Aaron Mordke Kozminski Family Research

[Lubnowski]

Family Research: - Aaron Mordke Kozminski
From 1840’s Poland – 1980 London
By Marion JAMES
October 2008

Aaron Mordke Kozminski who is believed to be one of the most suspected suspects of being the murderer commonly known as ‘Jack the Ripper’ originates from a world far from that of London’s East End, but a place known as Klodawa that is situated in the centre of Poland.

My own research has been continued on from the research that was completed by Robert House a researcher on Aaron Mordke Kozminski who published an article in the Ripperologist magazine in March 2006. Robert House appears to have had the insight to go further than most researchers of Jack the Ripper murder enquiry who made enquiries to the Polish State Archives in Poznan, where I would say good old-fashioned research paid off. After more than one hundred years have passed by since the original murders in 1888, Robert House did locate the birth certificate of Aaron Mordke Kozminski a known police suspect for the murders and from this small but most significant find in history research, also discovered direct members of the Kozminski family. But as for the Kozminski family today the hope in finding a surviving relative seems almost impossible.

Today Klodawa is very much a changed place from the one that the Kozminski family would have known. In 1862 three years prior to Aaron being born the total population of Klodawa was 2,489 with 621 of those being part of the strong Jewish community. In 1939 this thriving Jewish population in Klodawa was 1,350 strong, which by the end of the WW2 would be totally obliterated by what we now know as the Holocaust and today there is no longer a Jewish community within Klodawa.

Marriage of Abram Jozek Koziminskiewicz 22yrs parents Idek and Malgorzata living in Grzegorzew, Bride Golda Lubnowski 23yrs parents Walek and Rudka Lubnowskich butcher recorded at Klodawa witnesses Herz Szczecinski bookbinder 58yrs and Walek Kniawski tradesman 50yrs, oral permission was given by fathers present and signed by all.

The following children of this marriage are: -
Pessa Elka Kosminska 20th December 1845 8pm father Abram Jozef Kozminski 24yrs tailor mother Golda 21yrs recorded at Grzegorzew Klodawa witnesses Hersz Szczecinski bookbinder 50yrs and Szymon Lubnowski tailor 33yrs.

Hinde Kozminska 13th November 1848 2am father Abram Jozef Kozminski 27yrs tailor mother Golda of Lubnowskich Kozminski 25yrs recorded at Klodawa witnesses Hersz Szczecinski bookbinder 66yrs and Jom Londynski labourer 70yrs states the father could not write.

Icek Szymche Kozminski 24th April 1851 6am father Abram Jozef Kozminski 29yrs tailor mother Golda of Lubnowski 28yrs recorded at Klodawa witnesses Hersz Szczecinski baker 63yrs and Herzs Olewski tradesman 66yrs signed in Hebrew by the father.

Blimbe Laje Kozminski 26th July 1857 5am father Abram Jozef Kozminski 36yrs tailor mother Golda of Lubnowskich 35yrs recorded at Klodawa witnesses Majer Studentkowski teacher 54yrs and Lajzer Rzezowski publican 62yrs.

Mosiek Abram Lubnowski 6th January 1857 8am father Josek Lubnowski 42yrs shoemaker Mother Laj 25yrs recorded at Klodawa witnesses Majer Studentkowski teacher 54yrs and Lajzer Rzezowski publican 62yrs.

Aaron Mordke Kozminski was born on 11th November 1865 at 10pm this birth was recorded after circumcision had taken place; Aaron appears to be the youngest of the Kozminski family.

Death of Aaron’s father in Poland prior to the family coming to the UK
Abram Jozef Kozminski 55yrs a tailor died in January 1874 at 8am son of Itsakh and Malka leaves a wife Golda and three children, witnesses reported the death were Mendal Korep 42yrs and Nahman Korep 44yrs all of Klodawa.

A question of how many children in the Kozminski family were still alive at the time of Abram’s death is still not confirmed as the number three could have mistranslated and should read as number five, unless two of the children died at a young age. This part of the Kozminski family needs to be fully researched.

