Wednesday 9 April 2014

The Schiff Family of Mannheim: some new light

 I was delighted yesterday to receive from Dr Ruth Nattermann some exciting information concerning the Schiff family. This is what she wrote to me:


Dear Frank,Surprisingly I met last week on a conference in Germany Dr. Susanne Schlösser from the city archives of Mannheim. We spoke about Paolina Schiff, and today she checked all the available information in the archives regarding Schiff's family. I am forwarding you her email. Of course you already know a lot about the genealogy, but maybe there are also new findings for you. Susanne Schloesser told me that you can contact her directly any time (you'll find her email address below).
All best,
Ruth


And here I have roughly translated Dr Schlösser information, but the main points are:

  • Schwalbach was the original family surname changed to Schiff in about 1810.
  • Samuel Schiff, born Schwalbach, was born 1771 in Hanau, married Jüdel Fuld (alias Augusta)-she was born in Mannheim also in 1771.
  • They had eight children, all born in Mannheim: Leopold born 1797, about whom I have discovered much information; Adolph (in Hebrew Aron) born in 1801, a teacher and a political activist; Hänge born in 1832 and who married the teacher David Maier of Bruchsal in 1834; Salomon Schiff, born in 1805, and a doctor who sadly died young in 1839 in Mannheim; Samson, born 4th September 1807, who married twice, and about whom I have also gathered much information; twin girls born in 1811 who died in infancy; and Fanny Schiff, born in 1815 and who married Wolf Moses of Speyer in 1846.
  • Samuel Schiff died in Mannheim in 1827, and his wife died in 1845 in Bruchsal: presumably she was living with her daughter Hänge.





City Archives MannheimMannheim, 04.08.2014 / Our reference: 16.74.30-------------------------------------------------- ---------------------Dear Dr Nattermann
Naturally I was very curious as to discover as much as possible that can be found in the archives concerning the Schiff family. As I have found your email on the list, I am sending you immediately the results of my research:
It begins with Samuel Schwalbach, who in consequence of the reform of the Jews of Baden adopted the name Samuel Schiff. He was born 1771 in Hanau, and died 1827 in Mannheim. He married Jüdel Fuld , who was born 1771 in Mannheim, and died 1845 in Bruchsal.
From this marriage eight children were born :
1 Leopold Schiff , born 1797 in Mannheim, married in 1832 in Trieste Johanna nee Wollheim, born 1811 in Lissa/Poznan. As early as that time Leopold Schiff probably lived mostly in Trieste, where his children were born. He remained until 1868 a Mannheim citizen and then emigrated officially from Trieste . By profession he was a merchant.
2 Adolph (initially Aron) Schiff, born in 1801 in Mannheim, Germany, died 1860 in Nuremberg. He was a language teacher by profession. The family report is attached to a document of the Royal Saxon Police Direktion of 1854, with the reports of his "democratic attitudes" that he would like to express openly.
3 Haenge Schiff, born in 1802 in Mannheim, in 1834 married the teacher David Maier in Bruchsal
4 Dr. Salomon Schiff , born in 1805 and died in 1839 in Mannheim, doctor
5 Samson Schiff , born 04/09/1807 in Mannheim, received in 1832 Civil Rights, married 1836 in first marriage Rosine born Bernays, born 1815 in Mainz, died in 1837 in Mannheim - from this marriage there was a son, Wilhelm Schiff, born 1837 in Mannheim, who received in 1873 permission to emigrate to Trieste (2nd marriage see below)
6 Jakobine and Jettgen Schiff, twins, born and died 1811 in Mannheim
7 Fanny Schiff, born 1815, married in 1846 to Wolf Moses in Speyer
Samson Schiff married in 1838 for the second time, namely Barbara/Babette Maier, born on 09/07/1816 in Frankenthal, her parents were, according to the Jewish Community Archives stored in the GLA Karlsruhe: Marx Maier , a businessman and lottery Collector, and Amalie nee Friedburg of Frankenthal (it definitely has nothing to do with the woman mentioned by SCHRAUT Mayer family in Mannheim), who obviously came only to be married in Mannheim. According to the family archive Samson Schiff moved to Trieste in 1850, and his wife and children followed in 1852
The children of this couple born in Mannheim were:
1 Auguste Schiff, born 05.05.1839
2 Ludwig Schiff, born16.4.1840
3 Pauline Schiff, born 28.7.1841
4 Albert Schiff, born13.8.1842 ,
5 Friedrich Schiff, born 27.06.1845
6 Friederike Schiff, born 22.09.1848
7 Octavia Schiff , born 07.02.1850
From the probate records (City Archives Mannheim, train. 32/2001, Nos. 6142 and 6143) which have arisen in connection with the death of the first spouse, you can also gain some insight into the family. First was an inheritance dispute between Samson Schiff and the mother of his first wife, who by his maternal heritage that was greater than the assets of Samson Schiff fought in the interests of her grandson Wilhelm. Samson Schiff purchased in 1844 Home P 2 14 (here the houses are counted today by blocks and not by street name) to the Planken, the main shopping street of Mannheim, and had it altered fundamentally, for which he was in debt. On 31.3.1848 there was a foreclosure sale (Gant), the announcement in the newspaper has been preserved, but unfortunately the files are not. However, the house P 2 14 remained, according to the obtained address books, until 1860 owned by Babette Schiff nee Maier. Perhaps these economic difficulties were also one of the reasons for emigration to Trieste.
Has in the dissertation , Mrs SCHRAUT speaking, is the following book :

