Surnames the end

The next batch of surnames relating to direct ancestors, covers N - Z

Penha – de la Penha – the line starts with Franciscus Fernandez de la Penha born 1550 in Spain. He is Diane’s 10 x great grandfather.

Pereira – this line starts with Isaac Pereira who was probably born about 1780. He is Diane’s 3 x great grandfather.

Printsman – this line starts with Jacob Isaac Printsman possibly born in France in about 1770. He is Diane’s 3 x great grandfather.

Robart – this line starts with Diane’s dad Max who changed the family name from Rubinstein in about 1950.

Rodrigues-Ribera/Ribeiro – this line starts with Abraham Rodriques-Ribera born about 1700. He is Diane’s 6 x great grandfather.

Rodrigues – this line starts (and ends) with Bianca Rodriques born about 1587 in Argentina. She is Diane’s 9 x great grandmother.

Rubinstein – this line starts with Diane’s paternal great grandfather David Rubinstein who was born in Russia and came to England in about 1880.

Singer – this line starts (and ends) with Diane’s paternal grandmother Minnie Singer who was born in Russia and came to England in about 1880.

Tubi – this line starts with Abraham Tubi who was born in Livorno, Italy in 1670. He is Diane’s 6 x great grandfather.

Walbaum – this line starts with Woolf Walbaum born in Russia in about 1850. He is my maternal great grandfather.

Surnames Continued

The next batch of surnames relating to direct ancestors, covers I - M

Isaacs – this line starts with John Isaacs born in London in 1796. He is Diane’s 2 x great grandfather.

Joshua – this line starts (and ends) with Eve Joshua who married John Isaacs (see above) in the Hambro Synagogue, London in 1819. She is Diane’s 2 x great grandmother.

Levy – this line starts with Yehuda Levy born about 1780. He is Diane’s 3 x greatgrandfather.

Malnick – this line starts (and ends) with Leah Malnick born in Russia in about 1863. She married my great grandfather Joseph Balsom in about 1888 probably before they came to England.

Martin - Martines – Nunes Martines – this line starts with Jose Nunes Martinez who was born 1690 and was married in Bevis Marks in 1711. He is Diane’s 6 x greatgrandfather.

Mendoza – de Mendoza- Mendosa – this line starts with Patriarch de Mendoza born about 1624 in Seville, Spain. He is Diane’s 8 x great grandfather.

Miller – this line starts (and ends) with Yetta Miller born in Russia in about 1858. She married my great grandfather Solomon Godalski in about 1877 before they came to England.

Mizrahi – this line starts (and ends) with Palmona Mizrahi who married Abraham Rodriques-Ribera. She is Diane’s 6 x great grandmother.

Surnames continued

The next batch of surnames relating to direct ancestors, covers E - H

Emanuel – this line starts (and ends) with Rebecca Emanuel who married Jacob Martin (Nunes Martines) in London in 1796. She is Diane’s 3 x greatgrandmother.

Fienson – Feinson – this line starts with my maternal grandfather who was born in Bialystock and came to England about 1904.

Fernandez – Fernandez de la Penha – this line starts with Franciscus Fernandez de la Penha who was born in Spain in 1550. He is Diane’s 10 x greatgrandfather.

Godalski – Gold – this line starts with my paternal greatgrandfather Solomon Godalski who born in Warsaw and came to England about 1880.

Gomez – this line starts (and ends) with Abigail Gomez born 1629, who married David de la Penha Castro in 1664. She is Diane’s 8 x greatgrandmother

Hart – this line starts with Meir Hart who is Diane’s maternal 3 x greatgrandfather

The first thing I want to say is that I am very lazy. I think I should rename my blog “The Lazy Genealogist”. Jennifer Shoer at The Scrappy Genealogist very kindly sent me the Ancestor Approved Award, which was begun by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here. She did this on 15^th January and it has taken me till now to respond.

I must admit that I had not come across this award before but it is a great idea. So firstly thanks to Leslie Ann for coming up with the idea and secondly thanks to Jennifer Shoer for thinking of my blog. I know that “An English Jewish Family’s quest for their roots” is a bit of a mouthful but it seemed a good idea at the time and I hope you find it interesting.

The award asks the recipient to list ten things learnt about any of their ancestors that have surprised, humbled or enlightened them. It also asks the recipient to pass the award along to ten other bloggers who they feel are doing their ancestors proud.

