The first family is of Sarah (née Berkson) (born 1858) and Jacob Lewis (1855-1894), who married in 1878 in Manchester.

They lived in 1881 in the Strangeways area, and in 1891 in Cheetham Hill.

They had eight children. Betsy was born in 1879, married Isaac Fink in 1900, and had a son named Barnet in the same year. Her family is shown in the 1901 Census as living with her mother.

The other children were Maria (1880-1885), Rebecca (1882), Dora (1882), Lazarus (1883), Miriam (1888), Fanny (1889), Joseph (1891) and Gertrude (1893).

The family surname seems to vary between Levies, Levis and Lewis: all of the children are registered at birth as Levis, apart from Betsy, whose birth and marriage are registered under Lewis, as are the Census entries for 1881 and 1891.

But Simon wants to know what happened to them after the 1901 Census? All he has traced is a possible marriage for Dora Lewis in 1910, and Lazarus Lewis in 1911, in Manchester.

The second family is of David (1862-1903) and Rose (1864-1945) Berkson (née Fineberg), married in 1889 in North Manchester, and living in the Cheetham Hill area in 1901.

Two of their children married: Meyer (1892-1972 ) to Hannah Goodall (1898-1974) in 1931; and Yetta (1894) to Isaac Fisher in 1925. Does anyone know whether either of these couples had any children?

Simon is also trying to find out whether Alfred Berkson (born 1927 in Southport, died 2001 in Liverpool) had any family. He was the son of Hyman Sydney Berkson (born 1893 in Manchester, died 1957 in the Southport area), and Annie (née Lewis or Zalmanson, who may have re-married).

Simon would like to know where they are all married and if Manchester Jewish cemeteries have any kind of database of burials?

Write to 72 Granville Place, London N12 0AX, telephone 020-8346 6635 or email spjackson85@hotmail.com

SCHELLEY Talalay Dardashti of Israel is looking for a possible Leeds connection.

Variations of the Talalay family name are known to be Talabayeh, Talabaya and Talabeya.

In the early 1900s, a Leeds census list discloses a woman with this name, with a possible male relative arriving later.

They were both involved in the furniture business (French polisher, carpenter etc), a common Talalay occupation.

The Talalay lived in Mogilev, Belarus and the surrounding area from 1750 until the late 1890s-early 1900s, emigrating to the US, Berlin, UK, as well as to Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev and Riga.

The family is of Spanish origin, according to family history and a recently discovered document dated June 18, 1353.

Schelley thinks the name may have been shortened to Tal or Bye.

Write to Ezorei Chen, 11 Grinberg, Apt. 57, 69379 Tel Aviv, Israel or email schelly@allrelative.net

RACHEL Hicks is looking for information about her great aunt Nellie Verschoor of Rotterdam, who lived in Leeds around 1950.

Nellie came to England at the end of the World War Two and, after living in Birmingham, worked in Alwoodley for a Jewish family where she looked after two boys for Sissie Blackstock, Blacklock or Blackstone

Rachel says: "Sissie was originally from Sunderland, where we think her family was in the tailoring business. When my great aunt left Leeds, she went to work for another Jewish family called Share.

"The Share's had a furniture business in Sunderland, which is where my great aunt's brother, my grandfather, Arje Verschoor, had settled, and where the rest of my family are from. My grandfather was in the Dutch merchant navy and settled in Sunderland after operating from the harbour there during the German occupation of Holland."

If anyone can help Rachel, telephone 0781 6816180.

DEREK Harris of California would like to hear from former members of the scouts in Barrack Road between 1953 to 1956.

Derek, who has lived in Los Angeles since 1964, can be contacted at derekh911@msn.com or at 2 La Costa Place, Phillips Ranch, Ca, USA.

TOM Johnson of Bristol is looking for information regarding his grandmother, Rose Selekowitz (possibly Selcovitch, Zelicovich, Zelicowitz, Zelekowitz, Selecovich).

She was born in Shavil, Lithuania in 1878 but emigrated to Manchester before 1904 if data on Jewishgen is correct.

Rose married Abraham Savitz, a master tailor, at Hanley Synagogue, Staffordshire, in 1905. Her surname was spelt as 'Selcovitch' on the register.

Tom's mother, Esther Madeline Savitz, was born in 1914. She had two older sisters, Kay and Marie, and an older brother, Major.

Major and Marie emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa. Marie's married name was Jawno while Kay's was Simmonds. Esther's married name was Johnson, later Cox. Rose died in 1958 when Tom was seven. Abraham Savitz may have originated from Holland, possibly Germany. Now thought to be from Lithuania or Belorussia?

Tom is also trying to contact his cousin, Judy Simmonds - Kay's daughter. In addition, he would like to contact the person who put family tree data on Jewishgen website because it is inaccurate.

Telephone 01761-453808 or 07905-627356 or email him at tom-johnson@tesco.net

ERIC Gabriel and his sister Audrey, who used to live in Leeds, would like to trace long lost first cousin Harvey Gabriel.

His father was Hymie and he was a brother of Eric and Audrey's father Louis.

Harvey and his parents, Hymie and Helen, lived in the Meanwood area of Leeds more than 80 years ago. Contact Edna Levi on 07929936669 or email ednaandsidney@freeuk.com

KENNETH Barrie of Glasgow wants to find descendants of Maurice Nathan and Fanny Cohen, who married in Glasgow in 1910.

Both died in 1942. Maurice was an auctioneer and had a son-in-law J Riffkin.

Write to 76 Avonbank Road, Rutherglen, Glasgow G73 2PA, telephone 0141 569 0355 or email kenleah@ntlworld.com

RICA Goldberg of Manchester is looking for present day descendants of Rachael Cohen, who was born about 1870 in Manchester.

Her brother was Rica's grandfather Abraham Cohen (whose wife was Leah Estry). Rica's grandparents lived in Elmfield Street, Cheetham Hill until her grandfather passed away in 1954 and there was a bachelor brother also living there called Levi.

Rachael and Abraham's parents were Rebecca and Isaac Cohen. Rica remembers her late father, Wolfe Cohen, introducing her to his cousins - the children of Rachel. Telephone Rica on 0161-7679060 or email gerrica@aol.com