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My gt grandmother Kate Levy, died in childbirth in1896 aged 45. She married Isaac Levy on 8 February 1870 at the Great Synagogue, City of London. As shown on the marriage certificate, Kate Michaels was 18 and Isaac Levy, 19 and he was a gemeral dealer. Their address was 1 Stoney Lane. Isaac's father was Judah (I have found him) and Kate's father was Samuel Michaels Decd. In the 1871 census, Isaac is still 19 and Kate 18, so it would appear that they lied about their age when they got married. Could Kate have lied about her maiden name as well. I can find no trace of a birth for Kate Michaels and the only Samuel Michaels decd within 18 years of Kates birth is not her father. There was always a rumour in our family that Kate 'married down' and was disowned (possibly related to the Rufus Isaacs family-as yet I have found no link). Can anyone give me any other thoughts on how I can find Kate as its a real mystery.

sorry cant help, sounds interesting! so thought I'd bump you to the top Luv Jo

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Have you tried www.jewishgen.org/ - its a fab resource for Jewish relatives. Incidentally, my husband's family has a Jewish branch, who lived at no. 2 Stoney Lane. Stoney Lane is still there, though with modern buildings, and leads into Middlesex Street (Petticoat Lane), where my husband's ancestors ran a fish shop. Perhaps Kate had a Jewish name separate from Kate. Have you also tried permutations of Katherine/Katharine/Kathryn/Cathryn/Catherine/Catharine etc? nell

I have tried the jewish website but with no luck. I walk past Stoney Lane every day to get to work! I have tried evry Michaels but with no success Thanks for the reply

Do you have her in 1861? Maybe her parents didn't marry until after she was born and she's registered under her mothers maiden name

No I dont have her on 1861. The first census she is on is 1871 with her husband Isaac Levy. If her parents married after she was born, how will I find them?

There's also the possibility that maybe she was illegitimate and invented her father for the marriage certificate. I have 2 who did the same thing and the fathers are both conveniently 'deceased' by the wedding!

Ooops, sorry....our postings crossed. Let me go and feed the kids and see whether I get any divine inspiration from the fridge. I'll have a think and come back to your thread later Lou x

Just a thought....do you have a childs BC to see what names are given..........

thanx any thoughts helpful I have been to family records centre and looked through all the index books for births between 1851 and 1855 and found no kate michaels, so if she was illegitimate she must have been registered under a different surname.

It's a bit of a puzzle isn't it...........I just thought that seen as Kate had 5 children it might be worth checking what her name is on one of their BC........Just trying to eliminate any possibles !...........

I had a look at no. 1 Stoney Street on 1861 census, on the offchance. No Kates or variants, but I did find my husband's lot (there are several households, all with Jewish-sounding surnames). Husband's head of household was a Joel and with him is a 'sister' , though I suspect she is really a sister in law, transcribed as MICHIELS, Sarah Sister Unmarried F 16 Servant Haven't got any more credits so can't check the original image to see if its really Michaels. nell

There are 842 Kates born in Middlesex in 1853 +/- 2! I guess if you can recognise Jewish names and places, you might be able to narrow it down a bit. What did Kate call her first daughter? Might be her mum's name. Sally

Just had a look at that 1861 image - definately Michaels although age out. Def looks like unmarried too. S

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I have my grandmothers birth certificate and her mothers name is shown as Kate Levy formerly Michaels. if Kate lied about her name she certainly carried it on right up to the year before her death (my grandmother was just passed her first birthday when her mother died.) The rumour passing through the family about the mystery lady Kate certainly seems to be true

Do you have the names of the witnesses from the marriage cert? The pizza gave me no bright ideas....very disappointed with it!

Forgot to say, actually Kate died giving birth to her 12th child!! Childrens names were Kate (Kitty), Elizabeth (Bessie), Isaac, Esther, Samuel, Rebecca, John, Emanuel, Phoebe, Rose & Florence. Anyone living in Laindon, Essex may recognise some names. There are roads named after Samuel, Emanuel and Florence.

Witnesses on marriage cert are Samuel Lyons and Louis Isaacs (sec of synagogue). Kate must have signed her name as it doesnt say 'mark of'

I see that in 1881 and 1891 she gave her place of birth as Islington and Spitalfields (close together). I think the chances that she was living in Islington in 1861 are at least possible??? Now, an enormous chunk of Islington is missing from the 1861 census....................... Doesn't explain the lack of birth reg, but it wasn't compulsory until 1875. Merry