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PLYMOUTH

The first Joseph family of Plymouth were Abraham Joseph and his descendants. This family is traced and recorded in detail in the second part of this work. As will be seen in the next chapter, Naphtali Joseph, whose son founded the Canadian Joseph family, was also from Plymouth and perhaps a brother of Abraham. One of Napthali's sons, Judah, returned to England but where is not known. There is however mention in the Plymouth congregational records (now in the Jewish Museum) of a Moses Isaac otherwise Jacob Joseph ben Arye. In the Plymouth ledger of offerings during 1862 to 1869 mention is made of a Moses and a Jacob Joseph. The son of Jacob Joseph, Joseph Joseph married a Miss Rachel Neimark and by her had four children 1. Helen, 2. Jacob, 3. Adelaide, 4. Solomon, the last died in 1909 in New York where all had emigrated in the 1870's.

In the Synagogue's Aliens Register there appear only three Josephs (what a pity Abraham Joseph died in 1794 for this Register records in 1798 all foreign born Jews, their birth place, occupation and age).

1. Lazarus Joseph of Prague born in 1740 arrived Harwich 1758 resided in London 11 years, Birmingham 1 years, thereafter in Plymouth, a spectacle maker.

2. Lazarus Joseph of Amsterdam born in 1747, arrived Gravesend 1770 resided in London 3 years, thereafter in Plymouth, a pen cutter.

3. Nathan Joseph of Ranspock, Bohemia born in 1766, arrived Gravesend 1784, resided in Dartmouth 1 year, thereafter in Plymouth, a jeweller. Perhaps Lazarus of Prague and Nathan were related, the latter eventually married Brimay, daughter of Abraham Joseph. One of the Lazarus Joseph's became President of the Plymouth Macinath Nefesh Society, a local preserve at that time of Abraham Joseph's family so that there may be a further family connection, 51 which is untraced.

In the 1841 Census of Plymouth and Devonport, there are several Josephs recorded some of Abraham Joseph's family. Some, however, have no traceable connection. In Cambridge Street Rosa Joseph (not born in Devon) was living in the house of foreign born Henry Morris, a jeweller, and his wife Brimay (52) aged 30 with their children, Cordelia 8, George 6, Deborah 4, Rosa 2 and a daughter but two days old.

Also in the 1841 Census at Miss Harriet Eccles's School in Princess Square was Miriam Joseph, aged 13, while in Plymouth Dock (Devonport) in Duke Street at the house of Mr. Lazarus Silverstone aged 35 foreign born and general dealer was Hannah Joseph aged 45 not born in Devon and her children Sarah and Rachel Joseph aged 14 and 10 respectively. According to the Plymouth congregation records Ezekiel born in 1829 and died in same year was the son of Joseph Joseph. This Joseph Joseph cannot be traced in the Plymouth or Falmouth families, possibly Hannah was his wife (or widow by 1841) and the three girls and Ezekiel were their children.

In Devonport also at the house of Barbara Bauxschall, a tailoress, was Amelia Joseph perhaps the mother of Moses Joseph of Sydney, awaiting passage to Australia.

Joseph Joseph, son of Isaac Joseph of Redruth and his family moved to Plymouth, possibly to join his sister, Bella, married to the Rev. Myer Stadhagen.

 

FALMOUTH

There was only one Joseph family in Falmouth and they were the descendants of Joseph Joseph of Mulhouse, Alsace. Very full details of this family have been given elsewhere. (54) By 1841 the only Joseph in Falmouth was Julia aged 70, the widow of Isaac Joseph, living with her son-in-law and daughter the Abraham Davidsons.

There may have been other Josephs in Cornwall for the Wills of Jonas and Hannah Joseph were probated in 1787 and 1793 respectively,

 

PENZANCE

There was no Joseph family in this town though their relatives, the Harts and Woolf families (69) lived there. However, Abraham Joseph (1789-1864) was the communal factotum there at the princely salary of £40 per annum, 70 How long he was in that position is unknown but he married Eliza, daughter of Lemon Woolf about 1829 and did not return to Plymouth till around 1834.71

At the 1841 Census Henry Joseph (10B), son of Abraham Joseph, his wife, Amelia, with some of his children, Selina, Barnett, Rose and Lionel, together with his mother were living in Market Place. He is recorded as a pawnbroker.

