Alexander PELICAN10,11

also known as Chil PELIKAN8

also known as Ksiel PELIKAN9

18331,2,3 - 3rd Aug 19114,5

Life History

1833	Born in Tarnow, Krakow, Austria.1,2,3 According to the 1901 Census of England and Wales, Alexander was 63 years old, which would have made the year of his birth 1837 or 1838.
10th Jan 1860	Birth of daughter Debora PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.12,8,13,14
15th Feb 1861	Birth of daughter Fannie PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.15,8,16,17
14th Sep 1863	Birth of daughter Sarah Ann PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.18,19,20,8,21,22
7th Nov 1864	Birth of son Jacob PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.24,25
8th May 1866	Death of son Jacob PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.23
10th Jan 1867	Birth of daughter Millie PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.18,26,8,27,28
1868	Birth of daughter Leie PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.8
4th Aug 1870	Birth of son Harris PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.1,29,30
12th Mar 1872	Death of daughter Leie PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.8
1873	Birth of daughter Anna PELICAN in Krakow, Austria.18
23rd Jul 1897	Death of Minnie UNKNOWN in Metropolitan Hospital, London, London, England.31
7th Oct 1897	Married Jane HYAMSON in 76 Sunbury Building, Bethnal Green, London, England.32
3rd Aug 1911	Died in 89 Hackney Rd, Shoreditch, London, Middlesex, England.4,5 According to his death certificate, Alexander's cause of death was collapse and diarrhea. His son, Harry, was present at the time of death.
6th Aug 1911	Buried in Plashet Jewish Cemetery, 361 High Street North, Manor Park, East Ham, London, England.6,7 Section I, row 24, no. 24 The Hebrew lettering on Alexander's headstone translates as follows: "Here lies the honorable Yekutiel, son of Yaakov, died the 9th day of Av 5671. May his soul be bound up in the bonds of everlasting life." The date he died was the fast day, Tish B'Av. The name "Yekutiel" (sometimes "Yekusiel") means "God will nourish" (Kolatach, Alfred J. 1984. The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names. Middle Village: Joanthan David. 136, 251). Biblical name - Jekuthiel (Yekutiel) was a descendent of Caleb, a leader of the tribe of Judah and father of Zanoak (1 Chronicles 4:18). Yekutiel was also another name for Moses.

Other facts

	Married Minnie UNKNOWN
	Married Rachel BLODEK in Krakow, Austria

Notes

Alexander Pelican (Ksiel Pelikan) was born in Tarnow, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, in 1833. There is no documentation of Alexander's birth.

When he reached his twenties, Alexander apprenticed with a local tailor. In 1860, a committee of five master tailors testified that, from May 2, 1854 to April 30, 1857, Alexander worked with a local master tailor, Schije Schmid, and during this period, his behavior was loyal, good and of morally good conduct. They recommended him and admitted him to the list of journeymen tailors.

Just days after receiving this testimonial, Alexander and his wife, Rachel, left Tarnow for Krakow, her home town.

Within a week of his arrival in Krakow, Alexander secured a second testimonial signed by the president of the Jewish community. This document was an all-in-one identity card, summary of work experience and character reference.

In 1867, the Municipal Authority of Krakow granted Alexander a license allowing him to work as a self-employed tailor in Kazimierz, the Jewish section of Krakow. Previously, he had probably worked in the employ of another tailor.

According to the diary of Madeline (Rosenlicht) Wekselblatt, tragedy struck the family some time after the birth of Alexander and Rachel's youngest child, Anna (Chaja), in 1873. Rachel died of cholera in an epidemic, leaving six children motherless. Anna was given to a Polish woman to nurse. It's possible that Rachel died during "Little Cholera," which struck Galicia between 1873 and 1874. There is no documentation of Rachel's death.

In 1874, Alexander received a letter of recommendation from the Krakow Rabbinical Court. The letter described him as being "always honest and decent, eager to observe the word of God, and willing to keep His commandments." The letter noted that Alexander's business had taken a turn for the worse within the last year and he was unable to support his many children, including a baby daughter who needed a wet nurse he couldn't afford. He therefore decided to travel far away in the hope of finding a place where he could make a living through his tailoring skills. The rabbis urged all persons coming into contact with Alexander during his journey to welcome him and to donate funds to him according to their financial ability.

Alexander received a Reise-Passe (passport) in October 1876, which allowed him to travel from Krakow through Russia and Germany once within a year of its issue. At some point before the Reise-Passe expired, Alexander and his son, Harry (Herschel), left Krakow for good, arriving in London, England, some time between 1877 and 1881.

