Moses Hyman Levinson (1857 - 1932)

Moses Hyman Levinson, is the father-in-law of Minnie Glynn, my 1st cousin 2x removed. Levinson family HERE. Glynn family HERE

Born: 1857 in Svislach or Svisloch (Belarusian: Свiслач, romanized: Svislač, Russian: Свислочь; Polish: Świsłocz; Yiddish: סיסלעוויטש), a town nowadays in the Grodno Region, Belarus

Hebrew name: Moishe Chaim son of Tzvi Arieh

Migration: Moses brought his family to England sometime between 1903 and 1908, age 46 to 51

Occupation: A picture framer, house furnisher and shopkeeper

Married: Hannah Rachel Zussman around 1884 in Svislach, nowadays Belarus. Moses was age 27 and Hannah age 20

Children

Their first child was born in 1886 when Moses was 29 and Hannah 22. Their last child was born in 1902 when Moses was 45 and Hannah 38 

• Fanny Leah Levinson 1886 - 1960
• Maxwell Levinson 1896 - 1960
• Rachel Levinson 1896 - 1961
• Cecilia Levinson 1898 - 1957

Census details

1911

Moses and his family are living in a five room house at 147 Mill Street, Liverpool, England. Moses is age 52, a shopkeeper and house furnisher working on his own account at home. His wife Hannah is age 46. His children are Rachel age 16, Cecilia age 13 and Maxwell age 17

1921

The family are now living in a 5 room terrace at 7 Montpelier Terrace, Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool. Moses is age 62 and six months and a picture framer on his own account working out of a premises on 33 Park Place, Liverpool, Hannah Rachel is listed as Rachel and is 57 and three months. Cecilia is 23 and five months and a school teacher. Maxwell is 25 years and eleven months, an assistant manager and now an Argentine citizen and Fanny is now married, named Fanny Ruck age 36 years and eleven months

Directory

A 1911 Liverpool Directory where Moses Levinson, 147 Mill Street, is listed under House furnishers and Decorators

Death

22 September 1932 in Liverpool, England at age 75. He is buried in the Rice Lane Cemetery, Liverpool, England A Block plot no G-13-36

Liverpool Jewish burial record for Moses Levinson

Tombstone for Moses Levinson: He loved peace and pursued it. In loving memory of Moses H Levinson who passed away 22nd September 1932 aged 75 years. Deeply mourned by his wife, sons, daughters and relatives

Hebrew translation: "Here in this grave to rest lies the body of / Moshe Chaim son of Tzvi Arieh / swift as a deer and heroic as a lion pursuing God's will / how great and severe the pain – Moshe ascended heavenward / our sun[light] darkened and that very day the lights were extinguished / he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and was of good spirit with his fellow man / he departed life on Wednesday 22nd of the month of Elul 5693." 

The enlarged letters form the acrostic ר משה חיים. There is a problem with the Hebrew/English dates. 22nd September 1932 would have been 22nd Elul 5692, not 5693. But this was a Thursday not a Wednesday. 

The Death registration index confirms that the year was 1932 and therefore the Hebrew date on the tombstone is incorrect

Place of Birth

Moses Levinson was born in Svislach in the Grodno province of Belarus

SVISLOCH (Pol. Swisłocz ), town in Grodno district, Belarus; within Poland before 1795 and between the two world wars. A number of Jews settled there at the beginning of the 18th century on the invitation of the owners of the locality, the princes of Tyszkiewicz. In 1752 the Council of Lithuania imposed a poll tax of 215 zlotys on the Svisloch community, which numbered 220 in 1766. Until the middle of the 19th century the Jews of Svisloch earned their livelihood mainly from trade in timber and grain, shopkeeping, and crafts; they later also engaged in innkeeping and the lease of public houses. After a great fire, in which most of the Jewish shops were destroyed, the fairs were no longer held in Svisloch and the Jews were deprived of their principal sources of livelihood. Around 1870 Jews began to pioneer in the tanning industry and improved methods of manufacture with the assistance of German experts whom they invited. By the end of the 19th century a number of tanneries had been established in Svisloch, which employed hundreds of workers. Many Jews from the surrounding areas went there in search of employment. As early as the middle of the 19th century Jewish craftsmen in Svisloch attempted to organize themselves into guilds. At the beginning of the 20th century the Bund Movement developed in Svisloch and it embraced the whole of the Jewish working populace (tanners, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters. smiths, and bakers), who organized strikes for the amelioration of working conditions in tanneries and factories. In 1905 the workers' organization was established for Jewish self-defense against pogroms.

