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  1. #21

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    The Michael Myers and Leah Levy lines appear on numbers of Ancestry public family trees. Whether or not they are the right parents for Catherine who married Samuel Russell requires confirmation.
    As a start here are the newspaper death notices for MICHAEL MYERS-The Sydney Morning Herald Tue 13 March 1860
    Michael Myers Esq late of St.Peter's Alley,Cornhill and father of Mrs Charles Cook of this city

    The Jewish Chronicle has an earlier notice- On Friday 4 November at 10 Bleeker Street New York or many years a respected inhabitant of St.Peter's Alley Cornhill London

    Michael Myers with his wife and several children plus grandson appear in the 1841 Census (Copyright TNA)HO107 723 5 148 9 7
    MICHEAL MYERS 65 Fishmonger Not born in county
    Leah Myers 62
    Esther 37
    Leah 28
    Sophia 19
    Rebecca 15
    SARAH LEVEY 43
    Charles Levey grandson 4
    All above except Michael born in county

    There is a satirical and anti semitic sketch of the marriage of Moses Abraham to Elizabeth Myers daughter of Michael/Leah in 1802 - see British Museum for the picture online.

    Michael Myers was a wealthy fishmonger but also a dealer and chapman in London. He was bankrupt in 1835 see The London Gazette Archives. His daughter Esther appears in a very late baptism April 28 1885 but born July 26 1806- there is a note on the record about.."privately.." but I can't read it clearly.St Mary Paddington Church. Why she was baptised is very unclear but I suspect so that she could be buried in a Church of England rather than a Jewish Cemetery but why I don't know.

    Catherine Myers born 1802 does appear as the daughter of this Michael Myers/Leah Levy but there is no proof she is the wife of Samuel Russell and more research is needed.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  2. #22
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    Thanks for your research. From Michael Myers death notice it appears he died in New York and his daughter was living in Sydney, is this correct? I will try and find out who Mrs Charles Cook was. It is interesting that one of his daughters was baptised. Samuel and Catherine's son Reuben Thomas Russell appears not to have lived as a Jew and was buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery. It appears as if the family stopped being Jewish at some point, I wonder why. There are so many unanswered questions, but it is all so fascinating. It is even harder to do any research at the moment with everything closed due to the pandemic, which would be the same for you over there but you are experiencing it much worse than here. They are slowly opening up some places, will be good when I can get into the National Library.

  3. #23

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    I am happy to help with the research. I have a distant cousin in Canberra and others in Melbourne plus my wife has a brother in Queensland and cousins in Tasmania and Adelaide so we are kept up to date.

    The move from being identified as a Jew and then changing religion, names, customs is not uncommon and this includes my own lines. The reasons are both complex and simple- fear of persecution, wanting children to get better jobs etc....

    The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain has various family trees on Myers/Levy but not Russell. However, the main index does not include sufficient detail to identify individuals without visiting the library.The Society of Genealogists in London also has Myers/Levy family trees.

    I will look further on the Myers- my 5x great grandfather was Jacob Myers Merchant and his wife Eve. They are recorded on Cemetery Scribes. However, I know nothing more about him nor whether my 4x great grandmother Phoebe Myers had siblings. Her son Napthali wrote from West Maitland in 1842 to his sister in London and referred to his nephews,nieces, cousins, uncles, aunts but did not mention any by name- such is life- I have no idea other than his immediate siblings who any of them are.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  4. #24

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    There are 6 Ancestry public family trees which have Mary Myers b 1816 parents Michael Myers/Leah Levy. The trees have Mary married to a HARTWELL and noted her Old Bailey trial 23 Oct 1837 where she was convicted of theft and transported for 7 years. The online trial data is very brief. In 1846 application was made for Charles COOK and Mary Hartwell to marry- he was 32 and she was 29. It was noted that Mary was already married. Charles Cook was transported for 14 years at the Old Bailey 15 August 1836. At some date they married.