Notes 51-71

51. See supra Chap. II, p. 22.

52. Brimay is a very rare name in the writer's experience, Brimay d. Abraham Joseph, Breinle Sinzheim, Wife of Chief Rabbi, David Tevele Schiff, who was Rosa Joseph's first cousin (see Chap. VIII, Pedigree of Abraham HaCohen) and Bryna d. Eliezer Montefiore (brother of Moses Vita Montefiore) are the only three known to him. However, Brimay Morris and Brimay Joseph in one town does fortify the conjecture that there could have been a family connection of some sort. Especially when Rosa Joseph is found to be living there and her own daughter is named Rosa. Rosa may be the English name of one of Abraham Joseph's two daughters, Henel and Geler, who were alive in 1794 but not traced thereafter. More likely she may be Brimay Morris' mother or grandmother. Miss Rosa Lawrence (Brimay's daughter) told the author in 1946 that Joseph Joseph's wife Edal Hart had a sister Rosa, thus she might be Judah or Lazarus Joseph's widow. (No note 53 in the text or the notes)

54. Glimpses in Israel Solomon's "Records of My Family" printed privately in New York in 1887. A paper entitled "The Josephs of Cornwall" by Major William Schonfield, given before the J. H. S. E. 20.12.1938 and an exhaustive study by Alex. M. Jacob "The Jews of Falmouth 1740-1860" J. H. S. E. XVII.63.

For the later pedigrees of this family information from Messrs. Godfrey B. Simmons, Frank B. Nathan, George L. and Edward Joseph, Mrs. Goodman Levy, Mrs. A. Dorothea Cohen and Miss Rose Platnauer.

For pedigrees of other West Country families, see Chapter XI infra.

55. Father-in-law also of Lemon Hart, see Chapter XI Pedigree ?

56. Minister at Plymouth.

57 In Falmouth 1841 later family lived in Melbourne, Australia. Australian Israelite records the bar mitzvah of a grandson 6/2/75 the son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Alexander.

58. Lived in Goulbourn, N. S. W. reputed to have become a centenarian married with three daughters.

59. Author of "Some fossil remains at Oreston", Plymouth 1851.

60. He married Catherine d. Eliezer Hart of London. Brothers were 1. Barnett Nathan of Rosherville, 2. Isaac Nathan (1790-1864), whose son was Robert Nathan F. R. C. S.. (see also Chapter XIII, note 11).

61. A connection of the Sassoons, he subsequently married Dorothy d. William Cohen

62. Joseph Joseph died 10.6.1872, aged 81, Uncle of Alfred and Henry Joseph and Mrs. Maurice Meuser, grandfather of Benjamin Brian per Australian Israelite of Melbourne. He must therefore have had issue,

[IMPORTANT NOTE: See correction to this at this link]

(63 and 64 erased.)

65. Nathaniel Jacob of Furth, Bohemia, settled in Dartmouth marrying Miriam Alexander, by her he had 1. Jacob d. 1874 in Canada, 2. Angel in U. S. A., 3. Alexander m. Harriet d. Charles Lyons of Liverpool, 4. Betsy above, 5. Martha m. Isaac Emanuel, 6. Zipporah m. Hyman Hyman of Plymouth and Birmingham. It is quite probable that Isaac ben Jacob of Furth was his brother. Isaac Jacob settled in Totnes marrying Betsy Levy of Barnstaple their three sons assumed the surname of Jackson and married three daughters of Abraham Ralph. Roth I p. 22.

66. Nathaniel Levy's brothers were Charles, Lewis and Goodman, whose son Alfred m. Mary d. Frederick Isaacs (see (b) 2 above). His sisters were Rebecca, Bessie and Sarah. His niece Amy Levy was the writer and poetess. Ida Loewy was a sister of Ernest L. and Bella Loewy. Wilfred and Cecil Phillips were owners of the Leicester Art Galleries, their father was a cousin of Lionel Phillips of South Africa per Miss Margaret Levy, who had four other brothers and sisters not mentioned.

