Monday, 30 May 2022

Harris Rosenberg (1830 - 1897)

Harris Rosenberg is my maternal 3x great grandfather. Rosenberg family tree Here

Parents: Samuel Rosenberg (? - bef 1882) and Leah (? - bef 1885)

Born: 1830 in 
Valkevish, Suwalki Province, Russia (now Vilkaviškis in south-western Lithuania)

Hebrew name: Tzvi (Hirsh), son of Shmuel

Migration: Harris came to England with his family some time between 1872 and 1877 (age 42 to 47)

Married: Toby in Russia some time before 1856

Children
Their first child was born in 1856 when Harris was 26 and Toby 25. Their last child was born in 1872 when Harris was 42 and Toby 45
On his 1892 naturalization certificate it is stated that he has four children

Occupation: Grocer and baker, in partnership with his son-in-law, Asher Baum

Census details
1881
The family is at 5 Fernie St., Manchester, England. Harris is a grocer, age 51 and Toby is listed as 50 but was actually 54. The children, all born in Poland Russia, are given as Minnie age 23, Rose age 15 and Rachael age 9. The family shared the house with Harris's married daughter Minnie Baum (Nee Rosenberg) and her husband Asher Baum and their two children Annie age 3 and Jane age 1


1891
The family is still at 5 Fernie St., Manchester, England. Harris is still a grocer, age 61 and Toby is now 64. Living with them is their son-in-law Sam Levy age 20, a grocer and his wife Rachael Levy (Nee Rosenberg) age 19. The two eldest children, Minnie and Rose, are no longer living at home


Naturalization
Harris Rosenberg became a naturalized British subject on 14 March 1892

Harris Rosenberg naturalization certificate 14 March 1892, p. 1

Harris Rosenberg naturalization certificate 14 March 1892, p. 2

Harris Rosenberg naturalization notice 14 March 1892. The London Gazette, 1 April 1892, p. 1934

Death
21 July 1897 at 20 Whitfield Street, Cheetham, Manchester, England at 67 years of age. Buried in the Urmston Jewish Cemetery, Urmston, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England

Death certificate for Harris Rosenberg. Cause of death was cancer of the stomach. Present at the death was his grandson Abraham Rosenberg (Abraham Rosenberg [1874 - 1944] was actually his great nephew!)

Tombstone inscription: In loving memory of Harris Rosenberg. Died Tamuz 22nd 5657 aged 67 years. Departed from his wife and children. R.I.P.

Hebrew Translation: Tzvi, son of Shmuel. acrostic:
Charity in secret his hand gave from the hole (reference to Song of songs chap 5 verse 4)
Dark and needy houses in his righteousness saw light
His hands were steadfast till his strength ran out
At the age of 67 came the end of his years
He pursued peace, and from honor distanced (himself)
Observed the mitzvot, then his heart yearned for God.
May his soul be bound in the bond of life (abbrev.)

Will

This is the last Will and Testament of me Harris Rosenberg of 20 Whitfield Street, Cheetham, Manchester in the county of Lancaster. Out of business I appoint Asher Baum and Moses Rosenberg (hereafter called my Trustees) to be the Executors and Trustees of this may will I direct may said trustees to pay and discharge all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses as soon as conveniently after my decease. I give all my share and interest in the business lately carried on by me us co-partnership with Asher Baum under the style of the standard Private Advance Company to the said Asher Baum absolutely I give all the next residue and remainder of any property whatsoever and wheresoever unto my wife Tobe Rosenberg absolutely. In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand this twentieth day of July one thousand eight hundred and ninety seven.

Signed by the said Harris Rosenberg as his last will and testament in the presence of us both being present at the same time who in his presence and in the presence of each other have here unto subscribed our names, as witnesses the same having been just read over to the said Harris Rosenberg in our presence who appeared perfectly to understand the same and being unable to write made his mark hereto also in our presence.

James Brooke Garner

Percy Hodeu

Clerks with Messrs Gardner & Son solicitors Manchester

On the 28 day of August 1914 Probate of this Will was granted at Manchester to Asher Baum and Moves Rosenberg the Executors
Certified to be a correct copy
---------------------------------

Last will and testament of Harris Rosenberg dated 20 July 1897. His executors are his son-in-law Asher Baum and his nephew Moses Rosenberg. His share of the grocery business jointly owned by him and Asher is given to his son-in-law and everything else to his wife Tolbe.

Probate


Harris Rosenberg Probate 28 August 1914. He left a will and the value of his estate was £91 gross. It is not known why it took 17 years to be proved. The administration of the estate was granted to his son-in-law Asher Baum and his nephew Moses Rosenberg

Place of Birth
Harris Rosenberg was born Vilkaviškis in south-western Lithuania

It is a city in southwestern Lithuania. It is located 25 km (16 mi) northwest from Marijampolė, on a bank of Šeimena River. The city got its name from the Vilkauja River, a tributary to Šeimena. Until 1941 the city had a large Jewish Community which was annihilated by the Nazis and their local collaborators. The whole Jewish population was killed in a single day after the entry of the Germans into the city.

The town was granted city rights in 1670 by the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Jan Kazimierz, which was one of the first times such privileges were granted to a place in Lithuania. The coat of arms of the town was most likely borrowed from the Pac family, as the owner of the village at the time, Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, was also the Chancellor of Lithuania.

It remained in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795 when, in the First Partition of Poland it became part of Kingdom of Prussia (the region in which the town is located was split between Prussia and Russia) until 1807. At this time the town was incorporated into the Duchy of Warsaw and merged into the Białystok region. After Napoleon's defeat in 1815 the region switched hands again and became part of Russia, and then Congress Poland, as part of the Augustów, and later Suwałki, district.

According to tradition, Jews were living in this area in the 14th century and a synagogue was built at the beginning of the 16th. By the 19th century a flourishing Jewish community had developed. Between 1823 and 1862 no new Jews were permitted to settle in Vilkaviškis, which was near the border with Germany, under the czarist legislation restricting Jewish settlement in border towns. Nevertheless, the community numbered 4,417 in 1856 (as against 834 Christians), 3,480 in 1897 (60% of the total population), 3,206 in 1923 (44%), and 3,609 in 1939 (45%). The majority were occupied in commerce and crafts. Some derived their livelihood from agriculture and garden plots close to the town. The sizable brushmaking industry in Vilkaviškis was predominantly Jewish and employed hundreds of Jewish workers.

Synagogue in Vilkaviškis

Residences
The building at 5 Fernie Street, Manchester, where Harris and his family lived appears to be no longer in existence. 


Harris was living at 20 Whitfield Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester at the time of his death. It appears to be a light industrial area today. It is hard to tell if the building itself has survived.