Residences

In 1911 the family were living at 147 Mill Street Liverpool. The house now shown here may date from after this period

In the 1921 census the family are living at 7 Montpelier Terrace, Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool, England L8. This Regency terrace, dating from the 1820’s, stood between Grove Street and Bloom Street and was demolished in the late 1960’s. This is a view of part of Montpelier Terrace taken in 1968. It is now the site of the Woman's Hospital

Israel Itsyk Baum (1857 - 1929)

Israel Itsyk Baum is my maternal 3x great uncle. Baum family tree Here. In a 1922 census his name was given as Isaak

Parents: Mark Baum and Kreine

Born: 1857 in Vorne, Russia (now Varniai in the Telz district of Lithuania). However his internal passport and death records suggests he was born in around 1855

Hebrew name: Izrael Itsyk Beym (Beimas)

Lithuanian name: Izraelis Icikas (Seikas) Beimas (Beim)

Israel Itsyk Baum taken in 1920 when he was age 65

Married: Hinde Aronson

Children

• Kreyne Baum 1880 - Before 1892
• Vula Baum 1888 - ?
• Maksas (Movsha) Baum 1890 - perished in the Holocaust
• Kreyna Baum 1892 - ?
• Basia Baum 1892 - perished in the Holocaust
• Ida Baum 1897 - ?
• David Wulf Baum 1897 - 1921
• Mordkhel Gershel Baum 

A family list in 1912

Apartment census in 1922. Isaak, his wife Ginda and their son Maks

Occupation: Merchant

Lithuanian internal passport

A Lithuanian internal passport application for Israel Itsyk Baum in 1920, when age 65

Death

10 April 1929 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was 74 years old

Death record for Israel Baum

Izraelis Seikas Beimas, vedęs, pirklys, 74 m. amžiaus, gyvena Kaune, Prieplaukos g. 23 a, žydų tikybos, Lietuvos pilietis, Mordochas-Geršono ir Kreinės Breinų sūnus.

Translation: married, merchant, 74 years old, lives in 23 Prieplaukos street, Kaunas, Jewish religion, citizen of Lithuania, son of Mordochas Beršonas and Kreinė Breinės

Residences

In 1920 Israel and Hinde are listed as living at 29 Gedimino Street, Kaunas, Lithuania

At the time of his death in 1929 he was living at 23 Prieplaukos street, Kaunas, Lithuania. The existing property appears to have been constructed after World War 2

Place of Birth

Israel Baum was born in Vorne, now Varniai in the Telz district of Lithuania

It was established in the 14th century, on the bank of the Varnelė River, near an important Samogitian castle. It was the center of Samogitian Catholic church: after the baptism of Samogitia, the Samogitian Bishop resided in the town. Around 1414–1416 the first church was built, and c. 1464 the first cathedral. Varniai was the center of Samogitian episcopate until the middle of the 19th century, when authorities of the Russian Empire moved it to Kaunas.

The first Jews probably settled in Vorne in the second half of the seventeenth century. The bishop granted rights to a few Jews to run taverns, sell liquor and collect taxes during the fairs. Later, peddlers, merchants and artisans arrived in town. Jews, provided the majority of tradesmen, including tailors. Their workshops were small and run by families. The tradesmen of the time numbered twenty-two tailors, ten carters, sixteen shoemakers, six blacksmiths, three carpenters, three hatters, two builders, one book binder, one painter and one mould-maker. There were also well known timber tradesmen: one of these, Aharon Raskin, was a very prominent member of the community. The timber was loaded onto rafts and sent to Memel (Klaipeda) en route to Germany. The local flour mill was owned by Rafael Zax. Liquor distillation plants were also run by Jews. Several families kept stores, and they would travel to the large regional town of Shavl (Šiauliai) to stock up on goods.

As the population grew, a cemetery and prayer houses were built – the Kloiz and the Shtiblekh on two of the sides of the Shul, a building with a high dome for prayers in the summer. Later, welfare associations were established. Linath HaTsedek, Bikur Holim, Gemiluth Hesed, Hakhnasath Kalah and Hakhnasath Orkhim were among these. Social assistance was mostly provided by generous women with initiative. One such was Ida-Pesia, the wife of Aharon Raskin the timber merchant. He was also the Gabai of the local Yeshivah with its 60 students. This Yeshivah was established and directed by Nahum-Lipa Hananyah, and it existed for 35 years until his death in 1910. Many of the young people in the town studied in the Telz Yeshivah and in other Yeshivoth in the area. Quite a few acquired a general education as well.