There is strong belief that Golda Kosminski a widow came to the London in the 1880’s but the date of the family’s arrival is not yet confirmed. I imagine that the family would be noted somewhere in a local Synagogue records where the family would have visited and made themselves known to, once they arrived in London, so this is one line of research that could be pursued by some of Jewish community within the JTR site.

The rest of my own research begins on 2nd November 1888 a date that seems quite appt as this is seven days prior to one of the most horrific murders by Jack the Ripper of Mary Jane Kelly aka Marie Jeanette Kelly on 9th November 1888.

In 1888 we find the first trace of one of the family names which is adopted and used by the all the Kozminski family Lubnowski which soon is changed to Cohen, with some of the family distant themselves all together from the name Kozminski for reasons we fully do not understand but can only surmise it was because of the Aaron Kozminski’s name being involved in the original murder enquiry, and media hype was no different from today, it would hunt down those connected if it meant they could sell newspapers.

The surnames that are linked to Aaron Kozminski to date are: -
Lubnowski
Cohen
Abrahams
Ascher

1888 The London Gazette
Morris Lubnowski a Russian became a British Subject. Date of Certificate 02/10/1888 Residing at 16 Greenfield Street Whitechapel The Naturalization Act 1870. (Aaron’s Brother in Law)

1891 Census UK
3 Sion Square Mile End Old Town
Woolfe Abrahams 30yrs Master Tailor Russia (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Betsy Abrahams nee Kozminski 34yrs Russia (Sister to Aaron)
Rebecca Abrahams 9yrs London
Millie Abrahams 5yrs London
Matilda Abrahams 9mths London

1891 Census UK
63 New Street Mile End Old Town
Morris L Cohen 33yrs Boot Caster Poland Nat. British Subject (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Matilda L Cohen 35yrs nee Abrahams/Kozminski Poland Nat. British Subject (Sister to Aaron)
Joseph L Cohen 11yrs Scholar Germany Nat. British Subject
Bertha L Cohen 9yrs Scholar Germany Nat. British Subject
Annie L Cohen 7yrs Scholar Mile End
Samuel L Cohen 4yrs Scholar Mile End
Jane L Cohen 2yrs Mile End
Millie L Cohen 3wks Mile End
Woolf L Cohen 3wks Mile End

1884 BMD UK Index
Annie Lubnowski registered birth June 1884 Mile End Vol. 1c page 489 (Aaron’s niece)

1886 BMD UK Index
Samuel Lubnowski registered birth June 1886 Mile End Vol. 1c page 479 (Aaron’s nephew)

1889 BMD UK Index
Jane Lubnowski registered birth March 1889 Mile End Vol. 1c page 477 (Aaron’s niece)

1891 BMD UK Index
Twins
Milly and Wolf Lubnowski registered birth June 1891 Mile End Vol. 1c page 470 (Aaron’s niece & nephew)

1892 BMD UK Index
Wolf Lubnowski 1yr old registered death March 1892 Mile End Vol. 1c Page 419 (Aaron’s nephew)

1892 UK BMD Index
Joseph Ascher registered birth March 1892 Whitechapel (Husband of Aaron’s niece Jane)

1893 BMD UK Index
Yette Lubnowski registered birth September 1893 Mile End Vol. 1c page 435 (Aaron’s niece)

1895 BMD UK Index
Estha Lubnowski registered birth June 1895 St Georges in the East Vol. 1c page 373 (Aaron’s niece)

1901 Census UK
207 Bury New Road Cheetham Manchester
Woolfe Abrahams 39yrs Tailor Poland (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Betsy Abrahams 40yrs Poland (Sister to Aaron)
Rebecca Abrahams 19yrs Tailoress London
Millie Abrahams 14yrs London
Matilda Abrahams 10yrs London
Getta Abrahams 8yrs London
Joseph Abrahams 6yrs London (Traced Army Record)
Soloman Abrahams 3yrs London
Harry Abrahams 7mths Manchester (Traced Army Record)

