ABSTRACTS of issue 125
Pascal Faustini
From Gerson Zay of Metz to Joselman of Rosheim
Stemming from Gerson bar Elieser - one of the first Jew admitted to settle in Metz in 1564 - the Zay family is one of the oldest of the Jewish congregation of the city. But where did this Gerson come from? Several links are suggested in this paper between the Zays and various German rabbinical dynasties of the 16th century; among them those of Reichsrabbiner R. Samuel bar Elieser “Mazia” (ca 1460-1543) and of Joselman of Rosheim (1478-1554) the advocate of the Jews of the Empire in front of Charles V. In the appendix the analysis of the Hebrew signature of Samuel Schwartz of Westhoffen (~1685-1744/1750) shows that his family was indeed connected to the "Mazia".family.
Anne-Marie Fribourg
Around painter Benjamin Ulmann (1829-1884)
The restoration and exhibition of Benjamin Ulmann's paintings given by his daughter to the city of Rambouillet, France, offer the opportunity to embark on a study of his family and allies – particularly the families of Senator Ferdinand Dreyfus and Doctor Fernand Widal.
Philippe Dockès
Benjamin Dockes and his son Marx in Alsace and the Vosges. An essay on names
Studying the Jews of the Alsatian countryside for many years – particularly of the village of Hattstatt near Colmar – the author works on the links between his families and the evolution of his patronymic name from the end of the 17th century to our times. The paper presents two rather mixed aspects : onomastics and genealogy.
Bernard Lyon-Caen
The ascendancy of Hélène Berr (Paris 1921 - Bergen-Belsen 1945)
The numerous readers of her Journal, an exceptional testimony published in 2008 on the life of a French student and her family in occupied Paris, were able to read the moving foreword written by Patrick Modiano. The postface presents only a few details on her family. This paper intends to complete her ascendancy. Going up to the fifth generation, we stroll through Lorraine, Alsace, South-West France, the Nederland and Germany.
Pierre-André Meyer
David Picard (Lemestroff,Moselle, 1758 - Lamarche,Vosges, 1843). A family document of 1793
Upon presentation of a register of circumcisions a town officer of Metzervisse (Moselle) issued in 1793 a birth certificate to a named David Picard, born in 1758. Preserved by the descendants of the latter this document of a rare kind is a pretext for a genealogical trip ending up in the Vosges.