What's in a Name? Part 2

In the previous post, I introduced the issue of naming conventions.  In this post I discuss how information about Spanish Naming Conventions can help you better understand the names of colonial American Jews and interpret their gravestones. First...

What's in a Name? Part I

Introduction Jews in the American colonies were often known by several names that they used depending on the circumstances: a Hebrew name for religious records, a Spanish or Portuguese pseudonym under which they traded with Iberian companies or Spanish...

Why I Love Historic Photos of Houses

As I said in my last post, I have been working on a paper on houses owned by Jews in the American colonies.  I am mainly interested in what houses can tell me about the families that lived in them and the kind of lives they led.  Hence, when...

Families of Note: Jesurun Family

There are several Jewish families who can be found in the colonial records of many of the port towns of the Atlantic World.  One of these is the Jesurun Family (also Yesurun, Jessurun, and Jeshurun). Jesurun (יְשֻׁרוּן ) is a variation of ...

Masons, Jews, and Mosaic Pavements

If you have been to the colonial Jewish synagogues in Curaçao, Barbados, or Suriname, or the (Old or New) Jewish Cemeteries in Curaçao, you will begin no notice recognize an interesting pattern: black and white tiles arranged in checkerboard fashion...

Rabbi's Houses in Colonial America

I have been thinking lately about Rabbi's houses in colonial America, in part because I will be speaking about early American Jewish houses at the AJS (Association for Jewish Studies) Conference in December, and in part because I have been transcribing...

Gravestone Resources

The Jewish Atlantic World Database has over 3,000 photos of gravestones.  Most of these are Jewish gravestones, though there are also stones from a slave cemetery in Newport and a Creole Cemetery in Suriname.  I have included in the database...

Jewish Atlantic World Database Now on the Web!

The Jewish Atlantic World Database is now open and free to use! In the collection, you will find over 5,000 images related to Jewish life in early America.  The database includes both photos of material culture (gravestones, ritual baths, synagogues,...