Sarah Head, of Birmingham, is writing an article for the Herb Society about the life of Juliette de Bairacli Levi, who was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Manchester in 1912.

Her father was from Turkey and her mother from Egypt.

She was one of six children with three sisters and two brothers.

Juliette was educated at Lowther College, a public school for girls which started off in Lytham St Annes in 1896 and moved to Bodelwyddian Castle in Denbyshire in 1920.

She read veterinary medicine at Manchester and Liverpool universities for two years, but dropped out in protest at the vivisection and animal experiments.

She went to live with gypsies in the Forest of Dean and on the continent before returning to London in the late 1930s to set up a herbal distemper clinic.

She served in the Women’s Land Army during the war and was known in the UK until the 1950s for curing foot and mouth and other animal diseases through herbal medicine.

Juliette travelled extensively for the rest of her life in Europe and the Middle East, before being taken to America in the 1980s and feted as the grandmother of US herbal medicine.

Her writings are extensive, but she never mentions her childhood, family or husband.

She met and married her husband in Spain during the early 1950s when her two children, Rafiq and Luz, were born.

Sarah is interested in her early years and how she made the transition from privileged university student to bohemian gypsy and who funded her lifestyle, particularly the London distemper clinic.

“She also produced a herbal supplement for animals called Natural Rearing Product which is still commercially available today, but must have required financial backing for its development and distribution,” Sarah said.

Write to Imperial House, 31 Temple Street, Birmingham B2 5DB, telephone 0121 214 5262 or email sarah.head@irwinmitchell.com

Polish Art dealer

Mary Sayers, of Buxton, has been able to find out a little about her mother-in-law’s father thanks to his naturalisation papers and censuses.

Morris Mendel Goldwater (Mosek Menachem Goldwasser) was born on February 23, 1867 in Sochotszow to Abram Goldwasser and Zilpa Frenkel.

In London, Morris worked as a woollen merchant.

He is stated on naturalisation papers to have been an art dealer when in Poland between 1892 and 1893.

He married Machla (Minnie) Binkowsky in February 1885 at Kolo near Kalisz. The family appear to have moved to London in 1894-1895.

Morris died in Dublin in 1942 at the home of his violinist son, Israel (Erwin) Goldwater.

Mary has been trying to trace information on two of Morris’ sons — Philip and Jacob Goldwater.

Phillip was born in Mile End, London, on May 8, 1897.

He married Lilian Bernstein and may have had a daughter, Marion/Minnie Waters.

Jacob (Jack) was also born in Mile End in April 1899.

He married Rachel Goldfoot and died in Dublin around 1966.

Write to Hargate Lodge, Wormhill, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 8SJ, telephone 01298 871961 or email mary.sayers@virgin.net

Frame work

AMERICAN Linda Schlesinger is assisting photographer Monni Must on her project ‘Living Witnesses 2 — Faces of the Holocaust’.

They have visited a number of cities in America already and will be visiting France in April and Poland in June.

One of the most interesting stories they have heard was about Londoner Abe Davis.

He and his wife Fanny saved the life of a young boy from Austria. They lived at 14 Woodfield Avenue, London SW16.

If anyone knows the family they should contact Linda at 10777 LaSalle Blvd, Huntington Woods Mi 48070, telephone 001 248 760 2472 or email lindasless@yahoo.com

Deported to USA

STELLA SMITH of Sheffield is trying to find her information about her grandfather Franciszek Szmelcer.

Born on October 1927, he married Elizabeth Taylor on August 11, 1951 in Rother Valley, Yorkshire.

Stella’s mother, Susan, was born in 1953 — a year after the birth of their son, Alan.

Franciszek’s father’s name was cotton spinner Oswa Szmelcer. Franciszek lived at 17 Nelson Street, Rotherham.

Stella’s grandmother lived at 27 Arundle Avenue, Dalton, Rotherham.

