My family… we get around!

So the other day, on a whim, I started looking at some of the geneology information that 2 of 5 sent me a few years back. Raw and rather tricky to go through, I started to put it together and did my best to figure out who was related to whom in what way and where. As the generations spanned from 2 families to 4 to 8 to 16, it became needless to say, complicated. But eventually, I started to focus just on the direct lineage (child to parent to grandparent, etc.), combing back. 1900’s… 1800’s… 1700’s…

In the long run, the earliest record we had was from the late 1600’s. So on a whim I looked up one of the more complicated name-combinations on the net. BINGO! Thanks to the work of a set of distant relatives, the de Cordovas, I found not just reference to that particular relative and his wife, but information about his ancestry back to the late 1500’s… in Constantinople!

Seriously… WTF?! CONSTANTINOPLE???! That was something I didn’t expect.

That particular branch of the family were Jews. Not just Jews, but specifically the family of a Rabbi. Given that the name itself refers to an area in Spain, it isn’t too far-fetched to assume that the de Cordovas left Spain a generation or more before arriving in Constantinople, probably because of that whole Ferdinand and Isabela thang known as the Inquisition. While I am of course familiar with the history from books, knowing that it impacted my own direct lineage somehow brings it to life in a very chilling manner. Timing wise, it would have been my great (to the power of 12 or 13) Grandfather who would have had to flee from Spain, making the arduous trip to Constantinople, or face death. Had he not made that desperate trip – had he not survived that desperate trip – I wouldn’t be here today.

Even though I’m already a major history geek, it is one thing to read words on a page and imagine them happening to other people. But when it becomes personal, such as learning about one’s own family, it becomes so much more real. To me, the Inquisition was an interesting chapter in history (and a really silly musical number by Mel Brooks). I didn’t realize it had a direct impact upon me and how I came to be.

Wow. Just… wow.

Seriously, Constantinople?!!!! Wow.