ISRAEL LEVIEN SALOMONS-HESTER PRAGER

[phillip]

I have just read a Facebook entry for the Tombstone Plaque for Lyon Prager. The entry dated 23 October (I think the year is 2019 ) shows a photograph of the trilingual inscription which someone has defaced by rubbing a brick over the inscription. They may have attempted to make a tracing but whatever the reason the inscription and plaque are now in a fragile state.
The issue of members of the public making tracing of ancient tombstone inscriptions and the potential for major damage is one discussed by archaelogists in various papers particularly if the tombstone is fragile and the inscription faint, damaged or worn.

In the previous post reference was made to the middle name Meirs for Henry Meirs Elliot. The middle name is a family name and currently there is no evidence of Jewish roots.

[phillip]

The following individual may or may not relate to the Prager/Elliot/Salomons lines.There is a combination of the middle name Prager and surname King.
More research is required.
Lt Colonel Charles Prager King died 1846 London, late commanding the Hon.East India Company Bengal Cavalry (Lancers). Married in 1819 Bombay to Jane Margaretta BROWNELL- see a copy of his will on line Ancestry.Co

Baptism Charles Prager King 19 Jan 1789 Fitzroy Chapel St.Pancras London-parents Edward and Julia King.

[phillip]

There are various newspaper accounts for Lyon Prager and his two nephews Mark and Simon in the Calcutta and other Indian press. However,articles appear to end in 1794 for Mark. In the case of George Prager brother of Lyon Prager it appears he married 20 May 1798 Bengal to Charlotte Preston (Charlotte O'Hara) widow of Captain Preson and Major of Brigade.

The Israel Yechiel Salomon Preger line can be seen on the Dutchjewry online website. The line data has Jacob Levie Salomon Preger 1720-1787 = Bele Marcus Mordechai Hekscher b 1726-their son Levie Salomon Jeseya Preger =Lea Smaaje-halevi- their son Israel Yechiel Salomon Preger

[AmandaR]

Thanks so much again Phillip, I am hoping to look at the records again this weekend. In the meantime I bought a copy of Diamonds and Coral, which is fascinating and I was surprised at just how much of the book is about Israel and the Preger family. I am hoping to learn a lot from it.

[phillip]

Amanda
Gaby Laws the owner/administrator of Cemetery and Synagogue Scribes has kindly agreed to my submitting an article on Louisa Salomons for a Blog. I have already drafted an article and will submitted next week.

In the meantime, I have re-read the archaelogical survey of St. Luke's Old Church and still cannot clearly identify where the bodies/coffins were re-buried - there were 21 vaults in the crypt containing 72 burials of which 56 were named. On p22 of the report they stated that the Church diocesan stipulated that "sealed coffins should not be opened and that such coffins should be sleeved on site and removed for burial"

If Louisa was buried in a vault in the crypt where was she re-buried or is she still in the crypt? In addition, on pp33-35 the report stated that no corpses were to be placed in vaults except in leaden or metal coffins this appears to have occurred after 1810. In 1853 the vaults were sealed by in filling with dumps of soil,domestic refuse,building rubble.
Do we take it that the excavation of the vaults removed this debris so that vaults could be identified and removed?

I would appreciate your re-reading of the report and any comments on what happened to Louisa very welcome.

[phillip]

Amanda
Another thought- when Louisa died in 1811 and was buried in a Church of England Cemetery she still remained a Jew. I wonder if any of the Goldsmid/Salomons et al attended the burial service and if so, was a Mourner's Kaddish spoken at any stage. Given that Jesse Goldsmid had her children baptised following the death of her husband plus Lyon Prager and George Prager marrying gentiles I suspect that the ceremony was purely a Church of England ceremony.

What happened to Edward King Elliot born 1811 and a baby plus the other children of Louisa and George. Did George re-marry?

[AmandaR]

#79
Re Sidney Lindo Levien: I read the very detailed obituary about him (Daily Gleaner, published Kingston Jamaica, Friday 27th September 1895 page 2 col 7). He was a businessman, journalist, secretary of the Savings Banks. He sometimes wrote under the non de plume “Atticus” for English newspapers The Observer and The Times. He opposed the Crown government of Jamaica and I think was put in prison for his editorial attacks on Governor Eyre. He was released due to a public petition and also through the influence of Lord Nelson. He had some influence in the Jamaican rebellion.