“My mum was told he was deported to America around 1955, but can’t find any records of this,” Stella said.

Write to 5 Hilary Way, Swallownest, Sheffield S26 4ND or telephone 0114 2878072.

Silk factory

Debby Miller of Australia wants information on her Jewish ancestors.

Phineas Henry moved to Manchester with his brother Peter from Mogilev, Belarus, in 1820.

They possibly came from a town or village called Ploskoe, which appears to be a farming area between Barysau and Orsha.

Phineas had been in England 25 years when he was naturalised in 1845.

His son Henry Henry also accompanied Phineas and Peter.

In Bill Williams’ book The Making of Manchester Jewry 1740-1875, it is identified that Phineas and Peter established a silk factory on Fountain St in 1820.

The book also states that Henry lived in Chorlton Row from 1827.

It further states that Phineas occupied a seat at Halliwell St in 1825 — which could refer to Halliwell Street Synagogue.

There are no further records on Peter.

Phineas was supposed to have remarried, but there is no indication of this.

Phineas’ son Henry married Ann Milner, whose family were from Nottingham.

They had six children — Phineas (1841), Mary (1848), Henry (1850), Emma (1853), Alfred (1855) and Albert (1858). Phineas (jnr) was blind.

There is a family story that the members who remained in Belarus came across to England and disowned Phineas and his family by riding a black carriage three times around the block where their house was.

Email debby_phil@hotmail.com

Reuben’s family

David Pearlstein of Nevada is trying to locate descendants of Reuben Hyman.

He was born in 1831 and his wife Betsy was born in 1835.

They who had four children — Annie (born 1865 in Poland), Janie (1869 in Leeds), Miah (1873 in Leeds) and Leah (1875 in Leeds).

They lived at 29 Copenhagen Street, Leeds. Reuben died in 1895 in Leeds and Betsy died six years later.

Annie was David’s paternal grandmother. She married Abraham Levenson and all seven of their children were born in Leeds.

Jane married Marks Shaffer in March 1897. Myer (Miah) married Rachel Taylor in December 1896 and Leah married Woolf Kristall in June 1898.

Abraham died on September 10, 1918 in Leeds, but there are no records of Annie’s death.

Write to 2709 Otter Creek Ct, Unit 101, Las Vegas, Nevada 89117, USA, telephone 001702 8800944 or dodger4r@aol.com

Third time wed

Patricia Wilson, of Israel, is researching the Shapiro family from Kraziai, Lithuania.

Zlata Shapiro, 60, arrived in Scotland in 1908 with three children — Chatzel (David) (born 1888), Feivel (Louis) (1890) and Sheina (1893).

Another son Moses ( Morris) (1881) moved to Scotland in 1903 to establish a home for his mother and siblings.

Zlata’s husband Rabbi Jakob Shapiro had died in Lithuania. She was his second wife — and she had been married twice before. Morris may have been her step-son.

The family lived in Main Street, Glasgow. The sons moved when they married, two stayed in Scotland and one moved to Ireland.

Zlata died in 1927 in Govanhill Stree, Glasgow.

Patricia has a full family tree of the descendants of Morris, David and Louis, but nothing is known about Sheina.

“Did she change her name? Why didn’t even her own brothers mention her during their lifetimes?” Patricia asked.

Email wilsonettess@yahoo.com

Silver search

Doreen Silver, of Liverpool, is looking for descendants of Rena Herman, who lived in Islington, London, in 1918.

Email dor.80@hotmail.co.uk

Did anyone ‘meat’ Mr Clough?

Lesley Sutton, of Lytham-St-Annes, is trying to trace any relatives in the Cheetham Hill area of ‘Mr Clough’ who had a butcher’s shop around 1928/1935.

Mr Clough was Lesley’s great grandfather — father of Samuel Clough, who married Nora from Oldham.

He was also a butcher in Oldham, but fell out with his father when he married Nora.

Lesley’s father Alan knows nothing about his father’s parents.