1901 Census UK
64 Wellesley Street Mile End Old Town
Morris Lubnowski 43yrs Greengrocer (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Matilda Lubnowski 47yrs nee Abrahams/Kozminski (sister to Aaron)
Annie Lubnowski 19yrs (Traced Marriage)
Bertha Lubnowski 17yrs (Traced Marriage)
Samuel Lubnowski 14yrs
Jane Lubnowski 12yrs (Traced Marriage)
Millie Lubnowski 10yrs
Yette Lubnowski 7yrs
Estha Lubnowski 6yrs
Golda Abrahams 82yrs nee Kozminski (mother to Aaron)

1906 UK BMD Index
Marriage of Bertha Lubnowski to Harry Cohen registered September 1906 Mile End Vol. 1c Page 750 (Aaron’s niece)

1907 UK BMD Index
Marriage of Annie Lubnowski/Lubnouski to Tobias Abrahams registered December 1907 Mile End Vol. 1c Page 838 (Aaron’s niece)

1911 UK BMD Index
John Abrahams registered birth mother nee Lubnowski September 1911 Mile End Vol. 1c Page 826 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle John is the child of Aaron’s niece Annie Lubnowski)


1912 UK BMD Index
Golda Abrahams 97yrs registered death September 1912 Wandsworth Vol. 1d Page 575 (Mother to Aaron)

1912 UK BMD Index
Judah Cohen registered birth September 1912 mother nee Lubnowski Mile End Vol. 1c Page 762 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle, Judah is the child of Aaron’s niece Bertha Lubnowski)

1914 UK BMD IndexJoseph Cohen registered birth June1914 mother nee Lubnowski Mile End Vol. 1c Page 967 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle, Joseph is the child of Aaron’s niece Bertha Lubnowski)

1915 UK BMD Index
Marriage of Jane Lubnowski to Joseph Ascher registered March 1915 Mile End Vol. 1c Page 584 (Aaron’s niece)

1914- 1918 UK Army Records
Joseph Abrahams (Aaron’s nephew)
Occupation Tailor
Home Address 29a St Georges Street Stepney London E1
Next of Kin Mr Woolf Abrahams (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Was taken to Wormwood Scrubs on 2nd December 1916 awaiting trial, eventually sentenced to 6mths with a total un-pensioned service 7mths 2days, Offence not obeying a lawful order.

1914 –1918 UK Army Records
Harry Abrahams born 1900 Manchester (Aaron’s nephew)
Occupation Metal Polisher
Joined 20/09/1918
Sherwood Foresters
Home Address 29a St Georges Street Stepney London E1
Next of Kin Mr Woolf Abrahams (Aaron’s Brother in Law)


1914 – 1918 UK Army Records
Tobias Abrahams (husband of Aaron’s’ niece) nephew
Enlisted at the age of 15yrs 6mths on 7th November 1899 in London
Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment No 6320 on 09/11/1899
The Welch Regiment No 10815 on 18/09/1915 Sgt. Tailor of the 2nd Btn
The Welch Regiment No 3949288 a Sgt. Tailor of the 2nd Btn
Occupation Tailor gained a tailors certificate of appointment of War Office 6th February 1915. Became a Master Tailor for the Army. Leaving the army in October 1920
Attended Mayford Industrial School
Awarded Long Service & Good Conduct Medals
Home Address 5 Ashcroft Road Bow E3
Next of Kin Older brother Joseph Abrahams of 38 Nottingham Place New Road Whitechapel
Next of Kin Mrs Annie Abrahams nee Lubnowski (Aaron’s niece) married on 22nd December 1907 at Stepney, Witnesses Rev. Malder BA and Israel Ellis
Children of this marriage
Celia Abrahams born 23rd March 1909 London E
John Abrahams born 14th July 1911 Mile End
Muriel Abrahams born 4th April 1919 Cardiff

1919 UK BMD Index
Muriel Abrahams registered birth June1919 mother nee Lubnowski/Lubnoski Cardiff Vol. 11a Page 560 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle, Muriel is the child of Aaron’s niece Annie Lubnowski)

1919 UK BMD Index
Muriel Abrahams registered birth June1919 mother nee Lubnowski/Lubnoski Cardiff Vol. 11a Page 560 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle, Muriel is the child of Aaron’s niece Annie Lubnowski)

