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Hi all
I believe I may have found another potential link between Eddowes and Stride.
Before leaving Bishopsgate Police Station, Catherine Eddowes gave the name of Mary Kelly and her address as 6 Fashion Street.
The reason for doing so, has never really been explained.
And so why 6 Fashion Street?
Having a check through the various census returns, it is apparent that 6 Fashion Street was a multi-occupancy building, but it would appear that over the years, on the ground floor, the address was run as a Shop.
In the 1891 census, 3 years after the canonical Ripper murders we have several occupiers of the address.
One family in particular is the Silverman family.
We find a man named...
Mark(s) Silverman and his wife Rachel Silverman (nee Bernstein)
Mark(s) is 39, Rachel is 36... (although their age is listed as the same in the next census of 1901)
That would make him 36 at the time of the murders.
Both are Polish (Russian) Jews.
They married in 1874.
They have several children on the census, all born in London
Rachel's mother, also called Rachel is living with them
Mark(s) Silverman is a "Stick Dresser and Chandler's Shop Keeper"
A Stick Dresser refers specifically to a person who makes and designs Walking Sticks.
His daughter Jane Leah Silverman aged 16 works as his assistant at the shop. (Jane later marries a man named George Silverton in 1899)
Now...
By itself, that data means nothing in terms of the Ripper case or any potential connection to Eddowes, and certainly not Stride.
However, in digging a little deeper, I was surprised to find that at the same time of the 1891 census, there was another man named Abraham Silverman, living with his wife and young family at a certain address nearer to the murder site of Elizabeth Stride.
One of the houses in the Stable Yard of 40 Berner Street to be exact, ergo, the place where Stride was murdered 2 and a half years prior.
We have the following...
Abraham Silverman aged 21, a Fancy Purse Maker, living with his wife and 2 young children.
Abraham is also a Polish Jew (Russian)
There is also a widow named Katie Bernstein living at 40 Berner Street, although the words "stable yard" are not listed for her residence.
We therefore have 2 Silverman families living at 6 Fashion Street, the given address of Eddowes, and one of the houses inside the yard where Stride was murdered.
We also have a widow named Bernstein at 40 Berner Street and the mother-in-law of Marks Silverman, also called Bernstein, living with him and his family at 6 Fashion Street.
Interesingly, Abraham's son was also called Marks....and his son was possibly the same Marks Silverman who at age 16 viciously stabbed another boy aged 13, 3 times in the back over a petty dispute. The boy survived.
Note that...
Matthew Packer is still there at 44 Berner Street in 1891
Fanny Mortimer (Mangle-woman) is still there at 36 Berner Street in 1891 - interestingly for her place of birth, it states... "Don't Know" (England)
The Berner Street Club didn't close until 1892 and would therefore still be operational at the time of the 1891 census.
In addition, we also have a tailor called "Israel Goldstein" living at 40 Berner Street.
He lives with his family
As an aside, it did make me wonder whether there was any significance to his name "Israel Goldstein"...in the amalgamation of Israel Schwartz and Leon Goldstein, and despite a different occupation, whether Goldstein was seen by Mortimer, that he was intending to go home, but witnessed the attack on Stride, the moment Mortimer witnessed him looking up at the club, and instead had to divert across the road and go south; remarkably similar to Israel Schwartz's route, who has never been traced.
But i digress...
Going back to Marks Silverman, the family by 1901 had relocated and moved to 117 Green Street in Bethnal Green.
But here's where things become rather interesting...
On 14th August 1902, A Marks Silverman aged 53 (born circa 1849/1850) is found to have been residing at the Napsbury Mental Asylum and is listed as a "Lunatic"
This record also states that he was transferred from Bethnal Green before his incarciration, and coincidentally a year earlier in 1901 Marks Silverman Stick Maker, is indeed at 117 Green Street, Bethnal Green.
There's also a mention of Edmonton on the record...we will come to that shortly...
This is likely to be (but not confirmed) the same Marks Silverman....
On the 14th 1906 Marks Silverman, Stickmaker, goes into the Mile End workhouse, but the duration of his stay is unknown at present.
I believe that the 1902 lunatic inmate is the same Marks because then In the 1911 census, Marks Silverman is an inmate at the "Jewish Home and Hospital for Incurables" situated in Tottenham High Road, South Tottenham.
This then ties into the Edmonton link from the 1902 record.
This home was established for poor Jewish immigrants with permanent chronic disease, those who had suffered from an accident, or those with a physical disability.
Another tantalizing clue is the 1911 census for his wife Rachel Silverman...on the record it has Marks name scribbled through and at the end it states of Mark Silverman...
