Friday, December 19, 2008

Mom at La Casa d'Espana in Casablanca



Annette Foinquinos, on the left side with the ladies at the Casa d'Espana, a social club in Casablanca.

Papa, maman a Marseille


Une des rares photos qui restent d'un court sejour a Marseille, Henri et Annette Foinquinos bataillant le froid du mistral.
Henri is my father and Annette my mom. My sisters are Cathy, Caroline and Patricia.

Fortunato and grand kids


Here's a picture Sara Foinquinos gave me when I went to see her in Riverside. This is a picture of Fortunato Foinquinos, her father, with her children I think. Maybe Juan or Sheila can correct me if I am wrong.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Happy birthday Johnny!

This Saturday, all the family in Riverside County will be celebrating Johnny's birthday! Happy birthday Johnny Jr. He is Juan Rojas' son. Juan Rojas, also a Johnny, is Sara Foinquinos' son (her father was the famous Fortunato from Brazil). All are from Peru and are in the pictures I posted in November.

Feliz cumpleanos! Bon anniversaire! Yom Ouledet sameah! Happy birthday! and many more.....

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Source de la couleur pourpre



Murex brandaris dont était issue la couleur pourpre, source du nom "phoinix" désignant les Phéniciens.

Un peu plus sur les Pheniciens

Comme notre nom veut dire Phenicien, j'ai commence a m'interesser a leur histoire. Je regardais un programme recemment sur les Pheniciens, fabuleux navigateurs et commercants de l'antiquite et leur ville de Carthage. De cette ville qui est maintenant une partie de Tunis, ils controlaient tout le traffic naval mediterraneen. Ils etaient specialises dans le commerce et le transport des mineraux et de la pourpre, couleur rare reservee aux elites religieuses et politiques.


Ils suivirent des routes vers Chypre, Malte, la Sardaigne, la Sicilie, la Peninsule Iberique et de Carthage jusqu'au Cap Vert, en passant par Larache, Tanger, Casablanca, El Jadida, Mogador, Safi, Agadir. En general, ils cherchaient des ports faciles ou debarquer et embarquer leur marchandise, et ce n'etait que cette section qui etait developpee, ces ports sont devenus des villes avec le temps. Ce periple a ete accompli entre 1000 et 500 ans avant J.C.


Les noms de ces ports qu'ils fonderent au Maroc et ou nous avons aussi trouve dans certaines des traces de notre famille, sont par ordre alphabetique:

Agadir : Possible escale des Carthaginois sur leur route au Cap-Vert (hypothèse non attestée).
Anfa (aujourd'hui Casablanca) : Anfa date du Néolithique. Ayant servi d'escale aux Phéniciens sur leur route à Essaouira, elle fut ensuite occupé par les Carthaginois sans connaître d'invasions romaines.
Azamma (aujourd'hui Azemmour) : Fondée par les Phéniciens, Azama devint par la suite une importante colonie carthaginoise et romaine.
Cerné (aujourd'hui Essaouira) : Les Phéniciens la fondèrent en 900 avant Jésus-Christ et elle fut ensuite sous les mains des Carthaginois. Mais, son véritable essor débuta au Ier siècle avant Jésus-Christ sous le règne de Juba II qui lui changea son nom en "Mogador".
Ich : Dans le désert, près de Figuig. Elle fut une colonie romaine.
Lixus (aujourd'hui Larache) : Fondée par les Phéniciens en 1146 avant Jésus-Christ, Lixus fut ensuite colonisé par les Carthaginois et les Romains.
Rusbisis (aujourd'hui El Jadida) : Fondée par les Carthaginois en 650 avant Jésus-Christ, elle fut ensuite une escale romaine sur leur route à Essaouira.
Rusadir (aujourd'hui Melilla, une enclave espagnole) : Fondée par les Phéniciens, elle fut ensuite occupée par les Carthaginois et les Romains.
Sala Colonia et Chellah (aujourd'hui Rabat et Salé) : Fondées par les Phéniciens, ces cités tombèrent sous domination carthaginoise; mais leur période la plus prospère fut sous les Romains. Salé date du néolithique.
Tamuda (aujourd'hui Tétouan) : Fondée par le Général carthaginois Hannon avant de tomber en l'an 39 sous domination romaine.
Thusmida : Fondée par les Phéniciens, l'actuelle Mehdya à l'embouchure du Sebou connut ensuite les invasions carthaginoises, romaines avant de tomber aux mains des Vandales et des Byzantins.
Tingis (aujourd'hui Tanger) : Fondée par des Phéniciens sous le nom de Tingi, elle fut ensuite occupée par les Grecs, Carthaginois et Romains.
Tizas (aujourd'hui Taza) : Fondée par les Carthaginois, elle abrita sous les Romains une importante garnison militaire.
Volubilis : Elle fut fondée par les Carthaginois et connut un essor incroyable sous le règne romain.
Zilis (aujourd'hui Asilah) : Fondée par les Phéniciens, avant Jésus-Christ, elle fut ensuite occupée par les Carthaginois de 700 à 146 avant d'être sous domination romaine.
Ce document provient de :« http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_villes_au_Maroc_fondées_par_les_Phéniciens ».


Les termes de "phéniciens" leur aurait été attribués par les grecs. En effet, "phoinix" signifie en grec : "rouge". Les phéniciens étant les découvreurs de la pourpre, teinture rouge probablement tirée du Murex, un gastéropode (from http://www.wikipedia.fr/) .

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Familia de Johnny Rojas Foinquinos





Esta foto es de mi pequena familia de izquierda a derecha, mi hija Cecilia, Yo, mi madre, mi esposa Charo, y mi hijo Johnny que es Sindrome de Down.

Comment from Juan "Johnny" Rojas Foinquinos

Lo que yo he podido averiguar de mi abuelo es lo siguiente: Fortunato Foinquinos Attias nacio en Belem do Para (Brasil) en 1881, sus padres son Rafael Foinquinos y Sara Attias y siempre se supo que tuvo 2 hermanas Sarah y Raquel (que supongo es Rahma). Mi abuelo era el menor de los tres hijos. De nino viajo a Tanger con sus padres donde realizo sus primeros estudios y luego estudio medicina tropical en Paris en un Instituto llamado Francia Metropolitana, pues su intencion era ir a trabajar al Africa. Con el auge del caucho en sudamerica regresa a Brasil en 1904 y llega a Iquitos (selva peruana) en 1906.Se hace comerciante y es asi que conoce a mi abuela Rosario Ruiz y se establece en un poblado a las orillas del rio Ucayali llamado Contamana. Ahí nacen todos los hijos Rafael (1919 vive en Lima), Blanca (1920 fallecida), Piedadi (1922 fallecida), Flora (1924 vive en New York), Sara (1926 mi madre vive en Riverside, Ca), Jorge (1928, fallecio muy joven), y Roger (1930, vive en Iquitos). Mi abuelo fallece el 25 de Junio de 1951 y según mis tios Rafael y Roger, mi abuelo mantenia cierta comunicación con sus hermanas Sarah y Raquel que se quedaron viviendo en Belem do Para (Brasil). Son mis tios los que me dicen que una de ellas Sarah o Raquel se casa con un judio Abenzur y tienen como 11 hijos, y la otra se queda soltera, osea que los Foinquinos de Brasil son descendientes de una de las hermanas de mi abuelo. En conclusión, creo que los Foinquinos de Peru y de Brasil descendemos de Rafael Foinquinos y Sara Attias, osea somos parientes directos. Mis tios no tienen información si otro Foinquinos vino a Brasil, pero a Peru el unico Foinquinos fue Fortunato Foinquinos Attias.

