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JCR-UK is a genealogical
and historical website covering all Jewish communities and congregations
throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.
Towns of Port Talbot and Aberavon
Port Talbot, with a population of about 37,000, lies on the
east shore of the Swansea Bay at the mouth of the river Afan, about 10 miles
east of Swansea and about 33 miles west of Cardiff. Neath is some 7 miles
to the north. Aberavon, a small market town from which Port Talbot grew,
was incorporated into Port Talbot in 1921.
From 1894 until 1921, Aberavon was a borough in the county of Glamorganshire. In 1921 it
was merged with adjoining districts to form the municipal borough of Port
Talbot, still in the county of Glamorganshire.
From 1974 until 1996, Port Talbot was part of the district of Port Talbot in the
newly created county of West Glamorgan.
Since 1996, it has formed part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot - a
unitary authority (in the ceremonial, or preserved, county of West Glamorgan).
The Jewish Community
There was a Jewish resident of Aberavon from at least the 1870s, although
there does not appear to have been an organised congregation until the beginning
of the twentieth century. According to G. Alderman "Into the Vortex"
p.2 (quoting an article by I. Factor in the December 1961 issue of Cajex
- Magazine of the Cardiff Branch of AJEX),
the community was organised at the turn of the century by a Lithianian
immigrant, Raphael Levi, but a synagogue was not established until after World War I.
Congregation Data
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Name:
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Aberavon and Port Talbot Hebrew Congregation
The congregation was previously also known as
Aberavon Hebrew Congregation(iii)
until it was united, or re-united, with the Port
Talbot Hebrew Congregation in 1913.(iv)
The latter
congregation would appear to have been a short-lived
congregation, which probable broke away from the main
congregation a short while before.(v)
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Addresses:
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The earliest address was 38 Mansel Street, Port Talbot,
until about 1915,(vii)
then 29 Castle Street, Aberavon, until 1921,(viii)
and finally Tydraw Place, Port Talbot,
which was consecrated on
31 March 1921.(ix)
The congregation presented
Rev. Harris Jerevitch of Cardiff
with an inscribed silver Kiddush cup in appreciation for services rendered
by him in connection with the consecration of the synagogue and the raising of substantial sums for the building fund.(x) |
Formation:
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The congregation was formed in 1904.(xiii)
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Closure:
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The congregation
had ceased to hold regular services by 1953(xiv)
and probably become defunct in the 1960s.(xv)
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Ritual:
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Ashkenazi Orthodox
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Affiliation:
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The congregation was an
unaffiliated congregation under the aegis of the Chief
Rabbi.
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Ministers
and Readers:
(To view a short profile
of a minister - hold
the cursor over the name.)
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Rev. Solomon Fogelnest
- teacher from 1904 until about 1905/6.(xix)
Rev. Isaac Domnitz
- reader from in 1906.(xx)
Rev. I. Rabinowitz
- reader from about 1908 until about 1911.(xxi)
Rev. Abraham Shinerock
- reader, shochet and teacher from at least 1913 until 1914.(xxii)
Rev. Nathan Salas (Salasnik)
- reader, shochet and teacher from 1914 until 1914/5.(xxiii)
Rev. Hermann Abrahams
- reader and shochet from about 1915 until 1918.(xxvi)
Rev. Samuel Wolfe
- reader and shochet in and shortly after 1919.(xxvii)
Rev. Dovid Dryan
- reader and shochet in about 1921.(xxviii)
Rev. Ticktin
- reader and teacher in 1922.(xxix)
Rev. Phillip Isaacs
- reader, teacher and shochet from at least 1925 until 1926.(xxx)
Rev. Joshua Eskin
- minister from 1926 until 1928.(xxxiii)
Rev. Israel Litovitch
- minister from about 1931 until 1936.(xxxiv)
Rev. Maurice Landy
- minister from 1936 until 1942.(xxxv)
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Lay Officers:
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Unless otherwise stated, all data on lay officers has been extracted from listings in Jewish Year Books.(xxxix)
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Presidents
1904-1905
- Mr. Finkelstein
1905-1906
- I. Whippman
1906-1908
- Sam Joseph(xl)
1908-1909
- J.D. Rosenberg
1909-1910
- L. Raphael
1910-1911
- Sam Joseph(xli)
1911-1912
- D. Joseph
1912-1913
- J.D. Rosenberg(xlii)
1913-1914
- A. Factor(xliii)
1914-1915
- I. Rowman
1915-1917
- N. Joseph(xlvi)
1917-1921
- H. Factor
1921-1923
- A. Factor
1923-1927 - data contradictory
or uncertain
The following served as the president
during this period but dates conflict:
A. Carengold;(xlvii)
N. Joseph(xlviii)
1927-1928
- J.D. Rosenberg(xlix)
1928-1931
- Isaac Factor(l)
1931-1932
- M. Milner(liii)
1933-1938
- Aaron Factor(liv)
1939-1940
- H. Cohen(lv)
1940-1945
- no data
from 1945
- Isaac Factor(lvi)
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Treasurers
1904-1905
- Mr. Rosenberg
1905-1906
- S. Marienburg
1906-1908
- Nat Joseph(lix)
1909-1910
- S. Marienburg
1910-1911
- L. Novick(lx)
1911-1912
- J. Freedman
1912-1913
- Maurice Rosenberg(lxi)
1913-1914
- N. Stern
1914-1915
- J. Freedman
1915-1917
- A. Carengold
1917-1921
- C. Norvick
1921-1923
- J.D. Rosenberg(lxii)
1923
- N. Joseph(lxiii)
1924-1925
- Mr. Stern(lxvi)
1928-1929
- Isaac Factor(lxvii)
1931-1932
- M. Milner(lxviii)
1936-1937
- I.D. Rosenberg(lxix)
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Secretaries and Hon. Secretaries
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1905-1906
- I.L. Finkelstein
1906-1907
- Nat Joseph(lxxii)
1907-1908
- M. Rosenberg
1908-1909
- S. Marienburg
1909-1910
- Nat Joseph
1910-1911
- J. Freedman
1912-1913
- Maurice Rosenberg(lxxiii)
1913-1914
- N. Stern
1914-1915
- J. Freedman
1915-1916
- A. Carengold
1916-1920
- C. Norvick
1920-1922
- B. Newman(lxxiv)
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1922-1924 - data contradictory
or uncertain
The following served as the hon. secretary
during this period but dates conflict:
C. Norvick;(lxxv)
N. Joseph(lxxvi)
1924-1925
- I. Goldberg(lxxix)
1927-1928
- Isaac Factor(lxxx)
1928-1931
- E. Milner(lxxxi)
1931-1933
- I.H. Ginsberg(lxxxii)
1934-1937
- Isaac Factor(lxxxiii)
1939-1940
- S. Shimilove(lxxxiv)
from 1945
- Isaac Factor(lxxxv)
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Registration District:
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Neath Port Talbot,
since 1 April 1996(lxxxix)
- Link to Register Office website
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Cemetery Information:
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There was no Jewish cemetery in
Port Talbot, the
nearest being at
Swansea.
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Online Articles and Other
Material relating to the Aberavon and Port Talbot Jewish Community
on JCR-UK
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Other Jewish Institutions &
Organisations in Aberavon and Port Talbot
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-
Hebrew and Religious Classes, established with the founding of the congregation
in 1904, if not earlier.(xc)
-
Order of Ancient Maccabaeans,
established in Aberavon by 1908.(xci)
-
Aberavon and Port Talbot Zionist Society,
founded in about 1918.(xcii)
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Aberavon and Port Talbot Jewish Social Club,
founded in about 1935.(xciii)
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JNF Commissioner,
appointed by 1938.(xciv)
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Port Talbot (including Aberavon) Jewish Population Data
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Year
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Number |
Source |
1904
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7 families |
The Jewish Chronicle of
28 September 1923 |
1915
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22 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1916 |
1921
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20 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1922 |
1923
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22 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1924 |
1939
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46 |
The Jewish Chronicle of
15 December 1939 |
1947
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44 |
The Jewish Year Book 1948 |
1948
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37 |
The Jewish Year Book 1949 |
1954
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25 |
The Jewish Year Book 1952 |
1958
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19 |
The Jewish Year Book 1959 |
1959
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26 |
The Jewish Year Book 1960 |
1960
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24 |
The Jewish Year Book 1961 |
1964
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18 |
The Jewish Year Book 1965 |
1965
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17 |
The Jewish Year Book 1966 |
1966
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19 |
The Jewish Year Book 1967 |
1967
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18 |
The Jewish Year Book 1968 |
1973
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4 families |
The Jewish Year Book 1974 |
Click HERE to view Jewish
population figures for the whole county borough of Neath Port Talbot from UK Censuses since 2001.
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Notes & Sources
(↵
returns to text above)
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Former Jewish Communities in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot home page
Jewish Congregations in the former county of Glamorganshire
Jewish Congregations in the former administrative county of West Glamorgan
Jewish Congregations in Wales, listed according to current unitary authorities
Jewish Communities & Congregations in Wales home page
Page created: 9 October 2005
Data significantly expanded and notes added: 23 February 2025
Page most recently amended: 2 March 2025
Research and formatting by David Shulman
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