My ancestors in Lublin, Poland, had the surname of Szajtel, pronounced shaytel or sheitel in English. It is from the yiddish word for wig which the religious Jewish women used to wear in Eastern Europe.
My grandfather, Louis Alfred Newman, originally Szajtel, was born in Lublin in 1881. His parents were Abraham and Piza Szajtel, though Abraham married twice.
Some of the family left Lublin and adopted the surname of Newman, eg Louis (this would not have been his original name) who emigrated to Sydney, Australia and one of his brothers, who took on the name of Edward Newman, of Brooklyn, New York, USA. Both established families in the respective new homelands.
I would be interested in hearing from other Szajtel relatives.
Terry Newman
Sydney, Australia