UK BMD Index
Masie R Ascher registered birth mother nee Lubnowski December 1919 Wandsworth Vol. 1d Page 951 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle Masie is the child of Aaron’s niece Jane Lubnowski)

1921 London Gazette
Yetta Lubnowski on 05/04/1921
Notice is hereby given that by a deed poll dated 31/03/1921 and enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature I Yette Cohen of 5 Ashcroft Road Bow in the county of London abandoned the name of Yetta Lubnowski and adopted the name of Yetta Cohen (Aaron’s niece)

1923 UK BMD Index
Joyce S Ascher registered birth mother nee Lubnowski March 1923 Wandsworth Vol. 1d Page 1124 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle Joyce is the child of Aaron’s niece Jane Lubnowski)

1926 UK BMD Index
Maurice A Ascher registered birth mother nee Lubnowski December 1926 Wandsworth Vol. 1d Page 905 (Aaron’s is the Grand Uncle Maurice is the child of Aaron’s niece Jane Lubnowski)

1938 The London Gazette
Samuel Lubnowski (Aaron’s nephew) commonly known and described in the Receiving Order as Samuel Cohen, residing and carrying on business at 35 Ridley Road Dalston E8 Confectioner and Tobacconist.
High Court of Justice Ref No. 627 of 1938
Last date of receiving proof given as 7th January1939
Name of Trustee and Address L A West Bankruptcy Buildings Carey Street London WC2 Senior Official Receiver

1931 – 1965 London Telephone Directory
Joseph Ascher at 82 Ritherton Road SW17 telephone number Streatham 6603 stayed at this address from 1931 to 1935
Joseph Ascher at 71 Woodbourne Avenue SW16 telephone number Streatham 6603 stayed at this address from 1936 to 1965
(Joseph Ascher is either the husband or son of Aaron’s niece Jane Lubnowski)

1980 London Gazette
Deceased Esther Lubnowski Cohen (Aaron’s niece) of 105 Nightingale Lane SW12 was retired died 15/09/1979, Alexander Reubens 21 Mincing Lane London EC3R 7PT Solicitors, date before which notices of claims to be given by 03/04/1980.

[Chris]

Family Research: - Aaron Mordke Kozminski
From 1840’s Poland – 1980 London
By Marion JAMES
October 2008.

Thank you for posting these extracts.

As I've mentioned previously, over the last 18 months or so Rob House and I have been making a concerted effort to trace the descendants of Aaron's brothers Isaac and Woolf and his sister Matilda. We are now at the stage where we are confident we have traced all the surviving grandchildren of these siblings. Most of these - and some other family members, including descendants of Morris Lubnowski Cohen's siblings - have replied to our letters and have been very helpful in providing further information about the family.

However, none of them knew anything at all about Aaron, apart from what some of them had read in books about the Whitechapel Murders.

At least one member of the family had been contacted a number of times previously by researchers. In order to protect the privacy of the family, we did decide that we wouldn't make public any details of the family beyond Aaron's own generation.

I wouldn't want to be territorial, or to discourage others from following similar research in parallel, but if possible I'd like to prevent the family from being exposed to repeated enquiries from researchers, which might be the consequence of more genealogical information being published here.

[Lubnowski]

Chris,

Thank you for your prompt and concerned reply regarding researchers trying to contact surviving family members.

All my own research has been acquired by using data held within the public domain, which therefore can be located by any good historical researcher.

I would like to think that people who do JTR research are fully aware of data protection issues when it comes to publishing information on people who are currently alive without their permission are treading on dodgy ground, but as for information held within the public domain as my research shows I do not feel that I have done anything wrong.

My own research reveals like previous researches before me over the past few years of this website that Aaron Kozminski was not a lone psychopathic killer that the media and past authors would have us believe. Aaron Kozminski came from a typical large Jewish family and Jewish community and those lines on family research tell us a completely different story about Aaron Kozminski.

Any living family member who is directly or indirectly associated to the Jack the Ripper murder enquiries will always have curious minded researchers and reporters trying to get their next unknown story published because they believe they have found an exclusive.