Familia Rojas Foinquinos






Esta foto es de Diciembre del 2006 que fue para los 80 anos de mi madre Sara Foinquinos Ruiz. De izquierda a derecha Juan Rojas Foinquinos (yo, todos me llaman Johnny), Ana, Manuel, Mi madre Sara, Rafael, Juana Rosario y Sarah (ella es madre de Sheila Hall, creo que tu has tenido comunicación con ella o Simone que vive en San Diego)
Todos menos Manuel vivimos en Riverside, California y somos de la rama de Foinquinos de Peru. Manuel vive en Iquitos, Peru.
Armando Bonilla Foinquinos que vive en Milan es mi primo hermano, al igual que David, Jorge, Etc Foinquinos Mera, que estan en Peru.
Jorge Foinquinos Mera recientemente fue nombrado representante al Congreso de la Republica en el Peru, osea que es el primer Foinquinos en la politica y a tan alto nivel. Es un orgullo para la familia.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sara Foinquinos Rojas and her family

I went to visit the family from Riverside last weekend. Sheila and I had started talking on the Net and on Facebook about a year ago, she found me when I posted an email on the Victor Hugo site (my high school in Marrakesh). She is Sara Foinquinos' grand daughter and her mom is also a Sara. I also talked to Juan Rojas, the passionate soccer fan, after he emailed Simita from Haifa. He also sent two photos of the family that I will post as soon as I get them in the right jpg format that the blog recognizes. He is Sara Foinquinos Rojas' son.


Sara the grand mother, Juan Rojas Foinquinos, Juana Rosario, Sheila Hall and her mom Sara Hall, Johnny (Juan Rojas' son) and Cecilia (Juan's daughter) were present and we talked for hours about our family and all the countries we lived in. Anais and I also tasted for the first time the delicious cuisine of Peru. Juan told me that Peru had contributed the potato to the world and there are hundred of known varieties of potatoes there, of all colors and textures. Sara Foinquinos shared stories about her childhood in Peru and her father Fortunato. They all lived in the same area in Contamana, but now live mainly in Lima, Iquitos and Riverside, with cousins in Florida, New York, the Canary Islands and of course Italy.

It was really emotional to meet this part of our family. We had a great time and we'll certainly meet again soon.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Arao Foinquinos de Belem


Este es Arao Foinquinos de Belem, su esposa era Maria Luiza Gomes da Silva. El es el padre de dos hijos, David y Moises da Silva Foinquinos de Belem, y abuelo de Matheus (hijo de David) y tambien de Lukas (hijo de Moises). Bienvenidos a todos en la familia Foinquinos y en el blog.
Gracias David para esta foto y toda su ayuda con la familia Foinquinos de Brazil.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Un mensaje de Simita para la familia de Peru

Mi "Romance" con los Foinquinos del Peru..!!


Todo empezo cuando viaje a Venezuela a visitar la familia hace
siete anos. Ya hacia cerca unos doce anos que estaba indagando y apanando
documentos de la familia, cuando decidi viajar a Venezuela a conocer
esa rama de los Foinquinos que, aunque el parentezco era muy cercano,
(Alberto y Jacobo Foinquinos eran hermanos de mi mama, Alegria Foinquinos)
y claro que los hijos : Isaac - Clarita - Jaime y Jacobo eran mis primos hermanos.
El encuentro fue, para mi, muy emocionante. Claro que les expuse el porque de
mi viaje.

Puedo decir que mi "Romance" con los Foinquinos del Peru fue el resultado de
esa visita. En efecto, unos meses despues recibi un mail de un Sr Armando
Bonilla Foinquinos, que moraba por entonces en Caracas y se interesaba por la
historia de la familia , contacto a mi primo Jacobo el cual le dio mi direccion.
Yo tenia informes sobre Rafael Foinquinos y su esposa Sarah Attias, sobre su
hija Rahma(Raquel) que creo nacio en Brazil (Amazonas) y a la edad adulta,
se vino para Tanger en donde fallecio muy ancianita. Tambien se que Sarah,
al fallecer Rafael, se vino para Tanger, supongo que para reunirse con su hija,
y fallecio en Tanger. Habia una correspondencia bastante nutrida entre Rahma
y la familia que luego se establecio en Peru, tambien se positivamente que la
familia del Peru ayudaba financieramente a Rahma y que despues de su fallecimiento
alguien de la familia vino a Tanger y propuso participar en los gastos de funeraria.

Segun la hermana de mi Abuelo Isaac Foinquinos que se llamaba Esther, esta
siempre hablaba de Rahma como su prima y se visitaban a menudo.
El contacto con Armando fue algo dificilde explicar como si nos hubiesemos
conocido de toda la vida,: fraternal - carinoso - emotivo - alegre, fue como el nino
prodigioso que vuelve a casa.!
Y David de Jessica, podria yo quedarme horas charlando con el, tan simpatico,
agradable inteligente, como que nos quedamos charlando cerca dos horas y no me di
cuenta del reloj. Y ahora Greicy, es como una bendicion. Yo que andaba anos buscando
la familia del Peru.

Seais todos bienvenidos y reunidos a esta familia.
Simita

Friday, September 26, 2008

La familia de Peru




Foto de la familia de Peru que mando David Foinquinos (de Jessica) a Simita Melo Foinquinos para poner en el blog.


David me contacto en Facebook y yo le llame por telefono y hable con su mama Jessica, y despues con el abuelo, Rafael Foinquinos que vive en Lima. Tambien David, hijo de Rafael, y su esposa Greicy me escribieron en Facebook.


El de camisa blanca que tiene la mochila es AARON FOINQUINOS , el de polo azul con rayas es DAVID FOINQUINOS, la de rosado que esta tercera con chompa rosada es ELDA FOINQUINOS, el de lentes oscuros FORTUNATO FOINQUINOS,el de polo azul manga corta que esta en el medio que tiene algo en el medio es DAVID FOINQUINOS pero el es el menor, el de su costado que tiene polo gris el pequeno es AARON FOINQUINOS, la mujer de polo negro es MARTA IGLESIAS esposa de JORGE FOINQUINOS, el ultimo del lado derecho es JORGE FOINQUINOS, la ultima de polo rosado manda corta es ROSARIO FOINQUINOS, la que esta abransando a la bebe se llama GREICY GONSALEZ esposa de David Foinquinos y la bebe se llama TAMARA FOINQUINOS.



Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Our Facebook group

I was looking today at our group in Facebook and I was amazed that we already passed the 50 members mark. It seems that our family, wherever we are, is really interested in its origins. All the Foinquinos contacted in South America, are aware that their ancestors came from Tanger. For most of them, Tanger is still a place shrouded in mystery as very few went back to visit. Lately, all the new members in the group live in Peru.


What is striking, is that all the members found in Peru and in Brazil seem to come from the same couple that started their adventurous life together in Brazil, Rafael Foinquinos and Sara Attias and their children Fortunato. They were one of the rare couple to travel and live together the bresilian adventure at the end of the 1800's. Most of the time, due to the wilderness, remotness and dangers that we can witness even now in the Amazone, the men left by themselves, returning to Tanger with money for the family left behind or going back and forth.


We find the name Rafael Foinquinos in Peru, as well as David. In Brazil, we also found some David and a lot of Aaro (Aron) and Leaho (Leon). Simita recently established contact with David from Belem, who told her about the family history, communauty and tombs in Belem, and also a book written at the turn of the century about our family. There are pictures and old documents in that book that he promised to send soon to Simita. We are awaiting this book with much anticipation.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The City of Chaouan (Chefchouan)

En parlant avec Simita recemment sur Messenger, ce nom est revenu comme un des lieux ou la famille Foinquinos s'etait etablie, il y a plusieurs siecles de cela. La famille, ensuite implantee a Tanger et Tetuan, continuait a visiter cette ville quand Simita etait tres jeune.
While talking to Simita recently on Messenger, the name of this city popped up as one of the places where the family Foinquinos took roots, a few centuries ago. The family afterwards established in Tanger and Tetuan, still visited this city when Simita was very young.

Pas tres loin de Tanger et Tetouan, cette ville est situee dans le Rif, dans une region montagneuse difficilement accessible. Elle a ete fondee au 15 eme siecle pour arreter l'invasion des Portugais qui venaient de Ceuta. Du 15eme au 17eme siecle, cette ville berbere a vu l'influx des Sefardis qui fuyaient l'Espagne pour garder leur foi.
Not too far from Tanger and Tetuan, this city is located in the Rif, surrounded by mountains, it's access is difficult. It was founded in the 15th century to stop the portuguese invasion from Ceuta. From the 15th thru the 17th century, this "berbere" city saw the massive arrival of Sefardis fleeing Spain to keep their faith.