"Home of Lunacy?(ineligible) Afflicted, Incurable"
The question is, was Marks condition simply a physical impairment or was he a lunatic who suffered from mental ill health?
Mark Silverman appears to have died on 26th March 1913, although this is yet to be cross-referenced, although his wife Rachel is listed as a widow by the time of the 1921 census.
To summarize, when you consider the idea that a Polish Jew (Russian) stick maker named Marks Silverman, who married a Rachel Bernstein; who together ran a Chandler's shop at 6 Fashion Street, the same address given by Eddowes hours before she was murdered, and then we find another Silverman named Abraham and a Katie Bernstein located at the same location Stride was murdered in Berner Street, then that in itself potentially raises a few questions, especially when you consider that the same Marks Silverman definitely suffered from an incurable illness and spent time in the Jewish Hospital and workhouse, and possibly the Nasbury lunatic asylum (6 days only before being "abandoned")
There are points against though. For instance, Abraham Silverman appears to have arrived in Berner Street post 1888, based on his oldest child not being listed as being born in London.
This is also based on the 1891 census and beyond and so 2 and a half years AFTER the murders.
I guess it depends on how much you believe in coincidences, and whether there's a chance that Marks Silverman could have been the same lunatic who was deemed incurable. If this is the case, then what form did that lunacy take?
He was aged somewhere between 35 and 38 at the time of the Ripper murders and so his age also fits within the parameters of the Ripper
I am not saying he is in any way connected to the murders, but let's allow ourselves to dabble a little on this while we are here...
For example, is there a route from Mitre Square back to Fashion Street via Goulston Street?
I also find it rather quirky that Abberline and his colleagues were all given a Walking Stick...can you imagine if the man tasked with making them was Marks Silverman himself?
So i put it to you all the tantalizing question...
Could Marks Silverman; a man completely unheard of (to my humble knowledge) have been the Ripper?
The man who ran a Chandler's shop at 6 Fashion Street; the address that Eddowes gave, perhaps as a clue to the killer's identity. After all, it was alleged that she claimed to have known who the Ripper was.
Why give that address specifically?
And IS Silverman the missing link to the reason behind Stride's choice of murder site?
Was Stride there in Dutfileds Yard because of Silverman; and not just because of the club?
I am undertaking further extensive research as we speak, but of course, your expert input, guidance, opinions, and advice are always welcome...
Thoughts and feedback, please?
RD
I believe I may have found another potential link between Eddowes and Stride.
Before leaving Bishopsgate Police Station, Catherine Eddowes gave the name of Mary Kelly and her address as 6 Fashion Street.
The reason for doing so, has never really been explained.
And so why 6 Fashion Street?
Having a check through the various census returns, it is apparent that 6 Fashion Street was a multi-occupancy building, but it would appear that over the years, on the ground floor, the address was run as a Shop.
In the 1891 census, 3 years after the canonical Ripper murders we have several occupiers of the address.
One family in particular is the Silverman family.
We find a man named...
Mark(s) Silverman and his wife Rachel Silverman (nee Bernstein)
Mark(s) is 39, Rachel is 36... (although their age is listed as the same in the next census of 1901)
That would make him 36 at the time of the murders.
Both are Polish (Russian) Jews.
They married in 1874.
They have several children on the census, all born in London
Rachel's mother, also called Rachel is living with them
Mark(s) Silverman is a "Stick Dresser and Chandler's Shop Keeper"
A Stick Dresser refers specifically to a person who makes and designs Walking Sticks.
His daughter Jane Leah Silverman aged 16 works as his assistant at the shop. (Jane later marries a man named George Silverton in 1899)
Now...
By itself, that data means nothing in terms of the Ripper case or any potential connection to Eddowes, and certainly not Stride.
However, in digging a little deeper, I was surprised to find that at the same time of the 1891 census, there was another man named Abraham Silverman, living with his wife and young family at a certain address nearer to the murder site of Elizabeth Stride.
One of the houses in the Stable Yard of 40 Berner Street to be exact, ergo, the place where Stride was murdered 2 and a half years prior.
We have the following...
Abraham Silverman aged 21, a Fancy Purse Maker, living with his wife and 2 young children.
Abraham is also a Polish Jew (Russian)
There is also a widow named Katie Bernstein living at 40 Berner Street, although the words "stable yard" are not listed for her residence.
We therefore have 2 Silverman families living at 6 Fashion Street, the given address of Eddowes, and one of the houses inside the yard where Stride was murdered.
We also have a widow named Bernstein at 40 Berner Street and the mother-in-law of Marks Silverman, also called Bernstein, living with him and his family at 6 Fashion Street.