Madeline's diary says that, after his arrival in London, Alexander married a "beautiful English woman named Fannie Klein." While there is no evidence that Alexander was ever married to someone named Fannie Klein, at the time of the 1881 UK census, Alexander had a wife named Minnie (last name unknown). There is no documentation of Alexander and Minnie's marriage.

Madeline goes on to say that, after arriving in London, Alexander sent for Deborah (Taube), Fannie (Feigel), Sarah (Surel) and Millie (Malke) one by one. Anna's wet nurse in Krakow apparently became attached to her, and, according to Madeline, it took court action to get Anna from Krakow to London.

In 1882, when his daughter, Deborah, married Albert Rosenlicht in Manhattan, Alexander and the rest of the family came to New York to celebrate the occasion.

Alexander and Minnie returned to New York the following year to greet their first grandchild, Rachel (Ray). According to Madeline, Alexander entertained the possibility of staying there and even secured a well-paying job. In time, however, the couple decided that they preferred living in England and moved back there permanently.

Alexander was an observant Jew throughout his life. In 1892, his name, spelled "Palacan," appeared on a marble plaque marking the consecration of the New Road Synagogue in Whitechapel. On Simchas Torah, he received the honor of Chatan Torah (the person who finishes the reading of the Torah).

Minnie died of liver cancer in July 1897. Less than three months later, Alexander married Jane Lazarus (born Jane Hyamson), a divorcee 16 years his junior.

Their marriage was apparently a short and unhappy one. An article in the October 16, 1898 edition of the Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper reveals that Alexander had been summoned to Worship Street police court the previous day for deserting his wife, who claimed maintenance in consequence. There had been several quarrels between the two of them, and it was alleged that they assaulted each other.

One day, while Jane was away, Alexander left, removing all household goods except a bed. He refused to live with her again, and offered her 5 pounds per week for her maintenance, which Jane claimed was insufficient and far below what Alexander had already been paying on her behalf while they were together. There was a dispute regarding Alexander's income, with Jane claiming he made over 40 pounds per week, and Alexander countering that he worked part-time for his son, Harry, and could only earn about 12 pounds per week. His daughters, Sarah, Millie and Anna, also gave him money every week to help him support his wife.

Harry, whose testimony supported Alexander's assertion about how much he could earn a week, also testified that Jane was Alexander's third wife. The other two wives would have been Rachel and Minnie. This indirectly supports the assertion in Madeline's diary that Rachel died in Krakow in a cholera epidemic and contradicts the theory that Rachel survived the epidemic, emigrated to England, and assumed the name Minnie. The theory that Rachel and Minnie were the same person is based on the similarity between Rachel's middle name on her Reise-Passe, Mundel, and Minnie; the fact that Rachel and Minnie were both born in Krakow in the mid-1830s; the lack of documentation of Rachel's death and of Alexander and Minnie's marriage; and the fact that Harry, in Minnie's 1897 English death certificate, was described as her son. If Rachel and Minnie were the same person, Alexander would have been married only twice, not three times.

The judge decided that the 5 pounds per week offered by Alexander was a fair proportion of his income and ordered him to pay that amount.

Alexander died in August 1911, having lived the last years of his life in the care of his daughter, Sarah. He is buried in Plashet Cemetery in East London alongside Minnie. The inscription on his stone says "Deeply Mourned by His Sorrowing Children, Grandchildren & Relatives. God's Noblest Work an Honest Man."33,26,1

