Secret Genealogy (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

People edit see section history

• Manasseh Ben Israel: Manasseh Ben Israel was born about 1604 and his family went to the Netherlands, he came from a Marrano family. Marrano is a term used for Jews who professed Christianity while often continuing to observe Judaism secretly.
• Rothschild: The son of Jean Rothschild appears to have changed his surname to "Bonta" and was awarded money from a Swiss bank account that had been lost to the Nazis. "Bento" may stem from "Baruch" which means blessed in Hebrew.
• Noah: Noah's son Ham figures interestingly into the issue of ancient slavery. During the Middle Ages, both Christians and Muslims believed that the descendants of Ham had turned black because Ham's father, Noah, cursed him because Ham was drunk and naked. During the Middle Ages, Catholics and Calvinists believed it was this curse of Ham that made it acceptable to enslave people with black skin.
• Nunez: The family line of Nunez may have begun in Jerusalem, then fled to Spain then to Portugal. Eventually this Nunez surname became "Eunice" because it sounded so similar to the Spanish Nunez/Nunes. Some say this family line goes all the way back to the days of Nebuchaneezer, the king of Babylon who conquered Jerusalem.

Quotes edit see section history

• “"A coincidence? You just have to shake your head. Who were these people and what were their origins?"”

• “And where did these "Acadian" people get their name? One has to wonder if they are not the "Ak'kad" people.”

• “"I grew up with a sense of not knowing my origins. Now why was that?"”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Acadia: Original French name of Nova Scotia.
• Samaria: Ancient region of Palestine.
• Israel: Used to describe: the northern Hebrew kingdom, the descendants of Jacob (Jews) and/or the republic in SW Asia along the Mediterranean.

Organizations edit see section history

• Holy Office: During the Inquisition the establishment of the Holy Office (tribunal) used to pursue and punish heretics.
• Huguenot: A French Protestant during the 16th & 17th centuries.
• Anglo-Saxon: A member of the nation created by the merger of Germanic tribes who invaded England and resided from the fifth to the eleventh centuries; person of English descent consisting of mixed races; "Old English

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Anusim: an ancient Hebrew word meaning "people who have been forced"
• Ashkenazi: noun for a Yiddish-speaking Jew from Middle, Northern and Eastern Europe (Ashkenazim is plural wheras Ashkenazic is used as the adjective)
• Court Jews (Hofjude): Jews attaining powerful positions in European aristocracy as bankers, money managers, consultants, trade and political representatives, etc.
• Converso: a Jew who converted to Christianity, usually by force or coercion
• Crypto Jew: practicing Judaism in secret while professing another religious faith
• Diaspora: Jews scattered throughout the world after Exile
• Jew: a member of the ancient tribe of Judah, also, one who practices the religion of Judaism, a Hebrew
• Kinnui: (kinouy, kinui) not a sacred Jewish name but a name that relates to the immediate environment, a secular name required at circumcision along with the sacred name
• Melungeon: a group of people descended from European and Middle Eastern ancestry who intermarried with Native Americans and African Americans and reside along North America's Atlantic coast, including northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia
• Mexican Inquisition: an extension of the Spanish Inquisition into the New World
• Mulatto: person with a light-browned skin pigmentation of mixed African and Caucasian ancestry
• Semite: a descendant of Shem (a son of Noah); a member of a Caucasian race now chiefly represented by the Jews and Arabs, but in ancient times included the Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Aramaeans, etc
• Sephardim: descendants of the former Jews of Spain and Portugal (Sephardim is the noun, Sephardic is the adjective)
• Walloon: a term used to refer to Belgian Protestants, while the term "Huguenot" denotes French back-ground
• Yiddish: a High German dialect developed under Hebrew and Slavic influence, written in Hebrew letters
• Voorleser: the Dutch word for an educated man who read lessons in church (absent a pastor) led singing, taught school and performed other duties

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Crypto Jew: A lot of this book is about discovering if your ancestors were Crypto Jews who practiced Judaism in secret while they pretended they were Christians, particularly during the Inquisition.
• Many American names were originally of Jewish descent: Names like Levi, Jacob, Benjamin, Rebecca, Sarah, Ezekiel and Hester and symbols such as the lion may have been the last opportunity many parents had to lay claim to a heritage that stems back thousands of years.
• The political climate during the Middle Ages neccesitated hiding one's Jewish ethnicity: For the sake of survival and the opportunity to live free of persecution, families made a pact to not tell the next generation they were Jewish.
• You can find your true ancestry if you study their names: Study Jewish names and genealogical message boards, be open to the fact that they may have been Jewish and they changed their names.
• The ancient ancestors left behind clues to their true identity: Don't be afraid to dig deeply into clues, like lions in the coat of arms or weird names that seem more like they have taken a long name and shortened it. Remember during the Middle Ages, Da Vinci was writing backwards and to read it, one had to hold it up to a mirror. To be cryptic was fashionable and it was done by our ancestors who had to hide that they were Jewish.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Suellen Ocean (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: 2010923878
• Dewey: Add the Dewey Classification.

Notes for Parents edit see section history

A good book for young adults studying ancestry but contains uncomfortable truths about the Inquisition and slavery. Parents should READ IT FIRST before sharing it with youngsters.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Religious Studies › History
• Books › History › Europe › Netherlands
• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Other Practices › Freemasonry
• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Christianity › Church History
• Books › History › Americas
• Books › Reference › Genealogy

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