Hyam Hyams: Portrait of a Suspect

[Chris]

Some records relating to Hyam Hyams's family are in the registers of the Great Synagogue (which have been microfilmed by the Latter-day Saints).

His parents were married on 17 March 1853. There are two marriage registers, one giving brief details, partly in English and partly in Hebrew, and also one in the standard printed format. Here is the English/Hebrew version:



According to the more detailed entry Isaac Hyams and Rebecca Mordecai were married at the Great Synagogue Chambers in the parish of St James Dukes place in the City of London.
Isaac Hyams, of full age, Bachelor, General dealer, of 24 Love Court Middlesex St Whitechapel, was the son of Hyam Hyams, Deceased.
Rebecca Mordecai, of full age, Spinster, of 24 Love Court Middlesex St Whitechapel, was the daughter of Lazarus Mordecai, Dealer.
They were married by Aaron Levy Green, and both made marks.
The witnesses were Mark Marks, Hyam Jonas, who were both common witnesses, and Simeon Oppenheim Secy of the Great Synagogue Dukes place.
[Great Synagogue Marriage Registers. LDS films 94666 (brief), second volume, p. 147 and 94661 (printed form), p. 38.]

The register of births was also partly in English and partly in Hebrew. The birth of Heyman, son of Rebecca and Isaac Hyams, of 6 Crown Place Whitechapel was registered by Simeon Oppenheim. The date of birth was June 19 1853, and the date when named was June 26 1853.
[LDS film 94658, Great Synagogue Births 1852-1862, 1st vol, p. 20.]



The birth of the next son, Mark, also appears in the register. He was born on December 9 1854 and named on December 16 1854. By this time the family had moved to 6 George Court Stoney Lane.
[LDS film 94658, Great Synagogue Births 1852-1862, 1st vol, p. 79.]

The burial of Hyam's father was also in the Great Synagogue register. Isaac Hyams, of 4 Montague Street Bell Lane Spitalfields, died on October 31 1863 and was buried on November 1 1863. (The name of the burial ground was given in Hebrew, but as noted above he was buried at West Ham.)
[LDS film 94665 Great Synagogue Burials 1854-1872, first volume]

[tji]

Hi Chris

Great photos, thanks for taking the time out to take them and post them on here.

I think that certainly closes the case for Hyam of Mitre Street, well done!

I am still looking for info on Hyam and Kate/Sarah but still not having much luck.


Tj

[Chris]

I think there's no doubt that Tracy is right that the Colney Hatch patient Hyam Hyams is a different man from the son of Solomon and Fanny (nee Levy).

The death of a Hyam Hyams aged 78 was registered at Hackney in the last quarter of 1933. He was buried on 11 December at East Ham Cemetery, and his death was announced in the Jewish Chronicle of 15 December as follows:
HYAMS. - on Saturday, the 9th of December, after a very short illness, Hyam (Peter) Hyams, beloved brother of Mrs. Addie Abrahams and Mrs. Clara Boyles. Shiva at 36, Woodside Park-road, N.12.
...
In summary, it does seem clear that Hyam Hyams the son of Solomon and Fanny (nee Levy) did not die until 1933, and was therefore not the same Hyam Hyams who was at Colney Hatch. It does seem likely that he was the man who married Rose Aarons and appeared as a fruiterer in the 1891 and 1901 censuses. That could be definitely confirmed by the marriage certificate, which would give his father's name.

Confirmation of the fact that Hyam Hyams (d. 1933), the son of Solomon and Fanny - who has wrongly been identified with the Colney Hatch patient and suggested Ripper suspect - was indeed the husband of Rose (Aarons) is provided by the gravestones of the couple at East Ham cemetery, shown below.

[tji]

Hi Chris

This is great, well done, and so quickly, you put the rest of us to shame!

I have found some information on Hyams history if it helps,

As you say Isaac Hyams (father's name Hyam) married Rebecca Mordecai on 17 March 1853.

I have Rebeccca living in 1851 at 3 Horse Shoe Alley with her parents Eliezer and Esther. Her father is a clothes dealer.
Also living there is her sister Jane (22) tailoress
herself (20) domestic at home
Mark (16) cigar maker
Abraham 14 cigar maker.

I though I had a lot more on Isaac but it turns out after quite a bit of searching I was tracking the wrong family!! Quite a few family members had very similar names and years, but I suppose you win some you lose some.

Tj

[Chris]

With the help of these details, the family of Hyam Hyams is easy to find in the earlier censuses - though it seems that its members had only the vaguest idea of how long ago they had been born. Below is a chronological outline:

First quarter of 1853
Marriage of Isaac Hyams and Rebecca Mordecai, St Luke.

Either second or third quarter of 1853
Birth registration of Hyam Hyams, East London.

