PREFACE HEYMANN FAMILY GENEALOGY

Comments by the author of this site:
Marc Heymann

I started this Genealogy in 1972, when I asked my Grandfather Otto Simon Heymann obm about the origins of our family.
He gave me a manuscript that he had written in the 1930's on the Heymann family and it's ancestors. Upon his death I was given all his papers and letters concerning the family history. Many of these have served as original source documents for this genealogy. 
He also bequeathed to me a picture  of our earliest known relative an unnamed Heymann, subsequently 28 years later I found his name was Michael Haymann by reading a microfiche copy of the 1835 Census of Glueckstadt..

Verification of Facts:
I have accepted as fact information given by individuals about their direct family. Where this was not possible  I have tried, to verify and cross reference facts. So far I have been able to do this for the most of the last 4 generations of the Heymann, Bacharach, Nathan and Notman direct ancestors. This verification has been by way of citizenship records & births deaths and marriage records mostly using the records on microfiche at the Family History Centre run by the Mormons in Salt Lake City Utah. This Library's resources include records for Cassel, Hamburg, Altona, Glueckstadt, Leipzig, Mannheim, and Edinburgh.

Oral traditions and stories  
Oral traditions and stories are difficult to verify as facts. Where possible I have endeavoured to find supporting evidence. My Grandfather told me that we originally came from Portugal (and Poland), this I cannot prove but I can assume it is more probably correct than not as because his G.GrandFather Michael Haymann belonged to the Glueckstadt  Jewish community who were called the "Portuguese" in Schleswig Holstein Germany/Denmark this was further collaborated by Joseph Ben Brith's letters to my cousin and his book on the Henriques Family.
My Wife's situation is similar. Until 1992 she did not know her ancestors, apart from brief comments by her father (about his mother).  A cousin in Tel Aviv told her of their family prior to the War and that her Grand mother, his Aunt, was the Great Grand Daughter of their first Gerrer Rebbe. And that he played as a child with his Alter cousins. This story was further collaborated by another cousin in Paris and then again separately by another cousin who had escaped to Moscow during the War. Three separate stories, and her fathers comments, all be it oral, tends to support the story as fact, despite the lack of definitive evidence. 

I have accepted, in good faith, as fact information in genealogical trees submitted to me by third parties. I do NOT vouch for all the accuracy of the genealogical information here, except that which I have personally checked or know from my personal oral tradition. I am happy if some one can provide me with empirical proof of an error for correction. So far I have received numerous corrections, and a large number of comments and opinions which suggest one thing or another, often with out proof or by way of implication. In the light of contradiction I have often gone with the popular view rather than personal theories. - As stated above Genealogy is NOT an exact science where oral tradition, facts and inaccurate or differing recording of facts in records (eg names) all coincide it is difficult to be 100% accurate. I hope I haven't offended any contributors or correspondents - if I have I apologise.

Use of Resources on the Internet:
I have used databases and web sites on the Internet extensively, but where possible endeavoured to cross reference facts with other sources. The Internet is a wonderful resource, BUT information on it MUST  be viewed with a degree of scepticism. I have seen many things presented as facts which is plainly incorrect (eg persons listed as relatives or spouses where chronologically it is not possible). A particularly important resource I have utilized  is the Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP) which is part of  JewishGen, Inc., the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora (Beit Hatefutsot). This relies on persons submitting their genealogical data to build the FTJP database. The advantage is that it has a lot of information. The disadvantage is that .there is NO quality control. It has an extensive amount of valuable information and has allowed me to verify some information or to establish links between individuals, BUT never the less much information here must be viewed with caution. 

Fact or Fiction:
As for the many other families and genealogies, it is certainly difficult to back up or verify an oral traditions with empirical facts especially if those empirical facts are 200 or more years old. If they exist are hidden in some book or record which are in archive written in a script that requires a keen eye and knowledge to decipher ! (examples may be persons claiming connections to RASHI see <- click here)

Some times assumptions and guesses by scholars and researcher in the past especially if published become facts rather than the myths they truly are (take for example the lineage from Rashi back to King David of Israel (Dovid HaMeleck) - is it fact or fiction ?
 - it is probably a mixture of both).Any way these traditions add colour and depth to our history, despite the fact that they MUST be considered with a degree of scepticism see Are You Related to King David