Mais en 1920, l'Espagne s'en empare et gardera la ville jusqu'en 1956. C'est une ville tres pittoresque et artistique, blanche et accentuee avec toutes les nuances de bleues. Elle etait renommee pour son air pur et on envoyait les malades en convalescence. C'est une ville touristique maintenant et des festivals de musique y ont lieu. Vous trouverez plus d'information en cliquant le lien:
But in 1920, Spain invades it and keeps the city till 1956. It's a very artistic and picture perfect city, all white with blue accents. It is known for its clean air and people were sent there to get well. It's now a touristic city with popular music festivals. You can find more information on this city, by clicking on the following link:

http://www.chaouen.info/fr-index.html

Ca ne serait pas etonnant de visiter cette ville et de retrouver des traces de notre famille.
It will not be too surprising to visit this city and find proof of our family life there.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Les 2 soeurs et Evelyne

A rare picture of the sisters and cousin together: from left to right, Patricia Foinquinos Serfati, Caroline Foinquinos Schwab, my two sisters and my cousin Evelyne Foinquinos Apatoff in Paris in June at Iris' wedding.

Avihay in Thailand


Another amazing travel picture of Avihay in Thailand. This tiger seems so pacified.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Miguel Cicenia Foinquinos in Buenos Aires


At the Museum of Tango, with the picture of Carlos Gardel on the right side. It reminds me of his records the parents were so fond of in Morocco. Maricler is going to take some tango classes in the next 2 weeks. Fun!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Alejandro Foenquinos





Alejandro Foenquinos, he lives in Rome and comes from Argentina. This side of the family seems to originate from Tetuan.

Evelyne and her husband Shlomo


Evelyne and Shlomo visited New Zealand to see their son Eyal who studies there, last February.
They took an helicopter tour above the Fox glacier on the south Island and then landed and walked around on the glacier. The heights and colors were amazing and they felt so close to the sky.

Abraham Tal, the singer


The singer of the family. He is one of the top ten singers in Israel. He has a profile on Facebook with some of his songs, great romantic ballads. He is Maurice Foinquinos' son and Alberto Foinquinos grand son. I hope to hear you live when I come to visit.


Stephanie Gabay


Stephanie the princess in black with the Red riding hood, Pourim 2008. She is Cathy Foinquinos and Claude Gabay's daughter and lives in Tel Aviv.

David et Lea Tal

David and Lea Tal, adorable children of Ilan and Caroline Touitou. Ilan's father is Jacky Foinquinos Tal, son of Alberto and Perla Foinquinos. They all live in the Marseille area.

Ethan Danilovic


Une photo adorable du fils de Valerie Serfati, fille de Patricia Foinquinos et Jean Pierre Serfati. Il a un peu plus d' un an maintenant.

Anat at Euro Disney


Fun place to be! Anat with the Asterix heroes in the background!

Mother and daughter


Evelyne Foinquinos, daughter of Alberto and Perla Foinquinos, and her daughter Anat in Paris.

The 3 A's


Another picture taken at Iris' wedding in Paris.
Avihay, Annick and Anat Tal Foinquinos. The first and third children of Evelyne Foinquinos and Shlomo Apatoff, in the center Annick, daughter of Joseph Foinquinos Tal.
You seem to have a great time and you look great!

Place Leon Foenquinos


Photo prise en Juillet par Norbert lors de sa visite a Marseille. Il a visite son petit cousin Roland Foinkinos et a rencontre Marie Francoise Foenquinos aussi et sa famille par la meme occasion.

Where is Maricler in the world?


She is in Buenos Aires with her son Miguel Cicenia Foinquinos. It's winter time there and it's really cold. Have fun Maricler y Viva el Tango!




Des belles images du Maroc

http://www.linternaute.com/voyager/escapades-au-maroc/escapades-au-maroc.shtml

The cousins from Venezuela

Yesterday, Anais and I met our cousins from Venezuela, Cynthia Obadia and her sister , Karen Ostrow, at a Starbucks Cafe in La Jolla. We first connected thru Facebook. It's very emotional of course to meet an unknown part of our family as we didn't know too much about each other, apart from the fact that we are related.
Hier, Anais et moi avons rencontre nos cousines du Venezuela, Cynthia Obadia et sa soeur Karen Ostrow, dans un cafe Starbucks de La Jolla. Nous avons d'abord fait connaissance a travers Facebook. C'etait tres emouvant bien sur de rencontrer une partie inconnue de notre famille puisque nous ne savions pas grand chose les unes des autres a part le fait que nous sommes de la meme famille.

The meeting was very enjoyable and we talked for hours about the similarities of our families and each other life in different countries.
La rencontre etait tres plaisante and nous avons parle des heures entieres des similarites de nos familles et de nos vies dans differents pays.

Cynthia, Karen and their brother Sergio were born in Caracas, Venezuela and now live in the US. Their mother is Clarita Foinquinos and their grand father was Alberto Foinquinos (the patriarch), son of Isaac Foinquinos and Clara Pinto (Isaac was our grand father Moise Foinquinos' brother). They are also cousins with Eric Foinquinos (the musician) and his sister Estrella, and with Maricler and Carlos Foinquinos.
Cynthia, Karen et leur frere Sergio sont nes a Caracas au Venezuela et vivent aux Etats Unis. Leur mere est Clarita Foinquinos et leur grand pere etait Alberto Foinquinos, fils d'Isaac Foinquinos et Clara Pinto (Isaac etait le frere de notre grand pere Moise). Les 3 sont aussi cousins d' Eric Foinquinos et sa soeur Estrella, ainsi que Maricler et Carlos Foinquinos.

Alberto Foinquinos from Caracas, the patriarch, was Jacobo (the referee) and Alegria Foinquinos' brother. Alegria was Simita's mother. So Alberto was Simita's uncle, a nephew to our grand father Moise and cousin with our fathers Aaron Henri and Alberto Foinquinos. Maybe a little confusing at first!
Alberto Foinquinos de Caracas, le patriache, etait le frere de Jacobo (l'arbitre) et Alegria Foinquinos. Alegria etait la mere de Simita de Haifa. Alberto etait donc l'oncle de Simita, le neveu de notre grand pere et le cousin de nos peres Aaron Henri et Alberto Foinquinos. Un peu confus au premier abord!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Mariage Iris et David - 3


Mariage Iris et David - 2


Mariage Iris Tal Foinquinos et David Lazimy


Quelques photos du mariage d'Iris et David a Paris en Juin 2008. Tous nos voeux de bonheur.

Iris est la fille de Joseph et Irene Tal Foinquinos, et la petite fille d'Albert et Perla Foinquinos.


A few pictures of Iris and David wedding in Paris in June 2008. Mazal Tov!

Iris is Joseph and Irene Tal Foinquinos daughter, and Albert and Perla Foinquinos grand daughter.



Sunday, July 20, 2008

Poemes de Sol et Fortunee Foenquinos- July 2, 1926


Des poemes dates du 2 Juillet 1926, retrouves par Simone Melo Foinquinos et gardes depuis une dizaine d'annees. Le vendredi, les Foenquinos et leurs amis se reunissaient pour des soirees de poesie impromptue. Voici donc deux poemes de Sol et Fortunee, soeurs de Leon Foenquinos, enfants de Jonas et Reine Foenquinos. Simone MF me dit qu'elle a aussi dans ses papiers un poeme de Leon; ca sera sur le blog quand je le recevrais.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Foinquinos from Belem, Brazil and Iquitos, Peru

It seems that a lot of Foinquinos live or are burried in Belem, Brazil. Simita was telling me that a lot of our ancestors ended up there when they went to exploit the rubber plant in the Amazonian forest. I recently got the confirmation thru Gileno Foinquinos who told me his family is orignally from Belem, although he lives in Sao Paulo. He is a well known musician, in brazilian/jazz music, and I found him thru Google and myspace.com. His site is http://www.myspace.com/gilenofoinquinos. All the other musicians of the family are on my space too.



Another place of importance to our family, is Iquitos in Peru, where the Amazon ends up. Abraham Manuel Foinquinos, from the peruvian branch, told me that his family continues to live there and the ancestors are burried there too.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Tribute to Carlos Melul Foinquinos

It is with great sadness, that we learned that Carlos Melul Foinquinos passed away on the 19th of June 2008 in Haifa, Israel.