It says about when he met Miss Cecelia Phillips in Jamaica (a sister of the late Hon. G.L.Phillips) her family sent her to England, to try and put a stop to their “undesirable” alliance - perhaps because she was Christian and he was Jewish? Anyhow that didn’t work as he just followed her to England and the two were married “by special licence” - no other detail- without the knowledge of her parents (it doesn’t say where this took place). It doesn’t mention any other wedding ceremony. I wonder if the couple wanted a Jewish marriage but also felt they needed to appease her family by having a Christian marriage too? It looks like he kept his Jewish faith as he was buried as a Jew. I wonder where she was buried?

The couple obviously went back to Jamaica after their marriage, presumably to meet with the wrath of her family- hopefully that all worked out in the end.

It also mentions one of his daughters being a Mrs Sherlock, and one of the principal mourners at the funeral was C.M.Sherlock. Would I be right in thinking Sherlock sounds like a Jewish name?

At the end of the obit and in the Daily Gleaner 28th September it says he was buried at an early hour, owing to the Jewish Festival of the Atonement at the Jewish burial ground, Windward Road.

[AmandaR]

Amanda
Gaby Laws the owner/administrator of Cemetery and Synagogue Scribes has kindly agreed to my submitting an article on Louisa Salomons for a Blog. I have already drafted an article and will submitted next week.

In the meantime, I have re-read the archaelogical survey of St. Luke's Old Church and still cannot clearly identify where the bodies/coffins were re-buried - there were 21 vaults in the crypt containing 72 burials of which 56 were named. On p22 of the report they stated that the Church diocesan stipulated that "sealed coffins should not be opened and that such coffins should be sleeved on site and removed for burial"

If Louisa was buried in a vault in the crypt where was she re-buried or is she still in the crypt? In addition, on pp33-35 the report stated that no corpses were to be placed in vaults except in leaden or metal coffins this appears to have occurred after 1810. In 1853 the vaults were sealed by in filling with dumps of soil,domestic refuse,building rubble.
Do we take it that the excavation of the vaults removed this debris so that vaults could be identified and removed?

I would appreciate your re-reading of the report and any comments on what happened to Louisa very welcome.

That’s great news about the blog Phillip, I would be very interested to read that.

Regarding the article, I will happily re-read tomorrow. I agree it’s not very clear where exactly Louisa Salamons/Elliot was buried in the Church, or where she ended up being reburied. I thought I had seen her coffin number on one of the diagrams of the crypt but then when I looked again I couldn’t see it. I will have another look tomorrow.

[AmandaR]

#79
Sidney Lindo Levien’s wife Cecilia nee Phillips was buried in what looks like a Jewish Cemetery in Montego Bay Union Street in 1865
Source: Ancestry.com from “The Jews of Jamaica; Tombstone Inscriptions 1663-1880, Montego Bay, Page 119”.

So it looks like she either converted to Judaism or she was born Jewish (in which case why would they have had a Christian marriage ceremony)

[phillip]

#79 Sidney Lindo Levien=Cecilia Phillips marriages. There are 2 marriages for Sidney and Cecilia - one in a Church of England ceremony and the other in the Hambro Synagogue. These are two Jews marrying each other. The Church of England ceremony- 5 May 1830 St Stephen Walbrook city of London -witnesses Catherine JACKSON;John?HEART?; Charles Waring PHILLIPS

The Hambro Synagogue Synagogue Scribes HSM160 Sidney Lindo Levien-Hebrew name Yehuda Leib-father's hebrew name Shlomeh Levehn -Cecilia Phillips father's Hebrew name Mr Sampson

I don't know why they would have 2 marriages- was Cecilia's father against the marriage for various reasons and had he tried to cover up his Jewish roots and wanted Cecilia to marry a non Jew.
By the way, Jews adopted many Anglicised last names for all sorts of reasons- ease of pronunciation compared to their original names; wanting to fit in,business etc.....You can't make a judgement on the surname origins because they may sound Jewish for example my lines are Hart, Jacobs among others but they are not original tribal names nor are they the names they adopted when in the countries they came from.