Ottoman
Jewish Communities Information for the Sephardic Genealogist
©
Dr. David Sheby & Scott Alfassa Marks
Introduction
The material of interest to a Sephardic genealogist is spread over a great variety of sources, much of which was originally published without intention of being used for genealogical research. Such material resides in the vast literature of (non-genealogical) Jewish studies, Ottoman economic history, and Ottoman philately (i.e., stamp collecting). For example, studies in Ottoman economic history often mention the interaction of Jewish merchants with European counterparts from the 17th through early 20th centuries. Ottoman philatelic studies provide important information on town names, their locations within the Ottoman Empire, alternative names, and most importantly, their spelling in the old Ottoman script (based on the Arabic alphabet).
How were the identities and numbers of the Jewish merchants in such studies established? The answer is in the archives of diplomatic and commercial correspondence, identifying these merchants by name, that were accessed by the original research. But in the subsequently published studies in academic journals specific names were not required for the purposes of the papers and were omitted. One task of a Sephardic genealogist is to revisit many of these studies to identify relevant archives.
Strategies
The identification of useful material for the Sephardic genealogist is a continuing and evolving process. Consequently this Introduction cannot claim to present all relevant tools, techniques, and resources of use to the Sephardic genealogist as the useful source list has not been finalized. Nonetheless, this Introduction attempts to:
(1) identify a set of tools for working with some of the important written material that the Sephardic genealogist is likely to encounter;
(2) identify available material of high Sephardic-genealogical content useful for obtaining information about specific families or communities; and
(3) provide, by example, methodologies for identifying new sources containing Sephardic genealogical information.
Sephardic genealogical material (such as articles and/or book reviews of specific family or community histories) is often embedded in publications dealing with Sephardic culture in general. The personal information may be contained in non-fictional accounts, or contained in material discussing or demonstrating dedicated ritual items which are often not indexed separately, and remain undocumented for interested genealogists. Examples of such books are listed here:
" Juhasz, Esther. (Ed.), Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire: Aspects of Material Culture. JPH: Jerusalem, 1990.
--- The Sephardic Journey 1492-1992, Yeshiva Univrsity Museum, New York.
" Matsas, Michael. The Illusion of Safety: The Story of the Greek Jews During the Second World War. Pella: New York, 1997.
" Franco, Hizkia, M. The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos. Harper: Zimbabwe, 1990.
" Rozen, Minna. Haskoy Cemetery: Typology of Stones. Univ. of Penn. / Tel Aviv Univ. ,1994.
Unique Differences and Circumstances in Sephardic Genealogy
A majority of the Sephardim lived for the most part in Muslim lands. Because of this most official government documents a researcher will come across will be found in Arabic, and if from Turkey (or the former Ottoman Empire), a written script no longer used today called Osmanlica (consisting of the Arabic alphabet with some letter forms innovated by the Persians). This is significant as the Jews from former Ottoman occupied lands such as Bosnia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey (to name a few) will find that not only are birth certificates and other vital records difficult to obtain, but once obtained they will have to be translated from the original Arabic or Osmanlica.
Internet Sites
In addition to sites such as the the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture www.SephardicStudies.org there are almost no web sites providing important guidance for the Sephardic genealogists. Unfortunately there are few internet websites which offer the researcher original material. Many sites are just pages of links to outside sites, so it is up to the researcher to judge and elect which sources he or she shall utilize and trust. This is a list of recommended sites which offer original material helpful for conducting Sephardic genealogy.
1. ETSI (a Paris-based, bilingual French-English periodical) is devoted exclusively to Sephardic genealogy and is published by the Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Society (SGHS). www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/1321. ETSI is very important to track new finds of Sephardic Jewish community records (such as marriage records), which are often written in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) in various forms of cursive script that may not be readily recognizable by someone use to traditional Hebrew cursive styles.
