Pesman Capua Family

A selection of notes received from Eileen Bird in 2009

[Comments in square brackets by Dave Simpson]

Lewis Pesman took his grandfather Mordecai Capua’s surname [See Mordecai’s will]

A small amount of money was left to each of the children of Lewis. 

The will mentions John Pesman, husband of his daughter Esther Capua.

The house in St James Place (or Dukes Place as it was known) was left to Hannah Fano, second wife of Mordecai until her death, which was November 1840. [See her will]

All except small amounts went to Lewis Pesman Capua

Lewis was born 1812 parents John Pesman & Esther Capua married 5th Sept 1810 I have copy of marriage entry

Lewis and Emanuel died within a week of each other in November 1873 Jewish chronicle plus death certs.

I do know that Mark died in England whilst visiting his brother John and later his body was exhumed and taken to Australia where he is buried.

His mother, Jane Jacobs, died in Australia something in Jewish Chronicle about her in 1879 I think.

Anyhow I still think Jane Jacobs scarpered with all the money because I have searched the 1851 census for hundreds of hours looking for her.

And guess what, my grandfather, William Joseph Pesman Simpson, born Liverpool 1883, married Margaret Ann Jennings 1906, was the son of Amelia Pesman and William Simpson also scarpered with my grandmother’s and his own inheritance, so it runs in the family. Although Jane Jacobs was no blood relative to my grandfather he likely knew of the story.

William Simpson was born in Ireland in 1834. At the age of 14 he boarded a ship in USA as cabin boy and from that day to his death I can more or less tell you where he was every day of his life until his death in Cardiff in 1890. From papers belonging to William I discovered he lodged at 47 Wapping High street (home of Emanuel Pesman) when he was in London port in the 1850/60s. So he would have known Amelia when she was a young girl.

Amelia married Benjamin Noah da Costa  in 1867 [1866] he died in 1879 [JFM as Benjamin Noah], I do not know where Amelia is in 1881 census but I believe she and her son Emanuel may have been travelling with William Simpson at the time he was Captain of the SS European and he never lodged his census report when he docked.

Amelia liked to travel.  She and Benjamin went to New Zealand in 1867 with Benjamin’s brother John (Jacob) Noah da Costa and his wife Esther Ventura. They all came back to London in 1871.

After Amelia married William 29th Dec 1881 she travelled with him often. She is listed with the crew and her son emanuel on several trips.(Dont know who was looking after baby William JP Simspon born December 1883 whilst she was away poor little soul. He was in boarding school on 1891 census)

William Simpson had a previous marriage I had a copy of certificate and when I found his marriage to Amelia I requested a photocopy of original so that I could compare signatures which are identical. When William and Amelia married she gave her maiden name was Noah.

I just saw this in Bevis Marks records abstracts of Ketubot:

Samuel de Massod Shannon and Miriam de Uri Sheraga Phais (bar David, also known as Phillip Jacobs 7 Nisan 5573 (1813)