Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

John Pizer - background details

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • John Pizer - background details

    John Pizer 1850-1897

    The following article gives some details about Pizer and his background:

    From The Scotsman

    "At No 22 Mulberry Street there lives a Mrs Piser, a woman of seventy, who is stepmother to John Piser, the alleged Leather Apron, and her married brother Gabriel, who lives at the house. It is stated that John Piser did not reside at his stepmother's, although he frequented the street. He appears to have slept at common lodging houses, and picked up a living at the slipper trade, at which he was an adept. He was not in regular employment, but two men who have occasionally given him work testify to his good character as a workman. One of these, a Mr Cohen, says that Piser put in an appearance in Mulberry Street on Thursday last, and remained there without showing any signs of uneasiness. H read the papers closely, for he was an active politician. Piser, some of his friends say, was aware that he was supposed to be Leather Apron and that there was a strong feeling growing up against him. On Friday night at 10 o'clock he was seen in the street; and Mr Cohen again met him on Saturday morning, when his appearance betrayed nothing of a suspicious character.....
    His relatives, when questioned about the incident, gave a few meagre particulars. The stepmother says he is thirty five or thirty six years of age, and had been at her house since Thursday. He was unmarried, and not very bright in his intellect. He was always welcome, but he was never asked where he had been when he came. The sister declared that Piser was not a man to commit murder, and she was accustomed to trust her children to his charge. He had been ill, and was treated at some hospital, and was afterwards sent to a Convalescent Home. He had never heard of the name of Leather Apron, but, of course, he had one. Mr Nathan, the father of Mrs Piser, jun., had given the man work.....
    He lost his father some sixteen years ago. Piser is a dark man of slight build, with small moustache and side whiskers, and his hair is turning grey. There is no foreign accent about his talk, and it is said that he was born in England. Piser is not able to do heavy work by reason of physical infirmity. The owner of a public house in the street says he has known the man for twenty six years. He had the name of being a wastrel but he wore his leather apron whether working or not. He is said to be fond of the society of women.

    John Pizer's name at birth was Jacob Pizer, his birth being registered as follows:
    Jacob Pizer 1850 Quarter 4
    City of London

    His parents were Israel and Abigail Pizer, whose maiden name was Abigail Moss. John's parents married in 1842 in City of London, listed as Abigail Moss and Israel Pizer
    John's mother died in 1853, listed as follows:
    Abigail Pizer City of London
    She would have been 42 years of age
    John's father, Israel, appears to have remarried in 1854 at St Luke's. The name of his second wife, Augusta, appears to be an Anglicised form. In the 1861 census her name is given as Gusta, but from the marriage record her real name appears to have been Gosta Chlebonski.
    The Scotsman article says Piser's father died 16 years before the murders, i,.e. 1872. We know from the 1871 census that his father's forename was Israel. The father's death was listed in 1871 under a variant spelling as follows:
    Peiser, Israel
    Aged 57
    Whitechapel 1c 235
    Pizer's own death occurred in 1897 as follows:
    John Pizer
    Aged 47
    Whitechapel 1c 205
    Augusta Pizer died in 1903, her age given as 88

