Remembering Nurse Emily Hartman from World War I

For Remembrance Day and Veterans Day: My paternal great uncle Abraham Berk married Anna Horwich in Manchester, England, in 1903. He was Lithuanian-born, stopping with relatives in Manchester before continuing on to build a new life in Canada. Anna followed him across the Atlantic in 1905, leaving behind a family that would soon be caught up in World War I.

Anna's first cousin Emily Hartman (1895-1918), a daughter of Aron Hartman and Dora Hurwich Hartman, volunteered her services during World War I. She trained as a Nurse in the Voluntary Aid Detachment of the British Red Cross. After a month of training in a Manchester hospital, she was sent to the Military Hospital at Bermondsey, London on June 1, 1918. 

Less than five months later, Nurse Emily contracted influenza at the hospital as the epidemic swept through military facilities and the general population. Flu led to pneumonia and she sadly died on October 20, 1918. She was buried at Ecclesfield Jewish Cemetery in Sheffield, England, where many of her family were also buried.

Memorializing Nurse Emily

After the war, Nurse Emily was memorialized on the Roll of Honour near "The Sisters Window" at York Minster--a special window dedicated 100 years ago. In addition, the British Red Cross lists Nurse Emily among those who volunteered. Plus, she was memorialized on the Commonwealth War Graves website. And she was memorialized on the British Jews in World War I site.

She has also been memorialized on Remember the Fallen, a free UK-based website created by Sandra Taylor to highlight the lives of those who died during World War I, so they are more than just names on stone. Sandra researched Nurse Emily and posted the results here, along with a brief statement from me pointing to a free Fold3 memorial page I created for Emily. 

If you're researching ancestors who lost their lives in wartime, do cast a wide net because there are many potential sources to check! Nurse Emily was mentioned on the British Red Cross WWI site, on the York Minster site, on the Remember the Fallen site, on Find a Grave, on the Commonwealth War Graves site, and on family trees, among other sites. I created her Fold3 memorial to have sources gathered in one place.

Nurse Emily and the millions of others who gave their lives in service of freedom are not forgotten. 

This is my post for the wartime prompt of Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors challenge. 

The Wednesday Wedding of Dora Hurwitch and Aaron Hartman

Wednesday, June 20, 1888 was the wedding day of my paternal great aunt's older sister, Dora Hurwitch (1870-1943). She was born in Poland, the daughter of a peddler who brought his family to England where he later became a teacher. The groom was Aaron H. Hartman (1871-1942), a jeweler who was the son of a draper born in Poland. 

Of Dora and Aaron's children, three died before age 20. Their daughter Emily Hartman volunteered as a nurse during World War I and sadly died at age 22 when the flu epidemic swept through the Bermondsey military hospital where she was working in October, 1918. Her tombstone includes the poignant inscription "Thou o lord has done as it pleased thee."

Married by the groom's neighbor

In the 1881 England Census, Aaron Hartman and his family were listed in Sheffield just a few lines below "A. Alexander, Jewish Minister." And looking at the transcribed marriage record for Dora and Aaron from the West Bar Green Synagogue, the minister is "A. Alexander." Clearly the same man, who must have been well-known to the groom's family.

The West Bar Green Synagogue in Sheffield had a number of names and locations during its time. According to this brief history, "Rev. A. Alexander" was a "reader" during the early 1900s. After relocating to a more permanent place in 1914, the synagogue was unfortunately destroyed by German bombing during the Sheffield Blitz of December, 1940.

Aaron and Dora in retirement

In the 1939 Register, Aaron was shown as retired and his wife Dora's occupation was "unpaid domestic duties." Both Aaron and his bride, Dora, survived the blitz. In retirement, they were living in Lymington, Hampshire, England, a ferry ride away from the Isle of Wight. Lymington is more than 200 miles south of the couple's original home in Sheffield. 

Aaron died in December, 1942. Dora died in October of 1943. Both were buried in Ecclesfield Jewish Cemetery in Sheffield, where their children were buried. Remembering these folks from my father's family tree on the 137th anniversary of their wedding in Sheffield, England.