Interesingly, Abraham's son was also called Marks....and his son was possibly the same Marks Silverman who at age 16 viciously stabbed another boy aged 13, 3 times in the back over a petty dispute. The boy survived.
Note that...
Matthew Packer is still there at 44 Berner Street in 1891
Fanny Mortimer (Mangle-woman) is still there at 36 Berner Street in 1891 - interestingly for her place of birth, it states... "Don't Know" (England)
The Berner Street Club didn't close until 1892 and would therefore still be operational at the time of the 1891 census.
In addition, we also have a tailor called "Israel Goldstein" living at 40 Berner Street.
He lives with his family
As an aside, it did make me wonder whether there was any significance to his name "Israel Goldstein"...in the amalgamation of Israel Schwartz and Leon Goldstein, and despite a different occupation, whether Goldstein was seen by Mortimer, that he was intending to go home, but witnessed the attack on Stride, the moment Mortimer witnessed him looking up at the club, and instead had to divert across the road and go south; remarkably similar to Israel Schwartz's route, who has never been traced.
But i digress...
Going back to Marks Silverman, the family by 1901 had relocated and moved to 117 Green Street in Bethnal Green.
But here's where things become rather interesting...
On 14th August 1902, A Marks Silverman aged 53 (born circa 1849/1850) is found to have been residing at the Napsbury Mental Asylum and is listed as a "Lunatic"
This record also states that he was transferred from Bethnal Green before his incarciration, and coincidentally a year earlier in 1901 Marks Silverman Stick Maker, is indeed at 117 Green Street, Bethnal Green.
There's also a mention of Edmonton on the record...we will come to that shortly...
This is likely to be (but not confirmed) the same Marks Silverman....
On the 14th 1906 Marks Silverman, Stickmaker, goes into the Mile End workhouse, but the duration of his stay is unknown at present.
I believe that the 1902 lunatic inmate is the same Marks because then In the 1911 census, Marks Silverman is an inmate at the "Jewish Home and Hospital for Incurables" situated in Tottenham High Road, South Tottenham.
This then ties into the Edmonton link from the 1902 record.
This home was established for poor Jewish immigrants with permanent chronic disease, those who had suffered from an accident, or those with a physical disability.
Another tantalizing clue is the 1911 census for his wife Rachel Silverman...on the record it has Marks name scribbled through and at the end it states of Mark Silverman...
"Home of Lunacy?(ineligible) Afflicted, Incurable"
The question is, was Marks condition simply a physical impairment or was he a lunatic who suffered from mental ill health?
Mark Silverman appears to have died on 26th March 1913, although this is yet to be cross-referenced, although his wife Rachel is listed as a widow by the time of the 1921 census.
To summarize, when you consider the idea that a Polish Jew (Russian) stick maker named Marks Silverman, who married a Rachel Bernstein; who together ran a Chandler's shop at 6 Fashion Street, the same address given by Eddowes hours before she was murdered, and then we find another Silverman named Abraham and a Katie Bernstein located at the same location Stride was murdered in Berner Street, then that in itself potentially raises a few questions, especially when you consider that the same Marks Silverman definitely suffered from an incurable illness and spent time in the Jewish Hospital and workhouse, and possibly the Nasbury lunatic asylum (6 days only before being "abandoned")
There are points against though. For instance, Abraham Silverman appears to have arrived in Berner Street post 1888, based on his oldest child not being listed as being born in London.
This is also based on the 1891 census and beyond and so 2 and a half years AFTER the murders.
I guess it depends on how much you believe in coincidences, and whether there's a chance that Marks Silverman could have been the same lunatic who was deemed incurable. If this is the case, then what form did that lunacy take?
He was aged somewhere between 35 and 38 at the time of the Ripper murders and so his age also fits within the parameters of the Ripper
I am not saying he is in any way connected to the murders, but let's allow ourselves to dabble a little on this while we are here...
For example, is there a route from Mitre Square back to Fashion Street via Goulston Street?
I also find it rather quirky that Abberline and his colleagues were all given a Walking Stick...can you imagine if the man tasked with making them was Marks Silverman himself?
So i put it to you all the tantalizing question...
Could Marks Silverman; a man completely unheard of (to my humble knowledge) have been the Ripper?
The man who ran a Chandler's shop at 6 Fashion Street; the address that Eddowes gave, perhaps as a clue to the killer's identity. After all, it was alleged that she claimed to have known who the Ripper was.
Why give that address specifically?
And IS Silverman the missing link to the reason behind Stride's choice of murder site?
Was Stride there in Dutfileds Yard because of Silverman; and not just because of the club?
I am undertaking further extensive research as we speak, but of course, your expert input, guidance, opinions, and advice are always welcome...
Thoughts and feedback, please?
RD
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