Early 19th century Devon research, Sephardic connection?

[Julian Levy slevy@jalcomputer.com.au]

X-No-archive: yes
In May we shall be visiting England again and spending some time in Devon,
both admiring the scenery and doing family history research. We plan to
visit the Plymouth and West Devon Records Office which holds the Susser
Archive and other material of the early 19th century Jewish community.
Unfortunately time does not permit us to spend a day in Exeter researching
the archives. However I have been in touch with their archivist who supplied
me with a long list of researchers who offer their services.

Before I start guessing which ones I should approach, I would be delighted
to hear from anyone who has used and would recommend a researcher for
specifically early 19th century Jewish records.

I know records are scant, but who knows what is waiting to be discovered in
some box in some archive somewhere?

This is the information I would be supplying to a researcher:

Families being researched:
1. Moses LEVY, father of Julian's great-grandfather Mark LEVY (1800-1848)
(and possibly Daniel and Leah; source for these two is Cemetery Scribes).
Who was Mark's mother, and were there any other siblings?
Moses LEVY is described on Mark LEVY's (second) marriage certificate as a
Jewish Teacher. We are aware of a Moses LEVY from Danzig (d. 1837) who was a
long time minister of the Exeter Hebrew Congregation but there is no
information that could make a connection to our Moses. I remember Frank Gent
discounted this theory years ago.

2. Mark MORDECAI - his parents and siblings. We know of one sibling, Sophia
(m Levy JACOB in Penzance). We do know that Mark MORDECAI served as
president of the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation.

3. Esther LEVI, wife of Mark MORDECAI - her parents and siblings. Esther and
Mark were Julian's other great-grandparents.

Mark MORDECAI and Esther LEVI were the same generation as Mark LEVY.
Mark LEVY's son Morris married Esther and Mark's daughter Sophia MORDECAI
LEVI. Descendants of Mark and Esther seem to have adopted this double
surname, making them easy to track (Thank you very much!!).

We would hope to find some records of birth / Brit Milah, marriage or
burial, life and communal involvement. So far the Susser Archive has yielded
very little.

In conclusion, it has been suggested to me that both Mark LEVY and Mark
MORDECAI could be of Sephardi background, given that both are known to have
named children after living relatives, contrary to Ashkenazi tradition. Any
thoughts on this would be of interest.

Sue and Julian LEVY
Perth, Australia

MODERATOR NOTE: Recommendations of researchers should be sent to Sue and
Julian privately.
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