Does it sound or look like I have Jewish ancestry?

[DebraBloom]

When discussing my surname with my mother, my mother said it meant flower (Bloom). I said 'that's a Hebrew surname.. isn't it?'' she said yes and said people in Germany have that surname but, it's spelled with a 'u'. Later on in the day, I messaged my mother and asked her what 'ashkenazic' meant. She said she didn't know and asked me why I asked her. I told her 'well, according to some research, this family may have ashkenazic roots, or origins'. She replied with 'what, you mean this family?' and I said yes. My mother texted back 'is it Jewish'.

I could've been dreaming but I swear my mother's dad (surname Bloom comes from him) was discussing his father, or grandfather long ago, and when he mimicked his accent it sounded Jewish. I may have recalled him saying something like 'he was a Jew' or something to that liking. I always get people say I and my mother look of totally Jewish descent and they say the same about my cousin and even more distant relatives. My family also lives in the same town that this Jewish family by the same surname settled. The 'Bloom' family with the meaning 'flower', according to houseofnames, is the Jewish one. It can be English or Irish too, apparently, and those families live in the UK too, but their surnames have a different meaning.

My mother and grandparents are gone now and I found it impossible to trace my grandfather's ancestry, no matter what site I go on, the family trees are simply not there.
Some family pics


Moderator Comment: External links to external photo website removed.

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Debra.

I wouldn't rely solely on the surname or how you think your family looks to make a judgement on whether or not they were Jewish.

There are a couple of approaches you could try:
- Take a DNA test
- Just trace your family history in the usual way going back generation by generation and you may discover some more concrete facts to back up your theory.

You do not just look for other people's family trees who may mention names of your ancestors(unsure if this is what you have tried and said you had no luck with, but this is how it reads to me) as they may not be correct. You need to do your own research.

It is also too hit and miss to google a surname, find pictures of random people and assume they may be related to you because they have the same surname.

(Not that it means anything, but I think one of your cousins looks Irish (the one with the curly hair))

[antiquesam]

It can be very difficult to find information on immigrants to this country unless you have a handle to work from. I had awful problems with my tree until I discovered, just by chance, that the family had changed their name from "Thiel" to "Shiel" before the '14 War and that the father had come over from Germany. I can't get past his marriage in the UK.
If I were you I would start working back from your mother and get grandparents getting their marriage certificate and working back with their parents.

[DavidG02]

I hesitate to enter this but I feel it is important to understand what is meant by '' am I Jewish''

There is no Jewish race. It is a religious appellation. Just as someone may be identified as a WASP ( White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) or a Baptist or a Buddhist or a Muslim. A Muslim is a follower of Islam and a Jewish person is a follower of Judaism. The only clause to that is that you can identify as Jewish if your mother is Jewish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_is_a_Jew%3F

This link will expand further and even , in some places , contradict me, but I am comfortable in saying the above

[JustinL]

Hi Debra,

You wrote, 'I always get people say I and my mother look of totally Jewish descent and they say the same about my cousin and even more distant relatives.'

I am of Jewish descent, but have freckles, reddish-brown hair and blue eyes as did my grandfather and his cousins. Appearances can be deceptive.

You really need to trace your roots in the conventional manner, and see what you find.

If you tell us what you know (names, dates, places), I'm sure there are many people ready to give a helping hand.

Justin

[ThrelfallYorky]

I'd always understood that Jewishness was traced through the maternal line, primarily. If your mother was Jewish, you will be.
That's very sensible actually, when you think about it, you can be more certain that your mother was your mother than that your father was your father!
Visual appearance is no guide, nor actually is surname often. Just trace your line, and see what pops up.
Many families have tales in them of some Jewish ancestor who "married out". Often it is based merely on the sound of a name / surname.

[Hackstaple]

The diaspora created two main regional streams of Jews - the Sephardic Jews who are the Jews of Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East and their descendants and the Ashkenazi who are the Jews of France, Germany, and Eastern Europe and their descendants.

Those who remained in Palestine over the millenia and their descendants are known as the Mizrachi.

Amongst the Ashkenazi it is not at all uncommon to encounter red-haired people with relatively fair skins.

[LizzieW]

Hackstaple

Presumably the Sephardic Jews had darker skin, black hair and dark brown eyes.  When my mother was getting married, someone asked her mother (my maternal gran) if my mother was marrying into a Jewish family.  Certainly my uncles looked like the portrait of Jewish people on film and TV and my g.grandfather's mother was apparently from Spain or Portugal.  As I can't find out anything about g.grandfather previous to him setting up home with g.gran, I have no idea what his family background was.

[whiteout7]

At some point Debra you might find your Bloom family entering into England (it depends when and why they came).