Sephardic Jews

Hidden Sephardic Ancestry   

What follows would be a very abbreviated version of Spanish Jewish history. There are books and books on the subject. But, if you just found out you have Spanish or Sephardic Jewish ancestry, this will give you a good start. 

There as a time when Spain hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. When Ferninand and Isabella issued the order of expulsion of Jews in 1492, Jews were faced with two options, leave or convert. 

Generally speaking, the Jews that left Spain at that time, left as Jews. They mostly went to North Africa, Turkey, and Italy and formed new Jewish communities. From Turkey Sephardic Jews spread throughout the Balkans and the Caucuses.   This population probably produced less people with hidden Jewish ancestry as they left Spain as Jews and went to places that welcomed them as Jews.   

The Jews that did not leave Spain, were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism. It is from this group of people much hidden Sephardic ancestry comes. A lot of people were converted against their will. To make matters worse, shortly after the mass conversions, one thing became clear. Conversion did not solve Jews problems with the Spanish authorities. Because persecution from Jews to converted Jews or Conversos.  This time, in the form of the inquisition. The church and crown, at any time for any reason, could accuse a Converso of secretly practicing Judaism and sentence them to death. As a result,  Conversos, began fleeing Spain when and however they could. At about the time it became clear Spain and Portugal were not safe for Conversos,  several important things happened. 

  1. France, England and Holland began admitting Spanish and Portuguese converted and practicing Jews. 

 2. The colonies came into existence. In theory, Conversos were not permitted to relocate to New Spain. In practice, there was a wholesale migration of Conversos to the New World. North and South America became home to untold numbers of Conversos.   

When conversos moved to France, England, Holland, South America, or North America, some returned to Judaism. Some did not. Some remained Catholic. Some became protestant. Each of these host countries were different, and what happened to the Conversos varied from country to country. 

Many Conversos moved to New Spain. Unfortunately, so did the Inquisition. This resulted in a huge number of Latin Americans with Spanish Jewish heritage.  It would be more accurate to say a huge number of people in Latin America had Hidden Jewish Ancestry. 500 years later, many Latin American Converso communities are returning to Judaism. But, they have been in hiding for a long, long time. 

At the time Conversos were fleeing Spain and Portugal, England was a popular destination. However, from 1500-1656, Jews were not allowed to reside in England. And Catholics were not exactly welcomed either. Let us not forget, Henry the VIII made life difficult for Catholics after he broke up with Rome and started his own church. As a result, Conversos entering England joined the Italian, Dutch, or French Reform Church. Later, when Jews were re-admitted to England, 1656, some of them returned to Judaism and some of them maintained a Protestant identity. More Hidden Jewish Ancestry came into being. 

Then there is this. If the Conversos were lucky enough to land in places where it was safe to be Jewish, tolerance and assimilation went hand in hand. Within two or three generations, Conversos married non-Jews and were lost to the Jewish people. 

Malcom Stern’s incredible book, “First American Jewish Families, 600 Geneologies, 1654-1988”, the process of assimilation and absorption is depicted in fine detail.  The first Jews to arrive in America were Sephardic Jews/Conversos. If you follow the meticulously prepared genealogies of these first families, you see that by the time you get to 1988, most of the Sephardic Jews have long married out of the religion. They effectively disappeared. This is also true in England, Holland, and France.  So some hidden Sephardic Jewish ancestry happened because of assimilation and marrying out.  

Ferdinand and Isabella’s decision to expel the world’s largest Jewish population, and the subsequent persecution of all Jews that converted and stayed in Spain, led to an enormous number of people who have Hidden Jewish Ancestry.   The good news is this. If you descend from Spanish Jews, there are more resources available than for any other group of people with Hidden Jewish Ancestry. There are books, websites, social media groups, all aimed at exploring Spanish Jewish ancestry.  

If you suspect you have Sephardic Jewish ancestry, the first thing to do is to make a list of your mother and your fathers last names, their parents last names, and do this as far back as you can in your family tree. The next step would be to plug your surnames into one of the many Sephardic Jewish databases. If your surnames pop up, follow the lead. You may find family members there. Search. Let's say your surname is Zuniga. Plug Zuniga into the search bar on one of the listed websites, and see what comes up. Maybe you will find a Zuniga that Iived in Guatemala and your family came from Guatemala. Follow the lead. 

When I went to college and got a degree in Jewish history, there were no classes taught about Sephardic Jews or Sephardic Jewish history,  let alone Conversos. I went to NYU and the entire program was oriented around the Askhenazic Jewish experience. 

Times have changed and there is now enormous interest in Sephardic Jewish history, genealogy, and even Hidden Sephardic Jewish Ancestry. Honestly, there are so many books on Sephardic Jewish history I could not begin to list them all. You will find books about Sephardim in Turkey, in Suriname, in Amsterdam, and more. So, if you suspect you have Sephardic heritage, look for books that deal with area you family ended up in. If you think you have Sephardic heritage and you family came from Jamaica, look for books about Sephardic Jews in the Caribbean. There are lots. 

In my opinion, Genie Milgrom has done more for people with hidden Sephardic Jewish ancestry than anyone else. 

Her books, "My 15 Grandmothers", is a great story about a person searching and finding Hidden Jewish Ancestry. It's inspirational and helpful. However, this dynamo of a human being has created one of the best databases for Sephardic Crypto-Jews around. Use it.  

There are a lot of books out there now. Some tell the story of one family with Hidden Jewish Ancestry. Some talk about the history of the Expulsion and everthing that followed. And some give lists of names.

 If you are looking to connect with Sephardic Jewish names, the best of the best books to own is  "Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames". Guilherme Gaiguenboim, Paulo Valadares, Anna Rosa Campagnano.   

If you have a Spanish or Portuguese  last name, but your family is from Italy, France, or Portugal, you need   "A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Italy, France, and Portuguese Communities." Alexander Beader  

 If you have a Spanish or Portuguese last name, and your family comes from North Africa, you need.   "A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Mahgreb, Gibraltor, and Malta". Alexander Beider.   

Below you will find books that I like. I would say the Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames is the must have book. But, as you learn more about your family, you will find books that mention them or contain stories that remind you of your story. Research has the word search in it for a reason. Have some fun researching! 

I have provided links to these books on Amazon. If they are unavailable, just google the title and you will find alternative sellers. Abes Books is my personal favorite. I use them all the time when I can'f find a book I want. 

If you have a list of last names you have collected from your family tree, and you suspect they are Jewish last names, or were once Jewish surnames, a place to look is www.jewishgen.com Once you are in that site, you can enter a last name into the general search, search bar, and all the records for people with that last name will come up. 

The results will tend to be sorted by country. Using my family as an example, if you enter Winkler into the general search bar, the result was records for Winklers living in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, etc. Birth records, death records, marriage records, and sadly holocaust records. As I knew my Winklers lived in Germany, I clicked on the German file, and up came a list of Winklers that lived in Germany. I was able to find some Winklers on my family tree that were listed in records for Jews named Winkler who lived in Germany. 

Looking at the results from a general search will immediately give you an idea where Jewish people with that last name lived. If you know your family came from Poland, the general search has a listing for say, Winklers in Poland, that file or files would be a good place to have a look. You may find an ancestor. Or you may find that there were quite a few Winklers in Poland, and your Winkler may very well have been a Jew named Winkler who lived in Poland. The general search is a great place to do fast name checking. Whatever you find, will begin to fill in some gaps in your story. 

www.jewishgen.com