Showing posts with label 1879. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1879. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Dinah Rachel Morris (1879 - 1969)

Dinah Rachel Morris, born Dinah Dik, is the sister-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Morris family HERE. Bryer family HERE.

The original name of the family was Dik (Dikiene in Lithuanian) and the family, while registered in Raguva, Lithuania, lived in what is now Panevėžys, Lithuania. However, when Dinah'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 Jacob 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: 1879 (probably in the 2nd half of that year), in Ponevezh, Kovno District, Russian Empire, now Panevėžys, Lithuania,  Ponevezh [Russian], Ponevezh [Yiddish], Poniewież [Polish], Ponewiesch [German], Panevēža [Latvian]

Hebrew name: Dina Raizel daughter of Tsvi Yosef

Siblings
According to AI searches there were several other children who were born in Panevėžys as well, but I have yet to corroborate this

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, Dinah'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. Dinah must have arrived in Liverpool sometime in the 1890s and moved to South Africa sometime between 1908 and 1911

Married: Barnett Bryer, known as Barney, on 1 January 1903 in Liverpool, England. Barney was 24 and Dinah 23

Children
Their first child was born in 1904 when Barney was 25 and Dinah 24 or 25 years old. Their last child was born in 1919 when Barney was 40 and Dinah 39 or 40 years old 

The Bryer family in 1922. Back row Maurice (age 11) and his mother Dinah. Front, Barney and their children Leon (age 3) and Nathan (seated) (age 12)

Census
1901
In 1901 Dinah's brother Jacob and huis wife Rachel (Nee Levin) 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 22 and a machine knitter


Travel
1924
Dinah and barnett travelling from Southampton, England to Cape Town, South Africa aboard the Arundel Castle departing 12 September 1924. Their address in England, 53 Whitechapel Road, London, is that of Barnett's uncle Isaac Bryer. Barnett's occupation is given as a furniture dealer and both he and Dinah are age 46

1949
Dinah and Barney travelling to England aboard the Warwick Castle. They arrived there on 18 June 1949

Photo
Dinah and Barney on their 50th wedding anniversary in Bloemfontein, South Africa on 1st January 1953 (Hashomer, March 1953, p. 4)

Golden Wedding Anniversary
Golden Wedding Celebrations; Mr. and Mrs. Barney Bryer.

Golden Wedding anniversaries are not a frequent occurrence. It was, therefore, particularly gratifying to see the couple after fifty years of married life so well preserved and young-looking.

The celebrations which took place on January 1st at the Clarendon Hall drew a large gathering. Mr. and Mrs. Bryer were among the earliest Jewish settlers in Bloemfontein and well known amongst the community.

Mr. Bryer is one of the few surviving founder members of the Synagogue and has been identified with practically every Jewish communal stitution in the city. He is still a committee member of the Synagogue, Talmud Torah, Chevrah Kadisha and Gemillus Chasodim Societies.

Relatives and friends had come from many parts of the Union to attend the celebrations. These included their elder sons, Nathan and Maurice Bryer, their wives and families from Johannesburg, and their youngest son, Dr. Leon Bryer, to be present on this occasion.

The toast to the bride and groom was proposed by Mr. J. Lovius.

A presentation on behalf of the shool was made by Mr. H. Bradlow, President of the Hebrew Congregation, and on behalf of the Talmud Torah by its Chairman, Mr. S. C. Ostrofsky. Rev. Werner spoke on behalf of the relatives.

Mr. Barney Bryer very ably responded on behalf of his wife and himself.

Mr. Walter Bryer was master of ceremonies. (Hashomer, March 1953, p. 4)

Death
15 July 1969 (29 Tamuz 5729) in Johannesburg, South Africa age 90. She was buried on 17 July 1969 in the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, grave block M, grave no 358


Tombstone for Dinah Bryer
Inscription: In loving memory of Dinah Bryer passed away on 15th July 1969. Deeply mourned by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. M.H.D.S.R.I.P.

Hebrew translation: A dear and respected woman, Dina Raizel the daughter of Reb Tzvi Yosef, passed away first of the month of Av, 5729. 'May her soul be bound up in the bonds of (Eternal) Life' (Abbr.).


Westpark Cemetery details for Dinah

Jewishgen Cemetery record for Dinah

Place of Birth
Dinah 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.
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Sunday, 3 November 2024

Mary Helfet (1879 - 1948)

Mary Helfet is the sister-in-law of Sarah Ann Levin, my 2x great aunt. Helfet family HERE. Dobrofsky family HERE

Parents: Jacob Helfet (1849 - 1899) and Leah Cohen (1852 - 1898)

Tombstones for her parents Jacob Helfet and Leah Cohen. They are both buried in the Rice Lane Cemetery, Liverpool, England

Born: 20 May 1879 in Chernuch, Russian Empire, nowadays Chornukhy (Ukrainian: Чорнýхи; Russian: Чернýхи), a rural settlement in Lubny Raion, Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine

Migration: The family came to Liverpool, England in 1892 when Mary was 13 years old. Nathan and Mary then migrated to Sioux City in Iowa, USA in February 1908

