The Jews of Columbia

Like many countries, the first Jews to arrive in Columbia came from Spain. These Jews, who arrived in the 1500's practiced Christianity but were really "Secret Jews" having been forced to convert during the Inquisition. In the year 1636, many of these secret Jews were caught and massacred. This massacre led the rest of the community to eventually fade away, and Columbia was left without a Jewish presence.
Beginning in the late 1700's Jews who openly practiced started arriving from the Caribbean countries of Jamaica and Curacao, two countries with long established Jewish communities.

Later the government made it legal to be a practicing Jew and even granted the Jewish community a plot of land for a cemetery.
Even with the arrivals from the Caribbean countries the Jewish community was not very large. That did not change until the beginning of the 20th century. After the end of World War I, Jews came in large numbers from all over Europe. First were the Sephardic Jews who came from places such as Greece, North Africa, Syria and Turkey. Right behind them were the Ashkenazic Jews from all over Eastern Europe. By the time of World War II, the Jewish population was a little under 7000 people. Most of the Jews were centered in Bogota but there were also smaller groups in Cali, Barranquilla, and Medellin. The Askenazic and Sephardic communities are about equal in size.
As with the earliest Jews in Columbia, today most are involved as merchants and businessmen. The number of Jews in Columbia has declined because of violence toward the community. Today the population is closer to 4000.

Happy 350th Birthday Touro Synagogue

Much has been written on this blog about the important Jewish history of the Caribbean, both in it's influence throughout the world and in the incredible people who called it home. Another great example of this can be found in Newport, Rhode Island at the Touro Synagogue.
In the 1650's, fifteen families from Barbados became the first Jewish families in Newport. Like so many other Caribbean families they were descended from families who came from Amsterdam and London and had found new homes in places such as Suriname, Jamaica, Barbados and Curacao. They quickly formed  "Yeshuat Israel" the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. The congregation prospered and grew, until such time that they built what is today "America's Oldest Synagogue", the Touro Synagogue which was dedicated in 1763. On December 1st of this year, the synagogue will be re-dedicated as part of its 350th birthday celebration.

The incredible history of this treasure can be found at tourosynagogue.org. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOURO SYNAGOGUE

Jews of South America and the Caribbean database updated

The database of The Jews of South America and the Caribbean continues to grow. With the new addition today of the records of births and burials of the Portuguese Jews, this collection now has the records of almost 19,000 people. This collection of records covers the years 1722-1831.
This database will continue to grow as many records are being indexed now including the Jewish families listed in the various censuses of the island of St. Thomas.

The Gomez Family, Sephardic influence from the Caribbean in New York

In 1792, under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street, in New York City, 24 brokers gathered and signed the Buttonwood Agreement, that would eventually lead to the creation of the New York Stock Exchange. That event would have such an incredible impact on the world as the New York Stock Exchange is now the center of the financial world. It is one of those men whose own history is also a great example of the effect the Sephardic Jews of the Caribbean have had on early America. Those who study the history of the exchange will note that Isaac M. Gomez (1768-1831) was a broker who resided at 32 Maiden Lane in New York, but that is far from the whole story. Who was this man and where did he come from?
Isaac Moses Gomez was born on 28 July 1768 in New York City into a sephardic Jewish family. His father, Moses Gomez (1728-1789) lived his whole live in New York. His mother, Esther Gomez, daughter of Isaac and Deborah De Leon Gomez was born in Barbados in 1739. Isaac married into a Jewish family from Newport, Rhode Island, when on 26 May 1790 he married Abigail Lopez (1771-1851), daughter of Aaron and Sarah Rodriguez Riveira Lopez. He and Abigail became the parents of 10 children.
In looking into the family tree of Isaac, the influences from the Islands of the Caribbean become very apparent. In the family record that has been preserved in the papers of Malcolm Stern (FHL Film #1013428) Isaac gives details on some of his own ancestry. Included within those are;

• Mordecai Gomez married a Miss Esther Compas of Jamaica by whom he had three sons, Moses, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses married in Jamaica, and Isaac married Esther Jesurum in Curacao.
• Daniel Gomez (his grandfather) married Rebecca De Torres, daughter of Joseph and Simha De Torres, of Jamaica. They had 2 sons before she died. He then married Esther Levy of Curacao.
• Isaac Gomez married Deborah De Leon of Barbados.
• Benjamin Gomez married Esther Nunes of Barbados.

The influence of these Caribbean Jews, like so many other families was then taken to places such as New York, Philadelphia and Newport, all places the family settled in. The Gomez descendants then married into prominent families. These families had familiar surnames such as Seixas, Levy and Hendricks.
This proves once again how research into early United States families must begin with a search of the records of the Caribbean Islands.
The records of the Gomez family have been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of South America and the Caribbean and will be available after the next update.

Curacao to Panama, the Fidanque Family

According to a family tree that was donated over thirty years ago to Malcolm Stern, the earliest mention of the name of Fidanque occurs in 1634 when the name appears in the records of the Altona cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Hamburg. The family tree of the Fidanque family begins with Benjamin Fidanque who died in Curacao in the early part of the 1700's.
The tree, compiled by Elias Alvin Fidanque, is a beautiful work that tells the story of a family whose influence spreads from their beginnings in Amsterdam through many parts of the world, including, Curacao, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Thomas all the way to New York. As one reads the information on the tree, it becomes very important of the great service this family has provided to others for many generations. A few examples, as taken from the text on the tree include;

• Abraham Haim Fidanque, who died in 1813 in Curacao, was one of the original founders of the Curacao Burial Society (Hebra) in 1783, and many times President and Treasurer of Congregation Mikve Israel in Curacao.