Write to Flat 5, 21-23 Park Road, Lytham-St-Annes, Lancashire FY8 1PW or email lesley.sutton@homecall.co.uk

Bomb tragedy

SIMON STERNER, of Australia, is trying to trace descendants of his grandparents Siman and Rebecca Sternman.

They emigrated from Russia in 1904 and had four children — Abe (born 1907), Yettah (1909), Ethel (1910) and Simon’s father Judah (1911).

The children went by the surname Sterner.

Siman was killed in October 1940 during the bombing at the Electricity Showrooms, Croydon.

Email fairhurst@iprimus.com.au

Childhood pal

LURLENE TRIMBOLI of Australia is looking for childhood friend Muriel (Miriam) Brodie who emigrated to Australia from England with her father and then went to Israel.

She married a jeweller and had two sons.

Write to 86-88 Fowler Road, Illawong, Australia or email trimbolilee@virginbroadband.com.au

Moved to Crimea

Dina Souchotinsky Klayman is looking for relatives named Sukhotinsky.

Her grandparents Eucie and Anastasia Sukhotinsky lived in Dnipopetrovsk and moved to the Crimea in 1922.

Write to 6246 ½ Shoup Ave, Woodland Hills, Ca 91367, USA, email jklayman@socal.rr.com or telephone 001 818 712 0481

Shtetl research

Marcel Glaskie, of Ra’anana, is looking for families connected with Raducaneni.

The Shtetl of Raducaneni, home of many Manchester families, has never been researched.

Marcel has created a special interest group and is building a website for Jewish Gen.

He is looking for names, photographs, documents and stories, relating to Raducaneni.

Email marcelg@netvision.net.il or write to 48 Ha'hohit, Ra’anana 43725, Israel.

Born in Brum

Ben Silverstone, of Pembrokeshire, is trying to find the whereabouts of some of his family.

His father, Norman Silverstone, was born in Birmingham while his grandfather, Jacob, was from Manchester.

Write to 25 Maes Dyfed, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, SA62 6SR or b.silverstone@pembrokeshire.ac.uk

Put Elizabeth in the picture

Elizabeth Sloutsky of America wants to identify these pictures taken by Leeds Cinema Portrait Studios.

They were sent to her grandfather around the start of the Second World War by his sister Fanny Bernick, deceased 1957, wife of David Bernick, who lived in Leeds.

The wedding picture is of Hyman Bernick and Hilda (nee Goldstein). Hilda died in 1978 and Hyman in 1982.

The picture of the young man in military uniform was probably taken in 1915. He is likely to be one of Kitchener’s volunteers.

At that time, The West Yorkshire Regiment, that he was part of, was then called The Prince of Wales’ Own or West Yorkshire Regiment.

Two of the girls pictured may have been (Bitkah) Rebekkah Bernick and Leah (Lizzie) Bernick.

The seated man was probably Elizabeth’s great-uncle, Fanny’s brother.

Elizabeth would like to find Fanny’s children and grandchildren, along with her maiden name.

Fanny and David’s children are: Leah (Lizzie), Hyman, Rebekkah, Lily, Harris or Abraham, and Jane Bernick.

David was a tailor and his son Hyman became successful in the same business, opening a small factory.

Hyman and Hilda’s son is David Bernick. He and his wife Beaula Penn were married in Sunderland. They changed their surname to Burns. Their daughter Abigail married a man called Hart.

During the war, her maternal grandfather’s side of the family got split up.

She said: “My grandfather died three months before my mother was born. She knows very little about him and wants to meet his relatives. We do not know their English names or surname.”

Her grandfather was from Vienna and moved to the former USSR shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution.

A man named Howard Coupland, Hilda’s cousin’s son, found that Fanny (Elizabeth’s grandfather’s sister) was from Russia, according to records.

The part of Russia that she was from may have been part of what was Prussia.

Email geneology80@comcast.net