Conversos in Southwest US - Faith, Family, Future

Conversos in Southwest United States: Faith, Family, Future

Zoom Meeting Only

            Presenter: Ellie Gersten          

Ellie Gersten will discuss what inspired her to write her book,  Hidden Star: Faith, Family, Future  When she moved from her hometown of Detroit, Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona she was surprised to meet descendants of secret Jews, a subject that piqued her interest at an early age. After many years of chronicling her family roots she began to research the converso phenomena. Her book traces the discoveries of a descendant of  Conversos (hidden Jews) who upon her grandmother's death bed, discovers that she is a descendant of Conversos  from Spain. She finds mementos and writings and audiotapes from her ancestor, dating back to 1597, about the harrowing overseas journey to New Spain and all of the difficulties she endured to find a place of peace, far from the hands of the Spanish Inquisition

Bio:   Ellie Gersten was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended Wayne State University for her Bachelor's and Master's degrees followed by Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. She continues to nurture her love of Judaism, through volunteer work with the Jewish National Fund and Jewish Women's Conservative Forum. A self-described "Jewish Junkie" she is passionate about her heritage.

Join us at 12:30pm PT - before the meeting - for a meet and greet.  Get to know the other genealogists attending our meeting.