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Possible Jewish Ancestry? Help please

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  • Possible Jewish Ancestry? Help please

    To start at the beginning I have absolutely knowledge that I have any Jewish ancestry. However, my brother asked the othe day if it wasa possibliity as he thinks he's looking more and more like an orthodox Jew as he gets older

    The family has a strong protestant background, and our elders always seemd to have an ambiguous attitude to Judaism.

    How would I find out if there were any Jews in the family line, probably a few hundred years ago? The only vague clue I have is that there is a family with the surname "French" who two of my lines tie into in the early 18th Century. This family arein Northumberland at the time.

    I have absolutely no idea where to start with this question, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks for reading
    Barbara

  • #2
    Barbara

    I was convinced for many years that we had Jewish ancestry and I used to wind up my father, who frothed at the mouth when I mentioned it!

    However, doing my family tree the conventional way has not thrown up the slightest possibility of Jewish ancestry. If, therefore, we do have Jewish ancestry, it has been very well concealed and I have no idea, other than DNA testing, how one could prove or disprove the theory.

    OC

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    • #3
      My uncle was convinced his grandmother had Jewish roots, he never met her, she died 20 years before he was born. It was all based on a photo of her and his prejudices of what a Jewish woman looked like. (She had a big nose and heavy eyebrows) He was wrong in his assumption.
      Last edited by Jill on the A272; 16-05-10, 22:01. Reason: blush making typo

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      • #4
        Thanks for the answers. I guess that is what I was really thinking, but didn't know if there was another clue that people "tripped" over so to speak
        Barbara

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Jill on the A272 View Post
          My uncle was convinced his grandmother had Jewish roots, he never met her, she died 20 years before she was born.

          I had to smile
          ~Val~

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          • #6
            ooer , off to change that now!

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            • #7
              lol Val - I'd missed that
              Barbara

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              • #8
                Hi - Not sure how far back you've got in your whole tree and where all the people came from originally....many Jewish people were forced to convert, and some did of their own accord. Has your lineage been in the UK so far? You'll often find that a family member could look Jewish because perhaps there was family in Spain at one stage, say from the 16th century. Often a Jewish past was also covered up...but sometimes you'll hear of a story, a certain type of food being eaten etc.
                Last edited by naomiatt; 17-05-10, 01:38.

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                • #9
                  Where were great grandparents born?.........that should give you a clue.

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                  • #10
                    Hi Alan and thanks for the comments.

                    This side of the family hail from the Hexham area of Northumberland, and I've only managed to get as far back as the 18th century with them so far. Names like Dodds and Robson (my grandparents surnames) are more common than Smith and Jones in that area and consequently difficult to pinpoint.


                    No lineage anywhere outside the UK so far either
                    Barbara

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                    • #11
                      I'd say its very unlikely. Most Jewish settlers in England settled in cities, especially London's East End. They tended to be in trade or business as they weren't eligible to work in the professions. Looking "Jewish" isn't really much of an indicator.

                      When I went to the Holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War Museum recently they had a lot of stuff on display about measuring noses etc which was a way of deciding if people in Nazi Europe were Jewish or not. There were lots of photos of Jews and some were dark and "Jewish-looking" but a lot weren't.
                      ~ with love from Little Nell~
                      Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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                      • #12
                        Thanks Nell

                        I thought we were probably too far North and too rural for one of the waves of immigration.
                        Barbara

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                        • #13
                          Everyone was convinced that there was a Jewish connection on my mother's side, but that was wrong. However, my husband's side showed an entirely unexpected connection through an illegitimate birth formed from a Jewish father. Luckily the second name was the surname and they stayed in touch, although the father was not named on the BC. This took place in Newcastle - there was a well established Jewish community "up North" too.

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                          • #14
                            Hi - there's some info in here - http://www.tyneandweararchives.org.u...s/08jewish.htm
                            and http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/suss...y/appendix.htm
                            Last edited by naomiatt; 22-05-10, 05:36.

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                            • #15
                              Forgot to say Thank you to Trina and Naomiatt:o
                              Barbara

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                              • #16
                                Barbara this has happened to me as well , my hubbys family all had the jewish nose bit ans cousin of his was adamant that they where related to the ReadmanJews from Leeds but I havnt come across anything to suggest that as yet and back to 1804 with that line and others suggest its the Readmans from Whitby and moors way which is more what I think than the Jewish side ???
                                Mind unless there is connections that far back that I havnt got yet
                                borobabs passed away March 2018

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