67. Abraham Myer of Hereford was the son of Simeon Mayer of Bornheim and Liebet Meudl (1778-1833), he married twice, first Selina d. Jacob Davis of Thame (1817-43) (Franklin p. 112), then Hannah d. David Jonas (1815-1902). Her father was son of Moses Abraham ben Isaiah of Groonesfelt, known as Jones of Lyn (1779-1811) - one of six sons and five daughters. Her mother, Leah, was the daughter of Hirsch Nicholls of Dercham. Hannah's sister, Belinda, married Montague Alex of Cheltenham.

68. P. C. C. Cornish Veryam 1787 and A 1793.

69. Their pedigrees are given in Chapter XI.

70. Cecil Roth: "Penzance - The Decline and Fall of an Anglo-Jewish Community". Jewish Chronicle Supplement May and June 1933. Jr. Roth, I think, makes a mistake referring to him as a German, both he and his father were natives of Devon, see 1841 Census.

71. Evidence of 1841 Census and the Plymouth Circumcision Register (Jewish Museum).


THE JOSEPHS OF PLYMOUTH

This is the saga of just an ordinary family, which really requires the pen of a John Galsworthy to bring to life. The Josephs of Plymouth are one of such hundreds of families, which sprang from an early immigrant to this country from the Continent. As was customary with the second wave, Abraham Joseph married into a family which had established itself in England a generation or two earlier. As with others of this same ilk, a particularly famous son or daughter emerged, and along with its solid citizens there were the inevitable black sheep. With regard to these latter, this writer, not aspiring to the Lytton Strachey school of biography, will for the most part delicately pass over. After all in this day and age with evil rampant, and evil men preventing the good life for the world's peoples, it is better to emphasise the good than bare the evil and reverse Mark Anthony's dictum. For this short sketch of the Josephs of Plymouth is to unbury them and find "the good that oft is interred with their bones."

The Josephs of Plymouth most probably are as representative a family of the Jewish middle class that grew up in the liberal and slightly tolerant atmosphere of England. As their story unfolds it will be seen that they became more and more part of the English picture until eventually they are indistinguishable from their Christian neighbours in everything except religion. In the present generation there is a further trend evident, which might indicate that even this one difference is disappearing and in a generation or two could disappear completely. This last might not in itself be typical of all Anglo-Jewish families but seems more evident in families with an arithmetical progression of generations. For instance among the Sephardic Jews, the first great group to be admitted to England, many families have been completely assimilated, a trend started in the 19th century; now it seems to be the turn of the German Ashkenazi group, and eventually, it is to be supposed, of the eastern European group.

That this is to be commended or disapproved is a matter for individual scruples; to the observer it is a trend and therefore must be recorded. As the story unfolds you will see the family in Plymouth, and then eventually after two generations the family is dispersed again in Australia and America, and from Australia some of them return to London. (vide J.17 Joseph of Plymouth)


CHAPTER VI ORIGINS IN PLYMOUTH.

 

In 1794 there died in Plymouth aged 63 years Abraham Joseph, popularly known in the southwest of England a the "King of the Jews" (1) wholesale dealer in slops for the Navy. "He was one of the people called Jews, but the actions of his whole life would have done honour to any persuasion. He amassed a considerable fortune by very fair and honest means. As an agent for seamen, his practice was well worth the imitation of every person in that business, as several orphans and indigent widows can testify." (2) The above, two miniatures and his last Will and testament are the only contemporary facts known about Abraham Joseph.

Since he died in 1794 and the Plymouth Congregations" Alien Register was compiled in 1798 there is no way of knowing whether he had been an immigrant or not. At any rate since he died in December, 1794 and his will as drawn up and executed on October 22nd, 1794, he must have been born in 1731. Perhaps in view of his elder son's name, his father's was Joseph, which could indicate he used his patronymic as a surname and was indeed an immigrant. This is not conclusive however.

As for his early years that reference (3) in the Rate Books of St. Catherine Creechurch possibly may have been to him. If it was he would have been about 22 years old. This could have been the time he first saw Rosa Abraham (her grandfather Michael Moses lived in Creechurch Lane too) though as her parents had married in 1740 she could not have been very old at the time.

In any event by the middle 1760's Abraham and Rosa had married and settled in Devon, for the 1841 census reports their elder son Joseph Joseph was born in 1766 and in Devonshire. Why they should have gone to Plymouth is not known, it may have been because Rosa's aunt Bilah married to Moses Samuel, secretary to the Plymouth Congregation, was already living there with her unmarried sister Sarah, though they may have followed the Josephs (the source of this information Jochabed Hart's Will was proved in 1797). It might have been because Isaac Polak, Rosa Joseph's father's first cousin, had settled in Penryn, Cornwall, or another first cousin had gone to Poole or perhaps she was related to Alexander or Phoebe Moses of Falmouth.

