IAJGS 2018 Warsaw, Poland 6-10 August

The 2017 IAJGS Conference was a great success and much was learned. Now its time to turn our sights ahead to the 2018 Conference to be held in Warsaw, Poland from the 6th to the 8th of August. Please make plans to join us there.

Beyond the Pale - The History of the Jews in Russia

To study the history of the Jews within the Russian Empire, one is quick to learn such things as intolerance, expulsion and assimilation. These were all issues that the Jews had to deal with on a daily basis. From the Middle Ages, the Jews were under pressure to fit into the Russian believe that all should form a single people, based on common beliefs, with a common language and common religion.
The history of our ancestors, and the struggles that they went through are now documented in a wonderful website http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/beyond-the-pale/index.html. That site Beyond the Pale- The History of the Jews in Russia, tells the stories of our people. not only through written word but through some wonderful photos.
This site not only discusses the history of the Jews, but talks of anti-Jewish attitudes and intolerance of the Jewish people. As it states on the site "This exhibition depicts the history of anti-Jewish attitudes -- and of anti-Semitism today, a form of intolerance that in our century caused the death of millions of people. The exhibition also portrays the history of Jews in Europe and in Russia to help understand their life, religion and culture. But above all, the exhibition wants to warn of the great dangers of prejudice and intolerance, particularly in times of political uncertainty and increased social tension."
It is so very important that we read and reread the histories of places such as the Pale of Settlement, for if we don't don't learn from the past, what kind of future can we have.

The far reaching influence of the Fordon Jews - part 5

Searching through records from around the world, sooner or later leads to the names of more Jews from Fordon, Poland. Today is no different. While reviewing the burial records from the Hebrew Cemetery located at Garfield and Joseph Streets in New Orleans, Louisiana the following marker is found:

In memory of Hermann Aaronshohn,

born in Fordon, Germany

July12, 1839

died June 17, 1899

Rest in Peace

The search for more remnants of the Fordon Jewish community continues.

The far reaching influence of the Fordon Jews part 3

In the continuing effort to document everyone I find from the ancestral home of Morris David Rosenbaum, I have had some more good residents of Fordon, Poland brought to my attention.

At the Judah L. Magnes Museum in California, are held many family histories. Included amongst them are the records of Oser and Bertha Michelson Meyer(FHL film #1031331). According to this record, Bertha and her sister Henriette, both married men from Fordon.

The first sister, Henriette Michelson (1827-1916) married Benjamin Levy(15 Feb 1826-8 Jun 1900). The second sister, Bertha (1834-25 Sep 1897) married Oser Meyer (1824- 30 Sep 1894). Both families raised their families in the San Francisco area and are buried at the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, California.

The far reaching influence of the Fordon Jews part 2

As I have documented more than once in this blog, my great- great grandfather was from the small town of Fordon in Poland. As I am always looking for anything that has to do with the Jewish community there, I was quite happy to find not one, but two references to the homeland.
In the records of the Hebrew Cemetery, located at the corner of Canal and South Anthony streets in New Orleans, is found the following information taken from two headstones.

Moses Levy

Died Dec. 20, 1868

aged 30 years

Native of Fordon, Prussia

and

M.S. Marks

Born in Fordon, Prussia

May 6, 1799

Died Aug 27 1867

It always nice to find the names of those who could have had an influence upon your family. The search continues.

Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society

One of the joys of being involved in Jewish family history research, is always seeing new wonderful webites, and if I am able to come across a site that deals with Poland, that is all the better. So imagine the excitement this morning as I have been reading through the website of the Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society (www.gombinsociety.org/).

Even though Gombin, may be most famous for its wooden synagogue, which was first built in the year 1710 and restored in 1893, this website is a wonderful place to learn more about the Jewish community there. While some sections appear to still be a work in progress, I have found myself unable to leave the site, and thank them for their incredible work.

The far reaching influence of the Fordon Jews

Over the generations, families move for many reasons, and I am constantly amazed at how widespread our families become. My own great grandfather, Morris David Rosenbaum, a Polish Jew, was born in Fordon, Poland in the early 1830's. Over time his journey took him to New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco and eventually to Utah.
It was then with great interest that I was reading the book The Jews of Ireland, by Louis Hyman. In his chapter on the Dublin congregation he writes, "In 1829, the eleven families of the congregation appointed the Rev. Isaac Davidson to be Reader, shochet, and mohel. Davidson was born in Fordon, in the duchy of Posen, settled in England about the year 1820, and was for some time the reader and sochet in Sunderland and Brighton, apart from an interval as private secretary to Solomon Herschell, the Chief Rabbi of England."

The records of this family can be found in the Jews of the British Isles, and The Jews of Europe.

In January of 1976, the parents of a good friend, encouraged me to fill out a pedigree of my family. Little did I know, that what I did as a 13 year old would so greatly affect my life. I was instantly drawn to one ancestor in particular, my great-grandfather, Morris David Rosenbaum, a Polish Jew. The journey to find more about him and his life has not only become a time consuming hobby, it is also a most fulfilling part of my work.
Although Morris David Rosenbaum spent very little time in the British Isles, probably only enough time to gather himself before heading to the United States, learning more about the people he met and who may have ultimately had an influence upon his life has become a passion. From this search has come the Knowles Collection, a database of the records of the Jews of the British Isles.
It is my desire that through this blog the stories of the Jews of the British Isles can be told, and people from all parts of the globe will come together to keep the histories of our families alive.

This person is found in the Jews of the Americas.