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

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.

From Spain to America, the family of Isaac Harby

Much has been written in this blog about the migration of Jews from Spain and Portugal, to Europe and eventually the Caribbean and then to the southern United States. Another wonderful example of this is the biography of Isaac Harby, which is contained in the collection. The biography, which was contained in the family bible was written in Isaac Harby's own handwriting. In his writings he first discusses his families beginnings, where he writes,

"My ancestors fled to Spain and then Portugal, where they remained until the pestilence of the inquisition drove them to Africa"

He further adds;

"I find my grandfather, Isaac Harbie, about the middle of the 18th century, employed in the business of a lapidary at Fez in Morocco and in his barbarian majesty's good confidence."

He then talks about the birth of his own father, Solomon, when he writes;

"Of this issue six children were born, the youngest of whom was Solomon, my father, born in London, 1762."

Then writing of their arrival in the United States he states;

"Solomon Harby emigrated to America and remained three years at Jamaica from 1778 to 1781. He married Rebecca Moses at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1787. She was the daughter of Myer Moses, a rich and patriotic Israelite who assisted his country during the Revolutionary struggle."

Like so many others, the Harby family travelled from Spain to Portugal, then to Africa and London before their journey to America by way of Jamaica. Further proof how important it is for all those researching early American Jewish families to carefully study the records of the Caribbean. The records of Isaac Harby and his family have now been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of North North America database and will be available after the next update.

Family Bible of Abraham DeJacob DeLeon of Jamaica

One of the newest additions to the Knowles Collection is a copy of some of the pages from the family Bible of Abraham De Jacob De Leon of the island of Jamaica. Originally donated to Malcolm Stern at Hebrew Union College, the papers were filmed and added to the microfilm collection (FHL Film # 1013428) of the Family History Library in 1977.
The Bible itself was given to Abraham De Jacob De Leon by his father Jacob De Leon and bought of Abr. Cohen De Leon on May 12, 1736 at a cost of 50 cents. Although he received it in 1736, his first entries are before that date as he seems to try and catch up on past events. A few notable events include;

• "I was born this 8 May 1702 a fryday night at nine o'clock."



• "I was married 25 August 1732 at Mrs.Modi Martin house in Spanishtown, Jamaica".



• "It was please God to deliver my wife safely between Ten and Eleven before nune with a Son. We gave him name Abraham of a Satterday. God give him long life".

The entries continue on through the births of the other 8 children, at which time the bible appears to have been given to the oldest son, Abraham, as he then makes entries for each of the births of his nine children. Following those entries are a few entries entered by Jacob De Leon, the oldest son of Abraham. He provides the following;

• "26 September 1786 It has pleased God to take unto himself my honored, dear, and beloved father, his remains were carried to Spanishtown and buried. God restore him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen."



• "I was married the 4 October 1789 at New York to Miss Hannah Hendricks."



• "My dear Mather departed this life 10 Jany 1792. Her remains was entered in Spanishtown Jamaica."

The entries are a loving tribute to multiple generations of a loving family. These records have now been added to The Knowles Collection - Jews of the Caribbean and will be available after the next update.

Jamaican Civil Registration of Births

When researching Jewish families in any part of the world, it is always nice to have multiple sources for information. It can not only be useful in verifying current information but may also provide help in adding new family members. One great example of this, are the records of the Civil Registration of Births for Jamaica.
In their wonderful book, The Jews of Jamaica Tombstone Inscriptions 1663-1880 (FHL book #979.92 V3), Richard D. Barnett and Philip Wright, list the burials of 2 sons of Jacob Henry De Pass and his wife Louise Alberga. Those sons, George Cecil and Arthur Rich are buried in Kingston, Jamaica at the Orange Street Cemetery. While it is possible that these are the only 2 children in the family, another record to search would be helpful in finding out if that were true.
Thanks to the Historical Record Collections database located at http://www.familysearch.org/, that is now possible to do from home. On the front page of FamilySearch, the collections can be browsed by location. Simply by clicking on the link for Caribbean, Central and South America, (Shown Below) all of the collections for that region can be shown.

In that list of 75 collections for the region, there are 3 specifically for Jamaica. Included in those are the Jamaica, Civil Birth Registrations with over 1.25 million records. Included with those records are all the images. This makes searching the records quite easy.

In looking for records of the family of Jacob Henry De Pass and his wife Louise Alberga, a simple search using the last name De Pass yields 660 hits. Included amongst those records are the birth registrations of four daughters. They are an unnamed daughter born in 1880, as well as Violet May born in 1882, Dorris Marjorie born in 1889 and Norah Gwendolan born in 1890. According to the records (shown below) all 4 daughters were born in Kingston.

A further search of these records finds many more members of the family. While this example is of Jamaica, there are now hundreds of databases from around the world that may include record of our Jewish ancestors. A few moments to get acquainted with the site could prove to be most beneficial in your research.