Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Elenora (Nora) Kossman

Female 1911 - 1983  (71 years)


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  • Name Elenora (Nora) Kossman 
    Born 15 Apr 1911  Moskva, Russian Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died 28 Mar 1983  London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I4613  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father Stephen or Schebsel Kossman,   b. 7 Jun 1877, Berdichev or Chudnov, Volin, Ukraine Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Jan 1931, RÄ«ga, RÄ«ga, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 53 years) 
    Mother Ruth Paulina Brenson,   b. 28 Mar 1885, Jelgava (Mitau), Courland, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1941, RÄ«ga, RÄ«ga, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 55 years) 
    Married 1909  RÄ«ga, RÄ«ga, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1683  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Wilhelm or Wolfram Gottlieb,   b. 6 Jun 1907, RÄ«ga, RÄ«ga, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Oct 1961, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years) 
    Married 14 Jun 1932  RÄ«ga, RÄ«ga, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Living
     2. Vera Ann Ruth Gottlieb,   b. 4 Sep 1946, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Feb 2005, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 58 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F2124  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Per email of 17 Jul 2007 from Nina Kossman www.ninakossman.com . Nina is a descendant of Klara/Robert/Joseph/Lemchen/Joseph Herzenberg. Note that Mitau, Courland was part of the tsarist empire, but later it became known as Jelgava, Latvia.
      A. "A photograph of Klara Herzenberg (daughter of Robert Herzenberg) can be seen at <<http://www.ninakossman.com/leonidkossman/brenson_herzenberg.html>> [underscore between brenson and herzenberg]. It should also be noted that in Piltene, where our 18th century Herzenbergs lived, there is an old Jewish cemetery in which almost all are Herzenbergs." Nina is coordinating an effort to restore the Piltene cemetery and please contact her if you are able to assist financially.
      B. Children of Robert Herzenberg and Emilie Kahn:
      a. Daughter Rosete (Rosa), b. 14 Apr 1854 in Mitau, d. 2 Nov, 1862 in Mitau.
      b. Daughter Seba, b. abt. 1856, d. 1859 in Mitau.
      c. Daughter Feige/Fanny, b. 26 Jul 1857 in Mitau, d. 31 Oct 1862 in Mitau.
      d. Daughter Klara, b. 4 Dec 1859 in Mitau, m. 12 May 1883 in Mitau, d. 17 Jun 1939 in Riga. Husband Isidor (Isac-Aisak, Itzig), son of Isak-Aisik (Itzig, Isidor) Brensohn, b. 27 Sep 1854 in Mitau, d. 31 Dec. 1928 in Riga. (Photo of Isidor and Clara on file with me.) Of Isidor's and Clara's four children - Ruth, Ellen, Theo, and Robby, only one - Theo - survived the war as he was not living in Latvia at the time (photo of the four children on file with me).
      i. Ruth Brenson (1889-1941) was born in Yelgava, Latvia. While temporarily staying in Moscow she met Stephan Kossman, whom she married around 1910. She had two children: Nora (b. 1911) and Leonid (b. 1915). Ruth was killed by the Nazis in Riga, Latvia. (Photo of Ruth on file with me.) The family lived in Moscow, at Chistye Prudy 11, in a ten-room apartment in a five-story building; later they moved to an apartment on First Meschanskaya. Since Stephan Kossman was a merchant of the Frist Guild, it was no longer safe for his family to live in the city after the Bolshevik takeover. The Brenson-Kossman family left Moscow for Riga - where Ruth's father lived - in the beginning of 1918. Stephan Kossman was born in 1877. When he was about seven years old his father, Leontii Kossman, took him to live in London where Leonitii had started a fur business. After Leontii's death, Stephan took over the business. His job took him all over Europe and in the very beginning of the 20th century he lived in Leipzig for several years, in Berlin, in London, etc. He married Ruth Brenson in 1909 and came back to Moscow to live. Eight years later, following the October Revolution, the family left Russia. He died in Riga, Latvia, in 1928. This couple had two children: Leonid and Nora.
      1. Leonid Kossman is a philologist, writer, and teacher whose language textbooks have helped millions of people. Born in Moscow in 1915, as a child in Riga, Latvia, he spoke German and Russian at home and Latvian in the neighborhood. After graduating from a German high school he studied law at the University of Latvia and worked as a drama critic for a Latvian Newspaper, Tsinia. When the Nazis occupied Riga he escaped into Russia, soon joined the Soviet army, and was severely wounded. He spent the rest of the war in Kazakhstan where he slowly regained sight and movement. After the war he studied English and western literature at Moscow State University, graduated, and taught English and German at the Maurice Thorez Linguistics Institute (which later became the Moscow State Linguistics University, or MGLU). During this period his two textbooks for Russians learning German were published. With his wife and two children he emigrated to the US via Israel in 1972, and worked here as a college languages teacher and as a writer for the German-American Daily Staatszeitung and for the German-Jewish American weekly, Aufbau. In the late 1970s he started writing books to help other Russians in learning English. In authorized, and pirated, editions of these books have circulated very widely, and have even been adopted by American university Russian courses. Most recently he has been writing short stories and he published a historical novel "Above Water" in 2003 (the book deals witht he effects of Nazism on the life of a Harry Rosen, a Latvian Jew).
      2. Nora.
      ii. Ellen was born 188? and died 1941; she was an orthopedic physician and her husband, Yakov Meltzer, was a pianist; they had a son Anatol and all three were killed by Germans in Nazi-occupied Latvia (photo of the three with son at age 6 on file.)
      e. Son David, b. 17 Jul 1864 in Mitau, m. 7 Jan 1890 in Mitau, d. bef 1935. Wife Sophia, dau. of Abram Herzenberg, b. 20 Aug 1869 in Mitau, d. 1941 in the "ghetto."
      f. Son Alexander, b. 16 Apr 1866 in Mitau.
      g. Son Leonhard, b. 24 Jul 1868 in Mitau.

