The synagogue records of Mattersdorf, Hungary

For many years the town of Mattersdorf was under the rule of Hungary. The city was located in the Bergensland region, that area between the Austrian Alps and the lowland area of western Hungary. Since 1921 however, it has become Mattersburg, Austria's eastern most province. Believed to have been settled by brothers fleeing Spain in the 1400's the population of Mattersdorf has fluctuated from around 400 in the 1740's to almost 900 in the by the early 1800's.
In an article published in the spring of 2007 (Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Vol. XXIII. No. 1, Spring 2007) Carole Garbuny Vogel and Yitzchok N. Stroh, give a beautiful desription of not only the history of Mattersdorf, but also of the families that lived there. One of those families was the Abeles family. The family Abeles lived in Mattersdorf and also a few neighboring towns such as,Eisenstadt and Lackenbach. They were a large family and to this day number hundreds, if not thousands of desendants.
Some of those descendants, hoping to preserve the records of the community have translated the birth, marriage and death records and linked them together as families. The total number of persons linked together is over 7500 people. These records have now been added to the Knowles Collection, and are available for anyone to use.

These records are available in the Jews of the Europe database.

Museum Of Family History

As we research our Jewish families, eventually we seem to always end up in that cold, dusty archive somewhere in the world. While, the thrill of finding that long lost ancestor makes any location more tolerable, I would still like to stay in the comforts of my own home as long as possible. To me, finding a relative while dressed in my pajamas, is just as fun as being cold. For those who like to start their research from home, the perfect museum has arrived.

The Museum of Family History ( http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/) has no walls, you can't drive there to visit, and even if you did, finding a proper parking space would be impossible, because the museum exists only in cyberspace. Its goal is simple, To Honor and Preserve the Memoryof Our Jewish Families and Culture for the Present and Future Generations.

The museum has an incredible collection of records for family research. Some of the records include histories of communities, cemetery collections, memorials of those who died in the Holocaust, and so much more. It is truly an incredible resource for anyone with Jewish ancestry, regardless of country of origin.

Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society

One of the joys of being involved in Jewish family history research, is always seeing new wonderful webites, and if I am able to come across a site that deals with Poland, that is all the better. So imagine the excitement this morning as I have been reading through the website of the Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society (www.gombinsociety.org/).

Even though Gombin, may be most famous for its wooden synagogue, which was first built in the year 1710 and restored in 1893, this website is a wonderful place to learn more about the Jewish community there. While some sections appear to still be a work in progress, I have found myself unable to leave the site, and thank them for their incredible work.

The poem of a Shopkeeper

In his book The Jews of Ireland: from Earliest Times to the year 1910, Louis Hyman shares a poem written by Myer Joel Wigoder (1856-1933), who was a settler of Dublin about 1890. I think it tells a story common to so many of our ancestors.

When first in Dublin I arrived,

I shed hot bitter tears,

Penniless in a foreign land,

I faced the coming years.

Upon a frugel scale I lived,

So as to pay my way,

How hard I toiled that I might earn,

A few shillings each day.

I did not scorn to carry a bag.

And deal in humble wares,

My back bent low, I carried on,

Heedless of stones and stares.

In such a way I struggled on,

Scarce knowing what to do,

I changed my trade a score of times,

Ever trying something new.

Still, my spirit was unconquered,

And my confidence survived,

I forgot my previous failures,

And as a shopkeeper thrived.

Pictures, frames or writing paper,

I have all one may require,

Come to me and get your custom,

If things you do desire.

His work in the picture framing business must have finally paid off for him, as we see in the 1911 census, he had eight children living with him. He was at this time a Russian born widower.

The records of this family are in The Jews of the British Isles.

The far reaching influence of the Fordon Jews

Over the generations, families move for many reasons, and I am constantly amazed at how widespread our families become. My own great grandfather, Morris David Rosenbaum, a Polish Jew, was born in Fordon, Poland in the early 1830's. Over time his journey took him to New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco and eventually to Utah.
It was then with great interest that I was reading the book The Jews of Ireland, by Louis Hyman. In his chapter on the Dublin congregation he writes, "In 1829, the eleven families of the congregation appointed the Rev. Isaac Davidson to be Reader, shochet, and mohel. Davidson was born in Fordon, in the duchy of Posen, settled in England about the year 1820, and was for some time the reader and sochet in Sunderland and Brighton, apart from an interval as private secretary to Solomon Herschell, the Chief Rabbi of England."

The records of this family can be found in the Jews of the British Isles, and The Jews of Europe.

Jewish residents of Dublin.

The history of the Jewish people in Dublin is actually a long history. In the mid 17th century, the first synagogue was established, opposite Dublin Castle. In the early 1700's the earliest Jewish Cemetery was established. From this early start the population eventually fell to just a few dozen. In the 1820's, Dublin once again saw the beginning of immigartion of families. In the case of the Jews, most came from Germany and Poland. By 1900, the Jewish population of Dublin had increased to over 3000 people.

The history of Dublin, and indeed all of Ireland's Jews, has been beautifully documented at The Jewish Museum in Dublin. The museum is located in the arear of Dublin, near Portebello College, home to a large portion of the Jewish community of the early 1900's.


The growth of the Jewish community came at a very valuable time for family researchers. The 1901 and 1911 censuses of Ireland were able to document these families. Since the census takers recorded the religion of every resident we are able to get a good picture of the Jewish Community. The records can be viewed free of charge at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/. This resource is just to incredible for any Irish researcher to pass up.
The records of the Irish Jews can be found in the Jews of the British Isles.

The Kino/Knowles family of Russia and London

The story of the family of Charles Julius Kino is one of great mystery. Family tradition states that he was born in Russia and eventually made his way to England during the 1870's. A search of the 1881 census seems to verify parts of this story (FHL film# 1341005).In this we find Charles and wife Louisa living at #3 Edinburgh Terrace in London. Included in the household are the three children, Hugh C., Margaret M., and Guy J. F.

From the marriage record we find that on 15 Apr 1874, under the direction of the West London Synagogue of British Jews, Charles Julius Kino age 33, the son of the late Israel Henry Kino and Louisa Essinger, age 24, the daughter of the late Max Essinger, were married at the home of the bride's mother, 24 Belize Road.

To this point things are pretty straight forward, but then the fun begins. At some point shortly after the 1881 census, the family of Charles Julius Kino changes their surname. The new name is Knowles, which is obviously of great importance to the author. By the 1901 census, Louisa is listed as a widow. because of this I searched for a will for Charles Julius Knowles. Upon finding the will, that is when the mystery began. In the indexes to the Principal Probate Registry, I find not one, but two wills for Charles Julius Knowles.

The index lists a first probate granted 20 Mar 1900 to Hugh Charles Knowles, worth 1.2 million pounds and a second probate granted 6 Jul 1900 to Guy John Fenton Knowles for almost 400,000 pounds. A further search of the original wills, shows the first will to be a beautifully written document, listing many relatives and organizations that he supported, while the second will is basically just a few short paragraphs.

With this information, many questions are left unanswered, but two are of particular interest. First, why did this obviously successful man change his name? Secondly, why the difference in the way the sons were treated. While both amounts would be very nice inheritances, one is still 3 times as large as the other. Hopefully further research will answer some of these questions.

The records of this family are in The Jews of the British Isles.

Knowles Collection Grows to 115,000 and becomes 5 databases.