In 1874, a blood libel was initiated by a local priest who gave money to a Christian boy to disappear from the town. Then he announced that the Jews had murdered the boy for his blood. The priest, together with a group of peasants armed with knives and sticks, went out in the streets and attacked every Jew they met. A few were injured and taken to hospital. The uproar stopped when the boy returned home. In 1847, 1,084 Jews lived in the town. Half a century later, according to the government census of 1897, there were 3,121 residents in Varniai, including 1,226 (39%) Jews.

Jewish homes in an alleyway

One of the prayer houses in Vorne

Minnie Rosenberg (1856 - 1929)

Minnie Rosenberg is my maternal 2x great grandmother. On her eldests daughter's birth certificate her name is given as Yetta. Baum family tree Here. Rosenberg family tree Here

Parents: Harris Rosenberg and Toby (Taube)

Born: October 1856 in Kovno, Russian Empire, now Kaunas, Lithuania

Hebrew name: Ita Michla daughter of Tzvi (Hirsh)

Migration: Minnie came with her family to England as a teenager sometime between 1872 and 1876 (age 16 to 20 years)

Married: Asher Baum on 3 January 1877 in Prestwich, Manchester, England. Minnie was 20 and Asher was 21

Asher Baum and Minnie Rosenberg marriage certificate on 3 January 1877 at the great synagogue in the district of Prestwich, Manchester, England. Both Asher and Minnie are listed as residing in 4 Faulk Street, Cheetham, presumably with with her parents. His occupation is listed as a macintosh maker and hers as a cap maker. He is 21 and she is 20

Children

Their first child was born in 1878 when Asher was 23 and Minnie 21. Their last child was born in 1899 when Asher was 44 and Minnie 42

• Hannah Baum 1878 - 1938
• Jeanne (Jane) Baum 1879 - 1964
• Samuel Baum 1881 - 1884
• Leah Baum 1884 - 1884
• Rebecca Baum 1887 - 1887
• Fanny Baum 1885 - 1950
• Abraham (Abe) Baum 1889 - 1944
• Rachel (Raie) Baum 1889 - 1973
• Harris Marcus (Harold) 1899 - 1904

Abraham and Rachel werte twins. In the 1911 census it is recorded that Asher and Minnie had a total of 9 children born alive and that five were still living

Census details
1881
The family is at 5 Fernie St., Manchester, England. Asher is a grocer, age 28 and Minnie is 23. The children, all born in England, are given as Annie age 3 and Jane age 1. The family lived in the house of Minnie's parents, Harris Rosenberg, age 51, from Poland, also a grocer, his wife Toby, age 50, born in Poland and their two younger Polish born children, Rose, age 15 and Rachael, age 9

1891
The family is at 46 Lord Street, Cheetham Hill, Prestwich, Manchester and Asher is a provision dealer age 36. Minnie is 32 and her place of birth is listed as Poland, Annie is 13, Jane is 10, Fanny is 5 and both Abraham and Rachel are 1. They have two servants, Sarah Markus age 19 from Russia and Ellen Brown age 21 from Ireland

1901
The family is still at 46 Lord Street, Cheetham Hill, Prestwich, Manchester. Asher is still a grocer / baker / shopkeeper and both he and Minnie are now naturalised British subjects. Living with them is Jane age 20, Fanny age 15, Abraham, age 11, Rachel age 11 and Harold age 1

1911
The family is still at 46 Lord Street, Cheetham Hill, Prestwich, Manchester and Asher is still a grocer, age 56. Minnie is age 54 with her place of birth listed as Valkevish, Russia (now Vilkaviškis in south-western Lithuania); Fanny age 25, Rachael age 21 and Abraham age 21 (who has signed the document)

1921
The family is still at 46 Lord Street, Cheetham, Manchester. Minnie is now a widow, age 64 years and 8 months with her place of birth listed as Kovno, Russia, (now Kaunas, Lithuania). She is running the grocery business. Fanny is age 36, single and also working in the grocery store as is Rachael (spelt Raie) age 31. Abe A Baum is age 31 and is a woolen cloth merchant. The house has five rooms. The census was conducted on the 19th June 1921 which gives Minnie's date of birth as approximately October 1856

Death
14 February 1929 in Salford, Manchester, England at 72 years of age. Buried in the Urmston Jewish Cemetery, Urmston, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England

Death certificate for Minnie Baum. Cause of death was cardiac failure, bronchitis and influenza. Present at her death was her son-in-law Abraham Goorney

Tombstone for Minnie Baum (Nee Rosenberg). Her age is given as 72 years. "A beautiful memory left behind". Hebrew translation "Here lies our dear and pleasant mother Ita Michla daughter of the late Mr. Zvi, remembered for her deeds which remain after her, firm in her paths and shining in her words, 72 years old, she departed to the sorrow of her son and her daughters on the fourth day of First Adar 5689. Abbreviation: May her soul be bound up in the bond of life."