Mary, age 27, Nathan age 33 and a cap maker, and their children Jacob age 6, Benjamin age 4, Leon age 2 and Barnett age 10 months, sailed aboard the SS Lucania from Liverpool on 1 February 1908 bound for  Chicago. They arrived in New York on 8 February 1908

Married: Nathan Dobrofsky in Liverpool, England in (October - December) 1899 when Nathan was was 26 and Mary 20

Children
Their first child was born in 1901 when Nathan was 28 and Mary 22. Their last child was born in 1911 when Nathan was 38 and Mary 32
  • Jacob Dobrofsky (1901 - ?)
  • Benjamin Dobrofsky (1902 - 1992). He married Eva Orlikoff  (1911 - 2003) in 1937
  • Leon Dobrofsky (1904 - 1981). He married Bertha Newman (1912 - 2008) in 1939
  • Barnett Dobrofsky (1907 - 1946). He married Vivian (1915 - ?) in 1939
  • Lillian Dobrofsky (1909 - 2003). She married Abraham Berkowitz (1902 - 1994) in 1934
  • Philip Dobrofsky (1911 - 2003). He married Gloria Nemirow (1914 - 1979) in 1940

Census details
1901
The family is living at 23 Warren Street, Liverpool, England. Nathan is age 25 and a cap maker on his own account. Mary is age 23 and their son Jacob is age 5 months


1920
In 1920 the family are living at 1304 west 4th street, Sioux City, Iowa, USA. Nathan is age 47 and a grocery man, Mary is age 41. The children are Jake age 19, Bennie age 17, Leon age 15, Barnett age 13, Lillian age 10 and Philip age 8



1925
In 1925 the family are still living at 1304 west 4th street, Sioux City, Iowa, USA. Nathan is age 50 and listed as owning the house. Mary is age 45. The children are Leon age 20, Barnett age 18, Lillian age 15 and Philip age 13


1930
In 1930 the family are still living at 1304 west 4th street, Sioux City, Iowa, USA. Nathan is age 53 and listed as owning the house. Mary is age 49. The children are Leon age 25, Barnett age 23, Lillian age 20 and Philip age 18


1940
In 1940 the family are still living at 1304 west 4th street, Sioux City, Iowa, USA. Nathan is age 65 and listed as owning the house and Mary is age 58


Death
22 November 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa from kidney failure. She was buried on 23 November 1948 in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Sioux City in section B site 0117

Death certificate for Mary

Tombstone for Mary Dobrofsky

Place of Birth

Mary Helfet was born in Chernuch, Russian Empire, nowadays Chornukhy (Ukrainian: Чорнýхи; Russian: Чернýхи), Chernich (Yiddish) and Chernuchi (German), a rural settlement in Lubny Raion, Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine.

Chornukhy
The earliest known Jewish community was by the end of the 18th century. In 1900 the Jewish population was 275 and in 1926 it was 366. Chornukhy was occupied by the Germans on September 17, 1941. During that month 132 Jews were shot by local police in the Chornukhy County park. The village was liberated by the Red Army on September 17, 1943. The present town population is 1,000-5,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.

Poltava Region
Jews began to settle in the region during the early 17th century in the process of Jewish participation in the colonization of Ukraine. By 1610 there was a Jewish community in Berezan (to the north of Pereyaslav), and within a few decades about a dozen Jewish communities were established in the districts of *Pereyaslav and Mirgorod, of which the largest were in Pereyaslav and *Lubny. Jews engaged in commerce and the leasing of estates, flour mills, liquor distilleries, breweries, and inns. There was strong competition from Christian towns-men, and during the *Chmielnicki massacres of 1648 these communities were among the first to be destroyed. After the region came under Russian rule Jews were not permitted to live there until the first partition of Poland in 1772. Individual Jewish families, however, settled in various estates under the protection of their owners despite frequent expulsions by the authorities.

After the first partition of Poland in 1772, Jewish settlement on the eastern bank of the river Dnieper was renewed, and by 1792 there were over 700 Jews in the region, most of whom lived on estates or in villages. In 1794 this region, which then formed part of the province of Yekaterinoslav, was incorporated within the *Pale of Settlement. In 1803 there were 82 Jewish merchants and 2,030 Jews classed as townsmen living in the province of Poltava, which was formed in 1802. The community of *Kremenchug was the largest in the district, and developed in particular owing to its position on the Dnieper, the main waterway from Lithuania to the south. It accounted in 1897 for 30% of the Jews in the province. In 1847, 15,572 Jews were counted in the 18 communities of the province (which also included the Jews in the small settlements and their environs). Their numbers increased as a result of a large emigration from Lithuania and Belorussia, and were estimated at 84,000 in 1881. The census of 1897 recorded 111,417 Jews (4% of the total population) in Poltava province (the lowest percentage of Jews in all the provinces of the Pale). The Russian-Ukrainian majority had a strong assimilationist influence on the Jews in the province, who were a minority in all the towns; it was only in Kremenchug that their numbers approached half the population. On the other hand, *Chabad Ḥasidism, which penetrated from the north, was an important spiritual influence (the tomb of *Shneur Zalman of Lyady, the founder of Chabad Ḥasidism, is in *Gadyach in Poltava province).