First quarter of 1855
Birth registration of Mark Hyams, East London.

Fourth quarter of 1855
Birth registration of Sarah Hyams, East London.

Fourth quarter of 1858
Birth registration of Lazarus Hyams, Whitechapel.

Third quarter of 1860
Birth registration of Priscilla Hyams, Whitechapel.

1861 census, 31 Love Court, Whitechapel
Isaac Hyams / Head / Mar / 30 / General Dealer / [Middlesex] London
Rebecca Do / Wife / Do / 33 / / Do Do
Hyman Do / Son / / 8 / Scholar / Do Do
Mark Do / Do / / 6 / Do / Do Do
Sarah Do / Daur / / 5 / Do / Do Do
Lazarus Do / Son / / 2 / Do / Do Do
Priscilla Do / Daur / / 8mo / / Do Do

First quarter of 1863
Birth registration of Lewis Hyams, East London.

Fourth quarter of 1863
Death registration of Isaac Hyams, Whitechapel.
Buried at West Ham Cemetery, 1 November 1863.

1863-1865
Three possible death registrations for Priscilla Hyams.

1871 census, 2 Eastmans Ct, Bell Lane
Rebecca Hyams / [Head] / Widow / 37 / Fruiterer / Middx
Hyman do / Son / Un / 18 / " / "
Mark do / " / " / 17 / " / "
Sarah do / Daur / " / 15 / " / "
Lazarus do / Son / " / 13 / " / "
Lewis Hyams / Son / Un / 9 / Scholar / Middx

1881 census
Despite quite a lot of searching, I haven't been able to track down the family.

1891 census, 26 Mount St, Whitechapel
Rebecca Hyams / Head / Wid / 56 / / London [Whitechapel]
Sarah " / Daur / S / 28 / Tailoress [employed] / " "
Lazarus " / Son / " / 26 / Shop/General Dealer [neither] / " "

As for Hyam, he was married by the date of the 1881 census, when he and his wife were boarders in the household of J. Levy at 23 Heneage St, Mile End New Town (he took some finding, as his surname had been indexed as "Kyms"):
Hyman Hyams [originally written Hyms] / [Border] / Mar / 27 / Cigar Maker / [Middlesex Spitalfields]
Sarah / " / " / 23 / / " "

Curiously there seem to be two different marriage registrations for the couple. In the fourth quarter of 1877, there is the marriage of Hamey Hyams and Sarah Davis in Whitechapel. And in the second quarter of 1878 a couple with the same names in the City of London. Why they should have gone through two marriage ceremonies I'm not sure. The timing agrees reasonably well with Sarah's statement in the 1911 census that she had been married for 30 years, and also with the fact that by 1889 she had suffered four miscarriages as well as bearing two children who had survived.

[Chris]

... now we just have to find out which one entered Colney Hatch!

Looking at the options, I think it would have been pretty hard to pick the right one without a helping hand from the Jewish Chronicle.

The death notice for Hy(m)an Hyams quoted earlier in the thread describes him as the brother of Mrs. J. Nathan, 3 Garrick-street, Covent Garden:

http://forum.casebook.org/showpost.php?p=151872&postcount=10

The Jewish Chronicle of 22 January 1915 contains a further death notice as follows:
NATHAN. - On the 19th January, at 3, Garrick-street, Joseph Nathan, late of Covent Garden Market, aged 76. Deeply mourned by his wife, son, sisters, and brothers. Shiva at the above address. May his dear soul rest in peace.
(There are three further notices placed by Joseph's brothers and sisters.)

The FreeBMD index contains only one marriage between a Joseph Nathan and a woman named Hyams - that of Joseph Nathan and Sarah Hyams registered in Westminster in the third quarter of 1896. In the 1901 census the couple is at 4 Drury Lane House, Covent Garden; Joseph is a fruit salesman aged 60, born in Lambeth, and Sarah is 40, and born in the City of London. (The ages vary a good deal from year to year - in 1911, from the online index, they are 73 and 46.)

In the same household in 1901 is "mother" (evidently Sarah's, not Joseph's) Rebecca Hyams, a widow aged 65, also born in the City of London. A further announcement in the Jewish Chronicle of 24 December 1909 reads:
HYAMS. - The tombstone in loving memory of the late Mrs. Rebecca Hyams, mother of Mrs. Joseph Nathan, of 2, Crown Court-mansions, Bow-street, will be set on Sunday, January 2nd, at Plashet Cemetery, at 2 o'clock.
(She was presumably the Rebecca Hyams whose death aged 78 was registered in the City of London in the third quarter of 1909, and who was buried at Plashet on 29 August.)

