The life of Philip Benjamin (1779-1852) remains a mystery. But a review of his legal woes in the 1820s, when he was trying to raise a family, paints a clear portrait of him as a swindler. The first-generation Jewish American was in and out of court, losing case after case, with the exact ineffectual attorney, […]
Charting My Jewish Roots Along a Misleading Path
I got woefully lost tracing my family’s Jewish roots and fell into a familiar trap. Like many family history researchers trolling the Internet, I wanted to believe I was related to the great Moses Levy, a New York merchant who commissioned museum-quality portraits for most of his family members. My fifth grandmother was a Levy, […]
Little to Nothing Remains of Philip Benjamin’s Time in Charleston
Nothing is worse than the crushing blow of dashed expectations, especially regarding genealogy research. I had high hopes that a recent visit to Charleston, S.C., would turn up something — a gravestone, a house, a place of business, anything — related to my fourth great-grandfather, Philip Benjamin (1779-1852). My spirits rose when a Google Maps […]
My Six Most Awful Discoveries — So Far
Beware of what you might find when researching your family history. My family in particular seems to have more than its share of ghosts in the closet. Here are a few that I’ve discovered so far.
Judah P. Benjamin Was Forced to Leave His Desk Behind
When Judah P. Benjamin fled the country following the Civil War — he needed to skedaddle since he’d served as Secretary of State for the Confederacy — there was only so much he could take with him. First, the portly attorney could only fit so much on his horse, which he rode through the South, […]
The Judah P. Benjamin Files: The Treacherous Touch-the-Wig Tour
My self-appointed mission: To drive all the way to New Orleans for a special viewing of clothes belonging to my third grand uncle Judah P. Benjamin. With any luck, the Touch the Wig tour would end with a precious co-mingling of DNA so that genealogists would know I’d made the vital connection many years from […]