Hanchen Levis 1812-1893

1812. Hanchen Levis born Karlsruhr, Baden-Wurttenberg to parents unknown

 

KING FOR A DAY
 
Through our line back from Hanche Levis (Henrietta Mayer/Woff's  mother), lies a very long line of Rabbis.  One in particular was Saul Katzenellenbogen, c1545-c1617.  (Yes, that really was his name!)  He was born in Padua, Italy.  (The Jews were regularly expelled from one country to another, all over Europe.)
 
The story goes that a prominent Polish courtier, Prince Radziwill was travelling as a young man through the Padua region of Italy and fell on hard times.  He was shunned by locals everywhere he went, seeking help ... until he met Rabbi Samuel Katzenellenbogen, who took him back to his house, fed him and helped him.  When he had recovered and was ready to set off again, Prince Radziwill  thanked Rabbi Samuel profusely and asked how he could repay him for all his kindness.  Rabbi Samuel asked the Prince to take his son Saul back with him to Poland and look after him while he studied his scriptures there. 
 
Prince Radziwill agreed and became Saul's mentor in his home city of Livotsk, where the prince performed his guardianship duties so well that Saul grew up and prospered.
 
 In 1586, the elderly, great and popular King, Stephan Batory died without leaving any heirs.  The law said that a new king had to be named within 48 hours, but who?  The news spread and would-be claimants came riding from all over the country to Livotsk.   Meanwhile, the prominent courtiers who made up the council called 'The Diet of Nobles' gathered, and one claimant after another's credentials were rejected.  The populace threatened to rebel and the courtiers were alarmed.  Prince Radziwill, one of these courtiers, stood up and proposed an idea: that they proclaim the most highly regarded citizen in the land to become King for 24 hours, giving 'The Diet' time to choose a permanent King.  All the members,  agreed that this was the best pragmatic solution, giving them time to do the right thing.  Several names were put forward and, after some discussion , they all agreed to appoint Saul Katzenellenbogen to be King for a day.  The following day, the 'Diet' met again, including Saul himself, and a new claimant to the throne was successfully proclaimed as the new King, so Saul could stand down.
The courtiers were so relieved that they bestowed the title 'Wahl' (meaning 'elected') on Saul to be used for the rest of his life.  Hence his name became 'Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen'.
 
If you don't know the line back to the Katzenellenbogens, I can give you a brief list of names & dates, but of course it's possible to find all this out online too.- Jacquie

 

~1840 .Hanchen Levis married Simon Maier

 

1845. Henrietta Maier was born to Simon & Hanchen in Mosbach on 29/7/1845 - this info & her surname from Ancestry trees: I assumed they had obtained it, her surname, Maier, from the b.c. of one of her children but, actually the name Hanchen, born Levis, appears on the 1870 German m.c. of Laura Maier, 1849 - see bottom of page ( Simon's occupation will also proceed his name on this, but I cannor read/decipher it)

Other known children were: Ricka b.1844; Hermine b. 1846; Emil b.1847 & Laura b. 1849 . And maybe a Siegsfried

1850. Below a record from the Mannheim, Germany, Family Register - Ancestry ( no year given! but seemingly 1850 )

Name
Hanche Maÿer
Relation to Head
Frau
Birth Place
Carlsruhe
Residence Place
Mannheim, Baden
Death Date
21 Sep 1893
Name
Simon Maÿer
Age
40
Name
Hanche Maÿer
Age
38
Name
Sigmund Maier
Age
Name
Ricka Maier
Age
7
Name
Henriette Maier
Age
5
Name
Hermine Maier
Age
4
Name
Emil Maier
Age
3
Name
Laura Maier
Age
2

1871. Simon Maier was buried 29/8/1871 in the Jüdischer Friedhof Mannheim: Birthdate given as 29/10/1807. His parents given as Wolfe Moses Mayer & Joanna. Children : only Emil Mayer written - Ancestry Find a Grave

 

I'm interested that you have the Maier spelling, which is unfamiliar to me for this particular family, although I believe it was used by another extended branch of the family who lived in Rohrbach (now part of Heidelberg.  My grandmother's mother's maiden name was Mayer, as was her her grandfather Simon Mayer, and all the others in that line.  It appeared as Mayer too on my grandmother's and all her family's records and official documents, including an 1815  list of Jewish residents in Reilingen where our Mayers lived.  
 
As Carolyn may have told you, I started working on my family tree when I was 17 - far too many decades ago!  Because, like you, I'd always loved social history ... and especially facts and anecdotes about my forebears, I sat with each of my three surviving grandparents and asked them lots  of questions.  Luckily, they seemed to enjoy this as much as I did.  I feverishly wrote everything down that they told me and still now have the very first wide family tree that I constructed from all this information.  I've been working on it, very slowly at first, ever since, but of course it all took a great leap forward with the internet. _ Jacquie
 

 

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