“Reunion for [53] family members”

Jewish Telegraph – July 2005 – by Judith Gilbert

http://www.jewishtelegraph.com/gladry_1.htmlmime text/htmlhntt

[Corrections to the article in brackets]

A REUNION of [53] family members emanating from Meyer Samuel Isaacs – who was born around [1758] – was held in Cambridge.

Guests came from America, Israel and New Zealand as well as London, Manchester, [Birmingham] and Edinburgh.

Of the four brothers, three of whom were rabbis, [four] distinctive branches were represented – Samuel, David, Jacob and Lewis Meyer Isaacs.

The family had lived in Holland before moving to London in 1814.

Rabbi David Meyer Isaacs served congregations in Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester, finally delivering a funeral oration for King William IV.

The family can boast a multitude of interesting characters in its ancestry, including a judge, a naval lieutenant – and it is said – a Maori princess.

The main organisers of the July 15-17 weekend were Colin Harbury, whose mother was actress Esther May Haysack (1887-1948), Jill Gilbert [Young], librarian and registered guide, who took a family group on a walk round Cambridge [and John D. Isaacs, of Washington, D.C.]

John D Isaacs, of Washington, delved deeply into the archives to identify and locate members and to assemble the family tree.

Kathryn Berman, daughter of Joyce Baker of Manchester, gave a fascinating account, with old photos, of her branch of the family.

And genealogist Anthony Joseph, who is connected to a different branch of the same family, gave an amusing talk on how to proceed in root searches.

The weekend was interspersed with punting up and down the River Cam – with much hilarity.

No function is complete without a banquet, and 52 people became a united family in more than name only, finding that they actually all liked each other!

For photos of the reunion, see:

Attendees at Isaacs Family Reunion:

Anne (Annie) Baker & Tim Page, Suffolk, England

Joyce Baker, Wilmslow, England

Pat Baker, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England

Kathryn Berman, Jerusalem, Israel

Martin & Denise Elman, Carpenders Park, England

Elizabeth Foord & Nick Cotton, Birmingham, England

Jeffrey Frank & Diana Crone Frank, New York, Hew York – USA

Anthony & Judith Gilbert, Edinburgh, Scotland

Mark & Helen Gilbert, Edinburgh Scotland

Micky Gilbert, Middlesex, UK

Claire & Rob Gough, children Catherine (Catie) Gough, Jack Gough, London, UK

Colin & Margaret Harbury, Suffolk, England

Neil & Angela (Angie) Harbury, children Evangeline (Evie) & Daniel (Dan), Downend, Chieveley, Berkshire, England

Ben Isaacs & Monique Grillet, daughter Chenoa Grillet-Isaacs, Hollywood, Florida – USA

Edward & Jane Isaacs, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK

Hannah Isaacs, Bristol, UK

John David & Amy Isaacs, Washington, D.C. – USA

John Graham Isaacs & Enid Futterman, Claverack, New York – USA

Kathleen Isaacs, Wolverhampton, England

Prudence (Prue) Isaacs & Steve Brown, daughters Florence, Rose and Zoe Isaacs, London, England & Wellington, New Zealand

Stanley Isaacs & Karen Kalinsky; son Eli Isaacs, Palo Alto, California – USA

Anthony & Helene Joseph, Smethwick, West Midlands, England

David Leighton, Didsbury, Manchester, England

Jane I. Toussaint & James (Jim) Fenn, (summer & fall) Cambridge, Massachusetts – USA, (winter & spring) Tucson, Arizona – USA

Jill & Richard Young, Cambridge, England

Jonathan Young, Cambridge UK