Carlos is Simone Foinquinos Melo’s brother and the father of Joseph, Cathy-Alegria, Maurice, Judith and Elie.

His mother was Alegria Foinquinos, daughter of Isaac and Clara Foinquinos. He was born in Tangier on November 11th 1936, where he lived till 1961. He then moved to Israel where he worked as a Marketing Manager.

He will be missed by his family and friends.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Foenkinos

The months of May and now June were pretty much devoted to the Foenkinos. This branch is originally from Tetuan, left for Algeria (Mascara) and from there France where they still live, mainly in the Paris area.
Les Foenkinos ont occupe les mois de Mai et maintenant Juin. Cette branche originaire de Tetouan, partit pour l'Algerie (Mascara) et de la pour la France ou ses membres vivent toujours, surtout dans la region parisienne.


Carole Bendrihem devoted sleepless nights unravelling the Foenkinos family tree. With Simita's help and through official documents from the French government, she is rebuilding the tree we received from Nicholas Foenkinos. The goal is to establish the link between the Foinquinos branch in Tanger and the one in Tetuan. The only thing I can say, is thank you Carole and Simita, you have the tenacity and the vision for such an endeavor.
Carole Bendrihem a passe de nombreuses nuits sans sommeil, essayant de dechiffer l'arbre des Foenkinos. Avec l'aide de Simita et de documents officiels francais, elle reconstruit l'arbre que nous avons recu de Nicholas Foenkinos. Le but est d'etablir le lien entre les Foinquinos de Tanger and ceux de Tetouan. La seule chose que je peux dire, c'est merci Carole et Simita, vous avez la tenacite et la vision necessaires pour accomplir cette tache.



Norbert Foenkinos came to California too this month and we met. He lives near Versailles and was visiting friends who were vacationing in Palm Desert. We spent a weekend talking and sharing family stories and it felt like we knew each other for a long time.
Norbert Foenkinos est venu en Californie aussi ce mois ci et nous nous sommes rencontres. Il vit pres de Versailles et est venu visiter des amis en vacances a Palm Desert. Nous avons passe un weekend a parler et a partager des histoires de famille et il semblait que nous nous connaissions depuis toujours.


Norbert was a airport construction engineer. He was sent by the Suez company to work all over the world, so in this way, he is true to the Foinquinos legendary wandering. He retired a few years ago with almost 2 million miles in his frequent traveler account.
Norbert construisait des aeroports. Il etait envoye par la companie Suez dans le monde entier pour son travail, et de cette maniere, il est un vrai Foinquinos, connus pour leur legendaire bougeotte. Il est a la retraite depuis quelques annees avec a son compte de voyageur frequent, pres de 2 millions de miles.



There are a few celebrities in his immediate family. His son David Foenkinos is a celebrated french writer. He wrote "Le potential erotique de ma femme" (the erotic potential of my wife), soon to be published in the US. His other son is Stephane Foenkinos, a film director and also a casting director for movies, among them "Casino Royal" and "Moliere". Both David and Stephane information is readily available thru Google or Yahoo.com.
Il y a quelques celebrites dans sa famille proche. Son fils David Foenkinos est un ecrivain francais celebre. Il a ecrit "Le potential erotique de ma femme", qui sera bientot publie aux USA. Son autre fils est Stephane Foenkinos, un directeur de films et un casting directeur de films, parmi eux "Casino Royal" et "Moliere". Plus d'information est disponible sur Google et Yahoo sur eux.


Also Norbert's uncle, Leon Foenkinos, who is today in his nineties, was a professional soccer player for the Paris St Germain and trained the french star team in the 60's, among them were Jean Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon and George Brasseur, well know french actors.
Aussi l'oncle de Norbert, Leon Foenkinos, aujourdhui age de plus de 90 ans, etait un joueur de football professionel pour l'equipe du Paris-St Germain et a forme et entraine une equipe de vedettes dans les annees 60, parmi les joueurs figuraient Jean Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon et George Brasseur.

More about the Foenkinos will follow as we learn more about them. Simita is meeting with Norbert, his brother Yves and his cousin Lise (the Foenkinos genealogist) this summer and may be Carole will join them too. All these meetings should bring the families closer, clarify the Foenkinos tree and establish the Foinquinos connection.
Plus sur les Foenkinos dans un prochain futur. Simita rencontrera Norbert, son frere Yves et sa cousine Lise, la genealogiste des Foenkinos, cet ete et peut etre que Carole Bendrihem les joindra aussi. Toutes ces rencontres devraient rapprocher les familles, eclaircir l'arbre des Foenkinos et etablir sa connection avec les Foinquinos.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Le monde est petit, It's a small world.....

Quand Simone Foinquinos Melo (Simita) etait a Tanger, il y a une dizaine d’annees, elle rencontra un monsieur Moses Levy qui habitait Belem au Bresil et lui revela connaitre un Foinquinos Walter dans cette ville. En parlant, elle se rendit compte que les parents de ce Moses et ses parents avaient ete amis et ses amis d’enfance a elle aussi. De retour a Haifa, elle se mit en contact avec la soeur de ce Moses,qui depuis, habite lui aussi Haifa.
When Simone Foinquinos Melo (Simita) was in Tangiers ten years ago, she met a Moses Levy who lived in Belem, Brazil who told her he knew a Foinquinos Walter in that city. While talking, she realized that Moses' parents and her parents were friends and also her own childhood friends. Back in Haifa, she contacted Moses' sister; Moses since then relocated to Haifa.

Hier, par hasard, Simita decida de telephoner a la soeur de Moses et elle apprit que Deborah Foinquinos du Bresil etait en visite a Jerusalem. Hors Deborah est la fille de Walter Foinquinos de Belem. Simita telephona a Deborah et les deux etaient abasourdies de connaitre les memes Levy.
Yesterday, by pure coincidence, Simita decided to call Moses' sister and she learned that Deborah Foinquinos from Brazil was staying in Jerusalem. Deborah is in fact the daughter of Walter Foinquinos of Belem. Simita called Deborah and both were stunned to know the same Levys.

Deborah retourne au Bresil aujourdhui. Elle est en fait aussi la cousine de Daniel et Saul Foinquinos de Manaus et est grande amie de la femme de Saul, Ruth Gabbay Mendes.
Deborah is going back to Brazil today. She is also Daniel and Saul Foinquinos from Manaus cousin and a good friend to Saul's wife, Ruth Gabbay Mendes.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Births in the family

A very important baby was born last year. He is the most adored, on our side of the family, and his name is Ethan, son of Valerie Serfati and Laurent Danilovic. He is born in March 2007, so he is a little bit more than one year old now. Valerie is Patricia's daughter (my sister). My niece is crazy about her son, a few of his pictures are on the Facebook group and under her profile.


Just born a few weeks ago, Lea Tal Foinquinos, second child of Ilan and Caroline Touitou Tal. Ilan is the son of Jacky and Rita Foinquinos Tal and grand son of Albert and Perla from Kfar Saba. A lot of pictures of the adorable Lea are on Facebook too.


Lou lou lou, long life to the babies and a lot of energy to the parents



If you want me to announce family births, please send a picture and comment on my email: simonefidel@hotmail.com

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Mazal Tov to Saulo Foinquinos from Brazil

We received wonderful news from Brazil, that Daniel Foinquinos Melo's brother, Saulo Foinquinos, a doctor, got married recently with Ruth Gabbay Mendes, a lawyer. Daniel and his family are from Manaus. Friends seem to have come from as far as Atlanta.

For those of you who read portuguese, here's the link to an article written about it:

http://www.orm.com.br/oliberal/interna/default.asp?modulo=398&codigo=270044


It must be something in the air, a lot of weddings in our family.

I just heard of Stephanie Foinquinos, daughter of Maurice Foinquinos, my cousin. She recently got married and is now living in Pensylvania. Nice pictures of her wedding are on her Facebook profile.

Also Rubin and Dounia Foinquinos Tal got married in Paris a few months ago, he is the son of Joseph Foinquinos and a musician, his pretty wife is a law student. Great pictures of the wedding are under his and her Facebook profile.

