Because of my late husband Mike’s and my DNA tests, the name clues I have found in our genealogy, and our inherited Sephardic Jewish autoimmune disease , the perception of our ancestral Mormon pioneers as a group of British and other Western Europeans; is now clarified, as a gathering of multicultural peoples living amongst native Western Europeans. I believe the glue that holds together the diverse genetic background of our ancestors is Judaism.
As “strangers in a strange land”, the devout Jew, crypto, and converso were tossed to and fro on the waves of uncertainty. Never feeling secure in their host environments; knowing their fate, lives, and fortunes could change on the whim of the Christian or Muslim majority; their support system was fractured and faith wavered. The Converso/Crypto Sephardim (Mediterranean Jews), Mizrahi (Asian Jews) and Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descendants who were disassembled by the tolerance of Protestantism, persecution, poverty, and false messiahs; had all been prepared by God, to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hardly think my Mormon pioneer ancestors are all that unique. Many of the classic Melungeon/ Sephardic names are familiar to me. I have glanced at a few of the early families in the church and I see Sephardic Jewish given and surnames among them.
Salt Lake Tabernacle Star of David
Because of my research, I bear a strong witness to what Joseph Fielding Smith said:
The Lord said He would scatter Israel among the Gentile nations, and by doing so he would bless the Gentile nations with the blood of Abraham. Today we are preaching the gospel in the world and we are gathering out, according to the revelations given to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and and the other prophets, the scattered sheep of the House of Israel. These scattered sheep are coming forth mixed with Gentile blood from their Gentile forefathers. Under all the circumstances it is very possible that the majority, almost without exception, of those who come into the Church in this dispensation have the blood of two or more of the tribes of Israel as well as the blood of the Gentiles. Joseph Fielding Smith Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 volumes, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-66, 3:63
Heber Tabernacle
Heber Tabernacle Sephardic Rose Symbol
Henry C. Clegg Ducimer/Santor
- In ancient dispensations, the revelations given by God to Moses ( Deuteronomy 30:3), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 30:3), Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 28:25), Isaiah (Isaiah 11:11-12; 43:5), Micah (Micah 2:12), and other prophets; for the scattered sheep of the House of Israel to be gathered. These scattered sheep have been/are brought out from the far corners of the earth, coming forth indeed, mixed with gentile blood from their gentile forefathers. As I look back at the history of the Jews, in the last five hundred years, it is marvelous to behold the sons and daughters of Judah who have been preserved by the hand of God in leading them to settle in in North and South America which has become another promised land for the gathering of the Jews and the descendants of the Jews.
But what of the faith of the ancient ones before them? What of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Are they not our fathers? Are we not the House of Israel- Dieter Uctdorf General Conference April 2008
When our prophets make statements similar to what President Uctdorf has made, do we really believe their words? If we have educated ourselves with the history of the House of Israel, we know President Uctdorf’s statement to be a true statement. We understand how the Jews were scattered, not just in a vague sort of theoretical way, but how and why they were scattered and now being gathered in our dispensation ( Ephesians 1:10; 1 Nephi 22:25; Doctrine and Covenants 39:11).
But what of the Sephardic peoples in our modern times? The Sephardic communities were decimated by the Holocaust, and it is ironic to note, the Ashkenazi Jews who flourished; have overshadowed the Sephardim ( in times past, the opposite was true). Because of their diaspora status, the Sephardic communities were fractured into East and West, Turkish and Western European/American. The Sephardim, a generation ago, were nearly extinct. Despite the closure of Sephardic synagogues, and the assimilation into Ashkenazi and Christian cultures, the Sephardim are hanging on.
In the last decade, an awakening has occurred. God has led many of us to find our identity as the lost Sephardim, or in Hebrew, as Anouism. We are discovering our Crypto/Converso Sephardic Jewish heritage. Many are returning to Judaism, and some have emigrated to Israel. Other Sephardic Jewish descendants, unable to leave behind Christ, have joined the Messianic movements.
For additional info see: http://www.ifmj.org/main/index.shtml .
Jews have noticed this trend and acknowledge the Anouism in the gathering of Israel.
From Spain to Brazil to the southwestern United States, the number of Anousim coming out into the open is surging. The time has come to welcome them back home. Michael Fruend The Inquisition: Full Circle, Jerusalem Post to read article in entirety see: http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48891232.html
As far as our family is concerned, God has shown us our true heritage and we are also gathered by the truth and knowledge. We have been blessed by the knowledge as we discovered we have Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) and are now receiving treatment. I believe (just like Joseph Fielding Smith), most, if not all, LDS people are a mix of Hebrew and Gentile. LDS people have also been gathered, but may be ignorant of true ancestry. It is imperative we come to a realization of who we really are. Our knowledge is part of the gathering of peoples. I am confident future family historians, filled with the Spirit of Elijah, will use DNA as a tool to find previously lost generations of ancestors. They will not assume an ancestral line found in a particular place and time; has always resided in that particular place. Future family historians will understand the broad view of historical migrations and events which include their ancestors.
In my oldest son Tex’s patriarchal blessing, it is prophesied he will do the work for hundreds of his kindred dead, who anxiously await their temple work to be done. At the time of his blessing, seven years ago, I wondered how this seemly impossible task would be accomplished; now we know. The work is never done; the field is white and ready to harvest for us all.
I am happy to say this is the final post in the Series.
The End.
Joanna, now you need to write a book!
Geoff, How nice of you to say that.
If anyone out there is in need of a research project, I may be able to help with a project idea. What I have introduced is the Readers Digest Condensed Version on the subject.
Joanna, I am sad to see this is the final post in the series, and I would definitely buy the book.
This series has been an eye-opener for me in more ways than one. It also sent me down completely new paths in my family history search.
Last night I just happened to see the first broadcast in a series called “The Generations Project” on BYUTV. This first episode called “Lumina” reminded me of your series of posts. Their website byub.org/generationsproject and byutv.org shows the episode is being rebroadcast on the 9th at 1pm, the 10th at 11am, and the 11th at 12pm and 6pm.
Joanna, thank you for sharing your research, your insights, and your experiences.
Munchas Gracias Joana !
Todo esto no es ainda ke el empesijo solo. Estamos seguros ke esta es una inisiativa ke se dezvelopara muncho mas rapidamente de lo ke pensavamos i puede ser ke sera imitada por otros grupos mas, kon interesos espesiales en uno o otro de los aspektos de la kultura djudeo espanyola. Segun la dicha en inglez, “El sielo es el limito” i no ay duda ke en los anyos vinientes podremos ver dezvelopamientos muy pozitivos en este kampo.
To read the rest of the series:
Our pioneer names and DNA. THe rest of the posts explain how this happened
part 1- https://www.millennialstar.org/rising-out-of-obscurity-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection/
What happened in Spain
part 2- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-ii-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-a-history-of-the-sephardim-in-spain/
Some went to Turkey
part 3- https://www.millennialstar.org/ew/
Some went to Western Europe
part 4- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-iv-lds-and-the-sephardic-connection-western-europe/
Sephardic Influences
part 5- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-v-lds-and-the-sephardic-connection-seeding-the-protestant-reformation/
England and Spain were at war. The Western Europe Converso and Crypto Jews fled even farther west in fear of Spain
part 6- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-vi-lds-and-the-sephardic-connection-braving-the-new-world-the-lost-colony-of-roanoke/
part 7- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-vii-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-the-first-thanksgiving-or-sukkoth-in-america/
Some Sephardic Jews were part of the tri-isolate communities in America
part 8- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-viii-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-what-the-heck-is-a-melungeon/
Sephardic descendants preferred to be out on the wilderness
part 9- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-ix-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-the-great-melungeon-migration/
Sephardim altered or adapted their surnames, but often kept a few Sephardic given names
part 10- https://www.millennialstar.org/part-x-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-sephardic-names-and-what-to-look-for/
Sephardic Jews had unique illnesses:
https://www.millennialstar.org/family-history-can-save-your-life/
Evidence of Orson Hyde’s Jewish ancestry using the Hirschman model
https://www.millennialstar.org/sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-utah-history-encyclopedia-is-wrong-joseph-smith-was-right-orson-hyde-is-of-jewish-ancestry/
We are all gathered
https://www.millennialstar.org/sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection-the-gathering/
JA Benson, I am interested in the photo of Henry Clegg that is included in this blog post. I, too, am a descendant and we thought we had seen all the known photos of him. Do you know when and where that photo was taken? Would appreciate knowing more of his history.
