Hello!
I would like to add one more point to my prior e-mail. A lot of people are just now discovering they have Jewish roots. This is because some Jews converted, because their lives were so difficult and restricted, and they were constantly being kicked out and having to start their lives afresh in a new location that would "tolerate" them. This was almost always as a result of economic reasons (Jews always boosted the local economy) and rarely due to humanitarian reasons. So some of you may be in for a big surprise when you start researching! Such was the case with the vast Joske family of Australia, none of whom is Jewish. I have been in touch with many of them. A few aware of their Jewish heritage and most knew nothing about their lineage at all. Their Jewish patriarch and matriarch were Adolph Abraham Joske (of Birnbaum) and Auguste Weinberg (of Elbing) - my ggg-aunt. They were married in Elbing in 1855 - record found on the Elbing Mormon film - see attachment and rotate! In 1861 they emigrated from Berlin (via England) to Australia with 2 small children and a newborn. Imagine that long journey! Two more children were born in Australia. Even though there was an established Jewish community in Sydney & Melbourne by 1861, it was hard to be successful as a Jew, so some of the 5 children married non-Jews and all of the grandchildren married non-Jews. This Joske family has produced several famous and prominent Australian descendants, including Sir Alexander Sydney Joske - surgeon Enid Joske - college principal http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140672b.htm Sir Percy Ernest Joske - barrister and politician - http://about.nsw.gov.au/collections/doc/sir-percy-ernest-joske/ The Hon Thomas Roderick Joske, Justice of the Peace Stephen Joske - Stephen Joske is the Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit's China Forecasting Service in Beijing. From 2004 to 2007 he worked at the Australian Embassy in Beijing as the Senior Australian Treasury Representative to China, and last, but not least the famous HILLARY family from New Zealand. The famous Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, the first person to climb Mt. Everest, was married to Louise Mary Rose, great-granddaughter of Adolph Abraham Joske and Auguste Weinberg. Sir Edmund and his son Peter Hillary were the first father/son duo to climb Mt. Everest, and Peter carries on his late father's legacy. In fact I exchanged e-mails with Peter Hillary last year while he was at base camp, about to start a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro! He is my 4th cousin. Our common ancestors were our gggg-grandparents Jacob Israel Weinberg and Rebecka Goldstein, who were married in Dirschau but lived and died in Elbing. They had 16 children. Peter is aware and very proud of his Jewish heritage, imbued in him by his grandmother, Phyllis Joske. Mark - it might be fun & interesting to start a page on famous Elbing descendants! Subscribers can submit their own stories. Sincerely, Judith Elam From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of mark_f_rabideau Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 5:51 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Elbing-L] More German Genealogy Tips Hello all, For those interested in such things, here is my third in a series of German Genealogy Tips. I hope someone finds the tips helpful. http://www.many-roads.com/2011/04/04/german-genealogy-tips-3/ My earlier posts are to be found at: http://www.many-roads.com/2011/03/15/german-genealogy-tips/ http://www.many-roads.com/2011/03/18/german-genealogy-tips-2/ Feel free to send me any questions you might have on German Genealogy and I'll include them in a future post on this subject. ...mark
