FINDING MYER JACOBS

A film made by Vivien and Paul Stewart, prompted by the following essay written by Jane Warner for the JSCN project 'Connecting Small Histories'

Bernard Susser* identified that in the 1880s there was a mayor of Taunton called Myer Jacobs, and from that point on, my main focus has been on tracing his story. I’ve been like a dog with a bone about Myer Jacobs. Even my wonderful husband Terry might be a teeny bit jealous of this ‘other man’ in my life.
I’m really proud of this man, who was responsible for the re-incorporation of Taunton (it had lost its charter in 1792), and becoming Mayor for three terms between 1877-79. I’ve seen this ‘retired general dealer and Alderman’ (1881 census), ‘commission agent’ and ‘retired shopkeeper’ (1891 census) go from strength to strength, and traced his journey from his birthplace, in Canterbury in 1827, to Taunton, via Gloucester and Wolverhampton, and his marriage to Matilda (nee Nathan) in Dublin in 1856. According to the Irish Jewish Genealogical society, Matilda was born in Liverpool, the daughter of John and Frances Nathan. Her father was a successful jewellery merchant and watch manufacturer.
One well-publicised hurdle which Myer Jacobs overcame in 1877 was the overtly antisemitic stance of a local Anglican vicar, Rev F. J. Smith, who wrote to Myer directly, saying essentially that a Jew was not worthy of being a Mayor. During the research, I had assumed that Myer was so anglicised that it might be natural for him to reduce his sense of Jewish identity to something private and kept behind closed doors. Not a bit of it: as reported in the Jewish Chronicle Myer wrote in response that he was proud to avow himself a member of the Hebrew faith, ‘and of a people in free England who have attained some of the highest official positions in the land.’ A wider discussion ensued in the newspapers of the time, such as the Daily Telegraph, in strong support of Myer Jacobs.

The very best response, however, was the fact that Myer was re-elected the following two years - clearly the Rev. Smith was in the minority in Taunton (and the JC returned to the case several times to hold him up as an example of outmoded attitudes).

Matilda died in 1895 and was buried at Balls Pond Road cemetery in London, where other family members had moved. Myer died in 1901. The Jewish Chronicle reports his funeral. It reads: ‘In the absence of a Jewish minister, the late Mr Myer Jacobs...was buried on Friday in the Church of England portion of the cemetery, the service being read by a Unitarian minister. The mourners were chiefly Jews.’ Initially, reading this upset me, but a Jew can actually be buried anywhere and not only in a Jewish cemetery. The grave must be marked and protected from harm. I’ve learned this via Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain’s column recently in the JC (I’m a former member of Maidenhead shul, where he is director and my daughter Jennie was bat mitzvah there).

The very best response, however, was the fact that Myer was re-elected the following two years - clearly the Rev. Smith was in the minority in Taunton (and the JC returned to the case several times to hold him up as an example of outmoded attitudes).
Although a lot has surprised me, such as the sheer delight of making new discoveries, on reflection there have been two equally compelling things which have most surprised me. The first is how emotionally involved I was to become when trying to tell Matilda and Myer’s story and put bits of the jigsaw puzzle together. The second? It’s my wish to tell Myer’s story more widely and encourage the citizens of Taunton to celebrate what surely must be Myer Jacob’s legacy in making Taunton what it is today.

* Rabbi Bernard Susser’s extensive body of work on Anglo-Jewish history included a PhD thesis on the Jewish communities of South-West England and his work and notes remain a key resource. 
The Bernard Susser Archive can be accessed at https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/