Whatever the reason Plymouth became their ultimate home. In those days the city was a thriving seaport, and nearby the Naval Base, Devonport, was extremely active due to the long period of French War, which so far as England was concerned were largely of a naval and colonial nature. These wars terminated in 1783 briefly and were renewed in 1793 with two short breaks in 1803 and 1814 and were not finally concluded until Waterloo. Furthermore Plymouth was a major embarkation point for the West Indies and later for Port Jackson and Philips in Australia. It must have been an extremely busy and bustling place during the 18th Century and a grand opportunity for a young man with enterprise. That Abraham Joseph had this is evidenced by his obituary and the position he held in the Jewish Community. Not only that, his appointment by Warrant to slopman to H. R. H. Prince William Henry is evidenced by his trade card now in the British Museum has some significance. Prince William Henry was of course King George III's third son and became Midshipman in June, 1779, landing in Plymouth in 1780 when H. R. H. Prince George returned with news of Rodney's victory and the relief of Gibraltar. In 1786 he again travelled to Plymouth (5) when he was appointed Captain of the frigate "Pegasus" just before his 21st birthday, but it was two years later in 1788, when Prince William really spent considerable time in this city, being compelled by his father to stay there in disgrace and it must have been about then that he became acquainted with Abraham Joseph. This royal patronage subsisted through three generations as will be seen as the story of the Joseph family unfolds. Not only that, but the Joseph family were held in high regard by numbers of Prince William's colleagues as may be witnessed by the letter of recommendation given to Joseph Joseph in 1833 by Admiral Sir Thomas William Hargood G. C. B., G. C. H. when Flag Officer Commanding Plymouth Station.

The letter was given Joseph Joseph a week after his appointment, he was then Admiral of the Blue, but he had known Joseph before and presumably when he was with the Duke of Clarence, with whom he had served and had become one of his close friends. (6)

After this interpolation to quote Lucien Wolfe (7) Plymouth was a town which occupied a foremost position among Jewries in the South Western counties It was probably first settled by Jews in 1740 and the first organised congregation seems to have dated from 1752, when the old Cemetery on the Hoe was acquired through Jacob Myer Sherrenbeck with Gumpert Michael Emden, elders of the Synagogue, leased a piece of ground in Catherine Street and built a Synagogue, which still stands and is the oldest Synagogue in England existing outside London. The building was completed in 1764, which would account for the discrepancy of dates. (9)

By 1786 Abraham Joseph's position in the community had so risen that when the new lease was granted, it was made for him as he as then presumably Chief Warden of the congregation. Two miniatures, one at least, one could imagine, being by Ezekiel Ezekiel (1757-1806) of Exeter, give a fine portrait of him. The better of the two (11) show him full faced dressed in the height of current fashion with white periwig. As his piercing blue eyes (pointing rather to Germanic extraction); a high complexioned face, surmounted by a large aquiline nose over a small mouth albeit with full flat but well proportioned lips which turn up good humorously at the end and a fair double chin. All in all the portrait of a kindly gentleman well blessed with the world's goods. The second miniature is in profile in somewhat sterner mood and perhaps somewhat older. In this he is wearing a tricorn hat, above his wig, a wig without a tail. The hat comes down right over his eyes and his lower lip is shown as full and projecting.

In the autumn of 1794, Abraham Joseph fell sick and drew his will (12) in the following terms "The last Will and Testament of Abraham Joseph of Plymouth in the County of Devon, Gentleman, who being weak in body but of sound and perfect mind, memory and understanding in this 22nd day of October, in the year 1794 and in the 34th year of King George III of Great Britain and so forth make and publish the same…" He then leaves his real estate to his children; of his Books of the Law of Moses he bequeaths one set to his eldest son, Joseph Joseph, a second set to his younger son Samuel Joseph, and "the oldest I give or the use of the Synagogue" where they are to this day. A legacy is given to his nephew Angel Emanuel who died three years later in the West Indies. (13) Two other bequests are "I direct that my pair of silver Aaron bells and the plate thereto belonging shall never be sold or alienated from my family (these have unhappily disappeared but may be in the possession of the Altman family) and twelve guineas to Moses Ephraim, (14) of Plymouth Schoolmaster, in consideration of him having agreed to say certain prayers for me." His two sons were appointed executors, though the younger, on the Grant of Probate in February 1795 did not act possibly being still a minor. The residuary estate was divided into eight parts, one each to go to his widow Rosa and his seven children. His seven children (if he had any who predeceased him is not known) were his two sons already mentioned and five daughters Gele and Henel (Gertrude and Hannah of whom no more is known), Phoebe then his only unmarried daughter, married to Abraham Aaron, Brinay who would marry Nathan Joseph and Esther later the wife of Mozely Isaac Elkin of the West Indies.

 

NOTES TO CHAPTER VI ORIGINS IN PLYMOUTH

 

1. Roth I 92

2. G.M. deceased 1794 1156

3. See supra. p 5A

4. See supra Chapter VII for full information on Rosa Abraham and her family

5. For a short resume of King William IV's life see Roger Fulford's "Royal Dukes" published by Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1933 available in Pan Books edition 1948

6. A life of this sailor written by the celebrated naval historian Joseph Allen was privately published in Greenwich in 1841 by his widow. A copy is available in the Admiralty Library. Her signature underneath the frontispiece in this book is identical without peradventure to that of the letter, which has been reproduced opposite page … infra

7. "Essays on Jewish History" published by the JHSE. In "The Origins of the Provincial Communities" p. 137 contains a very succinct description of the growth of a provincial community. This essay was originally written as an introduction to a privately published history and genealogy of the Samuels and Yates families of Liverpool.

8. It is wondered whether G. M. Emdon had any relationship to the other Emdons in Plymouth see Chap. … infra

9. Roth I 91. C. W. Bracken "A History of Plymouth and her neighbours" (1931) p 272 thro 1761 Llewellyn Jewitt "A History of Plymouth") p 568 1764

10. Roth 1 60

11. In the possession of the writer is one of the water colours by his son Joseph (1837), miniature of his daughter Brinay, miniature of his grandson's wife Eliza Woolf of Penzance, his great grandson Solomon Joseph as a young man (the writer's grandfather), and two silhouettes of Briney Joseph again and her husband Nathan Joseph. Also to other family miniatures not completely identified; one is probably Levy Emanuel Cohen of Brighton.

12. P. C. C. Devon 1795 Newcastle 91

13. As recorded in the Minutes of the Macineth Nephish Society

14. Moses Ephraim was a philosopher Rabbi of Plymouth (1745-1815) see Roth I 91. He with Charles Yonge was witness to this Will and therefore under the rule may not have been able to have benefited from this legacy


CHAPTER IX SECOND GENERATION PLYMOUTH

DAUGHTERS.

Of the five daughters mentioned in Abraham Joseph's Will, complete oblivion has fallen on Gelen and Hensel. The other three were Phoebe, Brinay and Esther. As mentioned they married Abraham Aaron (1767-1833), Nathan Joseph (1766-1849) and Mozeley Isaac Elkin respectively.

Phoebe who died in 1832 had married in her father's lifetime Abraham Aaron, who is mentioned in the Plymouth Alien Register as being born in Litzelstadt in Germany. He landed at Gravesend in 1783 coming almost directly to Plymouth (in 1803 it is stated that he had lived there twenty years ) He was a shopkeeper and in 1798 lived in Market Street. In 1803 he had moved to Southside Street. Their male progeny are to be found in Joseph Joseph's circumcision register.

There were several daughters but only one is known called Rose, who married Moses son of Barnett Simmons (W11) of Falmouth. There were five children of this marriage Abraham, Barnett, Phoebe, Bessie and Florence.

Brinay (1781 -1865) was only in her early teens at her father's death married Nathan Joseph, who also appears in the Plymouth Alien Register. In his brother-in-law's Circumcision Register he is referred to as Nathan Cohen but in his grand-daughter's pedigree he is shown as Nathan Joseph Altman, which name his elder son assumed. He was born at Rauspoek near Prague and landed at Gravesend in 1784. He spent some time at Dartmouth before settling in Plymouth He was a jeweller as well as a Navy Agent. (vide pedigree J17a of Nathan Joseph)

Nathan Joseph seems at least in part to have assumed the mantle of his father-in-law since of his two brothers-in-law the elder went bankrupt and the younger emigrated to America. He was president of the Macinath Nefesh Society in 1803 and remained as a licensed Navy Agent long after both Joseph and Samuel Joseph. According to the 1841 census he lived in 15, Queen Street, Plymouth, but apparently visited London staying at Ailie Place, Ailie Street, Goodman's Fields, London. (9) He seems to have travelled extensively.

The Will (11) of Nathan Joseph gives quite a picture of the Joseph Family. In it he quotes both Abraham Joseph's Will and his widow Rosa's. In the latter she appoints Moses Mozely Alman her personal representative and bequeaths her money to James Moses, only child of her younger son Samuel. The Will further recites the bankruptcy of Joseph Joseph.

Esther the youngest daughter married in 1821, but died in 1823, Isaac Elkin (13) from the Barbados. The reference to Esther, Isaac and the dear children of Bloomah Davis in a letter of 1841 (14) cannot be taken to refer to them but only one is known by name - Belle and she died unmarried in London.

SONS

Dealing with the younger son, [but he was born 1759] Samuel Joseph, first, he is believed not to have reached his majority by the time of his father's death in 1794. Until 1817 his name appears in the Navy List as a Licensed Agent and he remained a member of the Plymouth Machinath Nefesh Society until 1815 having been its president in 1802 and there is a note in the Society's Account Book stating in 1818 he had gone to America. (15) Before 1806 he married Rebecca Lyons and in November 1806 their only child Jane was born in Plymouth - the beneficiary of her grandmother's will. In 1819 the Samuel Josephs were living in Philadelphia and in 1825 moved into the new and fast growing town of Cincinnati on the Ohio River. With them went several other Jewish families the first in that town, most of whom if not all came from the English West Country. (17) At this period Cincinnati was the centre of wine growing and Samuel Joseph set up as a beer and cordial purveyor, which in all probability he had learned from Lemon Hart in Penzance.

Samuel Joseph died in Cincinnati in 1826 and Letters of Administration were granted in England to his brother-in-law Nathan Joseph as attorney for his widow. His widow survived him until 1849, when she died of Cholera, and was buried in the Chestnut Street cemetery in Cincinnati. On 20th November, 1827 Jane Joseph married Simeon Moss (W. S.) There were three children of the marriage 1. Samuel Joseph Moses died unmarried in 1912. 2. Alexander Moses (named for his great grandfather?) who married and moved to New Orleans leaving issue, and 3. Julia (1832-66) who married in 1849 Frederick son of David Johnson. (18) Jane Moses died in 1878 and her husband in the next year. There were then no male Josephs in this time. (vide J17b Pedigree of David Johnson)

The elder of the two sons, Joseph Joseph, was born in about 1766 since he is reported as 75 years old at the time of the 1841 census. From the Family Bible he was married in 1788. His wife's name was Edal and she is presumed to be one of the Hart family of Penzance. (19) Joseph Joseph succeeded his father in many ways. He was president of the Machinath Nefesh Society in 1796 and 1807 and it was to him and two others that the new lease of ground of the Catherine Street Synagogue was granted in 1797, Until 1819 he was a licensed Navy Agent and possibly his Licence was then taken away on his Bankruptcy, which may have taken place then, he must have been certainly bankrupt in 1826 when his brother-in-law acted as attorney for the widow upon his brother's decease when more naturally it would have been himself. He owned it is said several taverns or inns and as owner and patron of the Mayflower Inn (now called the Brunswick) entertained King George III and Queen Charlotte and certainly the Duke of Clarence possibly later when King William IV with Queen Charlotte. (20)

 

How he became bankrupt, whether in the ordinary course of his business or whether by becoming a publican, is unknown. Nevertheless the years after Waterloo were troublous times, deflationary and the whole country was economically in a recurring crisis for many years until the fruits of the Industrial evolution ripened in the mid-century. Nevertheless, we do know that he either remained in or re-entered the naval clothing business for he is circulating a royal testimonial letter after King William IV's accession and there has survived another holograph letter of recommendation of the Flag Officer commanding the Plymouth Station, dated May 1833. (21)

In 1832 the royal patronage was still being extended for in that year it appears the Queen used her influence on their behalf whereby their son Henry was given a judicial appointment in Gibraltar. (22) At the time of the 1841 Census Joseph and Edal Joseph were living on the north side of Frankfort Street with them were their widowed daughter Matilda and her younger son aged 8 years, Solomon Solomon. On the south side of the street their third son (he was not at home at the date) Abraham Joseph and his family were living in the same style having three servants, a horse and a Hebrew teacher living with them. The Census discloses that Joseph Joseph was born in Devon, though his wife was not but it is clear from the wording that she was not a foreigner - of course if she was a Hart she would have been born in Cornwall. Fortunately the outside cover of the family bible has been handed down - from this is obtained the names and birthdays of Joseph Joseph's children as follows:

Henry born 8th January, 1790

Solomon born 5th August, 1791

Gertrude born 14th June, 1796

Abraham born 6th June, 1799

Angel born 21st July, 1801

Matilda born 6th September 1806

Ruth born 13th October, 1812 (against which is an entry that she died in Penzance 9th November, 1832. It also records their wedding day Wednesday 3rd September, 1788. It is both in Yiddish and English.)

Finally there can be seen from the water colours (in the possession of the writer) Joseph Joseph in his 72nd year. The likeness between him and his father is remarkable, the most striking difference being one of fashion - instead of wig he wears his own hair, and instead of being cleanshaven, he sports mutton chop whiskers following his cheek-bone.

 

NOTES TO CHAPTER IX SECOND GENERATION IN PLYMOUTH

 

1. Abraham and Sampson assumed the name of Altman.

2. See Chapter III Note 63.

3. Abraham Joseph Altman married in succession to daughters of Judah Cohen, a third daughter married Solomon Lyons, brother of Samuel and Hannah above.

4. From Aaron Joseph's circumcision register the sons of Alexander Aryeh were 1. Samuel 30.11.1784. 2. Ezekiel 1788. 3. Abraham 1799. 4. Solomon 1801. 5. Moses 1807. 6. Baruch 1815.

Samuel and Gertrude Lyons had (i) Anita (ii) Rosita m. Isaac de Mercado (a) Michael (b) Lionel (c) Aubry (d) Beatrice m. Sir Eliot de Pos (iii) Rebecca (iv) Abraham.

Solomon and Esther (Judah Cohen) Lyons had (i) ? dau m. Solomon Lazarus Solomon of Plymouth (See Pedigree) (ii) Frank m. 1872 Ellen (Nellie) d. Marks Levy (a) Florence m. Hillier Holt (ch. Geoffrey m. Vera d Sir Edward Samuel) Jean, Elizabeth, Daphne m. 1952 Leslie Vera m. Frederick Morris iss. Pauline, John, 3. Leslie killed 1918 4. May m. Frederick Warburg iss. David Hew, Jeremy 5. Doris m. - Baer) (b) Sydney m. Frederick (c) Annie m. Alexandra Albu ch. 1. Sybil m. Herbert Eicholz iss Jonathan 2. Enid m. Robert Eicholz iss. Barbara) (d) Marcus (e) Beatrice m. Frederic Albu (ch. 1. Austin m. Rose Franks. 2. Frank) (f) Hilda d 1902 (g) Albert m. Dolly May (ch 1. Frank d 1902. 2. Mary m. Felix Levy iss) Heinz (1832-1886) son of Abraham Joseph married Rebecca d. Samuel Lyons in Melbourne so this might be another family. It should also be noted that Isaac Lyons of Melbourne married Rose died in 1875 aged 48 years, whose sister married Moses Lemon Woolf of Penzance and Melbourne. Isaac & Rose Lyons' eldest son Alfred was M. P. in Fifi in 1871.

5. Possible a son of Lazarus or Eliezer Lawrence, second husband of Judith daughter of Alexander Moses of Falmouth. Lazarus Lawrence was partner of A Solomon of Falmouth, merchants, bankrupt December 1813

6. Knighted for engineering service to the L. C. C.

7. Grand-daughter of Henry Joseph (J 15) of Berthierville

8. From information supplied by Miss Rosa Lawrence but might possibly be the same Samuel & Rebecca Lyons as above.

9. See Appendix IX.

10. Inscription in his prayer book by his daughter Rosa Joseph "This Sidor was given me by my beloved, honoured and lamented Father a short time before his departure to a better world. This Sidor was used by him through all his wanderings and travels" In the writer's possession.