Coming up soon, Iris Foinquinos Tal, daughter of Joseph Foinquinos, is getting married in Paris in June.

Mazal Tov to all! Felicitations! Congratulations! (I wonder if they still do the yoo yoo yoo in Brazil with all the moroccan jews who went to live there).

If you are getting married, let us know, we will announce it on the blog and all the family around the world will know it at once, faster than invitations. Viva el internet!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Fortunato Foinquinos - Esposa e Hijas


Mi abuelo, Fortunato Foinquinos Attias, emigro a Perù, donde formo una Familia.
En la foto que les presento, tomada en 1940, aparecen de izquierda a derecha:
Flora Foinquinos de Bonilla, ( mi madre) nacio en Contamana-Perù el 24 de Noviembre de 1924, actualmente reside en New York.
Blanca Foinquinos de Perez, fallecida
Rosario Ruiz de Foinquinos, ( mi abuela) fallecida,
Piedadi Foinquinos, fallecida.
Sara Foinquinos de Rojas, reside en Riverside - California, abuela de Sheilla Hall

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Facebook family group

This month was the Facebook family group month. Numerous Foinquinos joined the group Foinquinos, among them:

- Of course, Simone Foinquinos Melo, our genealogist, who collected materials, photos and stories for over 20 years and shares them with us on this blog;

- Our other genealogist, from the Pinto side of the family, Carole Bendrihem, who is a real detective, following her hunches till she victoriously finds the right information; she lives in Paris, France; she was the one to suggest a family group on Facebook as she has her own too for the Bendrihem family.

- My sister Patricia Serfati, fashion designer in Paris whose beautiful fashion designs are sold under the brand Patoushka; her daughter Valerie and gd son Ethan who live in Juan les Pins, France.

- My sister Caroline Schwab, trademarks & patent officer at the World Intellectual Propriety in Geneva, she is also organizing a peace festival this fall; also her son Luc Schwab, the Krav Maga expert.


- My sister Cathy Gabay, who lives in Tel Aviv with her two beautiful daughters Stephanie & Karen and her son, Ron Gabay the guitarist; she designs unique jewelry items that she sells in her store on Ben Yehuda.


- My cousin Lilly, second daughter of Albert and Perla, who was one of the first to join the group, from Israel.


- My cousin Evelyne and her husband Shlomo Apatov, who live in Kfar Sava, Israel. She is Albert and Perla's first daughter; also her son Avihay and her daughter Anat who is also one of the first to join the group.


- My cousin Joseph Tal, also son of Albert and Perla, who lives in the South of France; his son Rubin Tal, the musician & composer, who lives in Paris with his wife Dounia; and his daughter Annick Tal who has great pictures on her profile. Rubin also posted some of the old family pictures you see on the group.


The children generation with:

Sabrina Tal Foinquinos, daughter of Jacques, gd daughter of Albert and Perla, just back from a trip in Israel, she lives in Marseille.

Stephanie Foinquinos, daughter of Maurice Foinquinos Tal and gd daughter of Albert and Perla. She now lives in the States and just got married, Mazal tov. Her brother is the famous musician and israeli singer Avraham Tal in Israel (more info on his fan site and a sample of his songs too).


In the Americas:

Sheila Hall, one of the first to join the group too, now in San Diego, California. She is from the Peruvian side of the family. Her mom is Sarah Foinquinos.


Also Maricler Foinquinos, gd daughter of Alberto Foinquinos of Caracas , daughter of Isaac Foinquinos. She lives in Caracas, Venezuela. Her brother Carlos Foinquinos lives in Texas and works as an oil engineer. Also her sons Andres and Miguel Cicenia.

Abraham Manuel Foinquinos, from Peru, son of Jorge Foinquinos, lives in Iquitos, he is a musician. His father is Sheila's mom brother.


Sergio Obadia, gd son of Alberto Foinquinos of Caracas, son of Clarita Foinquinos, he lives and works in Washington DC.


Last but not least Nicholas Foenkinos, different branch and different spelling of the name, but Simone Melo knows that branch too who mainly lives in France and will devote more time to it once she can get out from under the pile of documents on the Foinquinos.

If you wonder how to access the facebook group, easy. Go to http://www.facebook.com/ and open an account by writing your email and a password. When your account is established, you can go to search and type Foinquinos, and you'll see our group, and you can add your profile to it.

So that's all folks, in a typical way we went around the world with our family, a truly international family.









-

Monday, March 10, 2008

Jacobo Foinquinos, referee in Peru


Another article of the 40's mentioning Jacobo Foinquinos being a referee in Peru soccer games.

Jacobo Foinquinos, referee in the 40's



These articles were found by Simone Foinquinos Melo. They mention Jacobo Foinquinos (1906-1984), her uncle born in Tangier, who lived in Honduras and was a soccer game referee in Central America in the 40's. Alberto from Venezuela is his brother. Jacobo's picture is on the September blog section. Jacobo and Alberto were the sons of Isaac Foinquinos and Clara Pinto, Simone Foinquinos Melo's mother was their sister.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

John Alkin Foinquinos

He is Kenneth Foinquinos' son and Samuel-Henri's great grand son. He is born John Foinquinos Watts in 1947 in Rugby and changed his name to John Alkin when he became an actor.
Il est le fils de Kenneth Foinquinos et le grand fils de Samuel-Henry Foinquinos. Il est ne John Foinquinos Watts en 1947 a Rugby et devient John Alkin quand il commence sa carriere d’acteur.


He played in numerous BBC series and in movies in the 70's and 80's among them, "Albert and Victoria" (1970), "Timeslip" (1970), "Crown Court" (1972), "The Sweeney" (1975-1978), "The Lady Vanishes" (1979) and "The Sandbaggers".
Il a joue dans de nombreuses series de la BBC et dans des films des annees 70-80, dont "Albert et Victoria" (1970)," Timeslip" (1970), "Crown Court "(1972), "The Sweeney" (1975-1978), "The Lady Vanishes" (1979) et "The Sandbaggers".

He has two sons from a first marriage, one is named Luke Alkin Foinquinos (the other son's name is unknown). It seems that he is not in movies since the end of the 80's, and in 1985 he married Lee Everett, who was also an actor and singer. Together, they opened a Spiritual and Healing holistic center. This center is named "Obsidian College for Healing & Integrated Medicine" where both teach. Lee Everett is also known for her pepper jellies sold under the name Chilliqueen Chelly.

Il a deux fils d'un premier mariage, l'un d'eux s'appelle Luke Alkin Foinquinos (on ne sait pas le nom de son frere). Il semble qu'il ne fait plus de films depuis la fin des annees 80, et en 1985 il se remarie avec Lee Everett, elle aussi une actrice, chanteuse. Ils ont ouvert ensemble un institut de developement spirituel et de guerison naturelle. Cet institut est connu sous le nom: "Obsidian College for Healing & Integrated Medecine". Tous les deux y enseignent.
Lee Everett est aussi connue pour ces gelees de piments vendues sous le nom Chilliqueen Chelly.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Kenneth Jack Watts Foinquinos and his wife Joyce

This is Samuel-Henry Foinquinos' grandson. Samuel-Henry (born in 1863) was one of Leon and Sophia's sons, the others were Chas, George and Alfred who were cotton dealers, wine merchants and merchant commissioners and lived in the area of Liverpool and Southport. Samuel-Henry married Louise Pemberton Rayland, lived in Rugby and died in Leicester in 1923. He was a Leather and Hide merchant and also a lithographer. He is the father of Harold Jack Watts (1878-1921), Herbert Watts who died in Arras (1897- 1917) and Arthur Watts (1900-1923). He also had two daughters, Phyllis Mary (1893-1916) and Dorothy Elizabeth (1894-1919).