Tilde Bayer: An Urban Minority: Social History of the Jews in Mannheim during the First Half of the 19th Century. (Sources and illustrations for Mannheim City History, Volume 6). Stuttgart 2001 (ISBN 3-7995-0904-6). Mention is made in only Adolph Schiff and the aforementioned incident in Saxony
It can be us based, closer to https://www.stadtarchiv.mannheim.de/minderheit-im-st under% C3% A4dtischen space
I hope that one or the other is useful for your research!
Sincerely yours
signed I.A. Susanne Schloesser
-------------------------------------------------- ---------------------
Dr. Susanne Schloesser
Head of Department Historical Archive

This is the original German:


Liebe Frau Nattermann,natürlich bin ich ganz neugierig gewesen, was sich wohl alles über die Familie Schiff bei uns im Archiv finden lässt. Da ich Ihre e-mail auf der Liste entdeckt habe, schicke ich Ihnen schon mal die Ergebnisse meiner Recherche:Es beginnt mit Samuel Schwalbach, der sich bei der Namensreform der badischen Juden den Namen Samuel Schiff zuglegte. Er ist 1771 in Hanau geboren und 1827 in Mannheim verstorben. Verheiratet war er mit Jüdel Fuld, die 1771 in Mannheim geboren und 1845 in Bruchsal gestorben ist.Aus dieser Ehe gingen 8 Kinder hervor:1.     Leopold Schiff, geboren 1797 in Mannheim, heiratete 1832 in Triest Johanna geb. Wollheim, geboren 1811 in Lissa/Posen. Bereits ab dieser Zeit lebte Leopold Schiff wohl zumeist in Triest, wo auch seine Kinder geboren wurden. Er blieb aber bis 1868 Mannheimer Bürger und wanderte erst dann offiziell nach Triest aus. Von Beruf war er Kaufmann.2.     Adolph (zunächst Aron) Schiff, geboren 1801 in Mannheim, gestorben 1860 in Nürnberg. Er war Sprachlehrer von Beruf. Dem Familienbogen liegt ein Schriftstück der königlich-sächsischen Polizei-Dirketion aus dem Jahr 1854 bei, der von seinen „demokratischen Gesinnungen“, die er laut bekunde, berichtet.3.     Hänge Schiff, geboren 1802 in Mannheim, ab 1834 verheiratet mit dem Lehrer David Maier in Bruchsal4.     Dr. Salomon Schiff,  geboren 1805 und gestorben 1839 in Mannheim, Arzt5.     Samson Schiff, geboren den 4.9.1807 in Mannheim, erhielt 1832 das Bürgerrecht, heiratete 1836 in erste Ehe Rosine geb. Bernays, geb. 1815 in Mainz, gest. 1837 in Mannheim – aus dieser Ehe gab es einen Sohn Wilhelm Schiff, geb. 1837 in Mannheim, der 1873 die Auswanderungserlaubnis nach Triest erhielt (2. Ehe siehe weiter unten)6.     Jakobine und Jettgen Schiff, Zwillinge, geb. und gest. 1811 in Mannheim7.     Fanny Schiff, geb. 1815, ab 1846 verheiratet mit Wolf Moses in SpeyerSamson Schiff heiratete 1838 zum zweiten Mal, nämlich Barbara/Babette Maier, geb. am 7.9.1816 in Frankenthal, ihre Eltern waren laut der im GLA Karlsruhe aufbewahrten israelitischen Standesbücher: Marx Maier, Handelsmann und Lotterie-Collecteur, und Amalie geb. Friedburg in Frankenthal (sie hat definitiv nichts mit der von Frau Schraut erwähnten Familie Mayer in Mannheim zu tun), sie ist offensichtlich auch erst bei der Hochzeit nach Mannheim gezogen. Laut Familienbogen ist Samson Schiff 1850 nach Triest verzogen, seine Frau und die Kinder folgten 1852Die in Mannheim geborenen Kinder dieses Ehepaars waren:1.     Auguste Schiff, geb. 5.5.18392.     Ludwig Schiff, geb.16.4.18403.     Pauline Schiff, geb. 28.7.18414.     Albert Schiff, geb.13.8.18425.     Friedrich Schiff, geb. 27.6.18456.     Friederike Schiff, geb. 22.9.18487.     Octavia Schiff, geb. 2.7.1850Aus den Verlassenschaftsakten (Stadtarchiv Mannheim, Zug. 32/2001, Nr. 6142 und 6143) die im Zusammenhan mit der Tod der ersten Ehefrau entstanden sind, kann man auch noch einige Aufschlüsse über die Familie gewinnen. Zunächst gab eine Erbstreitigkeit zwischen Samson Schiff und der Mutter seiner ersten Frau, die im Interesse ihres Enkels Wilhelm um dessen mütterliches Erbe, das größer war als das Vermögen von Samson Schiff, kämpfte. Samson Schiff kaufte 1844 das Haus P 2, 14 (hier werden die Häuser bis heute nach Blöcken gezählt und nicht nach Straßennamen) an den Planken, der Hauptgeschäftsstraße von Mannheim, und ließ es grundlegend umbauen, wofür er sich sehr verschuldete. Am 31.3.1848 kam es zu einer Zwangsversteigerung (Gant), die Ankündigung in der Zeitung hat sich erhalten, aber die Akten dazu sind leider nicht. Allerdings blieb das Haus P 2, 14 laut den erhaltenen Adressbüchern noch bis 1860 im Besitz von Babette Schiff geb. Maier. Möglicherweise waren diese wirtschaftlichen Schwierigkeiten auch mit ein Grund für die Auswanderung nach Triest.Bei der Dissertation, von der Frau Schraut gesprochen hat, handelt es sich um folgendes Buch:
Tilde Bayer: Minderheit im städtischen Raum. Sozialgeschichte der Juden in Mannheim während der 1. Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. (Quellen und Darstellungen zur Mannheimer Stadtgeschichte, Band 6). Stuttgart 2001 (ISBN 3-7995-0904-6). Erwähnt wird darin nur Adolph Schiff und der oben genannte Vorfall in SachsenEs kann über uns noch bezogen werden, näheres dazu unter https://www.stadtarchiv.mannheim.de/minderheit-im-st%C3%A4dtischen-raumIch hoffe, das eine oder andere ist für Ihre Forschungen nützlich!
Mit freundlichen Grüßengez. i.A. Susanne Schlösser


