Letter From a Friend
Dear prima Rufina,
How are you? I hope you are doing well. I am so excited about some discoveries
I've made recently about my 'Pimentel' surname. The other day I went to the
'Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library' to do some research on my last name,
needless to say, the place was replete with genealogical information. To my
delight, I found lots of information on the Pimentel surname - if I had any
doubts about the Jewish origin of my name, I don't anymore. In fact, not only
is Pimentel considered to be Jewish in origin, but it is also one of the more
distinguished and well known Sephardic surnames.
For example, the "Jewish Encyclopaedia" has a section on the 'Coat of Arms of
Jewish Families', and Pimentel is listed as one of several distinguished Ibero-Judeo
Jewish surnames, for which there is a coat of arms. There is an article on the
origins of coat of arms and apparently, only the most distinguished Sephardic
families were granted coat of arms. Here is the complete Jewish Encyclopaedia
listing of the other Ibero-Judeo surnames for which there are coat of arms:
Aguilar, Alvarez, Andrade, Azevedo, Belmonte, Brito, Cardoso, Carvajal, De
Castro, Da Costa, Da Sylva, Espinosa, Fonseca, Franco, Gomez de Sousa, Henriques,
Hurtado de Mendoza, Lopez, Machado, De Matos, Mendes, Oliveira, Pardo, Pereira,
Pimentel, De Pinto, Rodriguez, Salvador, Sampayo, Teixeira, Ximenes.
Can you imagine my delight? I have been in touch with countless Jewish geneological
experts that all say the same thing - that 'Pimentel' is a very well known and
distinguished Jewish surname. I even received an e-mail from a Frenchman who's
specialty is the French Jews from 'Bordeaux' and 'Bayonne'. According to him,
Pimentel was a 'Professional' Jewish surname, and there were many Portuguese
Jewish Pimentels in France during the 1700's.
Furthermore, Dan Rottenberg, the well known and respected author of "Finding
Our Fathers", included the Pimentel surname in his comprehensive listing of
some 8,000 Jewish surnames. I'm certain that you are well acquainted with the
book. Other invaluable sources of information which I found at the 'Toronto
Refernce Library' included: The "Dictionary of Surnames" and the "Encyclopaedia
of American Family Names", both of which confirm the Jewish origin of the Pimentel
name. Additionally, the genealogical records and inquisition archives of 'Portugal,
Spain, Netherlands, England, Brazil and Mexico', are chock full of Jewish Pimentels.
In the inquisition archives, one also finds numerous Pimentels who were victims
of unconscionable atrocities, which were perpetrated by the inquisitors of the
holy office!
The discovery of my Jewish heritage has been a source of profound pride and
nostalgia for me, but it has also filled me with so much sadness. The hardships
that some of my ancestors must have endured is unimaginable! The Jewish heritage
of so many was cruelly taken away. Rufina, you know how diligently I have been
researching my roots, and at least I was finally fortunate enough to find some
compelling information, but there is still more I'm sure.The saying that hard
work produces results, has once again been proven to be true.
Prima Rufina, forgive me for going on and on about this, but I just felt I needed
to share all of this with you. After all, I credit you with being the first
person that helped me get started on my journey of self discovery. Mr. Stein
has been very helpful as well. I can hardly contain my excitement about my recent
discoveries. I will send you attachments of the information I have.
Say hello to your husband and children for me. My wife is due any day now, so
stay tuned, I will let you know when our baby is born. You know, you and I and
many others are survivors, we are a testament to the strength of human will,
and I am ecstatic that my child will symbolize the continuation of my family's
Sephardic lineage. May we, the children of Conversos, continue to embrace and
preserve our shared Portuguese/Jewish heritage. I now believe with every fibre
of my being that my ancestors were Jews at one time, and that they were forced
to convert because of the pressures of the inquisition. Oh and by the way, you
were right Rufina...most of the Portuguese Jews were forced to convert, hence
the terms "Conversos/New Christians". Contrary to popular belief, only a small
percentage were actually expelled from Portugal.
Please reply if you can as I am always interested in your feedback. Thank you
for listening to me and keep well.
AdeusShalom,
George Pimentel
http://www3.sympatico.ca/geoles
e-mail: geoles@sympatico.ca
April 21, 1999 2:36 AM
E-mail: Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum