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Our resident expert Stephen Rigden, pictured below, answers your queries.
From Steve Coleman:
‘My grandfather Lewis Levi, his wife Fanny and son Abraham were in the 1901 census living in Artillery Lane in the East End of London. Abraham was 11 years old at the time and born at Spitalfields, so presumably they must have been in the 1891 census too. I cannot find them – can you help? Both parents were born in Russia and left in a hurry.’
Stephen says:
‘Hi Steve – thanks for writing in.
I think that they probably arrived just after the 1891 census was taken (5 April 1891). The 1901 census suggests that Abraham was born circa 1889/90 in Spitalfields, although the same is not true of the 1911, which places his birth later, circa 1891/92. In fact, there are all sorts of discrepancies between the two censuses.
In 1901, the head of household is Lewis Levi, as you say, born in about 1854/55; in 1911 he is Louis Levy (same name, different spelling), born 1851/52. His wife Fanny was born around 1865/66 according to the 1901 but around 1867/68 according to the 1911 census. Similarly, the ages and computed years of birth of other children vary according to census. This is not at all unusual, unfortunately.
It’s also possible that Levi/Levy isn’t the only name that the family used. It looks as though the birth of the third child of the marriage, Col(e)man, was registered in September quarter 1895 in Whitechapel district. There are, however, two entries in the birth index – one, the original, under the surname Levine and another, an annotation, under the spelling Levi. It may be that Levine was merely an error at registration, subsequently corrected. Alternatively, it may be that the family was originally called Levine and shortened the name to Levi.
Between 1889 and 1892 there are, unfortunately, multiple entries of registration of birth of persons named Abraham Levy (five entries) / Levene (three entries) in Whitechapel district. Assuming that Abraham was indeed born in Whitechapel (and not elsewhere in the East End or, indeed, in the Russian Empire), you probably need to bite the bullet and start applying for these certificates, one at a time, hoping that you’ll find the right one sooner rather than later in the process.
If you don’t know it already, the birth certificate of Col(e)man (or, of course, any of his siblings) will furnish you with the maiden surname of Fanny. While it is highly probable that the couple married somewhere within the Pale of Settlement in Russian Empire, it’s just possible that they met and married in the East End, so once you have the maiden name you can undertake this search. Of course, if you find a marriage and it is before the 1891 census date, you should redouble your efforts to locate them in the census returns.
If you find a marriage and it is later than 5 April 1891, you could try looking for Louis/Lewis and Fanny as bachelor and spinster in London in the 1891 census, although of course in this scenario it’s possible that they arrived between the census date and date of marriage. If you find no marriage in the index, then the happy event must have been celebrated in Russia.’
If you’d like to send your question to Stephen, please register or opt to receive newsletters in ‘my account’. Stephen only has time to answer a couple of queries each month but if yours wasn’t answered this month, you could be lucky next time!
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Please note: This post has originated from a news feed from an external website.
Family Tree Forum neither endorses nor is responsible for the views of the author or any other content.
From Steve Coleman:
‘My grandfather Lewis Levi, his wife Fanny and son Abraham were in the 1901 census living in Artillery Lane in the East End of London. Abraham was 11 years old at the time and born at Spitalfields, so presumably they must have been in the 1891 census too. I cannot find them – can you help? Both parents were born in Russia and left in a hurry.’
Stephen says:
‘Hi Steve – thanks for writing in.
I think that they probably arrived just after the 1891 census was taken (5 April 1891). The 1901 census suggests that Abraham was born circa 1889/90 in Spitalfields, although the same is not true of the 1911, which places his birth later, circa 1891/92. In fact, there are all sorts of discrepancies between the two censuses.
In 1901, the head of household is Lewis Levi, as you say, born in about 1854/55; in 1911 he is Louis Levy (same name, different spelling), born 1851/52. His wife Fanny was born around 1865/66 according to the 1901 but around 1867/68 according to the 1911 census. Similarly, the ages and computed years of birth of other children vary according to census. This is not at all unusual, unfortunately.
It’s also possible that Levi/Levy isn’t the only name that the family used. It looks as though the birth of the third child of the marriage, Col(e)man, was registered in September quarter 1895 in Whitechapel district. There are, however, two entries in the birth index – one, the original, under the surname Levine and another, an annotation, under the spelling Levi. It may be that Levine was merely an error at registration, subsequently corrected. Alternatively, it may be that the family was originally called Levine and shortened the name to Levi.
Between 1889 and 1892 there are, unfortunately, multiple entries of registration of birth of persons named Abraham Levy (five entries) / Levene (three entries) in Whitechapel district. Assuming that Abraham was indeed born in Whitechapel (and not elsewhere in the East End or, indeed, in the Russian Empire), you probably need to bite the bullet and start applying for these certificates, one at a time, hoping that you’ll find the right one sooner rather than later in the process.
If you don’t know it already, the birth certificate of Col(e)man (or, of course, any of his siblings) will furnish you with the maiden surname of Fanny. While it is highly probable that the couple married somewhere within the Pale of Settlement in Russian Empire, it’s just possible that they met and married in the East End, so once you have the maiden name you can undertake this search. Of course, if you find a marriage and it is before the 1891 census date, you should redouble your efforts to locate them in the census returns.
If you find a marriage and it is later than 5 April 1891, you could try looking for Louis/Lewis and Fanny as bachelor and spinster in London in the 1891 census, although of course in this scenario it’s possible that they arrived between the census date and date of marriage. If you find no marriage in the index, then the happy event must have been celebrated in Russia.’
If you’d like to send your question to Stephen, please register or opt to receive newsletters in ‘my account’. Stephen only has time to answer a couple of queries each month but if yours wasn’t answered this month, you could be lucky next time!
More...
Please note: This post has originated from a news feed from an external website.
Family Tree Forum neither endorses nor is responsible for the views of the author or any other content.