    So far, I have not seen any record which names Mary as a Myers and who her parents were but the convict records may reveal more.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  5. #25
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    I have so far found this convict record which says

    "Hartnell, Mary (nee MYERS)
    b. Germany, 1817
    John Renwick(!) 1838 Convict. Sentenced to 7 years Central Criminal Court 1837
    Married: Nursery maid and governess; Height 145cm, 2 children in England

    Mary Hartnell could read and write; she had a fair ruddy complextion, brown hair and grey eyes. She was the sister of Edward Myers(q.v.) and 'Fishmonger'Moses Myers(q.v.). She was the mother of two male children in London. She was listed on the indent of the John Renwick as 'Mary Hartwell'. Mary Hartnell arrived in Sydney on 27 August 1838. According to the Registry of Flash Men, the 'celebrated' Mary Hartnell behaved so badly on board the convict transport ship that the Governor had her sent to the Female Factory as soon as she arrived in Sydney. She was well known in Sydney during the 1840s as a prostitute. She held a conditional pardon in 1844 (No. 1536)"

    Have not found anything on Charles Cook yet.

  6. #26

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    The Michael Myers who died in New York was a wealthy man and the reference to MOSES MYERS fishmonger father of Edward and Mary doesn't seem to be the same person unless Michael is the anglicised and adopted name for Moses.
    I have serious doubts on the accuracy and linkeage of names and data on the Ancestry family trees. Many are poor quality and contain inaccurate data.

    The other key issue is whether or not this Michael or Moses Myers has any relevance to Catherine Myers/Samuel Russell other than commonality of names.

    The Mary Myers who married a Hartwell was recorded as being born Germany whereas Michael Myers appears to be born UK. One person on their family tree has queried this information claiming that Edward Myers was a 'liar' and alluding to Mary also lying. I don't know the truth or otherwise of the claim but I would bear all these points in mind.

    I would suggest looking very carefully at the current data and cross checking accuracy where possible.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  7. #27

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    A note on Michael Myers from the Synagogue Scribes records. On the birth of Catherine Myers and the Marriage of Michael Myers his Hebrew name is Meir not Moshe or Moses. The question arises is this Michael aka Moses Myers father of Mary/Edward/Catherine. I have doubts unless verified by accurate data. Mary appears to have married a non Jew. This was not uncommon but if so, there maybe a Church of England marriage record unless this Hartwell converted to the Jewish faith.

    There are a lot of queries regarding this line and also Catherine Myers who died in 1875 was 79 born circa 1796 and not 1802 as per the Michael Myers/Leah Levy daughter Catherine born 1802. As we discussed dob can vary a lot depending on who gives the information but I would keep options open on this research.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  8. #28
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    Will keep doing some digging, it gets all so confusing and so hard to really prove anything is correct when there are so many different conflicting bits of information and family trees that are not accurate. Thanks

  9. #29

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    Another thought regarding tracing Catherine Myers parents. I noted that Saul Vallentine 1855-1937 grandson of Catherine/Samuel married Elizabeth Myers 1858-1949. Her parents are recorded as Morris Myers 1800-1870/Rachel Barnett. Morris Myers parents are recorded as Simon Myers and Sarah Isaacs.

    What is the relationship between these Myers and Catherine and are there records which might confirm what the relationship is. In addition, are there records which might indicate whether Simon Myers is a father of Catherine or a close relative.

    You also have Vallentine relatives who are Sephardic Jews which is interesting given the Ahkenazi line of the Russell.

    There are references to these Myers and Vallentine but later in time.

    Somewhere down the line there was a Myers family in Sheerness where Catherine was born and identifying them is crucial in determining who the parents of Catherine were.

    Further, what record exists to confirm Catherine's maiden name was Myers?

    My thoughts are that it is better to use existing data such as the census records and confirmed relationships and work back to Catherine and the Morris Myers link.

    What do you think?
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  10. #30

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    Here is some data on MORRIS MYERS - he married twice. The first marriage was to SARAH FULLER a proselyte see Synagogue Scribes GSM233/44 1825- the conversion can be seen in the Hebrew name of her father "Abraham our Father" which is the phrase for a non Jew conversion.
    Morris then re-married to RACHEL BARNETT GSMa089/38 1849

    See also JewishGen UK Data bases 1851 Anglo Jewry data base MORRIS MYERS ID 9466- Petra Laidlaw has included the Lewin birth records and other data on the line.

    In the Great Synagogue Marriage Records Simon is the Hebrew name for the father of Morris Myers.
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

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