The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

Netflix has a new series out, “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.” The series is brave and the artistry goes beyond any show I’ve seen lately. The first episode uses such grainy, smeared film, at first I thought it was low, low budget, but hang in there, it’s just a technique to put you in the era. The production values improve as the 1900s progresses, just like in real life. The acting is excellent and if you’re a fan of Israeli movies, you’ll see some familiar faces. The courtyard scenes are beautiful and the creativity that the producers use to create locations that no longer exist (or were inaccessible) is pure genius.

If you are Jewish, or have Jewish ancestry, you’ll enjoy this historical fiction. Like real life, it’s a bit of a soap opera, but one you will enjoy. It’s honest and I’ll be honest, it’s binge-worthy.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry. Available here:

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Volume-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114082

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White Caucasian or Latino?

All my life, when filling out forms, I’ve always marked the box, White Caucasian. But now, after DNA testing, 23andMe tells me that six to eight generations (or more) ago, my “ancestors were from Spain/Portugal.” This was a special treat for me because it helps add substance to the theory that my ancestors were Crypto Jews. I still checked the White Caucasian box when I filled out the Federal Census, but smiled when I did so, and thought about all the genealogists out there, who armed with this new knowledge, desired to change their heritage. That ought to throw the number crunchers off.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy II – The Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors:

You Might Be Mexican, but You Might Also Be Jewish

I read a great book called, The Grandees. In it, the author mentioned the surnames, “Lopez, Mendes, Mendola, de Sola, de Silva, de Fonseca, Peixotto and Solis,” calling them, “The old Sephardic names with their Spanish and Portuguese musicality…”

There is also a strong showing of familiar Latin names on Sephardic surname lists. Garcia, Sanchez, Rivera, etc., may mean nothing to your family tree, or, these surnames could be your distant Sephardic Jewish ancestors, who went to Mexico, long ago, to escape the Inquisition.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry:

Genealogy… Ancestors Lost in the Crowd

In the middle of the 1600s, immigrants came to New Amsterdam (today’s New York) from a variety of European regions. Germany, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, bringing with them, their religious beliefs. There were Catholics and Lutherans. Baptists and Quakers. And there were Jews. After many historic episodes of religious oppression, these Jewish immigrants took advantage of New Amsterdam’s diverse population, and got lost in the crowd, so to speak.

All the above-mentioned religious groups, suffered through persecution. As Americans, we’re taught that our country was built on freedom of religion. It is easy to see how love and changing situations, found our ancestors joining up with a new religion. Do not close your mind to the possibility that your Catholic or Baptist ancestors could have originally been Jewish.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians:

Your “Dutch” Ancestors Could Have Been from Belarus

My “Dutch” ancestor in the early 1600’s, had the name of Reytske. So as usual, I googled the name but didn’t get far. Although I found a similar spelling of Retske. It was the obituary of a Jewish woman named Evelyn Retske. Also, Retske is a town in Belarus. The history of this region is extremely complicated, being further complicated today, so I won’t even attempt it. What I will attempt, is to always dig further into the names of our ancestors. Four-hundred years was a long time ago. Your Christian ancestors could have been Jews in the 1600s.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy II – The Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors. Available here:

The World is A Melting Pot

Iberia was “known to the Greeks and conquered by the Romans,” my old dictionary tells me. Throw in the latest research that tells us that most of today’s Brits are descendants of the Spanish, whether from the ancients immigrating from Iberia (Spain/Portugal) or the landing of the Spanish Armada. Did I hear someone say… melting pot?

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians:

Genealogy… I Did Not Know This About Seattle

I know that there is a large Jewish population in New York. I did not think of it as Ashkenazic or Sephardic. But there are a lot of descendants of Sephardic Jews living there. New York has the highest Sephardic Jewish population in America. The second largest is Southern California. What I did not know is that Greek Jews immigrated in large numbers to Seattle. As fishermen, their livelihoods were connected to the sea. Seattle had a thriving fish market, as did Portland, Oregon, so it was there that they settled. Seattle is considered the third largest Sephardic Jewish population in America.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry:

Jewish Surnames Hidden in Our Family Trees

Your family could have been Jewish, and you don’t even know it. How could that be? Surely their names would be easily recognized in American records. Not necessarily. Take for example, Sephardic names. Coming from Spain and Portugal, they were of a Latin variety. If they converted to Christianity, it was common to change the name to something Christian, like, to make it easy, Christ. The multi-names of a Sephardic ancestor were shortened. Then, after the Ashkenazi German Jews began intermarrying with the Sephardim, many new families took on the Ashkenazi name. If they abandoned Judaism, they may have Anglicized their name even further. The original Jewish names became lost.

If you’ve reached a dead end on your genealogical trail, consider looking at Jewish surnames. Ancestry has message boards where you might find answers.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry. Available here:

Genealogy… Were the Puritans Crypto-Jews?

Did you learn about the Puritans in elementary school? Of course you did. Did you learn about the crypto-Jews? Of course you didn’t. Not everyone’s family has Jewish ancestry, but many would be disappointed to find that this truth is being kept from them. Hidden in plain sight, one might say. The Puritans, (the ones with the funny shoes) were called Jewish fellow travelers, by the English. When the Puritans took to the seas and immigrated to North America, their journey was equated to the Biblical story of the Jews when they fled from Egypt. The Puritans may or may not have had Jewish roots. You may not have any Jewish roots. But if you do, wouldn’t you like to know?

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry. Available here:

Confused About the Origins of Your Ancestry? Maybe They Were Jewish

If you have a confusing southern family tree, and there’s a slim chance that they were Jewish, it might make more sense to you if you understood the attitude of New Orleans Jews. Many of them just did not care about Jewish traditions. It was shocking to Philadelphia’s Jewish community. And it wasn’t just New Orleans. This was during the 1800s when large numbers of Ashkenazic Jews from central Europe, immigrated to American cities. Many were OK with their children marrying Christians and converting to Christianity.

Having family tree branches that begin in America, but lack any record of the “old country,” and knowing the culture of New Orleans, bon temps rouler (let the good times roll) it kinda makes sense. It is one more avenue to explore.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy II – The Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors. Available here: