On this day – 19th August

In 1912 my father Simon Belson was born to Harry and Dora Belson. Sadly he died in 2002, shortly before his 90^th birthday.

On this day – 8th June

In 1891 Dora Godalski was born, at home at 44 Brick Lane, Mile End, to Solomon Godalski and Yetta Miller. She was one of eleven children.

In the 1901 census she is shown living with her parents and her 10 brothers and sisters at 106 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool..

In the 1911 census she was back in Whitechapel, London with her mother and 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Her father died in 1910 and 2 brothers and 3 sisters were married.

She married Harry Belson on 25^th April 1925. Their first child Simon was my father. They had 5 children in total.

My grandfather Harry died in 1947 and my grandmother remarried. She died about 1955.

In 1941 my brother Michael Jeffrey Belson died of TB aged 10 months. I was 4 years old at the time and have no recollection of him and my parents never ever mentioned him to me, or my sister.

My Paternal Family

My father’s paternal grandparents Joseph & Leah Balsom came to England about 1888/89 from a part of Russia that is now in Poland. They were probably already married when they left Russia. The reason for leaving Russia was probably due to the “pogroms” against the Jews.

Leah was born Leah Malnick and was born about 1863. Joseph was born about 1862.

The surname Balsom was traced from the 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses, but I can find no other reference to this surname, although some children were registered with it. My father never mentioned it and I don’t think he was aware of it.

On 23 May 1890 Joseph and Leah had their first child, Harry who is my grandfather. The birth was registered as Harry Balzum. The family were living at 14 Nottingham Place, Mile End.

At the time of the 1891 Census, which was held on the 5^th April, the family was living at 11 Anna Place, Whitechapel, above a Furniture shop. Joseph’s employment is shown as “Carpenter”.

In 1892, Ada Belson was born in Whitechapel

In 1895, Sarah Bulsom was born in Whitechapel

In 1897, Fanny Balsom was born in Whitechapel

In 1901, Myer (David) Balsom was born in Stepney

At the time of the 1901 Census, which was held on the 31^st March, the family was living at 110 Stepney Green Buildings, Stepney. Joseph’s employment is shown as “Cabinet Maker”.

In 1902, Rose Bolsam was born in Stepney

In 1903, Eve Balsom was born in Stepney

In 1905, Pincus Balsom was born in Stepney

In 1907, Annie Bellson was born in Stepney

At the time of the 1911 Census, which was held on the 2^nd April, the family was living at 30 Dunstan Houses, Stepney. Joseph’s employment is shown as “Cabinet Maker”. Harry is also shown as a Cabinet Maker, Ada as a Clerk/Bookkeeper and Sarah as an Underclothing Machinist. The rest of the children are shown as Schoolchildren except for Annie who was only 4 years old.

Surnames

In our family tree when you include our extended families, there are about 100 surnames. Of these, however, only about 30 are direct ancestors. Over the next few blogs I will go through our ancestors. So lets start with A-D. Actually there are no A’s or D’s.

Balsom – Balzum – Belson - Benson – this line starts with my paternal greatgrandfather Joseph Balsom who came to England from Russia around 1889.

Benjamin – Binjamin – this line starts with Benjamin Benjamin whose daughter Leah married Moses Hart in 1819.  Benjamin was Diane’s maternal 3 x greatgrandfather

Bittan – Betan – this line starts with Yamin (Abraham) Betan who was born in Gibraltar and then moved to Morocco. He is Diane’s maternal 3 x greatgrandfather.

Cardoso – Nunes Cardoso – this line starts with Moses Nunes Cardoso who was married in Bevis Marks, London in 1697. He is Diane’s maternal 7 x greatgrandfather

                       

Chaves – de Chaves – this line starts with Rachel de Chaves who married Moses Nunes Cardoso (see above). She is Diane’s maternal 7 x greatgrandmother.

What's in a name

My father Simon Belson was born in 1912, I had his birth certificate and my parents wedding certificate as well as the marriage authorisation from the Chief Rabbi’s Office in London. From these I knew that my father’s parents were Harry Belson and Dora Godelsky.

Try as I could, I was unable to find my paternal grandfather Harry’s birth certificate or his marriage certificate. I knew that his father’s name was Joseph but could not trace a Belson family in any UK census with a Joseph and a Harry. Eventually I found the family in the 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses as Balsom. I still couldn’t find the birth or wedding certificates for Harry who is shown as 1 year old in the1891 census.

I then tried Free BMD looking for a female Godelsky, using Soundex, getting married between 1910 and 1912. From this I found a Dorothy Gudelsky married a Henry Belsom in early 1912. I now have the certificate and they are definitely my grandparents Harry and Dora.

Again I tried Free BMD looking for a male Balsom, using Soundex, born 1890/1891. The only one was a Harry Balzum born in 1890. I have just received the certificate and it shows Harry, born 23^rd May 1890 to Joseph and Leah Balzum.

Checking on the births of Harry’s 8 brothers and sisters, I have found births registered as Belson, Bulsom, Balsom, Bolsam and Bellson.

So, what is my family name. Balsom, Balzum, Belsom, Bolsam or Bellson. Or does it matter. I can only presume that when the births were registered, the registrar wrote down what she/he thought the name sounded like when spoken by someone who only knew Russian or Yiddish and couldn’t read or write in English.