Rgds
clegghistory.org
Hello Cousin Cleggsan,
I lifted this photo of Grandpa Henry off the ancestry.com website. I have another one also lifted off of the ancestry.com website. If you would like for me to email you a copy of both I can, just email me at JoannaBenson at comcast dot net (no spaces). I would be interested to connect with another Clegg descendant.
“One of the fascinating aspects of GGGrandpa Henry is he made and played dulcimers. This is a clue of his true heritage. Here is a picture of one of this dulcimers. Three of his dulcimers are located in Utah Historical museums. The dulcimer is a Middle Eastern instrument called a santor. Henry’s dulcimer is fashioned as a santor.”
I’m sorry, but this connection is far-fetched. Hammered dulcimers were very widespread in Europe, having little to do with Conversos. It is almost like saying that Arabs who use violins are descendants of Viennese.
Hello again Allen,
I hope we are not up all night 😉
These are pictures of western style dulcimer:
http://www.clivequinn.com/dulcimers.htm
Here is the Turkish style santur:
http://atlas.musigi-dunya.az/en/santur.html
If the santur was widespread in Europe, it was because of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, moved populations west, and the middle eastern peoples brought their customs with them.
While we are on the subject; the beloved Scottish bagpipe; it originated in Egypt.
MY point is, humankind has not existed in autonomous communities. We are all a mix of many ethnicities. Take a look at my DNA and my ancestral surnames. Not any matches there, huh.
See:https://www.millennialstar.org/rising-out-of-obscurity-sephardic-jews-and-the-lds-connection/
We inherited this disease from the names on the above link.
Our Sephardic Jewish Disease: https://www.millennialstar.org/family-history-can-save-your-life/
“These are pictures of western style dulcimer:
http://www.clivequinn.com/dulcimers.htm
Here is the Turkish style santur:
http://atlas.musigi-dunya.az/en/santur.html
If the santur was widespread in Europe, it was because of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, moved populations west, and the middle eastern peoples brought their customs with them.”
Hammered dulcimers were far more common in Europe, England and America than Appalachian dulcimers. The appearance of hammered dulcimers in Europe predates any supposed mass migrations from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (which lasted until 1918 or so). http://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC&pg=PA447&lpg=PA447&dq=hammered+dulcimer+first+appeared+in+europe&source=bl&ots=Uk6XRGZiQP&sig=OpaQKUoE-wvbDERmQACyDOsFXWE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A3IWUOyoF8ShrAH9l4GoDw&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=by%20the%2012th%20century%2C%20dulcimers&f=false
“While we are on the subject; the beloved Scottish bagpipe; it originated in Egypt.”
Or Kurdistan, or India, etc. If someone plays a bagpipe, does that make them a descendant of Egyptians?
“Hammered dulcimers were far more common in Europe, England and America than Appalachian dulcimers. The appearance of hammered dulcimers in Europe predates any supposed mass migrations from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (which lasted until 1918 or so).”
Yes, but it was the gypsies and other people from the Middle East who brought them to Europe. Still it was a folk instrument played mainly by those who were from elsewhere outside of Western Europe. Collapse of the Ottoman Empire lasted from the late 1600-early 1900’s.
“Or Kurdistan, or India, etc. If someone plays a bagpipe, does that make them a descendant of Egyptians?”
It could, if their DNA says they are Egyptian.
I have no English DNA, but plenty of DNA from Persia and peoples within the Ottoman Empire.
“Yes, but it was the gypsies and other people from the Middle East who brought them to Europe. Still it was a folk instrument played mainly by those who were from elsewhere outside of Western Europe.”
Yet, dulcimers were used in Europe before the Roma appeared. Music and musical instruments were just as likely to spread through means such as trade. They are hardly any use in establishing someone’s ethnic background, especially centuries removed from their introduction. Hammered dulcimers were a very common folk instrument IN Europe.