I've spent some time recently looking at my family tree. I started doing it about seven years ago when I was pregnant with @thecheekster and had some spare time. I found out lots of information, but got stuck on one Great Grandparent: Sidney Ambury born 1885ish. I've spent ages trying to find him on census returns with no success until two days ago when this link came up on a Google search:
I thought that chances were it was the same person. So I started searching for Solomon Hamburg and quickly realised that this was in fact my Great Grandfather's name and that he must have changed it š Solomon was born at the right time, his father was a tobacconist (Sidney's father's occupation on Sidney's marriage certificate was 'tobacconist) and his father's name was Benjamin (Sidney's middle name was Benjamin). Suddenly it all made sense.??
So, I now find myself connected to a Dutch immigrant family who came to London from Amsterdam in the 1800s :)) How exciting!
I've managed to trace the family back to the 1750s in Amsterdam and am starting to add flesh to the bare bones. Solomon was one of 10 children of Benjamin and Flora Hamburg who lived in Spitalfields and then Bethnal Green, he went to the Jewish Free School along with his brothers, and maybe his sisters, I've not had time to check yet.
Several of the Hamburg family got married at Sandys Row Synagogue, so I have some interesting links to chase up there too.
I'm very excited with what I've found out and can't wait to find out more….