"After the grand duchy of Baden was created, the position of its Schutzjuden ("protected Jews") improved. In the first constitutional edict of May 14, 1807, Judaism was recognized as a tolerated religion; a year later, the sixth edict afforded the Jews irrevocable civil rights and abolished the marriage restrictions imposed on them (see Familiants' Laws ). Local civil rights, however, remained severely restricted. The ninth edict (the socalled "Judenedikt" of Jan. 13, 1809) granted the Jews an officially recognized state organization, required them to adopt permanent family names, and determined their as yet very curtailed civil status. The constitution of 1818 implicitly confirmed the civil rights granted to the Jews by the edicts but denied them equal political rights. The struggle for emancipation focused on local civil rights and met with fierce and sometimes violent resistance in many villages and towns. Baden's liberal movement failed to endorse the idea of Jewish emancipation, most of its leading figures echoing public sentiment on the matter instead. Anti-Jewish outrages, often connected with the issue of emancipation, occurred in Baden in 1819 ( Hep-Hep ), 1830, 1848, and 1862. Severe and widespread anti-Jewish rioting accompanied the revolution of 1848, especially in Northern Baden, and as a consequence the Diet pulled back from granting full emancipation to the Jews once more. In 1862 local civil rights were eventually granted, and the last of Baden's cities to exclude Jews (Baden-Baden, Freiburg, Constance, and Offenburg), allowed them to settle there. Nevertheless, animosity toward the Jews continued to be expressed in Baden, where Adolph Stoecker 's antisemitic Christian Social Party found numbers of adherents. After the Baden Army Corps was incorporated into the Prussian army, no Jew was promoted to the position of reserve officer or medical officer. Professorships too were granted almost exclusively to baptised Jews."