So firstly my ancestors and I include my wife Diane’s ancestors in this:

1. I have found that I know nothing about my ancestors prior to them coming to England in the late 19^th century from what was then Russia and is now Poland.
2. Similarly we know nothing about Diane’s father’s family prior to them coming to England about the same time and from the same area.
3. Diane’s maternal grandmother Dinah was Sephardi.
4. Diane’s Sephardi line has been in England for over 300 years.
5. The first recorded marriage in Diane’s family in England was in 1697 in Bevis Marks Synagogue.
6. Diane is distantly related to the actor Peter Sellers, to the first “scientific” boxer Daniel Mendoza and to Rufus Isaacs, first Marquess of Reading and Viceroy of India. 
7. My oldest grandson is a firstborn child as is his father, as I am, as my father was and his father was. Not sure if it means anything but we had a Pidyon Haben for my oldest son and for my oldest grandson.
8. I found that I had a brother who died at the age of 10 months when I was 4 years old.
9. Diane has ancestors from Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, Holland, Argentina, Morocco, Russia and of course England.
10. Diane and I have found cousins so far in Australia and the USA.

Secondly bloggers that I respect. Jennifer obviously has very similar tastes in blogging to me, since 4 of her awards are to blogs on my reading list. So here goes:

1. dearmyrtles-genealogy-blog at http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/
2. Dick Eastmans online genealogy blog and newsletter at http://blog.eogn.com/
3. Geneamusings at http://www.geneamusings.com/
4. Geneabloggers at http://www.geneabloggers.com/
5. Genealogy Blog at http://www.genealogyblog.com/
6. Genealogy Star at http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/
7. Ancestry Insider at http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/
8. Blundering Blindly Backwards at http://blunderingblindlybackwards.blogspot.com/. I wish that I had thought of this name. It sums up everything I do.
9. You Don’t Choose Your Family at http://mikeydawson.wordpress.com/
10. The Wandering Genealogist at http://wanderinggenealogist.wordpress.com/

My wife's family

My wife Diane’s family were Ashkenazi Jews and her mother was born Leah (Lily) Hart. We were both surprised when we found out that Diane’s grandmother Dinah Bittan, was from a Sephardi family. Our 3 sons now want to know if they can have rice at Pesach. The Hart side I have traced back to Diane’s 3 x great grandfather Meir Hart born about 1770.

The Bittan side linked with the Nunes Martinez family in 1834 and with the Mendoza family in 1764 when Abigail Mendoza born in London in 1744 married Isaac Nunes Martines born in London in 1745.

Abigail Mendoza’s father Aaron was born in Amsterdam in 1709 and probably came to England about 1730. Aaron’s father Daniel Mendoza was born in Seville in Spain in 1685. Daniel’s father David was also born in Seville in Spain in 1650. In 1685 he married Abigail Castro de la Penta in Holland. Abigail was born in Seville in Spain in 1665.

David Mendoza’s father the Patriarch de Mendoza was born in Seville in Spain in 1624 and the trail ends there for the time being. Abigail’s family can be traced back to her great grandparents Franciscus Fernandes de la Penta born 1550 in Spain and Bianca Fernandes born 1558 in Spain who married in 1579.

The search continues.

In the beginning

When I first started out on, to quote Tony Blair, “A Journey”, it was in the days of the Commodore 64 and continuous printing paper with green lines.

Over the years I have started and “rested” rather than “stopped” my research numerous times, but I always come back to it. Researching family history has a fascination, which never seem to leave you once you are hooked.

My biggest regrets are not questioning my parents and my in-laws enough before they passed on. I lost the opportunity to find out more about the past. Their lives, where they lived, where they went to school and what they knew of their parents lives. Much of this information is probably lost forever. My research has helped to fill in some of the gaps but not all.

When I started out I knew that my mother’s parents were born and married in Russia (now Poland) and came to England about 1905 with 2 children. My mother was born in London. My father’s parents had the same background although they were both born and married here. Their parents came here around 1880.

My wife parents were both born in England. Her father’s parents came to this country from Russia as an engaged couple with his grandparents. On her mother’s side my wife was brought up believing that her family had been in England for over 200 years. It was therefore this part of our family that I have spent the most time researching and have now been able to trace it back to the 1550’s in Spain. Her ancestors seem to have arrived in England in the early 1700’s.