Genealogy

 Genealogy will tell you a lot about your family. There are three levels of genealogy. The first level is collecting information from your living relatives. The second level is using the many online resources to build a family tree. The third level is to physically visit places your family once lived to collect first hand information. 

1. Collecting information from living relatives. 

Before we even get out of the gate, it is important to say this. Your living relatives may not want to discuss your families Jewish past. If you have not heard about it directly from your relatives, there may be a reason. Avoid asking questions like, "Hey do we have Jewish ancestors?" Instead,  ask questions about grandparents, great grandparents, and great-great grandparents. Collect as much information as you can to build the best family tree you can build. Who were your grandparents, where did they live, when did they live, what did they do for work, how many children did they have, etc. You can collect a lot of helpful information taking an indirect approach. 

Using my story as an example. My grandfather was very opposed to be unearthing our Jewish past. He said as much. But, when I said, what did your parents do for work? What did their parents do for work? Who did they marry? How did they prepare food? What was their favorite meat? Did any of your cousins marry cousin and so on. As I always say, Hidden Jewish Ancestry is hidden. Not everybody will be thrilled if you dig it up. So, ask questions in an indirect manner. 

I learned the my grandfathers mother washed meat with salt water to get all the blood out. That is a kosher practice. She would not use eggs that had blood spots in them. That is a kosher practice. On the sly, I found out lots of information. 

2. Using online resources to build a family tree. 

If you are entirely new to this, you will be surprised there are many companies that will help you build a family tree, companies that have  huge databases.  You plug in the family you know about, and the companies database will help you build out your family tree.  When I first got started, there were probably 15 online family tree building companies. These companies have been eating each other up. And each time they eat another company, their database gets bigger. There are now a handful of companies with really huge databases. 

But, get free out of your mind. You are going to have to pay one of these companies to use their database. In my opinion, its worth every penny. After you build your family tree using their database, you can always take it off line. Its your tree and you get to keep it. I would have to say for my money, I would use My Heritage. Their family tree builder widget is good, their customer service is good, and they have an excellent and growing database. If you plug in what you know, the tree builder widget will help you fill in the blanks. Using My Heritage, my family tree is now 60,000 people big. In some cases, my tree goes back to there 10th century! 

3. Once you have built a family tree, using information gleaned from your relatives, and using one of the online tree building tools, you may have questions that cannot be answered online. The only way to get your questions answered will be through visiting some place, could be a court house or an old Church in a different country.  As an example, I have an ancestor, Joan Taran(1555-1615). She was born in Wendover, England. Her father was Beatrand Taran(1540). Her grandparents, however, were Diego Henry Taran(1520) and Catalina de Apointe(1520-1570). Her grandparents appear in Wendover, England but they later appear on a ship manifest bound for Mexico. The only way I can find out for sure if the Taran's, from Spain, ever lived in Wendover, England, is to go Wendover, England and look for records that are not available online. So, that trip is on my list of things to do. 

Build a family tree, go as far back as you can, using an online company, and see what you find! You will be amazed at how many records are now available online!