tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post1934270558221348627..comments2024-03-23T10:31:52.756-04:00Comments on Rick On Theater: Crypto-Jews: Legacy of SecrecyRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-48066424350961239972015-01-04T11:40:35.974-05:002015-01-04T11:40:35.974-05:00Thank you for the update and the comments.
~RickThank you for the update and the comments.<br /><br />~RickRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-14930840400362292212015-01-03T12:16:43.313-05:002015-01-03T12:16:43.313-05:00Spell check often transforms the my grandfather...Spell check often transforms the my grandfather's first cousin into the singer. The fact that these stories *are* preserved, despite the pressure of the bible belt, shows the persistence of belief and the tenacity cultural identity. Christmas, time for...fried foods! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-47155823709573395422014-12-20T16:50:13.039-05:002014-12-20T16:50:13.039-05:00This is all very interesting, although I'm not...This is all very interesting, although I'm not sure how it relates to the secret Jews among the Spanish colonists who came to America with the Conquistadors. I imagine there are lots of families, especially in the United States and North America, with hidden family backgrounds, lost when they immigrated or discarded in order to start over. Many immigrants "lost" their family names, too, either because the immigration officials couldn't spell them or because the new arrivals wanted to "Americanize" and assimilate into their new society.<br /><br />By the way, Joseph "Cotton" is a reggae singer. The character actor of film fame, a frequent collaborator with Orson Welles, was Joseph "Cotten." I assume that's whom you meant.<br /><br />~RickRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-43244237954159460092014-12-19T04:06:19.395-05:002014-12-19T04:06:19.395-05:00When visting our family in the early 60's, the...When visting our family in the early 60's, the book writing genealogist had a terrible time taking down the family history at our house, because my grandfather would simply not shut up. As Mom exasperatedly told me later, they were absolutely determined to shoehorn "our" Frinks into "their" Frinks, otherwise their side would lose my grandfather's cousin, THE greatest character actor of the 20th century (Joseph Cotton), and a bunch of state senators. So the writer artfully wove two Frink lines together with a generous dollop of pure fiction, Mom insisted up until her death. When in doubt, make up a sea captain. Thus "The Southern Frinks" were born.<br /><br />My Grandfather (b. 1892), who was apparently correct about the Frinks being part Black, had a far different origin story for our Southern Branch of the family. According to him the Frinks were originally "Jews who handled fish guts on the shores of the Bosporus, and we were all the descendants of Pinkus Frinkus who came to the US because the fish gut trade failed"...and the longer he went on the pinker the poor historian got!<br /><br />That all sounds nuts, until you look at the hundreds of Frinks in Romania, and consider that the "fish guts" in question may refer to isinglass -to quote from Wikipedia: <br /><br />"Isinglass was originally made exclusively from sturgeon, especially Beluga sturgeon, until the 1795 invention by William Murdoch of a cheap substitute using cod*. This was extensively used in Britain in place of Russian isinglass. The bladders, once removed from the fish, processed and dried, are formed into various shapes for use." <br /><br />*That invention ruined the Isinglass trade in Eastern Europe and put a lot of people out of business, a common cause of immigration. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Khazars have long been linked with Isinglass production according to The Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Alan Brook<br /><br /><br />The name "Pinkus Frinkus" was popular shows up in records here. <br /><br /> Does the blood of the Jewish fish gut handler Pinkus Frinkus run in the veins of The Southern Frinks? A question no one else has been willing to ask, because no one can spell it (Frink in joke).<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com