| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Archival Research Paper about Herzenberg Family prepared for Kerry Petersen 28 Feb 2011 and is report no. Nr. 3-P-272, 2816, 1927 N, by Latvijas Valsts Vestures Arhivs (Latvian National Archives), Slokas iela 16, Riga, LV-1007. Complete transcript is in the notes of Edouard/Elias Ocipovitch Herzenberg and the following is but a partial transcript:
"The recruits' enlistment registers of the Jewish families belonging to Pilten for 1842, 1848, 1854, 1871, the revision lists of the Jewish families belonging to Pilten, set up on August 15 of 1851, the merchant's lists of Goldingen for 1868, 1874, 1875 contain the following information about Herzenberg family (we would like to draw your attention to the fact that very often the age of person was determined by their outward appearance and was stated in some documents rather approximately):
1. Joseph Herzenberg, his sons:
1.1. Elias, son of Joseph Herzenberg, born in ca 1774 (aged 68 in 1842), died on May 22 of 1844. His wife Chiene, born in ca 1780 (aged 62 in 1842). They had children.
1.2. Chone, son of Joseph Herzenberg, born in ca 1792 (aged 50 in 1842). His wife Schore, born in ca 1792 (aged 50 in 1842). They had children.
1.3. Lemchen, son of Joseph Herzenberg, born in ca 1779/1780 (aged 54 in 1834), died 1840. His wife Schore (the age is not stated). Their sons…"
2. Data from a copy captured of Peter Bruce Herzenberg's website of London, England, since relocated to South Africa (website is no longer functioning as of 7 Aug 2007). See more on his research and data in the notes of the earliest Herzenberg in this database. Sources for this individual are LA for Latvian Archives and FA for Aleksandrs Feigmanis (Latvian researcher hired by Harold Hodes). In regards to this individual:
Name variations: Elias "Rabbi," Eliahu b. Joseph.
FA001 shows b. 1771 at Piltene Kurland, d .22 May 1844 at Piltene Kurland, wife Chiene.
FA002 shows b. 1774.
LA018 shows b. 1771.
LA009 shows b. 1774, d. 1842.
LA013 shows b. 1774, d. 1842.
LA015 shows d. 22 May 1844.
Also Peter notes: Elias - the records shows only one Elias H. with a son Joseph H. in Piltene at that time. All the Latvian Archive (LA) documents support the name Elias H., Rabbi II. The differences in birth and death dates appear to be discrepancies between censor dates which were three years apart. LA 015 would appear to be the most accurate document.
"Appointed Rav in Pesach 1815 (teacher; also scientist; connoisseur of the Talmud)."
3. The Latvian Archives is online and I have reviewed all Registers for Pilten. Registers are in German and I indicate what I don't understand. I extracted all Herzenbergs of which the following excerpts apply to this family:
"<http://www.lvva-raduraksti.lv/en/menu/lv/13/ig/13/ie/5507/book/30316.html>
-Image 56. Has two columns of ages after the male names with the first being 1834 and the second 1842; one column for female names probably 1842. Family #287:
-325 Rabbi Elias Joseph Herzenberg. 60, 68 [Has comment; Feigmanis translates as "Died 22 May 1844."]
-his wife Chiene, 62
-326 his son Jossel, 17-1/2, 25-1/2
-Image 102. (Refer to item g above.) Has two columns of ages after the name with the first being 1834 and the second 1848; presumably if missing in the second column then probably deceased in the interim. List # 286, Family #160:
-325 Elias Joseph Herzenberg. 60, - [Comment needing translation but appears to be death in 1842.]
-326 his son Jossel, 17, 31
-413 [Marinauter?] Hirsch Israel, 29, - [Comment needing translation but appears to be death in 1843.]"
4. Courland (Kurzeme in Latvian, Kurland in German) is the historically distinct area of modern day Latvia bounded by the Baltic Sea to the west, Lithuania to the south, and the Dvina River (now Daugava) to the North. Its historic capital was Mitau (now Jelgava). It had ice-free Baltic ports with commercial and strategic importance. At its height Courland was a prosperous and cultured German-speaking Duchy. Courland was a separate Gubernia (Province) of the Russian Empire from 1797-1918. 50-60% of the Jews living in Riga just north of Courland had family roots in Courland. The names of the various towns have changed now that the area is part of Latvia (new-old as of early 1900s):
Aizpute-Hasenpoth
Jelgava-Mitau
Kuldiga-Goldingen
Liepaja-Libau
Piltene-Pilten
Talsi-Talsen
Ventspils-Windau
5. Transcription from Peter Bruce Herzenberg's website on the Herzenberg (Website no longer active as of 2007):
"The Early Herzenbergs.
Joseph I appears as a patronymic only in:
(1) the 1811 census as the father of Lemchen (39) born 1772 and as father of Elias (40) born 1771.
(2) the Latvian Archives Appendix 1 of 1842 as the father of Elias (68) b. 1774.
(3) Appendix 2 confirms this date.
From this we learn that Elias and Lemchen were brothers and very close in age.
Lemchen from the above was born in 1772
From the Feigmanis report, we have the 1818 list of Piltene Jews made for taxation purposes. This is numbered 96-1-433a of the Latvian State Archives. Lemchen son of Joseph appears as being 17 years old, therefore born in 1801. This represents a huge discrepancy. Elias appears as 40 years old, thus born in 1778, another new date for Elias although fairly close to those above. Also mentioned is Chone son of Joseph (the Yiddish for Elchanan and the civil name Elkan) - he appears to have been born in 1884 [Kerry's note: assume this is typo for 1784.]
The question [asked of Peter Herzenberg] is: were there two contemporary Josephs borh of whom had sons named Elias and Lemchen, or is one of the dates for Lemchen patently wrong?"
6. Archival Research Paper about Herzenberg Family prepared for Harold Hodes 23 Mar 1999 and is report no. Nr. 3-H-2962, by Latvijas Valsts Vestures Arhivs (Latvian National Archives), Slokas iela 16, Riga, LV-1007, copy of only page 1 in my possession but evidently other pages exist:
"In reply to your application please be informed that the recruits enlistment registers of the Jewish families belonging to the Jewish community in Pilten for the years 1842, 1848, 1854, 1871 (see app. No. 1-4), census lists of the Jewish families belonging to Pilten for the years 1898, 1899 as well as the birth records of the Jewish community in Libau (now Liepaja) for the years 1836-1853, 1854, 1857-1905, marriage and death recods of the same community for years 1854-1905, as available at our archives, contain the following information:
Rabbi Jossel (or Josiph) Herzenberg was a son of Elias Herzenberg from Pilten. He was born in ca 1815-1816, possible in Pilten. Since our archives keep birth, marriage and death records of the Jewish communites for the time period from 1854, when they started to be kept officially, it is impossible to confirm the dates fevore 1854.
Jossel's father - a Rabbi Elias - son of Joseph Herzenberg, born in ca 1774, died in 1842.
Jossel's mother - Chiene Herzenberg (maiden name not stated), born in ca 1780.
Jossel's wife - Dine (Dinne, Diene) née Iddelson (birth date is unknown).
They had children:
-son Hirsh, born in ca 1836,
-son Lämmchen, born in ca 1843,
-son Elkan (Elkann), born in ca 1850,
-daughter Sheine, born on August 31 of 1857 in Libau (see App. No. 6),
-daughter Meriam, born on June 15 of 1859 in Libau (see App. No. 7).
Elkan - son of Jossel Herzenberg married Doris (Dobra, Doba) daughter of Aizik Dreyer, born in ca 1852. The marriage records of the Jewish community in Libau for the years 1870-1875 do not contain information on their marriage. The... [end of 1st page and my copy]"
7. From the publication "Latvia Sig," v. 3, no. 3, Sept. 1998, concerning the history of Piltene, Latvia:
"In the beginning of the 13th century, the government of the Germanic Orders (Crusaders) was in place. in a later period of that government, the area of Piltene enjoyed a semi-independent standing, and the town Piltene was utilized as the seat of the area Bishop (the Hagmon). In the year 1559, the town and the area passed to the government of Magnus the Dane, and in the year 15585, o the government of Poland. In the beginning of the 18th century, there were 5 streets and 120 houses in the town. At the end of the century, Piltene was annexed to Tsarist Russia. During the 19th century, the population of the city tripled. gut, but the end of the century, there began a constant reduction in the number of residents. Between the two world wars, the population ratio in Piltene was about half the number of residents who lived there on the eve of the First World War. Excluding some flour mills, there were no industrial factories in the place.
The Jewish settlement of Piltene is one of the oldest in Kurland. According to one version, Jews clung to the town or its surroundings in the 10th to the 17th centuries. in the same period, it will be recalled, Piltene enjoyed a special status, and following that, there was no general prohibition on Jews' settling in Kurland. In any event, there is no doubt tat during the Polish government, ad the beginning of the 18th century, there already existed a Jewish settlement in the city. The first direct witness to this was in the year 1708, and it was expressively stated that there was in place a synagogue, almost certainly the first of the synagogues of Kurland. In those years the city was destroyed in the Swedish-Polish wars, and it is possible that a portion of the Piltene Jews moved to the neighboring Hassenpoth (Aizpute). In the year 1759, Piltene is recalled as one of the Kurlander cities that allowed Jewish settlers. In the year 1782, the Jews of the city and the Church province in which the city was included Kirvenshpileh, owed a total of 76 thaler protection tax. That sum was 12 percent of the general protection tax of the Jews in the entire district.
After the annexation to Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, there were 351 Jewish souls - more than half the city's population. In the 80's the Jews even had a representative on the city council.
From the end of the 19th century forward, there began a constant tendency of absolute and relative reduction in the number of Jews in the locality. On the eve of the First World War, they were only about one quarter of the resident of the city. Many Pilten Jews settled in the neighboring port city of Windau (Ventspils), which quickly developed at the end of the 19th century and enjoyed a general flowering. Piltene Jews contributed a great deal to the growth and development of the Windau community...The livelihood of Piltene Jews was mainly in commerce - and thus in the industries of resin wine, innkeeping, and tailoring...