Who is related to Whom:
It is a mathematically probability that all Jews and many non-Jews could trace their lineage back to King David who lived 3,000 years ago. That is simply because of the inter relationships build up through marriage through out the millennia.
BUT If you are a Heymann /Heyman/Heiman does that make you a relation of mine ? - well no,.  Heymann is a common name - Joe in Utah forgive me for not giving you positive news in reply to your email, but just because your wifes uncle from Pittsburg married a Hyman who emigrated from Berlin some time in the early 1900's. but we are probably NOT directly related. How ever if your relative Goldschmidt came from Witzenhausen in the Mid 17th century or is Oppenheimer from Heidelberg in the mid 17th Century as those communities were only 10 or so Jewish families it is probable that we could be related. - But there were many families Goldschmidt, Oppenheimer, Nathan, Cohen, etc that does not necessarily make us related - what we need is proof by way of a common ancestor, to establish this we need names, dates (birth & Death) and places of birth or death ? If you have those then that's a great start.
If you think you are related or you find a relative of yours in my family tree then I'd LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.


Names
What's in a name? (<- click here for a full discussion on Names)
It is difficult to work and research  and confirm facts where names are often spelt differently depending upon how they were translated from Yiddish or Hebrew or Polish or German etc and into what language they were translated. These spelling often appear in official records spelt differently.
So for example Loeb, Leib, Lajb Leibish, Leible may be the same name for the same person.
Similarly with Yehuda/Juda/Jehudah/Jehuda/Judah, or Mordechai/ Mordecai/Mordechay/Mordeke/Motti/Motel, or Haiim/Chayym/Chaijm/ Haim, 

What of the man who was Goldschmidt in Witzenhausen, the became Hamelin-Goldschmidt or Goldschmidt-Hameln, or just Hamelin when he moved to the town of Hameln and his son became Cassel-Goldschmidt when the son moved to Cassel !.
It is even more confusing and difficult to track through the records when an individual was known as Paulo De Millao, also called himself Paul Dirichsen and Paul Abensur and his son was known as Josa Henriques and Josa Abensur. Even more straight forward Family names get mixed up like Yostman which sometime becomes Justman in English.

On top of this confusion, many Jews did not have family names until recent times so they may have been known only as Joshua ben Moishe (Joshua son of Moses) or Joshua ben Moishe HaCohen (Joshua son of Moses who is a Cohen).who was knowby a patronymic Joshua Moishe
Many researchers have mistakenly written or translated his name from  Joshua ben Moishe HaCohen and written it as  Joshua Moses Cohen. This is plainly wrong, and is an attempt to apply today's understanding of name standards to the Hebrew / Jewish names of a time in history.

For the sake of accuracy I have tried to stick with spelling in the original sources or as the individual him/her self spelt their name.

So if the way I have spelt a relatives name is different than how you have it spelt I apologize.

Sharing Information:
Information in the databases published on this site is available for use in your genealogy, if it fits in. BUT Please acknowledge the source (that is myself and this Web Site). I have spent many hour over many years with the help of many people, PLEASE do NOT be dishonest and put your name to it ! As I have published in the public domain - it is for public use. I welcome corrections and updates, some information here may not be correct, although as best I can ascertain it is.

To those who have refused to share:
By way of comment here, it is disappointing that some individual genealogical researchers have undertaken their research which included the use of public discussion groups and SIGs and sources to gather information for their own genealogical research, and had others share their databases with them then refuse to share it.

The basis or central mode of Genealogical research is the sharing of Data.

One individual told me how he had 2000 members of a part family line I was tracing but refused to assist except to say that an individual I had did not appear in his database ! It took me 5 months further research with other researchers to establish the link. 
Or another individual (not Jewish but of Jewish heritage) who refused to give information on the basis that anti-Semites might find him from a genealogy tree (despite it not identifying where he lived or his contact details). And where he had all his personal database on his web site.
If one is going to ask others to share their information with one, or use public resources, then one is duty bound to share ones findings with other related bona fide researchers.

I thank a number of individuals who have read the genealogical data in this database and corrected it, added to it, updated it or otherwise contributed.

Special thanks to Contributors to Heymann Genealogy database: