"There are fairies at the bottom of my garden..."

There is work piling up on my desktop. Lots of it. And I have been working on the history of the Jewish community in Mór, Fejér, Hungary, from whence my father's family sprang ... so, no more delving into ebay photographs for a while. 

And then, I dipped in for just a moment, with my morning cuppa ... and I found these. Named. A family? And from name and face, clearly Jewish ...

Frederick Otto Feilmann

Paul Richard Lewenz

Agnes Gertrude Feilmann

Martin Ernest Feilmann

Julia Augusta Goldschmidt

Martha Rosa Lewenz

And, in case you hadn't guessed, the broken-up collection is being sold by one Andy Guyuk. And, if I'm not wrong, this is only a part of that collection. For there is a notable gap in this delightful 'family and friends' group. So, I'll have to pop in each morning at the risk of losing a working day.

So, who are they?  Not difficult. The three Feilmann children are three of the four offspring of a clerical worker from Oldenburg in Saxony, by name John Feilmann. John and his two sisters emigrated to England in the 1850s, where Louise (b 12 December 1840; d Elstree 15 August 1914) worked as a language teacher, and Johanna (d Hampstead 20 January 1916) became an 'authoress'.

John rose from his clerk's stool to become junior partner to Hermann Edward Flersheim (1828-1901), lace manufacturer, married Emilie Löwenstein, a Russian immigrant, fathered four children, succeeded prosperously to the head of J Feilmann and Co, and was involved in Nottingham's social and civic life up to his death in 1903. Emilie succeeded him at the head of them firm, along with her brother, Max Löwenstein.

Miss Goldschmidt was the daughter of another local Jewish worthy, silk-marchant Edward Goldschmidt from Hesse Cassel: alderman, councilman, sometime mayor. I'm not aware of any family relationship between the Goldschimdts and the Feilmanns, but there was certainly a social one.

The two Lewenz children are related to our family. Louise Feilmann married Pincus (Pius) Lewenz, a merchant from Hamburg. However, these are not her children. They are two of the four children of her husband's brother, Moritz, back in Germany. It is a family which has been extensively documented, so I shall leave it there, and get back to our photos.

The Feilmann children:

(1) [Martin] Ernest Feilmann (b 14 September 1874; d Swindon Rd, Cheltenham 4 November 1944) spent his life as a research chemist and a chemical engineer latterly in the government's service. He married Katherine Linnell (1876-1961) and fathered three children (John Linnell, Ruth, Anne).

(2) [Agnes] Gertrude Feilmann ('Gerty') (b 1876; d St Giles, Trumlands Rd, Marychurch, Torquay) became a schoolmistress and, at a young age a school principal. She remained unmarried.

(4) Frederick Otto Feilmann (b Waterloo Crescent, Nottingham 11 April 1881; d Hornsey Lane 20 August 1956) known initially as Otto until he dropped the name, and, with the rest of his family changed his surname to Fyleman in 1915. He appears to have been a 'merchant', to have spent time in Canada, and died unmarried.

(3) comes after (4) because we don't have a photo of Amy Rose Feilmann (b Western Terrace, The Park 6 March 1877; d Lemsford Nursing Home, St Albans 1 August 1957) which is a pity, because it is nice to have a complete set! But there are plenty of photos of Rose about, because she was the one who became 'notable'. After starting a nice career as a contralto vocalist, she became known as a 'poetess' and the acknowledged chronicler of the doings of Fairyland in a long series of children's books and radio broadcasts. And she penned the famous lines 'There are fairies at the bottom of my Garden' which, set by Liza Lehmann and purveyed by such as Clara Butt .. and Hermione Gingold! ... has propelled her into the world Dictionary of Quotations. As, of course, Rose Fyleman. She too was unmarried, so it remained to Ernest's two daughters to carry on the family line. And, presumably, keep the family photographs?1

Julia Augusta Goldschmidt (b Nottingham 1870) married one Karl Friedrich von Bose. I'm not sure what happened after that

The Lewenz (formerly: Levy) children:

Martha Rosa Lewenz (b Berlin 8 September 1874; d New York 9 June 1953) married Richard Jacob Friedländer and ... WHAAAAAAAT!  .. geni says 'Martha Rosa Friedländer is your first cousin twice removed's wife's first cousin's wife's uncle's wife's uncle's wife's niece' ...    

Paul Richard Lewenz (b Berlin 29 November 1882; d 4 April 1951)

You 
 

 

→

  

Dr Fritz Eduard Ganzl  
your father

  

→

 

Josef Ganzl  
his father

  

→

  

Julianna Gansl  
his mother

  

→

  

Amalie Sara Czuczka  
her sister

  

→

  

Fritz Czuczka  
her son

  

→

Charlotte (Lola) Czuczka  
his wife

  

→

  

Rosalia Felsenburg (Löwenberg)  
her mother

  

→

  

Rosalia (Sali) Sara Hofbauer  
her sister

  

→

  

Max Hofbauer  
her son

  

→

Gertrud Hofbauer  
his wife

  

→

  

Gracia Knoller  
her mother

  

→

  

Marcus Jaffe  
her brother

  

→

  

Hanna Jaffe  
his wife

  

→

  

Aron Luria de Lemos  
her father

  

→

  

Gabriel Luria de Lemos  
his brother

→

 

Emma Eva Luria  
his wife

  

→

  

Moritz Lewenz  
her brother

Well, its an extremely tenuous but nevertheless factual 'connection'. 

It was the fairies that done it, I am sure.

PS I wonder if this is grown-up Gerty ....

And this, from the same bundle. [Oscar] Paul Schwerin 'agent in Berlin' . Mr/Ms Guyuk has labelled him 'textile merchant', which I suppose was written in the album from which the pictures were taken. Its previous owner wasn't sure whether he was agenting in 1890 or 1900.

Ah! He's covered on the internet. I wonder why. German Jewish merchant.  ah! findagrave, as so often, comes us trumps ... he's a business contact rather than a family one.

'Sigismund Heinersdorff brought Paul Schwerin into the Berlin lace and tulle company Freudenberg & Meyer as an apprentice. He became well-established there, being appointed an authorized signatory. In 1875, he married Klara Antonie née Freudenberg, his boss’s daughter, and became co-owner of the business. Paul and Antonie Schwerin had two children: a daughter Martha, born in 1876, and a son Hans, born two years later. Martha married the merchant Sally Salomon, with whom she had three daughters: Käte (born 1900), Trude (born 1902) and Lotte Salomon (born 1908). (Source: Jewish Museum Berlin)'

And what about this lot. Edwin Waterhouse (1841-1917) accountant from Aigburth, with wife Georgina Emma Catherine born Thöl (1848-1896),  seen in the 1881 census at Hyde Park Street, London, with children Agnes Mary, Theresa, William, Nicholas Edwin and Ellen Penelope Mary. And six servants. Their photos are surely from the same collection ..

Edwin, of Price, Waterhouse (1868)

Georgina (1869)

Theresa

William

Ellen

Agnes Mary died at the age of 13 

and here is Gertrude, born 14 February 1884  ...

Sad, we've missed one member again. Unless this is Edwin II (aged 21) rather than Edwin I, as labelled elsewhere on the web.

Nicholas Edwin followed in his father's footsteps and became,'Sir Nicholas Edwin Waterhouse, KBE ... 'a British accountant who was senior partner of the firm Price Waterhouse & Company, and president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He was also a noted philatelist who was added to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1940'. I wonder in which capacity he was deemed dubworthy...

Agnes and the future Sir Nicholas

Well, a notable family ... but were they connected with the lacemakers of Nottingham? I've found no trace. But, then again, I had no idea that I was connected them either!

 I wonder which of the girls this was ..

*************************************************************************

PS: Always return to the scene of the crime. Not only has Mr/Ms Gűyűk broken up the family collection, but he/she has listed them in different daily clumps. But I was watching ... and here is John Feilmann

and here his sister, Louise. Mrs Lewenz.

z

Therese Feilmann née Cohn (1850-1926)

And her husband Bernhard Feilmann (d 25 November 1842; d Ohlsdorf 23 August 1914). John's brother? This branch of the family (they had seven children) scattered to various corners of the world ...

We have another Goldschmidt .. Alice Adolphine ... fourth daughter of Edward ... born Nottingham, 19 August 1877. 'Pianist'.  For 12 years Mrs Gustav Raphael Emden 'curtain manufacturer' of St Gallen and Zürich (b 16 December 1864, divorced 1911) ... daughter Anna Emden, son Paul  ..

And some Simons. Carl Joseph (recte Jacob, b 1 September 1850; d Hamburg 7 December 1924) son of Phillip and Auguste, with his wife Rosa Gabriele née Seckels (daughter of Julius Isaac Seckels and Adele née Wagner), then his mother, Frau Auguste née Behrens ..

They had children Phillip, Paula, Erna, Margarethe ..

Auguste seems to have hit the century, and died in London in 1924.

and a whole heap of 'my' Lewenz crowd ... Antonie Eva, Henry Iwan, Iwan, Minna Doris (Mrs Moritz) ...

Antonie (b Berlin or Brno 13 July 1878), daughter of Moritz and Minna, was to become Fr Lillienfeld and when the second war came round, left Europe for Brazil ... musicista, eh! She died in Chile 12 May 1950. Like so many displaced Jews, her sons Henry (Enrique), William (Guillhermo) and Robert were, by that stage, in Chile, Brazil and South Africa ...

Henry Iwan/Ivan

Henry Iwan Lewenz

Three portraits of Henry Ivan or Iwan (originally Izaias) (b Hampstead 7 June 1871; d Southsea 29 December 1957) married Gertrude Rusbridger (b 1 May 1882; d 1961). Engineer. Two surviving sons .. well, the second died aged 20, so really only one ..

Iwan (b Hamburg 1833; d 33 Belsize Ave 2 February 1919) can be seen in the 1861 census for London, in a boarding house in Islington '28, unmarried, general commission agent' ... He settled in England (I see him at the Nottingham Infirmary ball with Pius in 1868, and went into partnership with one G Sachs in Mincing Lane, as 'merchants'. And, good heavens, here are 'the brothers Lewenz' sponsoring a concert in Grantham! He pops up in the 1891 census with a wife, Ida née Simon (1847-1933), children Henry Izaias, Marie Adele, Paula Agnes (b 33 Belsize Avenue 14 August 1877) ... four servants ... and, well, well! Mrs Auguste Simon from Luneberg. The jigsaw is coming together!  He is now a tea merchant and naturalised Briton. In 1911, Iwan and Ida, Henry Iwan (sic), chemical engineer, Adele (sic) teacher at London University (she was actually a Fellow, and MA), the future Mrs Henry Iwan and granny Auguste, with five servants, can be seen in Belsize Avenue ...

Minna Doris née Eisenmann (b 11 November 1852; d New York 19 May 1946). Mrs Moritz. She fled to America with Antonie ...

This seems to be Henry Esaias/Ivan again ..

This one is labelled Henry Ivan Lewenz ..

and yayy!!! Here is papa Pius (Pincus b Hamburg 3 September 1837; d Hamburg 20 September 1886) ... the local Chamber of Commerce marked the passing of 'one of its most active members ... earnestness and zeal for the promotion of the commercial activities of the town'

Well, there are still some missing. Rose Feilmann. Hans Leo Lewenz (found! many months later!). And, of course, the Emma Eva Luria who binds this family into my family tree ...  come on the Gűyűk family ... cough up the rest of them. And tell us where you got them from ...

The Lewenz family (including those of whom I havent found photos) were prominent in Nottingham for over 100 years. I'll sign this out with two newspaper articles. 

and await developments ...

Next day! Here's the big feller ... Philipp Simon of Hamburg .. who started the whole thing. What a marvellous historical collection this is!  Or, should I say, 'was'.

Ida Simon Lewenz

Ida with her firstborn child., Henry Iwan

Hans and Paul Lewenz ...

Antonie and Martha

Paul and Fanny Feilmann

Hans and Erwin Feilmann

'Lily Hetty Simonis is your first cousin twice removed's wife's first cousin's wife's uncle's wife's first cousin once removed' says geni. And her brother Paul Borgzinner too ...

Born 15 March 1887 .. Mrs Henry Simonis ...

Isaac Julius Weinberg and his wife and his wife Agnes née Simon (Ida's sister)

Stop press: this blog has reached the family, and we are trying to buy the whole collection from Mr Gűyűk ...!!!!!

Stop the stop press. No go :-(

And still they come ..

Johanna Feilmann

Bella (Bilha) Borgzinner nee Luria (1860-1938)

Anna Goldschmidt

 The Luria brothers: Aaron Abraham, Joseph and Leo Jessaia

Joseph died in Manchester in 1925 unmarried. Aron and Leo were murdered in the death camp of Theresienstadt ...

And here is yet another. The brothers Jacob (1830-15 March 1900) and Isaac Julius (17 June 1832-1 January 1912) Weinberg, sons of Juda Weinberg and Zerline Simon ...

Jacob, lace merchant, married Adelheid Meyer from Altona, and fathered Nevile, Yitta (Mrs Abraham Levy), Mehir, Simeon, Zireli (Mrs Pierre Levy) and Judah [Harry].

Isaac, linen and Jute merchant, who is pictured higher up, married Agnes Simon, and fathered Frederick Simon, Herbert, Julian, Zerline, George Ivan, Henry and Gertrude. 

Much merchanting, much much money ...

And more ...

John ie Hans Leo Lewenz (b Nottingham, 28 August 1867; d Nottingham 16 May 1941), son of Pius. Director of Merchants Exporter Co ...  bachelor ...

John Leo Lewenz was born on 28 August 1867 in Arthur Street in the Sherwood sub-district of Nottingham. His parents Pius Lewenz and wife Louise Feilmann lived in Gill Street in Nottingham. In 1881, aged fourteen, he was one of ten scholars attending a small boarding school in Hampstead run by a German teacher with a PhD.

Only five years later his father Pius died. John Leo followed his father into Simon May & Co Ltd. In 1887 branch offices were established in France at Calais, and later at Caudry, and in 1920 the French subsidiary Company Société Simon-May was formed. The Calais organization was for many years under his management and he lived for over 30 years in northern France and became quite portly on the good cooking. John Leo Lewenz was remembered as a lovely man and very kind. He earned £2000 a year before the First World War which was a fabulous salary, but the war was ruinous and his wealth shrank substantially. In 1914 he was living at 5 Quai de la Tamise in the centre of Calais. He never married.

When the firm became a limited liability company in 1924, John Leo became Vice Chairman and in 1928 he took over as Chairman. From at least 1922 to 1930 he lived at 7 Clumber Crescent South, The Park, in Nottingham but by 1937 he had moved to 21 Newcastle Drive, The Park. He retired as Chairman in March 1941 and died two months later on 16 May, aged seventy three, at the Convent Nursing Home in Mansfield Road, Nottingham. His funeral took place at the Jewish Cemetery at Wilford Hill in Nottingham on 19 May and he was cremated.

The Nottingham Evening Post reported his death on 16 May 1941 as follows:

Prominent City Business Man - Death of Mr J. Leo Lewenz Nottingham has lost one of its most prominent and respected business men by the death today of Mr. John Leo Lewenz, of 21 Newcastle-drive, The Park. Mr Lewenz was born in Nottingham in 1867, and was educated at Nottingham High School and in London. He joined the firm Simon, May and Co., Ltd., lace manufacturers, Nottingham, at the time when Mr. Jacob Weinberg, who founded the business, and Mr. Pius Lewenz, deceased’s father, were partners In 1887 he became associated with the Calais branch of the firm, and it was through his enterprise that this branch became the leading export house in Calais. Mr. Lewenz returned to Nottingham in 1918. He had been chairman of the company since the death of Mr. Paul Meyer in 1928. When he celebrated his 50th anniversary with the firm in 1934, his fellow directors presented him with a portrait in oils, painted by Denholm Davis, the Nottinghamshire artist. Mr. Lewenz was a member of the council of the Chamber of Commerce, and made valuable contributions to their discussions. His varied experience was of the greatest benefit to the Chamber, especially in connection with the currency problems. Mr. Lewenz was a member of the Reform Club. Musical Interests. He had wide musical interests, and was an accomplished musician, particularly as an accompanist. Science and arts claimed his keen interest. He was a great student of history and owned an extensive collection of historical works. As proof of his deep interest in the subject, he took with him, when he entered the nursing home a few weeks ago, volumes relating to two histories of Greece, which he hoped to read during his convalescence. Mr. Lewenz possessed a generous nature. His acts of kindness were manifold. Never did he seek publicity.

He left £3400. His will gave a third of his estate directly to his nephew Humphrey, bypassing Humphrey’s parents Emil and Frida, and two thirds to his brother Walter. The intention was for Walter to divide this between his own daughter Edith and his second wife. 

Edith Lewenz

Frida Lewenz

The magnificent oil portrait of John Leo Lewenz, mentioned in the newspaper article above, about three feet by two feet, painted in 1934 by Denholm Davis, was inherited by his niece Edith Simons. On Edith’s death, the portrait was passed to her son Martin Simons (Simon Goodman, geni)

Here's Hilda Marianne Lewenz, daughter of Walter Lewenz. She died at the age of eight. 

And I guess the chap belongs here too. Joseph Herrlich, b Cassell 1850; d Conaught Square, London 9 April 1892. Lace warehouseman and merchant .. sometime of Nottingham

And who is Mabel Marx ...?

And a year later, Mimi Feilmann?

And more ..   this one labelled May Lewenz ....