Kenneth Foinquinos was born in 1921. He is Harold Jack Watts and Bessie Althea Wright 's son. He also had a son, John Foinquinos, who changed his name to John Alkin when he started working as an actor in films and for the BBC TV series. I'll write more about John Alkin later. Kenneth died in 2003 and his wife Joyce Wyatt in 2004. I think he was the last one to use the name Foinquinos in England.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Messod and Hana's daughters

Le registre de Gibraltar note que toutes les filles de Messod et Hana, a part Rayna, restent celibataires. Batseba meurt a 60 ans en 1893, Luna a 76 ans en 1906, un an après, Rachel a 65 ans. La plus agee est Esther, qui meurt en 1930 a l’age de 82 ans. Elle semble avoir vecu avec Leon quand elle allait a l’ecole a Liverpool, d’apres le census de 1861.

The Gibraltar registers indicates that Messod and Hanna's daughters, except Rayna, stayed singles. Batseba died a 60 in 1893, Luna at 76 in 1906, one year later, Rachel at 65. The oldest is Esther, who died in 1930 at 82. She seemed to have lived with Leon when she went to school in Liverpool, according to the 1861 census.

Il semble aussi que David Foinquinos, ne en 1842, reste celibataire, et meurt en 1911 a l’age de 68 ans.
It seems also that David Foinquinos, born in 1843, stays single and died in 1911 at 68.

Toutes les filles celibataires et David semblent avoir continue a vivre ensemble sous le meme toit.
All the single daughters and David seem to have lived together in the same house.

Quant a Rayna nee en 1836, elle se marie avec un Elias Benaim en 1865. Les Benaim comme beaucoup de juifs de Gibraltar avaient de la famille a Tanger. On sait seulement qu'elle a eu deux enfants, Esther et Samuel, et qu'elle meurt en 1911, a l'age de 75 ans, a Gibraltar. Simone FM va essayer de retrouver une copie de sa Ketouba dans sa montagne de documents.
As for Rayna born in 1836, she married Elias Benaim in 1865. The Benaim as many jews from Gibraltar had family in Tangier. We only know that she had two children, Esther and Samuel, and she died in 1911 at 75 in Gibraltar. Simone FM will try to find a copy of her Ketouba in her pile of documents.


Tous ces deces sont enregistres a Gibraltar ou ils doivent donc etre tous enterres. La famille de Gibraltar et celle de Tanger etaient proches et se visitaient d'apres Simone FM. Notre oncle Albert, de Kfar Saba, a parle a Simone d’une Hermana Luna qui aurait vecu avec sa famille a Tanger dans les annees 1900.
All these deaths are recorded in Gibraltar where they must be all buried. The family in Gibraltar and the one in Tangiers were close and visited each other according to Simone FM. Our uncle Albert, of Kfar Saba, talked to Simone of a Sister Luna who lived with the family in Tangier in the 1900's.

Moses Foinquinos, Messod's last son

Il est ne en 1854. Deux ans apres, son pere Messod meurt. Il se marie avec Simi Busaglo. Il a, lui aussi, un fils Messod, ne en 1880 qui meurt un an après, et deux filles Hannah Foinquinos en 1881 et Freha (Alegria) en 1883. Moses meurt a 29 ans en 1884 et sa fille Hannah meurt a 13 ans.

He was born in 1854. Two years after, his father Messod dies. He married Simi Busaglo and they had three children together. The first was a son named Messod, born in 1881, who died one year after, then two daughters Hannah Foinquinos in 1881 and Freha (Alegria) in 1883. Moses died at 29 in 1884 and his daughter Hannah died at 13 in 1895.

Ils doivent etre enterres a Gibraltar car les deces sont enregistres dans les registres de cette ville. All of them must be buried in Gibraltar as the deaths are recorded in this city registers.

C’est encore le cas d’un Foinquinos male qui meurt jeune. On ne sait pas ce que deviennent sa femme Simi Busaglo ou sa fille Freha Foinquinos.
This is one more Foinquinos male who died young. We do not know the whereabouts of his wife or daughter Freha Foinquinos.

Death certificate for Leon Foinquinos from Liverpool



Thursday, February 21, 2008

Voyages de George et Mildred F





George est le fils de Leon et Sophia, son fils est George Harold et sa femme s'appelait Mildred.
George is Leon and Sophia's son, his son is George Harold married with Mildred.

Cette liste atteste de leurs nombreux voyages entre Liverpool, Madere et le Bresil. Peut etre ont ils une ligne qui est restee la bas. Peut etre ils visitaient la famille installee au Bresil.


This list shows the numerous trips from Liverpool to Madeira and to Brazil. Maybe they started a branch of the family there. Maybe they visited the branch living in Brazil.


Chas F a New York



Un joli certificate qui atteste de la visite de Chas F a New York le 5 Septembre 1896.
A nice certificate from Ellis Island showing that Chas F visited New York on September 5, 1896.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Herbert Watts Foinquinos


Document on Herbert Watts Foinquinos who died in Arras. He is Leon F & Sophia's grand son
and Samuel-Henry and Louise Pemberton' son. He has born in 1897, so he was only 20 when he died.

Mariage Leon F et Sophie Watts


Certificate of marriage between Leon F and Sophia Watts.

Census 1861, Leon and his household


This document describes who was living at Leon's house in 1861. Although it was first thought that only Leon and Isaac moved to England from Gibraltar, we see that Esther, their little sister, known as Etty, is also living in Liverpool at Leon's house. Maybe there were better schools in England.

Hilda Kennedy Roberts


Wonderful portrait of Emily's daughter (Leon and Sophia's daughter), Hilda Kennedy Roberts. She moved to Buenos Aires and married Maximilian Bournham.

Emily Foinquinos, husband



This is Emily F and her husband Richard Marshall Roberts and their grand daughter Ann born in 1926.

Emily Foinquinos, 1923


This is a picture of Emily, Leon and Sophia's daughter, photographed in 1923.

Emily & Percy


This is Emily, Leon and Sophia's daughter with her oldest son Richard Percy Emmett who is Elizabeth Mary Simpson's father.

Marjorie Foinquinos



This is Marjorie F, daughter of Chas, grand daughter of Leon and Sophia.

Chas, Edith and Marjorie


He is Leon and Sophia's first son. This is his wife Edith and daughter Marjorie who died in 1997 in Southport. His imposing house is still there to see.

Cecil Leon Roberts, son of Emily F.


He was Leon and Sophia's grandson, son of Emily. He was born in Liverpool in 1895. He first served as a fighter pilot in the First World War. After being made prisoner of war, he went back to England to become a professional dancer, and changed his name to Robert Sielle from his initials C.L. to avoid confusion with another dancer by the name of Roberts.

He and his wife, Annette Mills, Sir John Mill's sister, were called the "English Astaires". They were credited for introducing the Charleston to London after they had seen it danced in New York. They later divorced and he married Marguerite Milton.

Around 1930, he became a famous framemaker for the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery and the Imperial Museum and also from his own account for Buckingham Palace and the White House. He replaced some JW Turner frames and worked for many artists among them David Hockney. Eliot Hodgkin made a painting called "Robert Sielle's file" of a file of delivery notes suspended from a hook on a wall (1963). His talent was to experiment with new materials, and design frames that flowed with the paintings he was asked to frame. He was the first to replace gold standard frames with silver ones at the National Gallery. He wrote articles on the art of framing for various art magazines and continued framing till the end of his life in 1983 .





Alfred Foinquinos




Last son of Leon F and Sophie Watts. He married Ethel Mary Gibbs and had four children, Alfred in 1907, Walter in 1908, Freda in 1909 and Hazel in 1916. He later on changed his last name to Franklin.

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Foinquinos from England, #1

In January I was very busy with my work but I kept receiving emails from Carole Bendrihem and Simone FM from Haifa. Both had found documents on the english branch of our family. As with the other Foinquinos of Brazil and Peru, this line is not the simplest to follow as they also travelled and lived in different cities among them Tangiers, Gibraltar, Liverpool, New York and Brazil.


In England as opposed to Morrocco, the birth, marriage, death and census certificates are well kept and they are easily available to the public, or by internet. Carole B became an expert at finding information and Simone FM who had tons of documents, kept for years in boxes, started taking them out, putting them in order, scanning them and sending them by email. An avalanche of documents for me to look at and put on the blog later on.

All the discussion on the Foinquinos from England started a few months ago when I had found an article on Elizabeth Mary Simpson on the internet. This article mentioned that this lady, a famous english genealogist, had gone to Gibraltar to register under the surname Foinquinos. I asked Simone FM if she knew her. She told me that in fact she used to visit her at her cottage in Nottingham, a small city 3 hours from London.