2. Harry Stein's "A Research Tool for Sephardic Genealogy / Jewish Genealogy." This site has a large database of many early Spanish and Portuguese surnames. www.sephardim.com
3. European Sephardic Institute, home to the Sephardic Journal Los Muestros, in French, English and Ladino. They publish many articles which can be very helpful in genealogical work. www.sefarad.org
Sources
When the Ottoman Empire
dismantled, it brought about the formation of many different administrations
in its former territories. Thus a researcher will have to contact the governmental
archives office in each town/city, and/or start with the Jewish community
living there. Due to political reasons, many Jewish communities who are citizens
of these countries might be hesitant to assist Americans. Other communities
such as the once great Jewish community of Damascus, Tangier, or Cairo have
little or no Jews living there, and obtaining records is extremely difficult.
Of course, there's no sense in re-inventing the wheel: one can make inquiries
on the International Sephardic Discusion Group or other listerv.
You can always ask the local Jewish communities if there are people with your
own last name, if so, they are may put you in touch with them. You can also
visit the cemeteries in these same communities and search the tombstones,
although an increasing number of Sephardic tombstones are being archived on
the Internet. The Sephardic world awaits with eagerness when Professor Minna
Rozin of Haifa University will make available her trove of over 100,000 photographs
of 60,000 unique gravesites in the former Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Greece,
and the former Yugoslavia. The Jewish cemeteries in Istanbul are named for
the district they are located in. For example, the Arnavutkoy Jewish Cemetery
is in the Arnavutkoy district of town. The Orta Koy Jewish Cemetery is located
in the Orta Koy district of town. Other cemeteries are the Haskoy, Kuzguncek,
Kadikoy, and the Sisli (Judeo-Italiano).
It is possible for a researcher to contact sources directly within Turkey to find relatives or to find whatever records have survived. Remember you are not hunting alone … many other Sephardim are looking for the same records so eventually what you are looking for may become available. That's why it's important to be active on the Sephardic Discussion Groups and to participate in sharing any material that YOU uncover.
One source for records for Jews who came from Turkey is the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul (No. 61 Buyuk Hendek Cadessi, Galata, Istanbul, Turkey). Their records are only from 1949-present. Additional records may be found at the office of the Grand Rabbi (Hahambashi). However this office has only about 50 years worth of records sue to a fire which destroyed many of the older ones. Many other communities like the ones in Gallipoli, Edirne and Izmir suffered loses of their records due to water and fire damage over the years. The Chief Rabbi (the Haham Bashi) of Turkey's office can be contacted. However, the Haham Bashi (address: Turkiye Hahambasiligi, Beyoglu, Yemenici sokak No.23 [Office of the Grand Rabbi], 80050 Tunel - Istanbul, Turkey) exists to serve the religious needs of the Turkish Jewish community, not to provide genealogical research services for foreigners. So if you write to them please be sure to think about providing some sort of reimbursement for their time in the form of a thoughtful donation
If your family came from anywhere in Greece, you may also want to contact the Jewish Community of Athens and/or Salonika who have many of the records from the outlying Greek islands. It is interesting to note that a very large collection of the records from Salonika have been recently found in the Russian government archives. There are groups attempting to have these returned to the Greek Jewish community, but this material has not yet been made available to the public. These are some sources for potential information in Greece:
Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece (36 Voulis Str., Athens, Greece), Monasteriotes' Synagogue (35, Syngrou Str. - 546 30 Thessaloniki, Greece), Yad Lezicaron Synagogue (24, V. Heracliou Str. - 546 24 Thessaloniki, Greece), Ladino Society (13, V. Heracliou Str. - 546 24 Thessaloniki, Greece), Museum of the Jewish Presence in Thessaloniki (13, Agiou Mina Str. - 546 24 Thessaloniki, Greece), Community Offices, Rabbinate, Community Center (24, Tsimiski Str. - 546 24 Thessaloniki, Greece), Cemetery and the Holocaust Monument (Stavroupolis - Thessaloniki, Greece), Saul Modiano Old People's Home (89, Kimonos Boga Str. - 546 45 Thessaloniki, Greece)
It is important to note that though vital records such as birth, marriage, and death certificates are the most sought after material, any records from the former Ottoman territories such as Bulgaria, Greece or Turkey etc. prior to the Turkish Alphabet Reform of 1923 will result in records being written in the old style of Osmanlica.
