Okay, you've found your or your grandparent's name on the surname list. You now have a choice: keep researching or settle with the knowledge that you might have Jewish ancestry. For me, I want to know more. I want to dig digger. I want to find out all that I can.
If you have found a name, the next step is to know where that Jewish family lived and where your family lived and see if they lined up. E.g., if you're looking at the surname Heitman/Heidtmann, he gives the information in his book that the Jewish Heitman's lived in Hamburg. But let's say your Heitmans lived in South Africa. But perhaps, you know they came from Hamburg/Germany. That information would be important to know.
Your next step is to gather all that you know about your family. These items include photos, pictures, any particularly Judaic objects, e.g., a menorah. If a family member passed down a menorah in your family, that is a big giveaway.
Our team of researchers can provide you with a Jewish Surname Report, which will give you further information about where to look for your family roots.
If you are interested in this product, email us at info at jewishgene dot com with your names, and we will prepare a report for you documenting the Jewish presence of this family.
Further services to document your Jewish lineage can be offered.
There are two types of born-Jews: (1) those who are aware of their Jewish ancestry and (2) those who aren't. There are also converts to Judaism. This site is for those who aren't aware of their Jewish ancestry – or at least those who become aware later in life.
The only foolproof way to confirm your Jewish ancestry is to trace your mother's lineage back until you find a Jewish woman. This is done by finding your birth record, your mother's birth record, her marriage record, and then your grandmother's birth record, and grandmother's marriage record, and the same for your great-grandmother, until you find a Jewish woman. It can be beneficial to look at death certificates as well, which also provide vital information. If you happen to find that your mother's grandmother is buried in a Jewish cemetery, that is a smoking gun proof.
If you want to prove that you are Jewish, according to Jewish customs, which is known as halakha (i.e., Hebrew for the way
that Jews walk), then you must trace you mother's maternal lineage. Her mother, and her mother and so on. This is the only valid way to do it, no questions asked.
This is known as the Genie Milgrom Method. Genie Milgrom grew up as a Cuban-born Catholic, who, in her own words, always felt a little different from the rest of the children. She began to ask questions, and eventually at age 25, of her own volition, she converted to Judaism and married a Jewish name (last name Milgrom). What is funny about her story is that, a year or so after her conversion, her mother died and she was asked to bury the mother immediately. Since she had just become an Orthodox Jew, and it was Friday night/the Shabbat, she couldn't travel to bury her mother. She wondered what was the haste. She would then find out that burying the dead immediately is a Jewish custom, and that her mother was halakhically (according to Jewish custom) Jewish. She has since then dedicated her life to finding her own Jewish maternal linage, and helping others do the same.
Genie Milgrom documented her process in her books My 15 Grandmothers and How I Found My 15 Grandmothers: A Step by Step Guide (English/Spanish version: Como Encontre A Mis 15 Abuelas, Una Guia Paso a Paso). She was able to trace her maternal lineage 15 generations back and even 22 generations back to Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal in the fourteenth century.
The process is simple, but sometimes there are challenges along the way. If you want to find your maternal ancestry, reach out to us and we can help you.
Email us at info at jewishgene dot com.
The Jewish Surname Report costs $25. Consulting on the maternal line is case-by-case basis.