A happy coincidence, as it seems to happen often in genealogy preceeded this meeting. When Simone FM lived in England in the 70's, she travelled to Tangier and paid a visit to the jewish community center to ask if they had any information on the F and the staff told her that in fact two ladies from England had also inquired about the family. Intrigued, Simone FM as soon as she was back in London, looked thru the phone books and found a few Foinquinos that she called.


A few weeks later, Elizabeth Simpson called her and they met and became friends. They exchanged their information, Simone FM learned about the english line and Elizabeth about all the other ones. Julie, Elizabeth's sister, showed her the places where the family lived in Liverpool, Messod's house, the patriarch, Chas' imposing mansion in Southport, and also the first jewish temple founded in part by the Foinquinos that was transformed as a theatre later on.

The english branch starts with Messod Foinquinos. He was born in 1798 in Tangiers, he was the son of Yehuda and Luna Foinquinos. In light of his date of birth, we suppose that he might be of the generation of the parents of our great grand parents (my father was born around 1925, the grand parents would have been born around 1880-1890, the great grand parents around 1840-1850, so between 1800-1820 for the parents of our great grand parents). On the Ketouba of my grand father, Moses Foinquinos, it is mentioned that his grand father was Messod.


Our genealogy can be very confusing at times with the same first names repeating over several generations. We find many Messod (or Fortunato in Brazil,Peru) or Leon/Yehuda or Albert/Abraham. Also in Morocco, the lack of official documents is frustrating.


Simone FM also found the mention of a Yehuda and Messod, signers of the Haskama, a document separating the jewish community of Tangiers from the one in Tetuan-Gibraltar in 1798. We think that Yehuda and Messod would have been born between 1750-1770 and maybe that Yehuda is the father of Messod from Gibraltar. This Messod will follow the tradition of naming his first son after his father, Leon/Yehuda and his first daughter after his mom Luna.


Messod is listed as a Merchant in Gibraltar, where he marries Hana Benabou, born in Gibraltar, in 1828. They have 10 children. The first one is Leon/Yehuda born in 1830. He is followed by Luna in 1831, Batseba Betsy in 1833, Abraham in 1835, Sarah Reyna in 1836, Isaac James in 1838, Rachel in 1840, David in 1842, Esther in 1848 and Moses in 1854.


Leon is listed in Liverpool as a Wine merchant, Glass and ceramics merchant, freight forwarder with Brazil and own a lithography shop. He is the inventor of the envelopes for which he request a patent in 1867. He founds a jewish temple with other jews of Liverpool, and owns a mansion that still exists today. He married Sophia Watts and had many children, one of them is Emily, who is the grand mother of Elizabeth Simpson, the genealogist from Nottingham, Simone FM's friend.





(continued on The Foinquinos from England #2)

Friday, February 15, 2008

The Foinquinos from England #2

Last time, I talked about Messod and Hana Benabou from Gibraltar, and their children. It seems that only Leon (Judah) and his brother Isaac moved to England, all the other ones stayed in Gibraltar or went back to Tangier.

Isaac seemed to be the manager of the lithography shop Leon opened in Liverpool that employed 10 people in 1862. He got married that year with Elizabeth Maddocks and changed his surname to Francis James, dropping the Foinquinos surname. He had 3 daughters, Emilie, Amy and Florence Dale James. After that, it is hard to follow his descendants among all the other James in England and elsewhere.

I will therefore concentrate my efforts on Leon/Judah's descendants from Liverpool. He is Messod and Hana's first son and he is the best known thru the archives found. He is born in 1830 in Gibraltar and leaves for England where he settles in Liverpool and get married at 22 with Sophia Watts. Like his father, he will have 10 children. Four die the same year of their birth (the first two Hana Clementine in 1854, Julia 1856-1857, then Florence in 1864 and Frederick in 1866). The other children are:

Charles Meshod also known as Chas, (1857-1916) is listed as Merchant Commissioner in 1889. He married Edith Annie Smith and dies in Southport. His name is in the archives of Ellis Island, when he visited the United States and arrived in New York in 1890. He only had one daughter, Marjorie Foinquinos, who died in 1997 single.

Georges (1859-1941) married Lydia Kenney. He had a son George Harold that we found visiting Brazil with his wife Mildred, and also a daughter Dorothee Foinquinos who married Harry Elstone.

Emily (1861-1944), marries Richard Marshall Roberts. She is Elizabeth Simpson 's grand mother , Elizabeth as you recall was the english genealogist of the english family.

Samuel Henry (1863-1891) marries Louise Pemberton. His son, Herbert Watts Foinquinos, took the family name of his grand mother, Sophie Watts. We find his name in the Arras Memorial archives, as a Lance Corporal in the english infantery. He is listed under the Memorial Plaque Names #10 in Arras. He died during the first World War, on May 24. 1917. Marechal Haig, commander of the british army, launched a massive attack between April and May 1917 in the Pas-de-Calais to break the german blockade, although it is not successful, it weakens the german army. Thousand of deaths on both sides are the result, and numerous memorials commemorate this battle in Arras.

Leon et Sophia last 2 children are his son Alfred (1867- ? ), not much is known about him, and Ettie Louise (1870-1940) who stayed single. Carole Bendrihem et Simone FM de Haifa are still searching their archives, so it is possible that we might know more soon.

In conclusion, they are children that we can easily follow and other not. As it is almost the norm with the Foinquinos who are always mobile, each settles according to his wishes, luck or where love takes him. Many change names and religion. They take a new name when they convert or take the name of their mother or grand mother, Sophie Watts.

As for Leon, Messod son, he continued living in Liverpool where he founded with other jews of the city, the first jewish temple, he owned a lithography shop, is listed as Merchant Commissioner and established numerous import export and freight transport companies. He also applied for a patent on enveloppes in 1867 and died at 50 from apoplexia. According to the death certificate,his son George was present.

To judge from the wedding certificates found, many of Leon sisters, daughter, grand daughters stayed singles. As Simone FM was reminding me, girls received dowries before getting married, which might not have been the simplest thing as in this case they were many . We also noticed that many of the Foinquinos males die young leaving widows and children behind them.

Les Foinquinos anglais, suite

La derniere fois, j’ai parle des enfants de Messod et Hana Benabou de Gibraltar.
Il semble que seulement Leon et son frere Isaac se soient installes en Angleterre, les autres restent a Gibraltar, ou retournent a Tanger.

Isaac semble avoir ete le manager de la maison de lithographie de Leon a Liverpool qui emploie une dizaine d’employes en 1862. Il se marrie cette annee la avec Elizabeth Maddocks et change son nom en Francis James, laissant tomber le nom Foinquinos. Il a 3 filles, Emilie, Amy et Florence Dale James. Apres ca, on perd sa trace parmi tous les autres James d’Angleterre et d’ailleurs.

Je vais donc me concentrer sur la lignee de Leon/Judah de Liverpool, le fils aine, puisque c’est lui qu’on connait le mieux a travers les archives. Il est ne en 1830 a Gibraltar et part s’etablir en Angleterre, ou il s’installe a Liverpool et se marrie a 22 ans avec Sophia Watts. Comme son pere, il aura dix enfants dont quatre meurent en bas age (les 2 premieres Hana Clementine en 1854, Julia 1856-1857 puis Florence en1864 et Frederick en 1866). Les autres enfants sont:

Charles Meshod aussi connu sous le nom de Chas, (1857 –1916) est liste comme Merchant Commissioner en 1889 . Il se mariera avec Edith Annie Smith et decede a Southport. On retrouve son nom dans les archives d’Ellis Island quand il visite les Etats Unis et arrive a New York en 1896. Il n’aura qu’une fille, prenommee Marjorie Foinquinos, qui mourra en 1997.

Georges (1859-1941) se marie avec Lydia Kenney. Il aura un fils George Harold qu’on retrouve en visite au Bresil avec sa femme Mildred, et aussi une fille Dorothee Foinquinos qui se mariera avec Harry Elstone.

Emily (1861-1944), se marie avec Richard Marshall Roberts. C’est la grand mere d’Elizabeth Simpson, la genealogiste anglaise.

