No 80 - October 2004

 

ABSTRACT OF # 80

Revue du Cercle de Généalogie Juive # 80

October-December 2004


OUR SOCIETY'S LIFE

The XXth CGJ General Assembly will take place on March 13, 2005.

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FAMILIES

In a previous first part, Daniel VANGHELUWE has described the methods for using the various exploitable sources; he addresses those who search immigrants to France originating in Eastern Europe. In this second part, he tackles the core of his topic: the actual genealogy of his family, the Smietan, Tcherkowski and Gerson and their intricate relationship. The subtlety of the assumptions he makes and the accuracy of the findings is a model in case. Photographs and family trees exemplify the results of the analysis.


Pierre-André MEYER shows the ancestors of Alexandre Millerand (1859-1943), a French politician who was President of the Republic from 1920 to 1924. His mother Mélanie Cahen is the daughter of Cerf Caen and Fanny Cahen. The author traces the ancestors of these two parents, who bear almost the same surname, back to the early 18th century, in Westhoffen (Alsace) and Pontpierre (Moselle).


Jacques TAÏEB, in "Les Juifs de Constantine à la veille de la conquête française, 1837" (The Jews in Constantine on the eve of the French conquest) gives a rough estimate of the number of Jews, examines the specific and original naming pattern of this population of some 3500 individuals, statistically evaluates the frequency of the surnames and finally reconciles the sciences of population, names and city history.

Philippe AMSON had thought that his surname originated in Scandinavia. He eventually has found the origin of his family in Creglingen (Wurttemberg), by mere luck, "playing" on Internet. He thus can put names and dates on family pictures and to enter his ancestors in the Jewish Museum founded by Dr. Arthur Obermayer in Creglingen. Obermayer, a well-known benefactor, has his roots in Creglingen too, the building housing the museum stands at the
common origin of both families. An unexpected and successful genealogical story.


In "Hellering or Hellering ?" Gérard LEVY asks whether the ancestors of his maternal grandmother come from Hellering-lès-Fenétrange (Duchy of Lorraine) or Hellering-le-Grand (Généralité de Metz). For each possibility he shows the rationale, suggests a family tree and asks the reader his own opinion.


Jean-François RENAUD has traveled to Corfu in memory to his late uncle, our friend Georges Jessula, who passed away two years ago. His findings and longing for past times, the subject matter of his article, are complemented by a water-color painting by himself.


Eve-Line BLUM-CHERCHEVSKY, among her many occupations, is the moderator of the CGJ website. In this capacity, she often provides answers to the questions asked by the visitors. In "Success Story" and "Reacheroun 23, Arrondosomos 12" how she has untangled the genealogical maze of two unknown American correspondents.

 

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LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

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