11. Proved in the Exeter Consistory Court in 1851, September folio 736

12. See Chapter VII Note 12 also Chapter X under Lazarus Jacobs pedigree

13. A brother of Benjamin Elkin whose circumcision in Portsea (J. H. S. E. XVII 266 son of Isaac Elkin (Isaac ben Elchanan J. H. S. E. XIII 182) According to R. J. Darcy Hart he married Sarah J. Jacob Levi of Portsmouth whose brother Walter d 1808 married Rebecca J. Lemon Hart (W 2.

14. See Appendix Documents VI

15. Another states that Angel Emmanuel (named as his nephew in Abraham Joseph's Will) died of a fever in the West Indies around the year 1797.

16. According to Mr. Simeon A. Johnson, Rebecca's brother also emigrated and resided in a farm outside Philadelphia. He had at least two children - Annie and Leonard, who was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives for several terms.

17. Rev. David Phillipson A. J. H. S. The other settlers named in this article were Moses, Solomon, Simeon and Phineas Moses almost certainly sons of Philip Moses and grandsons of Alexander Moses of Plymouth, Philip, Joseph, Eliezer and Morris Simons similarly of Samuel Simons of Truro; Samuel, Abraham and Joseph Jonas and Jonas Levy of Exeter. See pedigree in Chapter XI Abraham (1801-60) and Joseph (1792-1869) both married first Lucia (1805-25) and Rachel (1801-27) respectively daughters of Gershon Mendes (N. Y.) Both wives died shortly after reaching Cincinnati and the brothers married again - Abraham to Louisa Oppenheimer whose sister married Morris Moses. The Abraham Jonas's moved on into Illinois, where in the course, of time, he became a friend of another more famous Abraham - Abraham Lincoln. There are numerous references to Abraham Jonas and his sons in the publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. Another of these early settlers was David Johnson of whom more anon.

18. David Johnson's original surname was Israel and he with his brother Phineas emigrated from Portsmouth - The name Johnson is alleged to have been fastened on Phineas by Swedes when he was peddling his wares at their logging camps in Pennsylvania. Possibly these two brothers were the grandsons of David Ben Phineas who led the split of the Portsmouth congregation in 1766. J. H. S. E. XIII 186. Perhaps they are numbers 69 and 85 Reb. Leib's circumcision register (J. H. S. E. XVIII 266 and 267) namely Abraham son of Menachem Ezriel in Arundel "who originally came from here" (Portsmouth) in 1786 and David in 1797. Strangely enough Phineas Johnson is found as the major creditor for £3550 in Joseph Joseph's bankruptcy as stated in Nathan Joseph's Will. He married Clarissa Clark, daughter of the signer of the Declaration of Independence and their descendants are believed to live in St. Louis. Mo. (vide pedigree J17b) From information supplied by Mr. Simeon L. Johnson, distinguished citizen of Cincinnati whilom President of the Bar Association and Deputy Mayor 1912. See American Who's Who.

19. Of the many hundreds of names appearing in the pedigree the form of Adelaide or Adele or Edal has only come to notice in the Hart family of Penzance and their relatives the Woolfs. Lemon Hart had an aunt Edel born 1747 and a sister Eddle, who married her first cousin Hyman Woolf. Their grand-daughter Eliza married Abraham Joseph and her youngest sister was called Eddle too. It is possible that Edal Joseph may have been the daughter of Lemon Hart born in 1755 though this date predicates the contrary almost. She might have been a sister of Lemon Woolf, according to Miss Rosa Lawrence as already mentioned she is supposed to have had a sister Rosa also (see Chapter V Note s 2) In any event one of their children was called Angel - his second name being Asher called Amshel in his father's circumcision register. Asher or Asher Lemuel to give it its usual correlative of course features often in the Hart family after all Lemon is an anglicisation of Lemel.

20. According to Mr. Bertram Emdon a direct descendant whose branch of the family is the only one left in Plymouth

21. Originals in the writer's possession - see the reproductions opposite

Mention has been made of Sir William Hargood earlier

22. Original letter in writer's possession. Full story has been published in "Anglo-Jewish Notaries and Scriveners" by Edgar Roy Samuel J. H. S. E. XVII 149.


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