Samuel Henry (1863-1891) epousera Louise Pemberton. Son fils Herbert Watts Foinquinos, prendra le nom de famille de sa grand mere, Sophie Watts. On retrouve sa trace dans les annales du Memorial d’Arras, comme Lance Caporal dans l’infanterie anglaise. Il est liste dans les noms du Memorial sous la plaque #10 a Arras. Il serait mort pendant la 1ere guerre mondiale, le 24 Mai 1917. Le Marechal Haig, qui commandait les forces britanniques, lanca une offensive massive en Avril et Mai 1917 dans le Pas de Calais pour casser le front allemand qui n’aboutit pas a ses fins, mais affaiblit les forces allemandes. Des millliers de morts des deux cotes en resulteront, d’ou les nombreuses plaques commemoratives a Arras.

Les 2 derniers enfants de Leon et Sophia sont Alfred (1867- ? ), dont on ne sait pas grand chose a cette date et Ettie Louise (1870-1940) qui restera celibataire. Carole Bendrihem et Simone FM de Haifa sont en train de fouiller leurs archives, donc il est possible qu’on en saura plus bientot.


En conclusion, il y a des enfants dont on peut suivre la trace et d’autres non. Comme il est presque normal chez les Foinquinos ou la bougeotte est legendaire, chacun s’installe selon ses souhaits ou bien ou la fortune et l’amour l’entraine. Beaucoup changent de noms et de religion, et acquierent un nouveau nom de bapteme. Ils prennent aussi le nom de leur mere ou grand mere, Sophie Watts.

Quant a Leon, le fils de Messod, il continua a vivre a Liverpool ou il fonda avec d’autres juifs de la ville la premiere synaguogue, avait une maison de lithographie, et est liste comme Merchant Commissioner et possede de nombreuses companies d’import export et de transport de fret. Il deposa aussi un brevet d’enveloppes en 1867 et mourrut en 1880, a 50 ans, d’une apoplexie.

A en juger par les dossiers de mariage retrouves, certaines des soeurs et filles de Leon, resteront celibataires. Comme Simone FM me le rappelait, les filles recevaient une dot pour pouvoir se marrier, ce qui ne devait pas etre une mince affaire vu que dans le cas de Messod, elles etaient nombreuses. On constate aussi que beaucoup des Foinquinos males meurent souvent jeunes laissant des veuves et enfants derriere eux.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Maricler Foinquinos

I found Maricler Foinquinos thru Facebook and I contacted her by email. I told her about the blog and she was so surprised by all the stories and pictures we posted and to see her family pictures on the blog. She is from Caracas and she is Isaac Foinquinos daughter.

The line in Venezuela starts with Alberto/Abraham Foinquinos, born in Tanger who emigrated to Venezuela . His father was Isaac Foinquinos (Simone from Haifa grand father), the translator for the Kaiser, and his mom was Clara Pinto Foinquinos. Alberto married Sety Bendahan and had 3 sons, Isaac (Maricler's father), Jacobo and Jaime and a daughter Carlita.

Maricler has two brothers Alberto and Carlos. Carlos lives in Texas, Maricler and Alberto live in Caracas.

Welcome Maricler to the family and the blog!

Les Foinquinos d'Angleterre

Tout le mois de Janvier, occupee avec la fin d’annee a fermer et le debut d’annee a ouvrir et tous les rapports dus le 31 Janvier, je recevais les echanges par emails entre Simone Foinquinos Melo de Haifa et Carole Bendrihem. Toutes les deux avaient retrouve des documents de la ligne anglaise et comme avec les autres Foinquinos du Bresil et du Peru, cette ligne n’est pas des plus simples, car eux aussi voyagaient entre Tanger, Gibraltar, Liverpool, New York et le Bresil si on en croit les documents d’entrée de port retrouves.

Mais en Angleterre, a l’oppose du Maroc , des registres publics de naissance, de marriage et de deces et de recensement ont ete etablis et sont mis a la disposition du public, gratuitement et sur l’internet, et Carole B s’en est donnee a coeur joie de piocher dans ces archives. Pour sa part, Simone FM avait aussi des montagnes de documents, gardes dans des boites depuis des annees et elle s’est mise a les sortir, les trier, les scanner et a nous les envoyer par email. S’ensuivit une avalanche de documents, pour moi a regarder et a trier, quand j’aurais plus de temps.

Toute la discussion sur les Foinquinos d’Angleterre avait commence il y a quelques mois quand j’avais trouve un article sur Elizabeth Simpson sur l’internet. C’etait un hommage posthume pour cette dame, une genealogiste hors pair, qui serait allee a Gibraltar s’enregistrer sous le nom Foinquinos. J’ai demande a Simone FM si elle la connaissait et elle m’a dit qu’elle la visitait souvent a son cottage de Nottingham, une petite ville a 3 heures de train de Londres.

Un heureux hasard comme il en existe beaucoup en genealogie avait precede cette rencontre. Quand Simone FM vivait en Angleterre ds les annees 70, elle etait allee en visite a Tanger et s’etait rendue au centre communautaire juif pour demander s’ils avaient des informations sur les Foinquinos. On lui a dit que deux dames d’Angleterre etaient aussi venues demander des informations sur la famille. Intriguee, Simone FM des son retour a Londres se mit a chercher dans tous les bottins et trouva quelques Foinquinos qu’elle appela.

Quelques semaines plus tard, Elizabeth Simpson lui telephona et elle se rencontrerent et de la commenca leur amitie et la recherche de Simone FM de la branche anglaise. Pour sa part, Elizabeth Simpson ne savait rien des autres lignes Foinquinos et Simone se fit un plaisir de l’informer.

La soeur d’Elizabeth, Julie, lui fit visiter les endroits ou les aieux avaient vecu a Liverpool, la maison de Messod, le patriache, la mansion imposante de Chas a Southport, son petit fils, et aussi une synaguogue fondee en partie par les Foinquinos qui est devenue ensuite un theatre.


La branche anglaise commence donc par Messod Foinquinos. Il est ne en 1798 a Tanger, fils de Yehuda et Luna Foinquinos. Vu la date de naissance, je suppose qu’ il serait de la generation des parents de nos arrieres grand parents. Mon pere est ne vers 1925, les grands parents seraient nes vers 1880-1890, les arrieres gd parents vers 1840-1850, donc entre 1800-1820 pour les parents de nos arrieres gd parents. Dans la Ketouba de notre grand pere Moses Foinquinos, il y a la mention d’un Messod qui serait son grand pere. Entre parentheses avec tous les Messod (Fortunato) et les Yehuda-Leons, et le manque de documents d’etat civil au Maroc, il y a de quoi en perdre son latin.

Simone FM a aussi trouve mention d’un Yehuda et Messod signataires de la Haskama, separation de la communaute juive de Tanger et de celle de Tetuan-Gibraltar en 1775. On peut donc supposer que ceux ci seraient nes entre 1740-1750 et Yehuda serait le pere du Messod qui devient anglais par la suite.

Messod est enregistre comme Merchant, donc commercant-negociant, a Gibraltar ou il se marrie en 1828 avec Hana Benabou, nee a Gibraltar. Ils ont ensemble une dizaine d’enfants. Le premier est bien sur Leon-Yehuda, ne en 1830, il porte le prenom du pere de Messod vu les traditions sepharades. Il est suivi de Luna en 1831, Batseba Betsy en 1833, Abraham 1835, Sarah-Reyna 1836, Isaac James 1838, Rachel 1840, David 1842, Esther 1848 et Moses 1854.
Par la suite, la famille vivra a Liverpool.

Leon est enregistre a Liverpool et prospere comme marchand de vins, de porcelaine et de verre, transporteur de fret avec le Bresil entre autres et comme lithographe. Il est l’inventeur des envelopes qu’il brevette vers 1867. Il a une papeterie, il fonde une synaguogue avec d’autres juifs de la ville et a une mansion qu’on peut encore voir a Liverpool. Il se marie et a de nombreux enfants dont sa fille Emily qui serait donc la grand mere d’Elizabeth Simpson, la genealogiste de Nottingham, amie de Simone FM.


(A suivre……)