Robert and the list

Sorry for the belated reply. I knew at the back of my mind I had checked out
Swansea for the possibility of some of my early family coming >from there
and have now found a note in my files:

The Jews of South Wales:historical studies. Cardiff: University of Wales
Press 1993. Ursula Henriques is the editor and wrote a number of the
chapters.

The first known settled community (as opposed to visiting pedlars and a
few individual residents) was in the third quarter of the eighteenth
century in Swansea - then a flourishing seaport.

There were quite a few pawnborkers there, one of whom was Greenbone Jacobs
of Swansea who was accused in the 1868 Midsummer Quarter Sessions of
receiving stolen rope p.81). He was born in 1796 and Michael Jacobs (late
C19th was probably descended >from him).

Swansea was an older Jewish community than that of Cardiff. According to a
reference (NH Saunders Swansea Hebrew Congregation 1830-1980, Centenary
pamphlet 1980, 209 - apparently not in British Library collection) the
lease of the first Swansea congregation dates back to 1768.

I then followed up and arranged for some research to be undertaken for me by
the local archives http://www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives/ who were
very helpful.

Regards
Hazel Dakers, London UK

Researching: NORDEN (London & South Africa); HEIMANN (Luegde, Germany and
South Africa); GOLD (Zgierz and Lodz, Poland), BIRNBAUM (Zgierz and Lodz,
Poland)
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Subject: RE: ABRAHAMs in Wales
From: "robert fraser" <robertandginafraser@iinet.net.au>
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 09:15:34 +0800
X-Message-Number: 1

Hi guys -

I seems unlikely to me that a rural area such as Llangyfelach (although
today it's part of Swansea) would have seen any Jewish presence in 1749, let
alone any families settling in the area.

Bear in mind that in rural/farming areas, much of the population would have
been unable to read. But if they were literate, the Bible would have been
their only literature (probably in Welsh) and they would likely have
obtained surnames and given names >from this book. So a biblical name does
not necessarily indicate a Jewish background.

Robert W Fraser
Dianella, Western Australia
robertandginafraser@iinet.net.au
(ex-Merthyr Tydfil)