Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Jewish Genealogy Special Problems
Condensed by Nadene Goldfoot
Usually we figure 25 years for a generation when figuring dna matches. The marriage age of Jewish people was ususally much younger than other groups probably up to 1900. Jews in Eastern Europe married very young. Boys married between ages 15-18 and girls could marry from age 14-16.
In the Middle Ages gentiles that were landlords or others would harass Jews by carrying off their girls. Later early marriages were the parents' cures to keep the children studying as they wouldn't be thinking of sex if they were married. Sometimes marriages were arranged very early but did not live together until later.
First cousin marriages were common. In 1875 7.5% of all English Jewish marriages were among first cousins. Of course the bible cites marriages with 1st cousins. Uncles could marry nieces, especially where there was a lack of suitors. This was found to be true even more so with Sephardic Jews.
Jewish families had larger families than most "to be fruitful and multiply". They had a lower mortality rate than other groups because of good hygenic conditions due to keeping kosher and ritual bathing practices. They also had very rare illigitimate births and more medical assistance. Where they had problems in staying alive was in the persecution mortality rate.
Both Ashkenazis and Sephardis named after their ancestors. This began in the age of the Maccabees of the 2nd Century BCE. 800 years later they began to use biblical names. After the 12th Century from living in Christian lands children had two names; Hebrew and Christian.
By the 19th century family or surnames came into being. In some cases it was up to individuals like people in Spain, Portugal and Italy who had them from the 14th century on. Many used the names of towns they came from. Emperor Joseph II of Austria was the first to require that Jews take surnames in Galicia in 1785. They had to buy names by paying for the registration fee. Goldstein and Rosenthal were expensive (gems and flowers). By 1808 Napoleon required surnames for Jews. The Baden Law of January 13, 1809 forced Jews to change their name if of biblical origin. Levites had been using Levi but now had to choose new names-basically ones that were place names. In Russia the laws of 1804 and 1835 allowed Jews to alter their family names, but by 1844 Russian Jews were first made to enter their names in the public register and they had to assume family names. In Poland this happened in 1821 but was not really enforced until 1844, so our surnames might not be very old. We shouldn't be surprised, then when we can't follow our family any earlier on Jewishgen.org.
Resource: Finding Our Fathers-a guidebook to Jewish genealogy by Dan Rottenberg
Usually we figure 25 years for a generation when figuring dna matches. The marriage age of Jewish people was ususally much younger than other groups probably up to 1900. Jews in Eastern Europe married very young. Boys married between ages 15-18 and girls could marry from age 14-16.
In the Middle Ages gentiles that were landlords or others would harass Jews by carrying off their girls. Later early marriages were the parents' cures to keep the children studying as they wouldn't be thinking of sex if they were married. Sometimes marriages were arranged very early but did not live together until later.
First cousin marriages were common. In 1875 7.5% of all English Jewish marriages were among first cousins. Of course the bible cites marriages with 1st cousins. Uncles could marry nieces, especially where there was a lack of suitors. This was found to be true even more so with Sephardic Jews.
Jewish families had larger families than most "to be fruitful and multiply". They had a lower mortality rate than other groups because of good hygenic conditions due to keeping kosher and ritual bathing practices. They also had very rare illigitimate births and more medical assistance. Where they had problems in staying alive was in the persecution mortality rate.
Both Ashkenazis and Sephardis named after their ancestors. This began in the age of the Maccabees of the 2nd Century BCE. 800 years later they began to use biblical names. After the 12th Century from living in Christian lands children had two names; Hebrew and Christian.
By the 19th century family or surnames came into being. In some cases it was up to individuals like people in Spain, Portugal and Italy who had them from the 14th century on. Many used the names of towns they came from. Emperor Joseph II of Austria was the first to require that Jews take surnames in Galicia in 1785. They had to buy names by paying for the registration fee. Goldstein and Rosenthal were expensive (gems and flowers). By 1808 Napoleon required surnames for Jews. The Baden Law of January 13, 1809 forced Jews to change their name if of biblical origin. Levites had been using Levi but now had to choose new names-basically ones that were place names. In Russia the laws of 1804 and 1835 allowed Jews to alter their family names, but by 1844 Russian Jews were first made to enter their names in the public register and they had to assume family names. In Poland this happened in 1821 but was not really enforced until 1844, so our surnames might not be very old. We shouldn't be surprised, then when we can't follow our family any earlier on Jewishgen.org.
Resource: Finding Our Fathers-a guidebook to Jewish genealogy by Dan Rottenberg
Labels: Jewish genealogy, Marriages, Names in Austria
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Surname: Goldfoot
The Austrian decree of 1787 stipulated the use of family names by Jews, specifically limiting the choice of given names to biblical names. This law was abolished in Bohemia on August 11, 1836. Also, the Prussian government attempted to limit the choice of Jewish family names. The law was subsequently revoked. So we may have received our surname in 1787. Jews had to buy their names.
American Surnames: "Favorites with the Jews are the "Gold" names. An occupation of medieval Jews was the lending of money at interest and this being combined with other work of the goldsmith made the German goldschmidt. Some are combined with place names as Goldberg. Other Gold names were formed by linking another word to Gold, chiefly German names as Goldfinger. " So, our surname of Goldfoot must have been picked in Germany/Austria. It evidently came from Germany/Austria as there are Goldfoots who are not Jewish and of a different haplogroup of dna, so they are not related to us. The Jewish migration did go to Germany and then on north to Eastern Europe, so we were in that group.
Only a handful of Jews were permitted to live in Russia before the Russian Revolution. Until then, we were all in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the Baltics. But you probably know this. from Barry Zwick, in DNA.
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included terrorism, worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. My grandfather, Nathan, had come to the States just before this event. I believe he lived in Telsiai, Lithuania before he emigrated even though he had said, "Russia" on the 1910 census for his home. This had become a part of the Pale of Settlement of Russia where Jews were confined.
American Surnames: "Favorites with the Jews are the "Gold" names. An occupation of medieval Jews was the lending of money at interest and this being combined with other work of the goldsmith made the German goldschmidt. Some are combined with place names as Goldberg. Other Gold names were formed by linking another word to Gold, chiefly German names as Goldfinger. " So, our surname of Goldfoot must have been picked in Germany/Austria. It evidently came from Germany/Austria as there are Goldfoots who are not Jewish and of a different haplogroup of dna, so they are not related to us. The Jewish migration did go to Germany and then on north to Eastern Europe, so we were in that group.
Only a handful of Jews were permitted to live in Russia before the Russian Revolution. Until then, we were all in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the Baltics. But you probably know this. from Barry Zwick, in DNA.
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included terrorism, worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. My grandfather, Nathan, had come to the States just before this event. I believe he lived in Telsiai, Lithuania before he emigrated even though he had said, "Russia" on the 1910 census for his home. This had become a part of the Pale of Settlement of Russia where Jews were confined.
Labels: Goldfoot, Names in Austria
