04 March 2007

South Florida: Genealogy is addictive!

Are you a snowbird visiting South Florida while the white stuff is still piled high up north?

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County numbers some 300 members and just held a mini-conference.

The society's founder, Alfred Silberfeld, 85, has discovered 10,761 relatives with 4,000 different last names. He has found family branches in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, France, Poland and Belgium. He checks phone books wherever he goes to spot more.

A researcher for 31 years, Silberfeld claims his 27th great-grandfather is Rashi, the great Jewish sage of France (1040-1105). Since Rashi is a descendant of King David, he believes he can trace his ancestry to the great Jewish leader, even though there are 35 generations - without records - between David and Rashi.

Read the complete story here.

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