In the year 1915, after the outbreak of WWI, the Jews of Piltene were expelled form the town. During the war, five Jewish Public buildings and 23 private Jewish homes were damaged.
As was noted, the Jewish settlement of Piltene established a synagogue already at the beginning of the 18th century. In the beginning of 1805, the writing of the Pinkas (notebook/register) was begun. In the same year, there was already active in place a hevra kiddisha (burial society) and it had its own rabbi...The pinkas was preserved and one can glean from it the order of the community, its institutions and its regulations, as they existed at least at the beginning of the 19th century....
[In listing the various Rabbis in succession] ...Rabbi Eliahu [ben Meir] died in 1815 and according to some versions, held office in Piltene only half a year before he died. In his place came the Rabbi Eliahu ben Yosef [Herzenberg?], who began as a teacher-instructor... the Dov-Bar Hirsch - until his death in the year 1850, the Rabbi Yosef Hertzberg, who served as a teacher (morch tzedek) until 1855..."
8. Research report dated 6 Jul 1997 from Latvian researcher Aleksandrs Feigmanis, Crestes 2-12, LV-1021, Riga, Latvia, to Harold Hodes of London, England (partial copy of eight pages in my possession). Much of what he includes is from the Recruit Enlistment Registers, which I do not transcribe since I have it already directly from the source. Three pages are tombstone inscriptions of the Piltene Cemetery, which are now available online verbatim to what Feigmanis provided. The report focused on Harold genealogical line which descends from the original Joseph, through Rabbi Elias Herzenberg and his son Rabbi Joseph Herzenberg. I include transcripts about these Rabbis as follows (his English is rough):
"In the book of rabbi Leib Owtchinski entitled "The History of Jews in Latvia" (in Yiddish) published in 1928, he wrote about your ancestor Elias Joseph Herzenberg of Pilten:
"Rav Eliahu bar Joseph Hertzberg arrived (more correctly - appointed, I suppose) as more (teacher, also scientst, connaisseur of Talmud and Tora at synagogue) in Pesach 1815. In the pinkos of hevra-kadisha wrote the following: r. Eliahu b. Joseph appointed at tacher and his salary will be following: 4 roubles for a week and 3 guldens; also was appointed Joseph bar Shmuel. His son was Joseph Herzenberg."
In the same book about Joseph Herzenberg, [he wrote the] following: "Joseph b. Eliahu Hertsenberg born in Pilten; he was rabbi in Pilten since 1849 till 1856; then he exchange[d] his place with rabbi mendel israelsohn and came as rabbi in Libau, where he was rabbi during 25 year[s]; he died there in 1882..."
Mr. Feigmanis also found documents in German regarding the appointment of Jossel Elias Herzenberg as rabbi in Libau: "The Libau magistrat wrote in Courlande provincial adminstration (Nov. 3, 1859).
"Relating to your order of October 15 nr: 2451 regarding election of rabbis and appointing of rabbies we inform that in the Bezirk (district) of this magistrat served only one rabbi called Jossel Elias Herzenberg and he was appointed by provincial administration of Courlande November 14, 1855 by the order number 3861, after he concluded the contract with the Jewish community of Libau, he was elected for three years. During this 3 years he cannot to refuse to fullfill his obligations. (LSHA, 95-2-1440-4)"
"LHSA; 96-2-1440-51" is a copy of the contract for which I make some minor syntax corrections:
"The Contract.
Today the contract was concluded between Libau Jewish commmunity and Jossel Elias Herzenberg, registered in Pilten.
1. Libau Jewish community engages Jossel Elias Herzenberg for the post of Libau rabbi for the following dates: from January 1, 1860 till January 1, 1863 with yearly salary of 180 silver roubles. This salary must be paid each month from the "cassa" of the community.
2. Rabbi obtains free residence in a house, owned by the Libau Jewish community; the community will repair the house.
3. For records produced by the rabbi in the book of vital statistics, he will obtain for each birth 10 kopeks, for marriage 50 silver kopeks, for divorce 50 silver kopeks, and for "chalitze" 75 kopeks.
4. For marriage ceremony the rabbi obtains "rechasch," it means 1-1/4% of the dowry; for each marriage 3 silver roubles; for appointment of the "swore" 1 silver rouble; for each chalitze 1 silver rouble. The representatives must help in obtaining these fees. They must also watch that noboby comes into the house of rabbi without permission so that the rabbi does not lose his money.
5. The rabbi takes obligation to fulfil all religious and state laws; to take particular attention for keeping peace, order tranquility and morality inside of the community and read each shabbat lections...
The salary will be paid when rabbi starts his service.
This contract composed in two exemplars; Libau, January 14, 1860.
President of Community. H.M. Nachman and D. Friedmann.
Rabbi of Libau. Jossel Elias Herzenberg."
SOURCES_MISC:
1. Leonardo Herzenberg http://www.herzenberg.net/
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
Abt 1774 - 1844 (~ 70 years)