About one half of the Jews of the province of Poltava earned their livelihood from commerce (in contrast to 38.5% in the whole of Russia), and about 30 percent were engaged in crafts and industry. Commerce was principally conducted in grain and other agricultural produce. Although some Jews owned sawmills, brick-kilns, flour mills, alcohol distilleries, and other enterprises, the overwhelming majority of the workers in them were non-Jews. During the spring of 1881 pogroms occurred in the north of the province of Poltava. In 1905 a wave of pogroms swept across 52 settlements of the province. The most severely affected were Gadyach, Kremenchug, Romny, and Zolotonosha.

During World War I thousands of refugees and Jews expelled from the battle zone arrived in the province of Poltava and found refuge in the Jewish communities. During the Civil War, the communities of the western section of the province suffered especially from pogroms by bands of Ukrainians and the "volunteer army" of A.I. *Denikin. In 1926 there were approximately 93,000 Jews in the five districts (Kremenchug, Lubny, Poltava, Priluki, Romny) of the former territory of the province of Poltava.

Residence

By 1915 the family are living at 1304 West 4th Street, Sioux City, Iowa and lived there until the 1940s. The property appears to no longer exist
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Wednesday, 28 September 2022

Nathan Asher Shochet (1879 - 1945)

Nathan Asher Shochet (Born Shaukhet) is the husband of my maternal great great aunt Jeanne Baum. Shochet family tree Here

Parents: Joseph (Josel) Shaukhet son of Movsha and Malka Leah Izakson daughter of Zelik

Born: 24 December 1879 in Mariampol (now Marijampolė in Lithuania), Suwalki district of the Russian Empire 

Hebrew name: Nissan son of Yosef Yirmiyahu Shochet

Migration: Nathan came to England without his family some time between 1891 and 1901

Married: Jeanne Baum in (Oct - Dec) 1908 in Prestwich, Manchester, England. Nathan and Jeanne were both 19 years old

Children
Their first child was born in 1911. Nathan and Jeanne were both 22 years old. Their last child was born in 1914 when Nathan and Jeanne were both 25 years old

Occupation: In the 1901 census he is listed as a Hebrew teacher. Thereafter he is listed as a financial agent or financier

Census details
1901
Nathan is living with his brother Moses (a Hebrew teacher) and his family in Trafalgar street, Leeds. He is age 19 and a teacher of Hebrew.

1911
Nathan has now married Jeanne Baum and the family are living at 20 Nelson Street, Sunderland. Nathan is age 29 and his occupation is listed as financiar (law office) and is working on his own account. Jeanne is age 28. Their daughter Thora, born in Sunderland, is age 3 months and also living with them is Mary Yore, age 20 and a domestic servant


1921
Nathan Shochet and the family are still living at 20 Nelson Street, Sunderland in an 8 roomed house. Nathan is age 41 years and 5 months and his occupation is listed as financial agent and is still working on his own account. Jeanne is age 41 years and 2 months. Their children are Thora age 10 years and 5 months, Gerald age 9 and Harold age 7 years and 3 months



1939 register
Nathan and Jeanne are living at 19 Park Place east in Sunderland. Nathan is listed as a financier and property owner. Their three children are still living with them


Naturalization
Nathan Shochet became a naturalized British subject on 16 August 1911



Death
27 August 1945 in Sunderland, England at 65 years of age. Buried in the Jewish section of Bishopwearmouth Cemetery (Section 3, row 8, plot 14), Sunderland, England

In revered and cherished memory of our beloved husband and father Nathan Asher Shochet, who died 18 Elul 5705, 24 August 1945, aged 64 years. Sadly missed by his beloved wife, sons and daughter. Hebrew translation:  The man Mr. Nissan Asher son of Mr. Yosef Yirmiyahu Shochet. Died at 64 years old on 18 Elul 5705. According to his naturalization papers and the 1939 register he was 65 years old

Probate
Nathan Asher Shochet  Probate 8 October 1946. The value of his effects was £7,435 3s. His executors were his wife, his three children and moneylenders

Documents
Jewish Chronicle, 10 October 1902, page 32, AGM of Durham Zionist Society. Mr A. Quart in chair. Elected: President, A. Quart; Treasurer, S. Keidon; Secretary, B. Morris; Auditor, N. Shochet; Collector, T, Brewer [Brewis?]; Committee, F. B. Phillips, N. Birk, E. Morris, E. Rachmel.

An advertisement in the Sunderland Echo, 1 January 1935, where Nathan is advertising "Advances from £5 upwards with or without security". His address is given as 22 Athenaeum Street, Sunderland

The British phone book for 1940 has Nathan listed as living at 19 park Place East in Sunderland and his business as a financier is at 22 Athenaeum Street, Sunderland

Residences

In 1911 and 1921 the family were living at 20 Nelson Street, Sunderland, England


In 1939 Nathan and Jeanne were living at 19 Park Place east in Sunderland, England
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