Considering how much speculative discussion is going on relating to Aaron Kozminski, I was surprised to see that the discovery of an interesting additional report of the burglary at his brother's house in 1886, posted by Chris Scott on jtrforums.com, had gone completely without comment:
A shorter report, in the Illustrated Police News of 24 April 1886, was discovered several years ago by Robert Linford. I think there are several interesting bits of information in the newly discovered report, which appeared in the Standard of 13 April.
The exact address of Woolf's house, 12 Greenfield Street, is given. This is a new address in addition to the ones listed in his application for naturalisation in December 1886. Then he stated that since his arrival in England in 1881 he had lived in Greenfield Street, namely "at Numbers 58, 74, 64 and 62." We know he was at number 64 by 12 June 1886, when his daughter Milly was born, so it seems likely that he was at number 12, presumably for only a short time, between leaving number 74 and moving to number 64. Number 74 was the address of the eldest brother, Isaac Abrahams.
The report also says that on discovering the burglary, Woolf's wife Betsy went to her husband who was at work, and he and his brother-in-law then entered the front room and discovered the burglar hiding there. The brother-in-law must be Morris Lubnowski Cohen, who lived four doors away at number 16, and it seems likely that the place where Woolf was working was Isaac's house, number 74, which was immediately opposite to Morris's.
I've indicated the positions of these three houses on the 1938 Goad Plan of Greenfield Street.
A shorter report, in the Illustrated Police News of 24 April 1886, was discovered several years ago by Robert Linford. I think there are several interesting bits of information in the newly discovered report, which appeared in the Standard of 13 April.
The exact address of Woolf's house, 12 Greenfield Street, is given. This is a new address in addition to the ones listed in his application for naturalisation in December 1886. Then he stated that since his arrival in England in 1881 he had lived in Greenfield Street, namely "at Numbers 58, 74, 64 and 62." We know he was at number 64 by 12 June 1886, when his daughter Milly was born, so it seems likely that he was at number 12, presumably for only a short time, between leaving number 74 and moving to number 64. Number 74 was the address of the eldest brother, Isaac Abrahams.
The report also says that on discovering the burglary, Woolf's wife Betsy went to her husband who was at work, and he and his brother-in-law then entered the front room and discovered the burglar hiding there. The brother-in-law must be Morris Lubnowski Cohen, who lived four doors away at number 16, and it seems likely that the place where Woolf was working was Isaac's house, number 74, which was immediately opposite to Morris's.
I've indicated the positions of these three houses on the 1938 Goad Plan of Greenfield Street.
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