Two further announcements in the Jewish Chronicle in 1902 name a third sibling:
HYAMS.-On the 22nd October, LEWIS HYAMS, youngest son of Rebecca Hyams, and brother of Mrs. Sarah Nathan, of 4, Drury House, Drury-lane. Shiva at the above address.
[31 October 1902]
MRS. LEWIS HYAMS, Mrs. SARAH NATHAN and MOTHER, of 4, Drury House, Drury-lane, return thanks to relatives and friends for visits and letters of condolence received during the week of mourning for the late Lewis Hyams, who died at the age of 38. God rest his soul in peace. Amen.
[7 November 1902]

So in all, this gives us the following information about Hyam Hyams's immediate family:
Rebecca Hyams, b. c. 1831-6
had children:
Hyam, b. c. 1854-1857
Sarah, b. c. 1861-1865
Lewis (youngest son), b. c. 1864

[Chris]

Robert

Thanks for that additional information. That certainly makes it look as though Henry and Clara weren't legally married.

In the post above, I should have included other estimates of Clara's date of birth:
1901 census: c. 1869
1911 census: c. 1868
Death: c 1867

So on the whole there's not much of a discrepancy with the actual birth date of 1868.

[Robert]

There was a Clara Boyles d. Hammersmith Q4 1951 aged 84. Clara Hyams was born London C Q2 1868. That would make Clara Boyles's age at death one year out if they were one and the same person.

[Robert]

Chris, apologies because I am not up to speed with this thread, but I gathered you were looking for a marriage between a Clara and a Henry Boyles. I couldn't find it, but from the censuses it seems his middle initial was 'R'. I have a Henry Robert Boyles in the frame for him, registered Kensington Q4 1861. I have him 1911 and 1901 but lose him in 1891. But there is a probate for a Henry Robert Boyles, which makes me wonder if these two never actually married.

[Chris]

Great research on Hyams and his family, as you say the fact that he didn't die until 1933 definitely helps to prove Hyam Hyams is the wrong one, now we just have to find out which one entered Colney Hatch!

Thanks for your comments.

I also searched for a death/burial for Rose Hyams, and found a likely possibility - a Rose Hyams whose death at the age of 87 was registered at Hendon in the fourth quarter of 1942, and who was buried at East Ham Cemetery on 14 December. (Unfortunately the issue of the Jewish Chronicle for 18 December is missing from the online archive, otherwise it might have been possible to confirm that this is the right Rose from a death announcement.)

[tji]

Hi Chris

Great research on Hyams and his family, as you say the fact that he didn't die until 1933 definitely helps to prove Hyam Hyams is the wrong one, now we just have to find out which one entered Colney Hatch!

Tj

[Chris]

I think there's no doubt that Tracy is right that the Colney Hatch patient Hyam Hyams is a different man from the son of Solomon and Fanny (nee Levy).

The death of a Hyam Hyams aged 78 was registered at Hackney in the last quarter of 1933. He was buried on 11 December at East Ham Cemetery, and his death was announced in the Jewish Chronicle of 15 December as follows:
HYAMS. - on Saturday, the 9th of December, after a very short illness, Hyam (Peter) Hyams, beloved brother of Mrs. Addie Abrahams and Mrs. Clara Boyles. Shiva at 36, Woodside Park-road, N.12.

Clara Boyles is a very uncommon name, and searches of the 1901 and 1911 censuses show only two women of this name who could have been the sister of a man born around 1855 - one born and living in Warwickshire, and the other aged 32 in 1901 and born in Aldgate, who was the wife of Henry R. Boyles. For some reason I haven't been able to find her marriage, but according to the 1911 census she was married around 1897.

As for Addie Abrahams, there was another announcement in the Jewish Chronicle of 9 December 1932, of the engagement of Peter, youngest son of Mrs. and the late Mr. N. Abrahams of 36, Woodside Park-road, North Finchley. Evidently the late Mr N. Abrahams was the Nathan Abrahams whose death aged 68 had been registered at Hackney in the second quarter of 1926(as Nathaniel), who had been buried on 6 June at East Ham Cemetery, and whose death had been announced in the Jewish Chronicle of 11 June as follows:
ABRAHAMS.-On the 4th of June, at 13, Gore road, E.9, Nathan (Naty) Abrahams, beloved husband of Addie, and father of Alfred, John, Sol, Lewis, Alec, Peter, May and Sally.

Given these details there is no difficulty in tracing the family in earlier records. Nathan Abrahams and Adelaide Hyams were married in the City of London in the first quarter of 1881. In 1881 they were living at 1 Mitre Square, in 1891 at 27 Mitre Street (with the wife's name given as "Annie") and in 1901 at 12 Floreston Street ("Ada"). In 1911 she was back to "Adelaide." Her birthplace is given as the City of London (specifically Aldgate in 1901), and the age of birth indicated is around 1862 or 1863.

