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Sen. Kerry Finds Grandfather Was Jewish
NY Times ^
| 2/3/03
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.
TOPICS: Breaking News
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To: areafiftyone
Can he get me a part in a movie now?
2
posted on
02/03/2003 1:53:39 PM PST
by
AppyPappy
(Will Code COBOL For Food)
To: areafiftyone
I wonder what Joe Lieberman thinks.
I wonder what Al Sharpton will say.
I wonder what Rat voters will do.
Heheheh.
To: AppyPappy
It would have been too much of a stretch to claim his ancestory is African. And anyway, we've already had our first African-American President.
To: areafiftyone
Poor Joe Lieberman.... he doesn't have a chance now against Kerry.
5
posted on
02/03/2003 1:55:12 PM PST
by
katnip
To: areafiftyone
Time to do that Madeleine Albright dance . . .
6
posted on
02/03/2003 1:55:24 PM PST
by
wideawake
To: areafiftyone
At his Baptism he had a black God Father.
7
posted on
02/03/2003 1:55:35 PM PST
by
boomop1
To: areafiftyone
"See! You don't have to vote for the Jewish guy. Vote for me, and you can have me and as much Jewish as you need!"
To: areafiftyone
I wonder what the 56 other Varieties are....
To: AppyPappy
Maybe but he can definitely get you a bottle of ketchup. I guess Lieberman will be upset that he's not the one and only Jewish candidate for president. Poor Sharpton - he's surrounded now - what's he going to do next.
10
posted on
02/03/2003 1:56:45 PM PST
by
areafiftyone
(The U.N. is now officially irrelevant! The building is for Sale!!!)
To: areafiftyone
Is this a fad now?
11
posted on
02/03/2003 1:57:43 PM PST
by
Howlin
To: areafiftyone
Gundacker said he is ``1,000 percent certain'' that Kerry was born to a Jewish family. Since this Kerry's paternal grandfather, then Gundacker is 1,000% wrong. Kerry wouldn't be considered Jewish even by Reform Jewish standards (which accept patrilineal descent, but only if the person is raised Jewish).
12
posted on
02/03/2003 1:58:59 PM PST
by
malakhi
(fundamentalist unitarian)
To: Cacophonous
I THOUGHT HIS ANCESTORS WERE CLYDESDALES!
13
posted on
02/03/2003 1:58:59 PM PST
by
areafiftyone
(The U.N. is now officially irrelevant! The building is for Sale!!!)
To: boomop1
At his Baptism he had a black God Father. ...and a gay pastor.
14
posted on
02/03/2003 1:59:07 PM PST
by
TankerKC
(If all else fails, blame it on a lack of patriotism.)
To: areafiftyone
How convenient. I guess he needed some Heinz money to track this down.
How many people know so little about their GRANDFATHER that the hire a geneologist to track him down? And how many people, once they learn about their ancestry, alert the press?
This sounds so like an Algore move.
15
posted on
02/03/2003 2:00:08 PM PST
by
TN4Liberty
(Except algore would claim to be black..)
To: Howlin; AppyPappy; Miss Marple; wideawake
Ping to my #12.
16
posted on
02/03/2003 2:00:11 PM PST
by
malakhi
(fundamentalist unitarian)
To: TankerKC
I just found out I'm Elizabeth Taylor!
17
posted on
02/03/2003 2:00:21 PM PST
by
Howlin
To: Miss Marple
ROFL!
To: areafiftyone
Reminds me of Hillary's 'discovery' of a Jewish Step-Grandfather when she was NY candidate!
The most interesting news is that his grandfather shot himself in the Copley Plaza Hotel probably due to being in debt......JFKerry doesn't have that problem due to Heinz57 millions!
19
posted on
02/03/2003 2:00:42 PM PST
by
JulieRNR21
(Take W-04........Across America!)
To: areafiftyone
Would it have made the news if they had discovered his grandfather was Norwegian??
20
posted on
02/03/2003 2:01:05 PM PST
by
Allan
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