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| Emanuel Zelcovitch Manning from his 1933 Declaration of Intention to become a U.S. citizen |
Emmanuel Zelcovitch (father-in-law of my 1C1R Herbie Lieberman) did arrive in New York from England on November 4, 1922, aboard the Aquitania from Southampton1, England. He likely did not go through Ellis Island to be processed, as the manifest says that he traveled second class, and only third class and steerage passengers were sent to Ellis Island unless, on brief pre-examination in the harbor, they appeared to have a medical condition. His manifest does not indicate that that was the case.
Although he was born in Negresti, Roumania in 1889, both the UK outbound passenger list2 and the manifest of the Aquitania indicate that he was a UK citizen. His later petitions for naturalization in the US (more on these later) also indicate that he was a naturalized British citizen. His name is neatly printed on the Outbound UK list, along with his address in Manchester England. The manifest of the Aquitania, which like all others for arriving passengers was prepared before the ship left Southampton by company personnel who spoke the various languages of the passengers, was likewise neatly typed and shows Emanuel Zelkovitch. The inspectors in New York simply read the names from the manifest and did not make changes to them. The manifest also states that Emmanuel was a manufacturer and was able to read and write English and had visited the U.S. on two prior occasions. Emmanuel had been living in England for some years. He married his wife Minnie Vogel on March 5, 1919, in Manchester and their first child, Enid (the source of the story above) was born in Manchester in 19213. The 1922 Manchester phone book lists him as a manufacturer of raincoats there4.
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| Emanuel Zelcovitch on the manifest of SS Aquitania 1922 |
Minnie Zelcovitch and baby Enid also had departed from Liverpool, England in November of 1922 aboard the Samaria, and arrived in the US on November 12 through St Albans, Vermont via Canada, and thence by train to Boston where she would join her sister.5 Like her husband's manifest, this one was clearly typed. It also noted that Minnie could both read and write in English.
The Zelkovitch family moved to Savannah GA where he became a grocer, and they had two more children, He began using the last name Manning for business, but did not use it in all circumstances. The earliest record that I found was the Savannah city directory of 1924 that lists Emmanuel Z. Manning (Minnie) as a grocer operating a store at 320 Gaston6. In 1927, he filed a Declaration of Intention to become a U.S. citizen in the court in Savannah7. He used the name Emanuel Zelcovitch on that document and pledged to renounce all allegiance to the King of England. He did not complete the naturalization process at that time, however. The 1930 U.S. census taken in April of that year, shows Minnie using the name Manning with the three children living in the Boston area without her husband8. On September 25, 1930, Emanuel (Manea) Zelkovitch entered the U.S. through St Albans, Vermont9. Again the certificate of arrival is clearly typed. When he again filed a Declaration of Intention to become a U.S. citizen in Boston MA on August 9, 1933, ( the process required continuous U.S. residence of five years prior to naturalization) he indicated that his residence immediately prior to the U.S. had been in Montreal, Canada10. In answer to the question of nationality, he states that he is British through naturalization. In March 1936 when he petitioned for naturalization (along with Minnie and Enid) he again applied under the name of Emanuel Zelcovitch, but at that time he requested that his name be changed legally to Emanuel Zelcovitch Manning11.
Something caused Emmanuel Zelcovitch to begin using the name Manning fairly soon after his arrival. Many immigrants changed their first or last names to something that sounded more American to them. Perhaps he liked the sound of the American nickname"Manny" with the alliterative last name Manning. We will probably never know exactly why he changed it, but the evidence shows that he was not given a new name at Ellis Island. There are other questions about this man. Why did he and his wife travel separately to the US? Why did he go to live in Canada without his family between 1927 and 1930? Maybe some other family member knows the answers to these questions. I'll keep looking.
1. Ancestry.com, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Year: 1922; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 3215; Line: 29; Page Number: 45 Record for Emanuel Zelcovitch
2. Ancestry.com, UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 (Provo, UT, USA. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com.
3. Ancestry.com, Georgia, Naturalization Records, 1893-1991 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com, National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; ARC Title: Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, compiled 1825 - 1980; ARC Number: 2387451; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21. Record for Emanuel Zelcovitch.
4. Ancestry.com, British Phone Books, 1880-1984 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007), Ancestry.com, BT Archives; London, England; British Phone Books 1880-1984. Record for Emmanuel Zelcovitch.
5. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Ancestry.com, The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943; NAI Number: 4319742; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; R.
6. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories (Beta) (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), www.ancestry.com, Database online. Record for Emanuel Z Manning.
7. Ancestry.com, Georgia, Naturalization Records, 1893-1991 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com, National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; ARC Title: Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, compiled 1825 - 1980; ARC Number: 2387451; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21. Record for Emanuel Zelcovitch.
8. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), www.ancestry.com, Database online. Year: 1930; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image:. Record for Minnie Manning.
9. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Petitions and Records of Naturalization , 8/1845 - 12/1911; NAI Number: 3000057; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21. Record for Emanuel Manea Zelkovitch.
10. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Petitions and Records of Naturalization , 8/1845 - 12/1911; NAI Number: 3000057; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
11. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Petitions and Records of Naturalization , 8/1845 - 12/1911; NAI Number: 3000057; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21. Record for Emanuel Zelcovitch petition for naturalization
