsky, daughter of K.Z. Wissotszky. When the Jews were expelled during World War I, the yeshivah was first moved to Ludza in Vitebsk province and then to Mariupol (Zhdanov) in the Ukraine. After World War I Rabbi Kahaneman founded the great Ohel Yiẓḥak yeshivah in Panevezys with about 200 students. In 1944 the yeshivah was reestablished by Rabbi Kahaneman in *Bene Berak, Israel.

Panevezys was occupied by the Germans in 1941 a few days after the outbreak of the German-Soviet war. A ghetto was established from which Jews were transported and murdered in September 1941. They were buried in 12 mass graves. In 1968 the Jewish cemetery at Panevezys was destroyed.

Residences

In 1901 the family were living at 30 Fairclough Road, Liverpool, England. The property no longer exists

In the 1921 census the family were living at 154 Grove Street, Liverpool, England. The property appears to no longer exist

This is Rehavia, a suburb of Jerusalem, in the 1930s. On what nowadays appears to be Menahem Ussishkin street, No 12 is the house of Rachel and Jacobs' son Isaac Morris and his wife and no 13 is the house of Jacob and Rachel Morris

In this picture the house where Jacob and Rachel lived is no 3 and where their son Isaac and his family lived is house no 1

Jacob and Rachel's grandson David Morris recounted in his autobiography that "In the late 1930s, my grandfather sold his house in Jerusalem and moved to Bat Yam. In 1938 he built a one-story house there with two apartments and with the possibility of building more floors. The house was on King George Street, after the War of Independence called Independence Boulevard". It is now called HaAtzmaut Boulevard

Palestine Property matter

Jacob had lent money to enable a couple to buy this property. However they had failed to repay the mortgage and so he had obtained a court order to sell the land at public auction to recover the debt.

ChatGPT has advised as follows: 

What the notice is

It is an official court announcement from the District Court of Tel Aviv, notifying the public that a piece of immovable property (land) will be sold by court order to satisfy an unpaid mortgage debt. Such notices were routinely published in newspapers to give public warning and to invite bidders.

Key details, explained

Court: District Court of Tel Aviv

Nature of notice: Second notification of sale

File number: 455/40

Property owners (mortgagors)

Dov (Ber) Celin, Fruma Celin. They owned the property and had mortgaged it.

Creditor (mortgagee), Mr Jacob Menahem Morris. He is the lender to whom the debt is owed. 

Debt: £P1,900 (Palestine pounds) Plus: legal costs and interest. Because the debt was not repaid, the creditor applied to the court to enforce the mortgage.

Sale process

The property is offered for sale by execution (i.e., forced sale). 

The sale will be conducted at the Execution Office, Tel Aviv Over 15 days from the date of publication. Bids accepted every Tuesday, between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, after depositing 10% of the value of the property.

Property description

Location: Lod (Lydda)

Registration: Fourth Class

Block: 369, Parcels: 3, 5, 7, 2

Parcel 3 – 724 sq. m.

Parcel 5 – 443 sq. m.

Parcel 7 – 445 sq. m.

Parcel 2 – 447 sq. m.

Nature of land: Formerly planted with a grove, Now used for growing barley.Areas given in square metres, for each parcel and this indicates agricultural land, not an urban residence. (Palestine Post 7 January 1942, also 12 July 1942)