Andre Kaya also known as Anton Ludwick Leszczynski

[Marianne Isaacs]

In going through an old family album , I came across a "cousin " Andre Kaya. He is most impressive with a very sleek appearance and an amazing moustache . I have discovered that he was a professional singer who travelled the world after having been born in Karlish Poland in 1875 and at some time emigrating to Australia . He had some sort of association with the Rapke family who also emigrated to Australia from Karlish in 1889 .Their motivation was to escape the Pogroms but their choice of Australia is a mystery , i am wondering if I can find out who his parents were and when he left Karlish and possibly what ship he was in as well how he might have been related to Pearl and Nathen Rapke who came with their family to Melbourne Australia

[Marianne Isaacs]

I am interested in finding out about his family and his connection to Pearl and Nathan Rapke who emigrated to Australia in 1889 to avoid the Pogroms in Poland . The family came from Karlish in Poland . His photo appears in an old album. He was a professional singer with a very impressive moustache . The Rapkes are great great grandparents of mine and the reasons for them coming to Australia as opposed to the US of UK are a mystery I would love to know about . I am wondering if Andre preceded them and that his relationship to them might have explained their coming to Melbourne . I do know that Andre lived in Melbourne but when he came and who he came with is a mystery which I haven't as yet been able to find anything  about . Maybe someone can help ?

[Svenja]

Hi

Are you sure that Andre Kaya was his real name or was it his stage name as singer?
I found some newspaper articles about an Andre Kaya also known as Louis Luscombe.

Have you found some documents about Andre Kaya other than this newspaper articles?
According to this newspapers he often travelled to England and also back to Melbourne.

Regards
Svenja

[Svenja]

Hi

I have just read your other thread about this man. It looks like he didn't come back to Australia.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=748841.0

Leszczynski, Anton Ludwick (known as Andre Kaya) Russia; Professional singer and Teacher of  Singing;  42, Strafford Road, Barnet. 29 March, 1924

Have you searched with this surname (and variations) at JewisGen and in the passenger lists to Australia?
One possible variation of writing the surname Leszczynski is Leschtschinski.
Some databases offer the possibility to search with "Le*inski"

In the Kalisz Gubernia (Kalish County) you can find many Jewish births/marriages/deaths
with the names Leszczynski (men) or Leszczynska (women), but no Anton or Ludwig.

All Poland Databases of JewishGen
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Poland/

Jewish Records Indexing Poland
http://jri-poland.org/

Regards
Svenja

[Svenja]

Hi

I searched with the name Leszczynski in the Australian Newspapers and finally found two articles which confirm Mr Louis Luscombe, whose real name is Anton Ludwik Leszczynski

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223173866?searchTerm=Leszczynski&searchLimits=

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/121635296?searchTerm=Leszczynski&searchLimits=

Regards
Svenja

[Marianne Isaacs]

Thank you Svenja I will investigate further .

[AllieT]

I've been chasing this chap as well.  I believe the reason he was in Australia with his family was because his mother (who went by the name "Annie Luscombe") was apparently a sister of Abraham, Harris and Morris Loel (originally Luel) - all from Kalisz in Poland, born in the 1830s/1840s. 

The brothers had arrived in Australia in about the mid to late 1850s and eventually settled in Melbourne.  I'm not sure if they all came together, but Abraham arrived aboard the "Startled Fawn" in 1856, according to his naturalisation papers.  Harris is certainly in Victoria by 1861.  Their parents were Zelig LUEL and Rachel OPAS from Kalisz.

Abraham had two daughters who were opera singers (Julia Loel, later Julia Franks, and Isobel Loel who went by the name Bel Loel) and in an article about Bel it mentions she is a cousin of singers Louis Luscombe and Bertha Luscombe.  Annie Luscombe is mentioned in the Will of her brother Harris Loel when he died in 1901.  I think Annie's husband was Jacob Luscombe who died in Melbourne in 1889 aged 63.

There is another sister mentioned in an In Memoriam notice for Harris Loel in about 1905, but I've not yet identified her.  She is merely referred to as "Mrs Levy".

[AllieT]

By the way, if you look into Julia Loel, be aware there are two of the same name.  Abraham's daughter (the opera singer) was born in Victoria in 1865.  She married Henry Samuel Franks in London in 1895. 

The other Julia Loel is the daughter of Harris Loel.  However, he had a common law marriage with Ellen Cluse and the older children were registered under Cluse (and one under Chase), whilst the younger ones are registered under both his surname and hers.  This other Julia Loel was born Julia Louisa Cluse in Victoria in 1873 and married in Perth WA in 1897. 

Lots of family trees combine them into one person.