Why would a husband take his wife's surname? #lithuania #unitedkingdom #general


Denise Fletcher
 

It seems that one of my grandfather's sisters, Leah Fleiser / Fleser, married a Samuel Lazarus.  As far as we know, Leah was born in Prienai, Lithuania in 1879, and Samuel was born in 1868.  We don't know where or when they got married. 


Leah had siblings who left Prienai around the turn of the 20th century for the UK, where the name was anglicised to Fletcher.  She, possibly already married to Samuel, followed suit at around the same time.

Leah and Samuel lived in Cardiff from at least 1912, and for some reason, Samuel apparently took Fletcher as his surname.  All 3 of his sons had Lazarus as their middle name, though, and on HIS tombstone, his given names are Samuel Eliezer, in other words, Samuel Lazarus, but his surname is Fletcher.

Can anyone shed any light on why this might have happened? 

Please reply directly to me at dfletcheroz@...

Many thanks in anticipation!
Denise Fletcher, Sydney Australia

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