Surnames

In our family tree when you include our extended families, there are about 100 surnames. Of these, however, only about 30 are direct ancestors. Over the next few blogs I will go through our ancestors. So lets start with A-D. Actually there are no A’s or D’s.

Balsom – Balzum – Belson - Benson – this line starts with my paternal greatgrandfather Joseph Balsom who came to England from Russia around 1889.

Benjamin – Binjamin – this line starts with Benjamin Benjamin whose daughter Leah married Moses Hart in 1819.  Benjamin was Diane’s maternal 3 x greatgrandfather

Bittan – Betan – this line starts with Yamin (Abraham) Betan who was born in Gibraltar and then moved to Morocco. He is Diane’s maternal 3 x greatgrandfather.

Cardoso – Nunes Cardoso – this line starts with Moses Nunes Cardoso who was married in Bevis Marks, London in 1697. He is Diane’s maternal 7 x greatgrandfather

                       

Chaves – de Chaves – this line starts with Rachel de Chaves who married Moses Nunes Cardoso (see above). She is Diane’s maternal 7 x greatgrandmother.

Cousins again

The time has come to get back to writing about the family. I have been chasing up my cousins to let me have their family info so that if nothing else, my grandchildren will know who their cousins are. When we were young my sister and I were very close to our first cousins, especially on my mum’s side. They all lived in and around Hackney and Dalston in East London. On my dad’s side, they were more spread out in Willesden and Maida Vale in North West London and Barnet in North London, so we didn’t see them as much. My first cousins are my grandchildren’s first cousins once removed and my first cousins children are my first cousins once removed and my grandchildren’s second cousins. At least I think I am right. Now that all my first cousins are grandparents there is a lot of current info to go into the family tree.

Jewish Genealogy round the World - Part 2

Whilst researching our family history we have been introduced to three sites which deal with the creators family history and which link into Diane's family tree.

The Lewis Family Tree Project

http://www.tzorafolk.com/genealogy/index.html

Within this there is a section on the Mendoza family which links into Diane’s family tree. http://www.tzorafolk.com/genealogy/history/mendoza.htm

The Whipp Family History Project

http://www.whippfamily.co.uk/

Within this there is a section on Jewish Roots. This contains many surnames linking to Diane’s family tree.

Robert Orland’s Family History Project

http://www.orlandfamily.historiccoventry.co.uk/martinez/martinez.php

One of the surnames is Nunes Martinez, which links into Diane’s family tree

Cousins

Last Thursday my wife and I met up with my sister and my first cousins on my Dad’s side of the family.

My Dad had three sisters and a brother who is 4 years older than me. Two of the sisters each had a boy and a girl and the third had just a daughter. His brother is childless.

We met up in the restaurant in the John Lewis Department store in Oxford Street, Central London where my sister works.

With partners there were 9 of us including one aunt aged 89. Two cousins couldn’t make it and one of the cousins came down from Leeds (350 mile round trip) for the day. 

It was great meeting up and we have resolved to make it at least an annual reunion.  It  made me realise, however,  that we spend a lot of time tracing our ancestors, but not enough time recording details of the living. So I have resolved to contact all our first cousins and our nieces and nephews to make sure all their information is recorded in our family tree.

Of originally 25 first cousins, we are now down to 18, so it is important that the recording is started now.