A Lusitania Story

I knew little about my about my maternal grandfather Abraham Jacobs, who died in 1924, two years before I was born. About my maternal grandmother I knew even less, since she died when my mother was a child. One extraordinary thing stuck in my memory was that my mother had told me that her father had married three times and that one of his wives was a midwife who was drowned in the Lusitania.

The Lusitania was sunk , with the loss of 1,198 lives , by a German torpedo on May 8 1915 off the coast of Ireland on it return voyage from New York ,thus hastening the American entry into WW1. My decision to find the facts took me first to the PRO at Kew there I scanned the passenger list of the Lusitania.

To my delight I found an entry for a Liba Jacobs aged 67 travelling alone among the third Class passengers. Was she my apocryphal step- grandmother?

I set out to find a marriage record. In this I was guided by the words of my mother (who may have felt that some comment was necessary to explain the her pious father’s triple marriages -) " an orthodox Jew must have a wife " -so I imagined my grandfather would not long have remained a widower. Under Jewish Law a widowed man may remarry after a successive Pesach, Shevouth and Succoth have passed since the death of his wife ( no such limitation incidentally apply to widows ).

I had previously discovered that that my real grandmother had died on 5 March 1902 ( when my mother was only eight years old ) and I found the second marriage 12 months later dated 29 March 1903 between my grandfather and one Debrobah Glassman ( nee Morris ) a widow. Unfortunately Deborah clearly was not the lady in the Lusitania - wrong age and wrong first name.

I began to think the Lusitania story was family folklore until I found by chance the grave in Edmonton Federation cemetery of a Deborah Jacobs who was buried July 1904 from my grandfathers correct address 134 Brick Lane , Whitechapel .

I had yet to establish a documentary connection between the Liba Jacobs in the Lusitania and Abraham Jacobs my grandfather. I dimly remembered being told my ill-fated step- grandmother was returning from a visit to her son in Chicago although the Lusitania sailed from New York. 1st May 1915 . I thought I would test the alleged Chicago connection. Off I went to the British Museum Newspaper Library in Colindale. The Chicago Tribune in the edition of the 9th May 1915 ( the day following the disaster ) on page 3 revealed that " J D Klass of 1263 Central Park Chicago was seeking ,at the Cunard Line office, news of his 67 year old mother Liba Jacobs who lived in London “. The Cunard records (which I subsequently obtained by the kindest of the archivist of the Lusitania museum , Queenstown, Eire ) state that “the identified remains of Mrs Liba Jacobs was buried Queenstown , May 10th 1915 - her property divided , by mutual arrangement between her husband Mr A Jacobs, 134 Brick Lane ( my grandfathers address ) and her son Mr M Smith 41 Bridge Road Southampton “.
I found with the help of internet contacts in Chicago who did the research , that a girl baby had been born to Joseph Klass in Chicago shortly before his mother sailed on the Lusitania ( a good explanation for her visit ) and traced again via the internet a surviving Klass son in Chicago ( he would not co-operate ) . But who was the Mr M Smith of the Cunard record ?

I discovered with the kind co-operation of the Southampton Jewish Synagogue a living daughter of Mark Smith ( Schmidt ) but she seemed to know nothing of her unfortunate grandmother Liba. Mark Smith ( Schmidt ) I found from his naturalisation application was born 2 May 1877 in Abel (Russia/Poland) and married Bella Comras and his daughter tells me (to simplify things) that her parents were a step-brother and sister !

I have now established that my mother indeed had a step-mother who was lost at sea but many mysteries remain. I cannot find (in spite of back breaking searches at the old St Catherines House) any record of my grandfathers third marriage between 1904 and 1915 ( his second was at the East London Synagogue ). Was Liba Jacobs really a midwife ? Why was Liba Jacobs not buried with other Jewish victims of the Lusitania in the Jewish cemetery at Cork ? How many times was Liba Jacobs/Klass/Schmitd/Comras ? married. ? I would welcome any information or advice from members which would help me tie up the intriguing loose ends.

Note: In the process of tracing my grandfather’s second marriage I obtained from the Chief Rabbi’s office a copy of the necessary Beth Din authorisation certificate which paid me a bonus of inestimable benefit by giving me the names ( formal Hebrew and Yiddish kinnui ) of a brother of my grandfather previously unknown to me as well as a note on the previous marriage and family of the bride.