I think there can be no doubt that this Hyam Hyams (b. c. 1855) and his two sisters Addie/Adelaide (b. c. 1862-3 in Aldgate) and Clara (b. c. 1869 in Aldgate) are the children of Solomon and Fanny Hyams of the same names who appear in the census records (the only slight discrepancy is that Clara Boyles's date of birth is indicated to be 1-2 years later than that of Clara Hyams). This is particularly so in view of the fact that Nathan and Adelaide Abrahams were living in 1891 next door but one to the former family home in Mitre Street.

For further confirmation, in 1901 Nathan and Adelaide had in their household a niece, Kate Abrahams, aged 14, a tailoress, born in Aldgate. The other Hyams sister Jane, who had married John Abrahams, had a daughter who fits exactly - though that daughter does appear in her parents' household in the same census. Presumably she was entered twice.

The other interesting thing is that Nathan Abrahams and Adelaide had a son John who was born c. 1886, who would match the nephew John Abrahams who - as Tracy pointed out above - appears in the household of Hyam Hyams and Rose in 1901. (This John also came close to appearing twice in the census, as his name was written in his parents' return but then deleted.)

In summary, it does seem clear that Hyam Hyams the son of Solomon and Fanny (nee Levy) did not die until 1933, and was therefore not the same Hyam Hyams who was at Colney Hatch. It does seem likely that he was the man who married Rose Aarons and appeared as a fruiterer in the 1891 and 1901 censuses. That could be definitely confirmed by the marriage certificate, which would give his father's name.

[Chris]

I thought I would have a look at the info you have given and have a go myself and I have come up with a puzzling problem myself, I am not sure that the Hyam Hyams being quoted as being in Colney Hatch is the correct one. (Whose family lived in Mitre Street, Solomon and Fanny as parents.)

It looks to me as though you may be right.

And if that is not the right Hyam in the 1881 census, then the missing marriage to Rachel/Sarah might have taken place earlier. There is a marriage of a Hyman Hymans in the City of London in the third quarter of 1875, and one of the two possible spouses is Rachel Garcia. And then there is a couple named Hyman Hyams and Rachel, both born in Aldgate and roughly the right ages, with children 5 and younger, at 45 Varden Street in the 1881 census. There is a bit of a discrepancy with Sarah's statement in 1911 that she had been married 30 years, but it may be worth looking into.

[tji]

Hi

I thought I would have a look at the info you have given and have a go myself and I have come up with a puzzling problem myself, I am not sure that the Hyam Hyams being quoted as being in Colney Hatch is the correct one. (Whose family lived in Mitre Street, Solomon and Fanny as parents.)

The information I have found is as follows: -

I have posted the census on Hyam Hyams earlier on in the thread from 1851 - 1891. A quick reminder is
Solomon Hyams father
Fanny Hyams mother
Morris Hyams son
Hyam/Hymey Hyams son
Barney Hyams son
George Hyams son
Clara Hyams daughter
Jane Hyams/Abrahams daughter
John Abrahams son in law.

Hyam is with them until the 1891 census. This I believe is the Hyam Hyams who marries the Rose Hyams you mentioned. Her maiden name is Rose Aarons born 1855 bishopgate to parents Solomon Aarons and Rosa/e Isaacs.

In 1891 at 232 Jubille Street as you say Hyam is there with Rose, which isn't so unlikely, he could be in the asylum and his wife still class him as living there. However in 1901 we have him at 27 Floreston Street still a fruiterer living with Rose and his family. Would his wife still be saying her husband lived with her after another ten years had passed?

My reason for believing the Hyam Hyams from Mitre Street who is said to have gone into the asylum is this man and not the one in Colney hatch....his children's names.

We have Hyam Hyams Head married 43 fruiterer (green) o/a London
Rose Hyams Wife Married 44 London
[I]Fanny[/I] Hyams daughter Single 19 cigar maker worker Whitechapel
Solomon Hyams son single 17 Engineers ? worker London
Morris Hyams son single 15 errand boy worker London
Rose Hyams daughter 13 London
Sarah Hyams daughter 9 London
John Abrahams nephew 16 harness maker worker Aldgate

So this Hyam Hyams has named his children after the mother, father, brother and also has a nephew staying with the same name as his brother in law, as the Hyam Hyams who grew up in Mitre Street.
So I may be wrong but in my opinion this makes it unlikely that the person in Colney Hatch is the Hyam Hyams that grew up in Mitre Street

I think over the years info on different Hyam Hyams have been accidentally meshed into one person.


I think it is more likely the Hyam Hyams married to Rachel living at 40 New Street in 1891 (2 children William and Kate) is the Hyams that went to the asylum.

Tj

[mariab]

Tracy,
I was joking! I never thought it was your intention to deceive!