The oldest document in which Jakub Lewin Szenwic appears dates from November 16, 1809. This document has been preserved in the archival set of the Notarial Offices in Płock: of Tomasz Gutkowski, Kazimierz Świerzyński, Teodor Krajewski, Tadeusz Markowski, stored in the resources of the State Archives in Płock. The document shows that on that day a solemn act of respect and permission for the marriage between Jacheta, daughter of Mojżesz (Mośek) Iczkowicz and Mindla née Henoch, and Jakub Lewin Moszkowicz (Szenwic) from Płońsk, took place. The act of respect (acte respecteux et formel) was a short agreement concluded between parents or, in their absence, the closest relatives and children intending to marry – before the marriage, it was necessary to ask the parents for formal permission. It was in the form of a request for parental blessing. In this document, Mojżesz Iczkowicz and Mindla née Henoch, “wanting to prove true parental attachment and love”, granted Jacheta the lower floor of a three-story store at Synagogalna Street, mortgage number 16, retaining the right to run a liquor store located on the right side of the entry into the building for a period of three years.
The name “Szenwic” was recorded for the first time in a notarial deed drawn up on May 6, 1812 by Kazimierz Świerzyński, containing the names of 133 fathers of Jewish families in Płock, including 51 merchants, 24 tailors, 16 bartenders, 8 traders, 7 tenants, 4 bakers, 3 flour sellers, 3 synagogue elders, 2 glassmakers, 2 accountants, 2 haberdashers, 2 butchers, 1 innkeeper, 1 furrier, 1 tinsmith, 1 belt maker, 1 synagogue councillor, 1 synagogue janitor, 1 translator, 1 ritual slaughterer and 1 doctor. The majority, 49 Jewish families, lived at that time “at the Synagogue Street”, in Jerozolimska Street, and in “Nowa nad Przykopem” Street there were 36 families each, in Bielska Street – 6. The same number of Jewish families lived outside the Jewish district, “in the New Town at Kollegialna Street”. Jakub Lewin Szenwic is listed in this document as a merchant who lived at Synagogalna Street.
In 1816, the surname “Szenwic” appears for the first time in the records of the Jewish community of Płock. The birth certificate of Jakub Lewin and Jacheta’s first son, Chaskiel, drawn up at the Municipal Office of the Departmental Town of Płock, dates from that year.