I have used this website for many years like many other researchers and I therefore would like to publish my own research and findings for free and just add to the wealth of history that is already held within this fantastic site nothing more and nothing less.

[Chris]

Thank you for your prompt and concerned reply regarding researchers trying to contact surviving family members.

I'm sorry if my response came across as criticism of you. That wasn't my intention.

As I said, I wouldn't want to be territorial about this. Everyone has a right to research whatever areas they find interesting, and people must judge for themselves how much of that research to publish, and when and where to publish it.

But I thought it was worth explaining what our approach has been, and in particular to explain that we are not making public the details of the more recent genealogy out of a concern for the family's privacy.

Of course, another concern is the desire to avoid the needless duplication of research that's already been done.

I don't really know what the best way is of addressing these concerns. Of course, if people are thinking of tracing further descendants, or contacting living members of the family, I'd be happy to indicate privately whether particular lines have already been traced, or whether particular people have already been contacted. I hope that would tend to mitigate both concerns.

[Carrotty Nell]

I'm wondering, Chris, whether your splendid recent research into the descendants of the family yielded any photographs. I don't mean photographs of Aaron - I think it is unlikely that will ever happen - but I am sure we would all be interested in seeing photographs of Isac and Woolf which is the next best thing. You would have thought there would be photographs among the living descendants as both were alive well into the
20th century.

[Chris]

Just to comment on a few points:

There is strong belief that Golda Kosminski a widow came to the London in the 1880’s but the date of the family’s arrival is not yet confirmed. I imagine that the family would be noted somewhere in a local Synagogue records where the family would have visited and made themselves known to, once they arrived in London, so this is one line of research that could be pursued by some of Jewish community within the JTR site.

As far as I've been able to determine no relevant synagogue records survive, though of course there's always the possibility some do.

From family information, Morris Lubnowski Cohen (Aaron's brother-in-law) returned to Poland to bring Golda (and perhaps his own mother Leah) to England. As Golda hasn't been found in the 1891 census, but is referred to (as "Mrs Kozminski") as living at Morris's address in 1894, the supposition is that this was in the early 1890s. At Leah's death in 1920, it was stated that she had been in England for 30 years, which points to approximately the same date.

In 1888 we find the first trace of one of the family names which is adopted and used by the all the Kozminski family Lubnowski which soon is changed to Cohen, with some of the family distant themselves all together from the name Kozminski for reasons we fully do not understand but can only surmise it was because of the Aaron Kozminski’s name being involved in the original murder enquiry, and media hype was no different from today, it would hunt down those connected if it meant they could sell newspapers.

My impression is that this branch of the family was known sometimes as Lubnowski, sometimes as Cohen, and sometimes as Lubnowski Cohen. I don't think there was anything sinister in the gradual change from Lubnowski to Cohen, any more than there was in the general tendency to drop Polish surnames. Certainly the name Lubnowski continues appearing in official records well into the 1920s.

1914- 1918 UK Army Records
Joseph Abrahams (Aaron’s nephew)
Occupation Tailor
Home Address 29a St Georges Street Stepney London E1
Next of Kin Mr Woolf Abrahams (Aaron’s Brother in Law)
Was taken to Wormwood Scrubs on 2nd December 1916 awaiting trial, eventually sentenced to 6mths with a total un-pensioned service 7mths 2days, Offence not obeying a lawful order.

Just to be clear, Joseph was a conscientious objector, as was his younger brother Solomon, though the youngest brother Harry was not. As far as we can determine this was for political rather than religious reasons.

An interesting feature of these records - though obviously one with no material bearing at all on the Whitechapel Murders - is that Woolf's address in the 1910s appears to correspond to the opening scene of the other infamous serial murders of the 19th century - the Ratcliff Highway Murders of 1811. Woolf appears to have lived in a house on the same site where the murders of Timothy Marr and his family took place. Whether it was actually the same building I haven't yet been able to determine.

[Robert]

It might be that Golda's immigration could only take place after Aaron's incarceration - not that they incarcerated him so as to bring her over, but that once he was incarcerated, it was OK to bring her over. If he was ill she would have found it upsetting.

On the other hand, I'd be surprised if she didn't visit him at least once at the asylum.