Sen. Kerry Finds Grandfather Was Jewish

NY Times ^ | 2/3/03

[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.

[TankerKC]

I just found out I'm Elizabeth Taylor!

No kidding? Ifound out that I'm Michael Jackson. Come on over and we'll play with my monkey.

[JulieRNR21]

My thoughts exactly......

[surrey]

I guess he figures he's got a lock on the MA vote or thinks that being Jewish will help his candidacy more. He's a phony, none the less.

[PJ-Comix]

Time to do that Madeleine Albright dance . . .

Yeah, does anybody actually believe that Albright didn't know she was Jewish? Ditto on this situation regarding Kerry's grandfather. The tipoff was that Kerry already stated that his last name has nothing to do with the county in Ireland.

[Lurking2Long]

including that his grandfather, who committed suicide in 1921... Must have had a premonition that his grandson would be a liberal Dem!

[Starrgaizr]

Reporter: "Why didn't you tell the public that you were half Jewish?"

Mayor LaGuardia: "Half isn't enough to brag about."

Hillary & Kerry: "The focus group and poll results weren't in yet."

[PJ-Comix]

The suicide made front-page news in several Boston newspapers, which speculated it may have stemmed from health or financial difficulties.

He should have married a tomato heiress.

[gridlock]

Anybody who is so self absorbed that did not know at least that much about his Grandfather is not qualified for higher office, IMHO.

[Cicero]

It just occurred to me to wonder if his grandfather Kohn was a Cohen? Someone should check his DNA and see if he belongs to the priestly Cohens.

As for this story that he couldn't find his ancestry and didn't know his grandfather had shot himself, I find that rather difficult to believe. More likely he didn't want to know--until now. Shades of Madeline Albright, indeed.

[mountaineer]

So does Kerry think Americans need to know that he is of the Jewish race

I'd guess Kerry and his handlers are hoping most Americans are too dense to know what angelo posted above, at #12.

[Phantom Lord]

This sounds so like an Algore move.

No. Its a Hillary move. She also "discovered" a jewish relative during her senate campaign.

[Neenah]

I just found out I'm Elizabeth Taylor!

Are you taking the younger years or the older years? hahahhaaha

You took my line !!!! love it !

[Norman Conquest]

Is it just Israeli law (or Jewish rules in general) that says that a Jewish MOTHER makes you Jewish, not necessarily a Jewish FATHER?

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Didn't Hillary dredge up a Jewish Uncle who married into her family in the dim distant past, just about the same time Madeline had her discovery of Jewish ancestry? Such blatant pandering to Jewish interests is disgusting, I would hope Jews simply see it for what it is? "I'm Jewish so I must have your best interests at heart so please vote for me, Pleeeeze!"

[Phantom Lord]

I just found out I'm Elizabeth Taylor!

And you late in your palimony payments you owe me. I was #6!

[brewcrew]

Jewish lineage is passed along via the mother. This was Kerry's paternal grandfather. Hence, he can make no claim to be a Jew.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[rightwingbob]

there's a county in Ireland called Kerry.

Well, there's a county in Ireland called Kilkenny, but the South Park character isn't Irish, is he?

[PJ-Comix]

Why would a Jew -- or anyone else, for that matter -- in Bohemia or Moravia in the 1870's change his name to Kerry?

Ever hear of Ace Reilly?

[areafiftyone]

Isn't there a county in Ireland called Ketchup?

[grania]

Actually, this isn't that unusual. My mother's parents came from Eastern Europe at that time, and with the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia, there were a lot of dislocated people. My maternal grandparents came here on a boat that left Germany and was filled with people of various ethnic and religious groups. When they settled in New Jersey, they separated into various churches. Apparently, some, through associations on the ship, ended up in different church groups when they got here. For me, it's my maternal grandfather whose original religion is a question mark.

All of this is further complicated by the fact that the records of these ancestors are in cyrillic. When they said their names, it was up to those registering them to assign english letters to the spoken names.

Massachusetts has quite a few residents of Eastern European ancestry and they look like any other old Yankee resident. It isn't at all unusual for it to be assumed that those of Eastern European ancestry are old Yankee or Irish.