• Jacob Fidnaque, of whom it is said: "He never lost a friend or made an enemy" served Congregation Beraha Hashalom in St. Thomas as Reader and Sexton from 1828-1837.



• Joseph Fidanque, who died in Panama on February 5, 1933, was Reader and Minister to Congregation Kol Shearith Israel, in that city.



• Benjamin Delvalle Fidanque, who died in New York City on February 23, 1937, likewise served his people as Vice President of Congregation Shearith Israel of New York.

All generations have shown that service to others takes priority over their own needs. This is shown in a beautiful quote left for members of the family and should be read by all. It states "

We have a worthy heritage to sustain: Acceptance of ourselves; identification with our God; loyalty to our faith; service to our fellow-men."

This family tree, built through service by an incredible family, can be found on microfilm through the Family History Library (Film # 1013428). The records have also been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of the Caribbean and will be available after the next update.

Jewish families of Costa Rica

This past week the Knowles Collection - Jews of the Caribbean was updated. While it is still the smallest of the databases which comprise the collection, it more than any other shows the influence families can have around the world. A good example of this is the country of Costa Rica.

The first Jews to settle in Costa Rica did so in the early 1800's. These early Sephardic Jews came from other Caribbean locations, such as, Curacao, Jamaica and Panama. Later in the 1930's Jews from Turkey and Germany made the move to their new homeland.At the end of the 1800's two families immigrated into Costa Rica. The records left behind by these two families, the Sasso's and the Athias Robles, illustrates how families can have a great influence.

Mordecay Athias Robles, is descended from a family from Curacao. He himself was born in St. Thomas, where he married his wife Esther. Shortly after that marriage, Mordecay, a merchant, took his new wife and settled in Alajuela where their children were born between 1873 and 1889.

At about the same time another merchant from St. Thomas, Mordecai Moritz Sasso and his wife Hannah Joselin Mendez moved to Port Limon, where their 2 children were born. These two families thus became part of the Jewish community of Costa Rica. That community, which numbers three to four thousand today, were well established as merchants throughout the Caribbean. Families like the Sasso's and the Athias Robles' families used their influence throughout the region to make a better life for their families. However, even though they both left St. Thomas for Costa Rica, they never forgot their first home, as all of the children of both families had their births recorded in the Synagogue records of St. Thomas.

These records are amongst those that were just added to the Knowles Collection - Jews of the Caribbean.

The Jewish Community of Cuba

I have written previously about my gggrandfather, Morris David Rosenbaum, a Jew from Poland, who made his way from Fordon in Poland to the United States. In his writings, which have survived to this day he writes of his travels that took him from New York down the coast to New Orleans and eventually around the Cape and on to San Francisco. It has always fascinated me to read of these travels wondering what it would have been like to make such a great journey during the mid 1800's.

While on his travels, even though he was not in any one location very long, probably just long enough for the ship to restock food and supplies, I have always been curious of his stay in what we now call Cuba. Even though some identify one of the men with Christopher Columbus as being Jewish, and thus being the first Jew to arrive in Cuba, the Jewish Community was probably not very large until the early 20th Century.
The early part of the 1900's saw many immigrants arrive in Cuba. The Jewish population of Cuba reached between 15,000 and 20,000 people by the time Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Prior to that time, the community was well established with most Jews living in Havana, which had 5 synagogues within the city.
Following the rise of power of Fidel Castro, the majority of Jews in Cuba fled to other countries, with a large group making their new home in the United States. Today, the Jewish population is probably around 1,500, most of those living in Havana.
Today, I am finding my heart and thoughts returning to the travels of my gggrandfather. As I read through the records of other Caribbean countries such as Suriname and Curacao, I am finding others who have also travelled to Cuba. Those people left their footprints all through the area and can be found in the records of their new homelands.

Those records are now being added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of the Caribbean and will be available after the next update.

The Sephardic Family Piza

As one researches more and more Jewish records, it becomes very obvious that we all descend from some incredible families. One of those families is the Piza family.
Although the location of where this family comes from is still open for debate, we do know the family was in Amsterdam as early as the late 1600's. There earlier references to the surname in such places as the city of Piza, Italy; Bologna, Spain and various locations in Portugal. In many of these places, the Piza or De Piza, family are very prominent members of the community.
The tree at right (FHL film #1,013,431), shows the family of Joshua Piza and his wife's, Hannah and Beneveaida Sacuto, sisters from Amsterdam. Joshua and his family left Amsterdam in the 1820's and settled throughout the Caribbean, including places such as Jamaica, Barbados, St. Thomas and Curacao. This families works, have laid a wonderful foundation for many Jewish Communities.



Some of the records of the Piza family are in The Jews of the British Isles, while many others are soon to be located in the Jews of the Caribbean.

Jewish Community of Curacao

As one looks at the settlers of some of the early American Jewish congregations, a few surprising things are found. Amongst the early communities such as Newport (Rhode Island), Charleston (South Carolina) and New Orleans, many of the people either came from or had roots to Curacao. These families, which included such names as Maduro, Peixotto, Naar and Seixas were very established Sephardic families.
What was it that made this small Caribbean island so special, and such an important early residence for Jews. In the late 1400's, Jews fled Spain and Portugal to avoid the Inquisition. Most went to places such as Amsterdam. Some of those who went to Amsterdam didn't stay long. They took passage on ships heading to Curacao, a Dutch-owned, Caribbean island.
Upon arrival in Curacao, they established their congregation in 1651. In 1732, they built Mikve Israel-Emanuel, the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the western hemisphere. This Sephardic synagogue became their home, and over the years would influence so many American Jewish congregations.

The records of the Jews of Curacao, can be found in both The Jews of the Americas, or The Jews of the Caribbean.