Jewish History of Puerto Rico

Like so many of its Caribbean neighbors, the history of the Jewish community in Puerto Rico dates to the 15th century. Many of these early Jews were Crypto Jews, those who had fled the Spanish Inquisition. However when they arrived in Puerto Rico they found that Judaism could not be practiced openly as it was also prohibited under the rules of the Spanish Inquisition. This prohibition caused many of the community to flee to the mountains, far away from the populated area around San Juan. Here they could continue to practice Judaism.  

Luis de Torres is widely believed to be the first Jew to arrive in Puerto Rico. He did so as the interrupter for Christopher Columbus on his journey to the New World. He was part of the second voyage, arriving in November of 1493. 

It wasn't for another 450 years before large numbers of Jews settled in Puerto Rico. These were refugees fleeing the German occupation of Europe.

The next large group of Jews arriving in Puerto Rico came in the 1950's. They to were refugees, this time fleeing Cuba as Fidel Castro came to power. The majority of the Jews from Cuba migrated to Miami, Florida but good amount did move to Puerto Rico. This was most likely because of the fact that the island of Puerto Rico was very similar to that of Cuba and to many it felt like the home they had left. Today, Puerto Rico has one of the largest Jewish community's in the Caribbean, over 2500 people.

FamilySearch has a growing number of collections that can help people find their Puerto Rican ancestors. These can be found by looking under the search tab, under Records.

California, Walnut Creek, Oak Hills Park Chapel, Funeral Records, 1962-2018

 

Yesterday, on October 23, 2024, FamilySearch  updated a very unique collection. The funeral records of the Oak Park Chapel in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa, California. This collection is unique in that it is for a very specific area, Walnut Creek, and for a very modern time frame (1962-2018).

However, this group of records provides incredible information for the development of a family tree. I did a basic search for the name Cohen and it retrieved 204 results. One of those was for Miriam Pearl Cohen, who died on 14 June 1987, in Walnut Creek.

The entry provides two ways to view the record. The first is the indexed version which provides the names and locations of others listed on the document (shown below). 

The second way to view the record is to look at look at the original document. Simply click on the box which says VIEW ORIGINAL RECORD on the indexed page and the original document can be viewed, (see below).

For the most part, these records tend to place the people into the census records, which can continue to build the trees. It's a wonderful way to connect to our ancestors.

Rosh Hashanah

 

May the year ahead, be one of peace and joy for Jewish families everywhere.

Southern Jewish Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky, 1-3 November 2024

 On November 1 of 2024, one of the finest conferences for finding your Jewish ancestors will convene in Louisville, Kentucky. It's not to late to register and join us there. More info can be found on the conference website, https://www.jewishsouth.org/upcoming-conference. I hope to see everyone there.

The Jews of Fordon (part 9)

 Over the course of the last 10-20 years I have posted many times about my search for the Jews of Fordon, Poland. Fordon, has at various times also been part of both Prussia and Germany. This small community is  very special to me as it is the birthplace of my own 2X Great Grandfather, Moses David Rosenbaum.

Now, thanks to the new available AI tools such as FamilySearch's Full Text Search, it is becoming easier to find the documents of our ancestors. Using simple search parameters I have been able to locate a few more important documents.

Rosa Meyer

On the 18th of February in 1904, Rosa Meyer died in Salt Lake City, Salt lake, Utah. Her will was probated on 1 April 1904, also in Salt Lake City. The probate document (shown below) has some incredible information. 

In addition to listing all her siblings, but also the children of those who were deceased, including their current residences. This was important because many of the community had been driven out of Fordon. This helps us bring the families back together. Also, on line 5 of the page above, she left $50 to the Jewish community of Fordon. She may have left but they were not forgotten.

Frederich Auerbach

The same search technique also shows us the will of Frederich Auerbach, whom I discussed in a previous post. He also left money to the Jewish community in Fordon as well as a few others who lived there. His will also remembered his family members from all parts of the world. An example of this can be found below:

It is very clear that with the new tools that are being developed for AI, the future discoveries in family history are going to open new doors for building and connecting families.

2025 IAJGS conference, Fort Wayne, Indiana 10-14 August 2025

 

Never to early to plan ahead for Fort Wayne in 2025. Looks to be another wonderful conference.

South Africa, Western Capetown, Deceased Estate Files, 1951-1958

 

Familysearch has updated a collection that could be very helpful for all with South African Jewish heritage. That collection, South Africa, Western Cape, Deceased Estate Files, is a collection of death notices. The originals are kept at the offices of the Western Cape Archive in Cape Town, South Africa.

This Historical Records Collection, has almost 500,000 records, which may contain very important family information. This includes the deceased name, the name of the spouse, birth dates, marriage dates and on some occassions, marriage records. The collectis name searchable to quite easy to use. By following the link above, a search box will appear.

The person I am looking for is Barnett Samuel Cohen, who is from the Province of Pretoria, South Africa. I believe he was born in the early 1920's. I enter that information into the search box and get the result for Barnett Samuel Cohen, born in 1921. Additionally, I also get the names of his parents and his wife.

In order to see the original documents, I click on the camera icon, which is on the far right of the results page. The original documents include some additional information. While the information on the results page lists his wife as Natalie Cohen, the original marriage certificate (shown below) lists  her maiden name as Natalie Janse Van Rensburg, born on 18th of May of 1923, in Parow, Cape, South Africa. They were married on 9 December 1948 in Cape Town.

Other documents included in the file also gave more valuable family information, such as th names of their children from his will (shown below). They are a daughter Rene and a son Manuel.

This is wonderful information for anyone to start building s family history. 

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Conference 2024

It's never to early to prepare for the annual conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Socities (IAJGS). This years conference, the 44th will take place in Philadelphia, from the 18th to the 22nd of August, 2024. This should be an incredible conference, held in one of the greatest cities in the world. There are multiple ways to get more information, including the following;

1. International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference site iajgs2024.org
2. Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia jgasgp.org
3. Conference Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/731063418430848/

 I hope to see everyone there.