Probate

Minnie Baum (Nee Rosenberg) Probate 6 June 1930. At the time of her death she was residing at 428 Great Cheetham Street in Salford, Manchester. She died intestate and her beneficiaries were her two daughters, Fanny Goorney and Hannah Levin. The value of her estate was £831-1-3 gross and £683-7-1 net

Pictures

Minnie Baum (Nee Rosenberg)

Asher and Minnie Baum (Nee Rosenberg) in Manchester around 1893 with their children. Left to Right, Rachel Baum, Asher Baum (seated), Hannah Baum (standing), Fanny Baum, Minnie Baum (seated), Jeanne Baum (standing), Abraham Baum

Documents

A letter on the company letterhead to the Ministry of Labour dated 15 December 1918 in which Minnie vouches that her son Abraham is an employee: "was in my employment before August 1914, and that I am prepared to offer him employment as - Baker, to manage the whole business immediately on his return to civil life."

Place of Birth

Minnie Rosenberg was born Kaunas in Lithuania

KAUNAS is situated at the confluence of the rivers Viliya and Neman. Formerly in Poland-Lithuania, it passed to Russia in 1795, was occupied by Germany in World War I (1915–18), and became capital of the independent Lithuanian Republic from 1920 to 1939. In World War II it was under Soviet rule from June 1940 to June 1941 and subsequently under Nazi occupation to July 1944. 

Jews took part in the trade between Kaunas and Danzig in the 16th century. Their competition aroused opposition from the Christian merchants, and through their influence Jews were prohibited from Kaunas on numerous occasions. However, the ban was not strictly enforced, and gradually a small group of Jews settled in Kaunas. The ban was renewed in 1682, and Jews were not permitted to settle in Kaunas and engage in trade until the 18th century when they were permitted to reside in two streets. In 1753 they were expelled from land belonging to the municipality. The Jews were again expelled in 1761, when there were anti-Jewish riots. They found refuge in the suburb of *Slobodka (Vilijampole) on the other side of the River Viliya, where a Jewish settlement had existed long before that of Kaunas. In 1782 the expelled Jews were permitted to return to Kaunas.

After the partition of Poland in 1795 Kaunas became part of Russia. In 1797 the Christians in Kaunas again demanded the expulsion of the Jews, but the authorities in 1798 ordered that they should be left alone, and not be prevented from engaging in commerce and crafts. Restrictions on Jewish settlement there were again introduced in 1845 but abolished in 1858. The Jewish population increased as the town expanded. There were 2,013 Jews living in Kovno (Kaunas) and Slobodka in 1847; 16,540 in 1864; 25,441 in 1897 (30% of the total population); and 32,628 in 1908 (40%).

From the second half of the 19th century, Kovno became a center of Jewish cultural activity in Lithuania. Prominent there were Isaac Elhanan Spektor (the "Kovner Rav,"; officiated 1864–96), Abraham Mapu, one of the first modern Hebrew writers, and the literary critic Ba'al Makhshoves (Israel Isidor Elyashev). The yeshivot of Slobodka became celebrated, in particular the Or Ḥayyim yeshivah, founded by Ẓevi Levitan about 1863, which attracted students from other countries. It was headed by noted scholars. Nathan Ẓevi Finkel introduced*musar ideals there; from 1881 it was known as the Slobodka yeshivah. Subsequently there was opposition among the students to the musar method, and in 1897 the yeshivah was divided into two: the followers of musar established the Knesset Israel yeshivah, named after Israel Lipkin (Salanter), while its opponents founded the Knesset Bet Yiẓḥak yeshivah, named after Isaac Elhanan Spektor. In May 1869 a conference was convened at Kovno to help Jewish refugees from northwestern Russia where the failure of the crops had led to famine and an outbreak of typhus. Another was held in November 1909 to work out a proposal for a law to establish Jewish community councils in Russia. The Kovno community maintained numerous ḥadarim, schools, and libraries. It returned Jewish deputies to the first and second *Duma (L. Bramson and Sh. Abramson). The Jews in Kovno underwent many vicissitudes during World War I. In May 1915 an edict was issued by the czarist government expelling the Jews from the entire province. When later the city was occupied by the Germans, about 9,000 Jews returned, and communal life was revived with the help of Jews in Germany. Many who had been expelled to the Russian interior returned after the 1917 Revolution.

Residences

The building Minnie and her family occupied at 46 Lord Street, Cheetham, Manchester no longer appears to exist. The building at 5 Fernie Street is also no longer in existence

428 Great Cheetham Street in Salford, Manchester where Minnie died in 1929.