    Census listings for the family are as follows:
    1851:
    24 Mitre Street, St James Duke Place
    Head: Israel Piza aged 38 born Poland - General dealer
    Wife: Abigail Piza aged 40 born St Saviours, Surrey
    Child: John aged 7 months born St James
    Mother in Law:
    Elizabeth Moss aged 63 born St james - Seamstress
    1861:
    32 Gowers Walk, Whitechapel
    Head: Israel Pizer aged 48 born Poland - General dealer
    Wife: Gusta Pizer aged 39 born Poland
    Children:
    Janet aged 4 born Stepney
    Samuel aged 7 months born Whitechapel
    Mother in Law:
    Leah Cohen aged 65 born Poland
    It seems odd that at the time of the 1861 census, when John would have been only 8 or 9 years of age, he is not listed with the family at Gowers Walk.
    However, what appears to be him (allowing for a slight difference in his age as calculated by the family in 1888) is listed as follows in 1861:
    German Jews Hospital, Stepney
    Inmate:
    John Piser aged 10 born Aldgate.
    1871:
    22 Mulberry Street
    Head: Israel Pizer aged 58 born Poland - Traveller
    Wife: Augusta Pizer aged 50 born Poland
    Child:
    Samuel G aged 10 born Stepney
    Mother in Law: Leah Cohen aged 76 born Poland
    1881:
    22 Mulberry Street
    Head: August Pizer (Widow) aged 61 born Germany
    Children:
    Jeanette aged 27 born Germany
    Gabriel aged 25 born Germany
    Barnett aged 21 born Germany
    Lodgers:
    Jacob Joseph aged 30 born Germany
    Isaac Leechman aged 21 born Germany
    1891:
    22 Mulberry Street
    Head: Samuel Pizer aged 30 born St George E - Cabinet manufacturer
    Wife: Judith Pizer aged 26 born Poland
    Children:
    Leah aged 7
    Israel aged 6
    Bernard aged 5
    Florence aged 2
    Ethel aged 1
    All born in Stepney
    Mother:
    Augusta Pizer aged 60(?)
    1901:
    10 Sutton Street, St George East
    Head: Samuel Pizer aged 40 born Whitechapel - Cabinet maker
    Children:
    Leah aged 17
    Israel aged 16 - Clerk in Boot factory
    Bernard aged 15
    Florence aged 12
    All born in Stepney
    Mother:
    Augusta Pizer aged 83 born Germany

    Of course there are still gaps to fill - principally, the whereabouts of Pizer himself, especially in 1881 and 1891. If I find anything on these I will post them here.

  • #2
    Perhaps it's worth reposting the information below, which was lost in the last server crash, and which includes one or two details additional to those above.
    __________________________________________________ _________

    22nd June 2007, 12:02 AM
    I'm not sure whether the following is entirely new, but I haven't been able to find it on the boards or in the books I have.

    Here is the entry showing John Pizer and his parents in the 1851 census of St James Dukes Place:

    24 [Mitre St]
    Israel Piza / Head / / 38 / General Dealer / Poland
    Abigail Do / Wife / / 40 / / Surrey St Saviours
    John Do / Son / / 7m / / St J D P
    Elizabeth Moss / [?]W / 63 / Mother in Law / Seamstress / Do Do
    Ann Salter / Servt / / 59 / Genl Servt / not Known
    [HO 107/1532, f. 403b]

    The only possible birth registration indicated by the FreeBMD index is that of Jacob Pizer in the 4th quarter of 1850 (London, reference 2, 189).

    FreeBMD gives the marriage of Israel Pizer and Abigail Moss in the third quarter of 1842 (London, reference 2, 164) - and later the death, in the first quarter of 1853, of Abigail Pizer (London City, reference 1c, 95). This is followed by the remarriage of John's father, Israel Pizer, in the second quarter of 1854 (St Luke's, reference 1b, 795). I think the bride must be the person indexed by FreeBMD as Costa Chlebonski, though it's obvious her name is written in the index as Gosta.

    At any rate, the timing is in good agreement with the statement quoted by Chris Scott above, that John Pizer "since he was three years old has been brought up by Mrs. Piser".

    Then FreeBMD provides the births of two of the children who show up in the census entries posted above:
    Janet Pizer, 3rd quarter 1857, Stepney, 1c 449
    Samuel Gabriel Pizer, 4th quarter 1860, Whitechapel, 1c 402

    John Pizer himself was an inmate of the German Jews' Hospital at the time of the 1861 census:
    John Piser / Inmate / / 10 / Scholar / Middx Aldgate
    [RG 9/294, f. 62b, p. 28]

    Perhaps this reflects the ill health reported on other occasions.