      2. Received 30 Apr 2009 a copy of the following from Irene Gottleib Slatter entitled "Archival Reference about Brenson Family. It was prepared for Nina Kossman Dec 2006 and is report no. 3-K-7622; 7794N by Latvijas Valsts Vestures Arhivs (Latvian National Archives), Slokas iela 16, Riga, LV-1007. The following is only a partial transcript concerning this individual; please see the notes of Isidor Brenson within this database to see full and complete transcript including sources and documentation:
      " - daughter Eleonora Kosman, born on April 15 of 1911 in Moscow. Her husband Wilhelm (Wolfram), son of Eduard Gottlieb, born on June 6 of 1907 in Riga (see his photo from the Latvian passport for 1925). His occupation - journalist. They were registered as living in Riga at Dzernavu Street 64, apt. 4 since July 20 till August 12 of 1935 when they arrived from London to visit their relatives. Wilhelm's father was the candidate of commerce Israel/Eduards, son of Shanis Gottlieb was born on January 16 of 1870 in Riga. His wife Haja Sara (Sora), daughter of Mowscha.Mosus Kaschdan, a watch-maker from Borisov, and his wife Lina, was born on January 27 (Julian calendar, February 7 - Gregorian calendar) of 1880 in Riga (see her photo from the Latvian passport for 1924). Their marriage was registered in 1906 in Riga (entry No. 2 in the marriage records of the Jewish community in Riga for 1906. They had also daughter Herta Gottlieb, born on November 1 (Julian calendar, 14 November - Gregorian calendar) of 1909 in Riga. In 1924 the family of Israel/Eduard Gottlieb lived in Riga at Dzernavu Street 66, apt. 52. Before the Second World War they lived in Riga at Brivibas Street 33 (unfortunately, the house registers for the time period before October of 1939 have not survived, therefore we cannot trace fate of Haja and Herta. The museum "Jews of Latvia" keeps the lists of Central prison's inmates, set up on August 4 of 1941, where Eduards, son of Zhanis Gottlieb was registered under Nr. 67."

      BIOGRAPHY:
      1. Mentioned in detail in biography provided by Irene Gottlieb. See her notes for full biography.

      2. I received the following letter from Irene Slatter, 29 Somali Road, London, England, NW2 3RN, dated 10 Jan 2009:
      Dear Kerry,
      I am writing to you as Michael Brenson sent me a copy of your email to him. We are also related as Ruth Kossman was my grandmother. Clara (I am named after her by my mother - my middle name is Claire as my mother adored her) was my great grandmother. Ruth had 2 children - Leonid, whose children were Nina Kossman and Michael (Mika) Kossman, and my mother Elenora (Nora). She married my father Wolfram Gottlieb and they left Riga in 1934 and settled in England - so surviving the rest of the family. My mother died who died in 1982 had 2 children - me - Irene born in 1942 and my sister Vera born in 1945. She died in 2005 and was a famous Checkhov specialist. She is probably on the Internet - Prof. Vera Gottlieb.
      I married John Slatter in 1966 and have 2 sons Stephen 30 and Paul 27. both John and I have taught Russian at Durham University in the north of England for all our working lives...
      I remember meeting distant relatives in Copenhagen in 1956 - we stood in their garden and watched the Russian Sputnik and there was a connextion to a well known newpaper - thats all I remember...
      John has an email John.slatter@hotmail.co.uk...
      I hope to hear from you soon.
      Best wishes, Irene
      John and Irene Slatter
      Tel. 0207 435 4696

      BIRTH:
      1. Per correspondence from daughter in London dated 4 Mar 2009. "Chistye Prudy" was the old (pre-revolutionary) name of a street in Moscow where she was born; it has a different name now.

      DEATH:
      1. Per correspondence from daughter in London dated 4 Mar 2009.