Posted on 02/03/2003 1:52:26 PM PST by areafiftyone
BOSTON (AP) -- A geneologist researched Sen. John Kerry's roots and found out information Kerry himself didn't know, including that his grandfather, who committed suicide in 1921, was born Jewish.
For years, the Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential hopeful sought the true story of his paternal grandfather, Frederick A. Kerry. He searched the Internet and asked cousins, but he was only able to learn fragments of the family's history.
Felix Gundacker, an Austrian genealogy specialist hired by The Boston Globe, located birth records located that show that Frederick A. Kerry was born Fritz Kohn, in 1873 in the town of Bennisch in what was then the Austrian empire, now part of the Czech Republic.
Gundacker said he is ``1,000 percent certain'' that Kerry was born to a Jewish family. The birth of a son to Benedikt Kohn, a ``master brewer,'' and his wife, Mathilde, was listed in church records on an addendum page listing Jewish families.
``This is incredible stuff,'' Kerry said in a story published in Sunday's Globe. ``I think it is more than interesting; it is a revelation.''
The record in Bennisch notes that Kohn changed his name to Frederick Kerry on March 17, 1902. The document does not mention a baptism, but the family says Frederick Kerry was a Roman Catholic, as is his grandson.
Frederick Kerry emigrated to the U.S. in 1905, eventually settling in Boston and becoming a shoe merchant. On Nov. 21, 1921, he walked into the Copley Plaza Hotel, went into a washroom and shot himself in the head.
``How many times have I walked into that hotel ...'' an emotional Kerry told the Globe, his voice trailing off. He had known his grandfather killed himself but not the details.
The suicide made front-page news in several Boston newspapers, which speculated it may have stemmed from health or financial difficulties.
``Oh, God, that's awful,'' Kerry said when shown a copy of a 1921 Globe article. He recalled that his own father, diplomat Richard Kerry, ``was sort of painfully remote and shut off and angry'' about the loss of his father.
Numerous publications have incorrectly stated that Kerry is Irish-American; there's a county in Ireland called Kerry. But Kerry said he has always been quick to correct any such misstatement.
On his mother's side, the senator is related to the Forbes and Winthrop families, two of New England's most prominent clans.
Remember that Kerry's grandfather settled in Boston. John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was its Irish mayor from 1906-7 and 1910-13.
THIS I've done.
Jewishness means two things - ethnicity (not race) AND religion. Jew who becomes a Buddist does not become a Chinese.
Wonder if he is going to express equal surprise when he discovers that he's cooked? Catsup, anyone?
-and ol' hillbilly, don't forget her!!
These people will be anything you want them to be.
Genealogy is my hobby and I know that there is a lot of utter junk on the internet concerning family connections. I did a quick search on this and found it published on a website by William Addams Reitwiesner who appears to be a credible genealogist. He either works for the Library of Congress or is associated with it. He also gives exact citations where his material can be found; shoddy researchers do not do that. He is also associated with Gary Boyd Roberts who does work with Royal and famous genealogies and from what I know, he also does good research. So at this point, I would conclude that this is correct unless I see something to indicate differently.
What I do find interesting is that Reitwiesner thanks a corrrespondent who provided some of the information from an archive in NY. That person wished to remain anonymous. While I don't doubt the authenticity of this, I do think that the motives behind it are political.
Photo?
If only.......Interesting.....too bad!
LOL
LOL - you're on a roll!
I'm from Europe, and Multicultural (German, Italian and Black American), of the Liberal Jewish faith. Some of the posts that I've read prove that too many people know don't know enough about other cultures, religions and other countries and also that they don't know the difference between Nationality, Religion and Race, especially Americans. The whole fuss over John Kerry's Jewish Ancestry and Liebermann proves that Americans are no less antisemitic than any one else, although they always claim to be more open-minded and they are always so quick to point the finger at Europe and other Continents. America is just as racist as anyone else. Judaism is a religion and a heritage, meaning a tradition. IT IS NOT A RACE!, this kind of thinking is what led to Jewish persecution, slaughter forced deportation and isolation for 2,000 years. Jews have not been Hebrews for centuries, so why do people keep claiming that Judaism is a race. Saying that Jews aren't really German or Italian or American, etc. is just like saying that Blacks aren't really American, although they've lived in America for over 600 years. Jews have been German for 1,600 years and they've been Italian since ancient Rome. There are Jews in almost every country in the world, including in Africa, Arab Countries and in South America, so why do people keep suggesting that all Jews only have a white complexion and that they only stem from Western or Eastern Europe. The answer is plain ignorance. I have noticed that many Americans know very little about World History as well as little about their own history let alone Jewish History or any other history that isn't your average White, Christian Irish or English American History. It seems that classroom textbooks are as far as Americans go when it comes to researching history.Such ignorancy doesn't surprise me, because so many Americans are still unaware of the fact that multicultural and biracial people exist. Interracial dating is not seen as taboo as it is still seen in America and Europeans know alot about World History and about other Cultures and Religions and even some things about American History.Yes some Jews do say that Jewish is a Culture, but that's because they are aware of the fact that people tend to mistaken being Jewish for a race or a culture and if they say they are Italian and of the Jewish religion that the ignorant will get confused. There is so much racist propaganda on the Internet that says Jews are a race along with other stereotypes about Jews.If a Jew converts to another religion he or she is no longer Jewish, despite the fact that he or she may be Jewish by birth. He or she can say that he or she is Jewish by birth and reamin so by tradition, however religiously he or she is no longer Jewish. John Kerry is a Catholic nonetheless. The reality is that Religion and Color still plays an all to great role in politics which needs to change.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.