    The details of the death of John's father were posted by Chris previously:
    Fourth quarter, 1872
    Israel Peiser, 57, Whitechapel, 1c 235

    Beyond this, I've been unable to locate John Pizer in the records. It's been suggested in the past that he was the John Pizer whose death was registered at Whitechapel in the 3rd quarter of 1897, aged 47 (reference 1c, 205). Christopher Morley, referring to this death, says "He died in July 1897 of gastro enteritis in the London hospital, after a lifetime of poor health." The age is correct, but to confuse matters there was another John Pizar, a boot maker, living in Bedford Street, aged 39 and born in Birmingham, in the 1891 census. (He may be the same Jacob Peiser whose birth was registered in the 4th quarter of 1850 at Birmingham - reference 16, 432).

    So John Pizer's whereabouts in the 1871-1891 censuses, and perhaps beyond, remain a mystery, as does the possible link with the Julius Lipman, said to have been "Leather Apron", whose death was reported in the press in 1900.

    Chris Phillips
    __________________________________________________ _________

    1st November 2007, 11:41 PM
    Beyond this, I've been unable to locate John Pizer in the records. It's been suggested in the past that he was the John Pizer whose death was registered at Whitechapel in the 3rd quarter of 1897, aged 47 (reference 1c, 205). Christopher Morley, referring to this death, says "He died in July 1897 of gastro enteritis in the London hospital, after a lifetime of poor health." The age is correct, but to confuse matters there was another John Pizar, a boot maker, living in Bedford Street, aged 39 and born in Birmingham, in the 1891 census. (He may be the same Jacob Peiser whose birth was registered in the 4th quarter of 1850 at Birmingham - reference 16, 432).

    Thanks to Jenni for letting me know that, according to the "A to Z", the 1897 death certificate gives the address as Mulberry Street, making it clear that this is the right John Pizer.

    I thought the full details from the death certificate might be of interest to people. They are as follows. (The copy I've been sent is so faint as to be almost illegible, but I think the following is correct.)

    District Whitechapel
    Sub-district Whitechapel Church
    [GRO reference 1c 205]

    No. 415
    When and where died Fifth / July / 1897 / London / Hospital
    Name and surname John / Pizer
    Sex Male
    Age 47 / years
    Occupation Boot / Maker / 22, Mulberry / Street / Stepney
    Cause of death Gastro Enteritis / Collapse / Certified by / H. S. Basden / MRCS
    Signature, description and residence of informant E E Harvey / Present at Death / London Hospital / Whitechapel
    When registered Sixth / July / 1897
    Signature of registrar John Hall / Registrar

    John Pizer was buried at Plashet Cemetery on 7 July 1897 (plot number A 4 15). Unfortunately there is no gravestone.

    Chris Phillips

    Comment


    • #3
      And just to confirm that the Jacob Pizer whose birth was registered in 1850 was the same man. The details from his birth certificate are as follows:

      Registration district: City of London
      1850
      Birth in the Sub-district of North East in the County of London
      No.: 320
      When and where born: Twenty first September 1850 24 Mitre Street, Aldgate London
      Name, if any: Jacob
      Sex: Boy
      Name and surname of father: Israel Pizer
      Name, surname and maiden surname of mother: Abigail Pizer formerly Moss
      Occupation of father: General dealer
      Signature, description and residence of informant: Israel Pizer Father 24 Mitre Street Aldgate London
      When registered: Eighth October 1850
      Signature of registrar: David Stuart Registrar

      Comment


      • #4
        Jhon Pizer

        i thought he had an alibi

        Comment


        • #5
          Could this be John Pizer?

          The name is close, the age is about right, and the profession seems right. Could this be none other than John Pizer? This is from the Times, July 8, 1887.
          Attached Files
          Jeff

          Comment


          • #6
            Yep, that's him. See the entry for Pizer in the JtR A-Z.

