HO 144/1302
Isaac Gerson was born in Constantinople on June 21, 1873 to David and Esther Gerson, both Ottoman subjects, as was he. He evidently arrived in England in 1904, given how long is referees knew him. Further evidence for the year 1904 comes from the naturalization application of Gerson’s brother-in-law, Menahem Eskenazi, who came to England at Gerson’s invitation and with whom he worked in the carpet trade until 1909.[1] Another Constantinopolitan Sephardi who joined Gerson in the business was Isaac Behar (born 1896), who immigrated to England directly from the Ottoman Empire to work at Gerson Bros., carpet dealers of Victoria Street, just before the outbreak of World War I, upon recommendation of Salisse Frères. Gerson’s earliest listed address (105 Frithville Gardens, Shepherds Bush) dates to March 1907. He continued to live in Shepherds Bush until at least his naturalization year.
Gerson identified himself as a carpet manufacturer with business premises at 10 and 71 Newman Street and 131a Victoria Street. Alas, his naturalization file, processed just before the onset of World War I, is punctuated and does not indicate whether or not Gerson used hand or mechanized looms. His frequent travel to Paris for business, for 4-5 days at a time, however, suggests he was a buyer of imported Oriental carpets. The “manufacturer” part of his job title may indicate that his premises also included a section for the weaving of bespoke carpets.
Gerson was 40 years of age when he applied for naturalization in 1914. At the time, he had six underage children living with him, including Esther, Lewis, Regina, Rachael, Lilly, and Victoria, ranging in age from 15 years to 9 months. His referees included three salesman and a (company) director, all of whom had known him from between two and ten years. Gerson was among the few Ottoman who successfully applied for naturalization immediately before the declaration of war was. The leniency of the Home Office at this moment in time is clearly indicated in a discussion among officials about Gerson’s residence referee. Even though this referee was technically invalid, having known Gerson only on business terms and never having visited his home, officials decided to “pass him.” Another indication of leniency is perhaps the swiftness with which his application was processed (less than a year). However, since subfiles 2-4 were destroyed, just when he may have first applied is unconfirmed, and generally very minimal information is included in his record. His naturalization certificate has not survived (or is not listed in the Discovery search engine of The National Archives of the United Kingdom). This file was closed until 2014.
[1] TNAUK, HO 144/7330, naturalization file of Menahem Eskenazi.