Sources

1. 1901 Census, of England and Wales, Census Type: Census of England and Wales, Place: London, England, Shoreditch Parish
- United Kingdom Public Record Office, 1901, Original Date, 31 Mar 1901
2. Pelican-Lazarus, Marriage Authorisation, Record Type: Marriage Authorisation, Bride's Name: Jane Lazarus, formerly Hyamson, Groom's Name: Alexander Pelican
- 6 Sep 1897
3. 1870 Census, Krakow, Census Type: Krakow, Place: City of Krakow, Url: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=1132408&disp=Spis+ludno%C5%9Bci+m.+Krakowa%20%20&columns=*,0,0
- LDS, 1870
- District VII, House Number 59
4. Plashet Jewish Cemetery, Record Type: Headstone, Name Of Person: Minnie Pelican, Location: London, England
5. Alexander Pelican, Death Certificate, Record Type: Death Certificate, Name Of Person: Alexander Pelican, Volume: 1c, Page: 153
- Shoreditch, August 5, 2005
- Shoreditch, Volume 1c, Page 153
6. Plashet Jewish Cemetery, Record Type: Cemetery Card, Name Of Person: Alexander Pelican, Location: 361, High Street North, Manor Park, E.12, Section I, Row 24, No. 24
7. Message from United Synagogue Burial Society, Recipient: Paul Auerbach, Author's Addr: United Synagogue Burial Society, Schaller House, 22 Beehive Lane, Ilford, Essex IG1 3RT
- 12 Sep 2005
8. 1870 Census, Krakow, Census Type: Krakow, Place: City of Krakow, Url: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=1132408&disp=Spis+ludno%C5%9Bci+m.+Krakowa%20%20&columns=*,0,0
- LDS, 1870
9. Krakow Documents from Alex Pelican, Author E-mail: alexsindex.demon.co.uk
- 8 May 2009
- Ksiel Pelikan's Tailor's License, dated 10/30/1867
10. 1901 Census, of England and Wales, Census Type: Census of England and Wales, Place: London, England, Shoreditch Parish
- United Kingdom Public Record Office, 1901, Original Date, 31 Mar 1901
- RG 13, Piece 269, Folio 127, Page 23
11. 1891 Census, England, Census Type: England, Place: England
- Public Record Office, 1891, Original Date, 5 Apr 1891
- Piece: RG12/284
12. Rosenlicht-Pelican Marriage Certificate, Record Type: Marriage Certificate, Bride's Name: Deby Pelican, Groom's Name: Albert Rosenlicht, Record Number: 14611
- 2 Jul 1882
13. Email dated 3-17-2016 from Krakow Archives, Recipient: Paul Auerbach, Author's Addr: mkusakank.gov.pl
- 17 Mar 2016
- Ref. 29/1472/316, pp. 452-453, pos. 185
14. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 185, Folio 197, Recorded 3 Mar 1865
15. Bonaventure Cemetery, Record Type: Headstone, Name Of Person: Fannie Friedman, Location: Savannah, GA
16. Email dated 3-17-2016 from Krakow Archives, Recipient: Paul Auerbach, Author's Addr: mkusakank.gov.pl
- 17 Mar 2016
- Ref. 29/1472/316, pp. 452-453, pos. 186
17. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 186, Folio 197, Recorded 3 Mar 1865
18. 1881 Census, England, Census Type: England, Place: England
- Public Record Office, 1881, Original Date, 3 Apr 1881
19. EllisIslandRecords.org
20. Sarah Weinig, Death Certificate, Record Type: Death Certificate, Name Of Person: Sarah Weinig, Jurisdiction: Brooklyn, NY, File No: 8535
- 23 Apr 1925
21. Email dated 3-17-2016 from Krakow Archives, Recipient: Paul Auerbach, Author's Addr: mkusakank.gov.pl
- 17 Mar 2016
- Ref. 29/1472/316, pp. 452-453, pos. 187
22. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 187, Folio 197, Recorded 3 Mar 1865
23. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 188, Folio 197, Recorded 3 Mar 1865; 1866 Deaths #154
24. Email dated 3-17-2016 from Krakow Archives, Recipient: Paul Auerbach, Author's Addr: mkusakank.gov.pl
- 17 Mar 2016
- Ref. 29/1472/316, pp. 452-453, pos. 188
25. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 188, Folio 197, Recorded 3 Mar 1865
26. 1891 Census, England, Census Type: England, Place: England
- Public Record Office, 1891, Original Date, 5 Apr 1891
27. 1911 Census, of England and Wales, Census Type: Census of England and Wales, Place: London, England, Shoreditch Parish
- United Kingdom Public Record Office, 1911, Original Date, 2 Apr 1911
28. Krakow Book of Births, 1861-1867, Url: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/29/1472/0/1/316/str/1/1/100#tabSkany
- Record No. 96, Folio 308, Recorded 13 Feb 1867
29. Harris Pelican, Naturalization File, Location: Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU, England, Record Number: HO 144/696/105073 C397642
- 30 Mar 1903
30. UK 1939 Register, Url: http://www.findmypast.com/1939register
31. Minnie Pelican, Death Certificate, Record Type: Death Certificate, Name Of Person: Minnie Pelican, File No: PAS 977680/1
- September 8, 2003
32. Pelican-Lazarus, Marriage Certificate, Record Type: Marriage Certificate, Bride's Name: Jane Lazarus, formerly Hyamson, Groom's Name: Alexander Pelican
- October 1, 2003
33. 1881 Census, England, Census Type: England, Place: England
- Public Record Office, 1881, Original Date, 3 Apr 1881
- FHL Film 1341098 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 0451 Folio 20 Page 1