            Comment


            • #7
              For someone who doesn't own the "JTR A-Z" could you elaborate on what it says about Pizer regarding this case? I wasn't aware that Pizer served time in prison for stabbing someone...
              Jeff

              Comment


              • #8
                Sure. In the 1996 edition, at p. 357, part of the Pizer entry reads :
                His age and occupation make it virtually certain that he was the man described in court and press reports as "John Pozer" who attacked James Willis, another boot-finisher, at his work-place in Morgan Street, St George's, in July 1887. "Pozer" poked his head through the open sweatshop window and said, "No wonder I can't get any work when you have got it all." Willis was told to send him away, but "Pozer" stabbed him in the hand when he approached. For this, "Pozer" was sentenced to six months hard labour.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Thanks G.M. Fascinating stuff. I'm sure there was more to that case then the scant details the Times described. It would nice to dig up some more information on that case.
                  Jeff

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The registers of the Great Synagogue contain some entries relating to John Pizer's family.

                    (1) His parents, Israel Pizer and Abigail Moss, were married on 10 August 1842.

                    There are two versions of the marriage register - one giving brief details in English and Hebrew, and the other in the standard printed format.

                    The brief register gives the date and the names of the parties in English. Apparently the given names of their parents are given in Hebrew. According to the Synagogue Scribes database, Israel's father was named Shmuel and Abigail's father was named Jacob (Abigail's Hebrew name was Edel).
                    [LDS microfilm 94666, Great Synagogue Marriage Register (brief) 1791-1865, second volume, p. 14]

                    The printed register gives the place of marriage as 23 Duke Street Aldgate, in the parish of St James Dukes place, in the City of London.
                    The parties were:
                    Israel Pizer, of full age, Bachelor, Hawker, of 23 Duke Street Aldgate, son of Israel Pizer Deceased [this seems to be a mistake for Samuel],
                    and Abigail Moss, of full age, Spinster, of 23 Duke Street Aldgate, daughter of John Moss Deceased.
                    Married by S [?]Herschel chief Rabbi; both signed.
                    The witnesses were [?]L E Pyke (a common witness), [Illegible] and Simeon Oppenheim Secy of the Great Synagogue Dukes place.
                    [LDS film 94661, Great Synagogue Marriage Register (printed form), p. 66]

                    (2) The burial of John Pizer's mother (as Abigail Piza) is recorded. She was of Mitre Street Aldgate, died January 16 1853 and was buried January 17 1853. The name of the burial ground is given in Hebrew, but by comparison with other entries appears to be West Ham. (I haven't been able to find an entry in the United Synagogue database of burials, though.)
                    [LDS film 94664 Great Synagogue Burials 1837-1854]

                    (3) The remarriage of his father to Gosta Chlebouski took place on 21 June 1854. (NB Gosta's surname appears to be written Chlebonski in the quarterly index of civil marriage registrations.)

                    According to the printed register, they were married at the Great Synagogue, in the parish of St James, Dukes Place, in the City of London.
                    The parties were:
                    Israel Pizer, of full age, Widower, General Dealer, of 7 Sion Square Stepney, son of Samuel Gabriel Deceased,
                    and Gosta Chlebouski, of full age, Spinster, of 23 Mullberry Street Stepney, daughter of Nehemiah Chlebouski Deceased.
                    Married by N Adler [??] Chief Rabbi; Izrael Pizer signed and Gosta Chlebouski made a mark.
                    The witnesses were [Illegible], Aaron Levy Green and Simeon Oppenheim Secy of the Great Synagogue Dukes place.
                    [Great Synagogue Marriage Registers. LDS microfilms 94666 (brief) 1791-1865, second volume, p. 167 and 94661 (printed form), p. 12]

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      In Stepney Workhouse Sept 14th 1881 he was in ward B1 with a Lacerated Scalp. Name John Pizer Hebrew/ aged 31 / Single Shoemaker / address Gunn Street and discharged on 22nd September 1881

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        1. Stepney Workhouse John Pizer 29th October/ 31 / 204 Brick Lane/ cant read illness / discharged 9th November
                        2.Transferred from the Workhouse to Harrow road Workhouse Inf on 18th May 1888 / John Pizer age 52 / Shoemaker / Carbuncular / discharged 4th June 1888

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X