Jesaias Levy Lehwenz

Jesaias Levy, also known as Isaias Levy, was born on 23 December 1787 in Schwerin, a village to the east of Hamburg. His paternal grandfather Esaias Levin Pincus had been born in Schwerin in 1700 and had died in Schwerin in 1787. His father Levin Pincus, who changed his name to Pincus Levy, married Bella Heilbut from Hamburg. Jesaias’s parents remained in Schwerin and died there in 1811 within nine days of each other, first Bella and then Pincus. All the family were Jewish.

Jesaias moved to Hamburg where he became a prosperous Jewish merchant. He married Eva Lazerus who was the daughter of Levin Lazarus, also known as Levin Streiber or Stieber, and Prive Peine. According to the list of births in Hamburg between 1760 and 1865, Isaias Levy from Schwerin and Eva Lazarus from Hamburg had three children: Jeannette on 10 March 1823, Bella on 23 August 1824 and Juda on 22 August 1826. Eva died in 1827.

On 20 March 1832 Jesaias married Eva’s sister Henrietta Lazarus, known as Hetty, who had been born in Hamburg on 29 December 1803 and was sixteen years his junior. According to the list of births in Hamburg between 1760 and 1865, Jesaias Levy from Schwerin and Hetty Lazarus from Hamburg had six children: Isaac/Iwan on 5 January 1833, Sophia on 30 November 1833, Pincus/Pius on 1 January 1835, Eva Emma in May 1836, Moritz on 3 September 1837, and Leser Louis on 27 July 1839. All the children were born at 3 Elbstrasse, Altona, now Hamburg.

The date of Jesaias’s marriage to Hetty is recorded alongside the births of all their six children. The birth records for Isaac and Moritz notes that the father was also now known as Isaias Levy Schwenz/Lehwenz. Additionally, the birth record for their daughter Eva Emma notes she was later married as Eva Emma Lehwenz and similarly their son Pincus Levy was married as Pincus Lehwenz.

Levy was such a common Jewish name that Isaias changed his surname to Lehwenz, as but people often misread the new name as ‘Schwenz’ and the ‘h’ of Lehwenz was soon dropped.

There is a copy of the citizen’s oath that Esaias made on 11 April 1849: “I praise and swear to Almighty God that I am an honourable citizen of the town of Hamburg and that I desire to do the best for her and defend her from ills, as far as I am capable. I will do no harm to this town either by word or deed and if I find out anything that would damage this town I will denounce it faithfully. I will also pay all taxes and dues which are owing to the town and as an upright man I will do nothing to damage this town.” which he signed Isaias Levy Lehwenz.

Of the children, nothing further is known about Sophie and Leser Louis and presumably they died young. Iwan, Pius, and Moritz are described in later sections whilst what is know about Eva Emma Lewenz follows in the next section.

Eva and Hetty had two sisters who made prestigious marriages: Betty also known as Bella who married Wolf Warburg, and Sulka (or Cäcilie) who married Wolfe Peine, her maternal uncle.

Esias Lewenz died in Hamburg on 7 March 1863.