Featured 99 years too late for this meal..now for the guests

Looks to have been a slap-up dinner at the Midland Hotel (Manchester I think) on 16th December 1919.

I think one is Nathan Laski

 

Looks like a Mabel Laski a few names above Nathan. Possibly his wife?

One of the names looks like Margaret Nalson. Unusual surname!

Update: Owner of the menu was Dorothy Quas Cohen. Here is a page about her husband from a genealogy site. Scroll down for his obituary, which mentions her name and includes J.P. after her name: https://www.geni.com/people/Philip-Quas-Cohen/6000000001647155022

 

I think Mabel is Nathan Laski's disabled daughter.

 

"which mentions her name and includes J.P. after her name"
Jewish Princess ?

 

Doubtful... I thought of that also.

On the other hand, Justice of the Peace ... doesn't seem likely but I actually don't know what a Justice of the Peace does in the UK.

 

3rd down looks like Jessie Lawton (not that I have any idea who that might be.)

I was just speculating on "Mandleburg" when you posted, INH.

 

4th from the bottom starts with Frederic, but that surname is a mess.

 

problem with these names is twofolds. liberal Jews that wanted to integrate changed their names or were enforced in certain parts of Eastern Europe by the authorities to do so. as many were influenced by German culture they chose German names and not Polish ones. just think of the pletora of Mandelstamms, Goldbergs and others.
and then there's the second step of Anglification.
so Mandleburg could have started as Mandelberg - which still exists though in ruins - and then the ending was changed.

 

My last name is anglicized Eastern Prussian, i.e. a Polish/German hybrid that I'm reliably told was most likely originally Yiddish. Even though triple-great Grandpa "fixed" it no one can pronounce it to this day - five consonants in a row'll do that to you.(LOL) No wonder Polish Jews changed their names; they were being kind to their children and the poor ignorant locals.

 

I do not think that - outside the jewish community that is - there are family names with linguistical roots in Yiddish. rather the other way around - Yiddish is a hodgepodge of all the languages that were around in the old east. besides the Baltic languages, Polish, Russian there was Masurian in widespread use, which is in itself a funny mixture of older German and Polish dialects.

 

Next to bottom is Burnham I think

Which is probably this Levy-Lawson

But his wife was Olive and daughter Dorothy olive so it doesnt seem to link to No 3.

BTW a JP is a magistrate dealing with minor criminal cases

 

Thank you!

Seems like here in the US I mostly hear about them conducting weddings. I guess they preside over some court cases here, too.

Here is what Wikipedia says about them in the U.S.:
In some US states, the justice of the peace is a judge of a court of limited jurisdiction, a magistrate, or a quasi-judicial official with certain statutory or common law magisterial powers.[43] Some states have special qualifications or unique features for the office.

The justice of the peace typically presides over a court that hears misdemeanor cases, traffic violations, and other petty criminal infractions. The justice of the peace may also have authority over cases involving small debts, landlord and tenant disputes, or other small claims court proceedings. Proceedings before justices of the peace are often faster and less formal than the proceedings in other courts. In some jurisdictions a party convicted or found liable before a justice of the peace may have the right to a trial de novo before the judge of a higher court rather than an appeal strictly considered.

A justice of the peace also performs civil marriages.

 

Yup, JP is a magistrate. It's a volunteer role and you do not need to be a lawyer. They can't conduct marriages, you need a registrar or whatever for that.

Manchester has a largeish Jewish commnity of VERY long standing. They were and are well off and back in the day had extensive connections with the textiles and garment industries. Most of the ones I know are of Russian origin, but from way back. Some anglicised their names totally - one of my closest friends was Harris before she married, but her great great whatevers came from Russia in the early 19th.

The Midland is a splendid red Victorian wool or cotton hotel. It went a bit shabby for a bit,but got refurbished a few years ago. Lovely place, part of the whole show off municipal and commercial centre that shows just how prosperous 19th C Manchester was.

Nice bit on names here: https://www.avotaynuonline.com/2008...-of-the-russian-empire-by-alexander-beider-2/

 

Interesting! Thanks for the information.

 

You're welcome. I always say I was raised Jewish Catholic.

 

My Dad was an Irish Catholic atheist and my Mom was a lapsed Jew. Back in the 50's my sister and I were oddities. In elementary school I was asked several times to resolve the equivalent of major fights/disputes about the 2 religions. I loved to consider and then give my ruling, and for some reason kids listened to me. More than one physical fight was stopped when I stated that Jews had not killed Christ.

 

I'm a Christian raised in a Jewish neighborhood, who has mixed Catholic/Protestant marriages up both sides of the family tree. One grandfather was an escaped (i.e. lapsed) Catholic, who had a Jewish last name. Around here mixed Catholic/Jewish households were pretty common, even back in the 60s.