Amersfoort circumcision books from the 18th and 19th century
Introduction
At the auction at Christie’s on the 11th of 1988 in Amsterdam, the
Dutch Jewish Community of Amersfoort obtained a circumcision book of
Abraham Mozes Levits (1773-1838) and his son Mozes Abraham
(1802-1875), of the years 1812-1873 (Flehite, 19:53,1988)
The manuscript is -as customary- bound together with a printed
version of David Ben Arjeh Leib’s book ‘Sod Hasjeem’, from which the
front cover and the introduction are missing.
From the register are missing the notes 23 until 36, of the years
1819-1822. They where written on the front and back of the same
page. The remaining register consists of 19 pages.
It is written in ink on paper in two Hebrew handwritings, each in
both Ashkenazi cursive and printing characters (Christie 1988).
In total there are records of 183 circumcisions, which found place
in; Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Baarn, Beusichem, Buren, Culemborg,
Deventer, Doorn, Weesp, Hilversum, Leerdam, Maarssen, Nijkerk,
Rhenen, Tricht, Utrecht, Wijk bij Duurstede, Veenendaal en
IJsselstijn. Each registration states the Jewish and (in Latin
letters) regular date, the location of circumcision, the Hebrew name
of the boy and his father and the blessing ‘may he grow up to (the
study of) the Torah, to getting married and (the performance of
)good deeds’. Usually also family names and (Yiddish) forenames are
added. In a few rare cases it was noted that the boy was a relative
or a guest and in two cases it was stated that the circumcision take
place in the synagogue of Amersfoort.
As requested by the Jewish Community Amersfoort the whole Mohel book
was translated into Dutch. Then, as many registrations as possible
were compared with the concerning birth certificates of the Civil
Registry ( burgelijke stand)., as from 1811. This provided proof of
the family name, kept or chosen, the Civil Dutch forenames of the
child and the father, the names of the mother, the occupation of the
father, (usually) the age of both parents and two local witnesses of
the registration. So a kind of lexicon was formed, that can act as a
go-between between the names in the older registers of the Jewish
community and the civil names in later acts of the authorities.
A short summary of the importance of this circumcision book was
given during the workshop on genealogy and tombstone-documentation
held on the 21st of November 1988 in Amsterdam, as part of the Fifth
International Symposium on the history of Dutch Jewry.
In the State archives in Utrecht one can find , authorized by the
Parnassiem of the Jewish Community of Amersfoort, “Copy
Translations” of four Amersfoort’s circumcision registers , those of
Isaac Auerbach, Wolf Cohen, Avraham Jacob van Gelder en Isaac Weijl,
who’s circumcisions respectively found place in 1753-1792,
1789-1811, 1791-1808 en 1808-1811. Together with the currently
obtained Moheel-book they form a continuous series from 1753 until
1873, a total period of 120 years. Also earlier, before the year
1753, circumcisions took place in Amersfoort, proof of this are a
circumcision curtain and circumcision chair, which have been donated
in respectively 1728 and 1750 to the in the year 1727 initiated
synagogue (both portrayed in J.Zwarts 1927).
Although the original versions of the circumcision books mentioned
above were assumed to be lost, I found to my greatest joy (I found)
Abraham Jacob van Gelder’s register in the municipal archive of
Amsterdam. Comparison shows that it is not complete, the ‘Copy
Translation’ gives evidence that numbers 50 up to 68 (1800-1808) are
missing. But the original manuscript had more data than the ‘Copy
Translation’. For example the ‘Copy Translation’ states as the
seventh registration: “Friday the first of June 1792- Marcus son of
Hartog of Amsterdam” and in the Hebrew manuscript” No.7 Amsterdam,
The 1st of June 1792 Lemazal tov I have entered in the holy covenant
at the New Schul of the Ashkenazim on Friday 11 Siewan 5652 the son
of my brother, Mordechai named Gimpel, son of Naphtalie Hisch, at
the age of 8 days.” The circumcision register of Abraham van Gelder
was attached to the book “Sod Hasjeem”, from which incidentally the
front-page does exist, giving S. Proops, Amsterdam 5505 (1745) as
the edition published.
According to the registration of Jews, who got civil rights in
Amersfoort (1661-1805)(attachment II of J.J.Herks 1967; see civil
books of the municipal archives of Amersfoort), the register of
names adoptions (the Jewish Family Archive), the authorized ‘Copy
Translation’ of the Register of the Living (1759-1811), the register
of Marriages (1759-1810), the register of Birth and Naming of the
Children of female descent (1749-1811) of the Israelite Community of
Amersfoort ( in the State archives of Utrecht), the census of 1830
and 1840 (municipal archive of Amersfoort), the register of
Marriages before the Court of Amersfoort (1720-1810), the cemetery
register of the Jewish cemeteries at the Soesterweg in Amersfoort
and the Civil Registry (burgelijke stand) (from 1811 up to today),
it should be possible to make an almost complete reconstruction of
the Jewish population of Amersfoort, one of the oldest kehillot in
Holland from the beginning of the 17th century until today and the
genealogical and demographical analyses based on that information.
The described moheel-books of Van Gelder and Levits can be crucial
in researches of this kind. Da Silva Rosa (1931) rendered proof of
the importance of the old moheel-books.
1700 initiation of cemetery, 1722 initiation of synagogue
1728 circumcision curtain, approx. 1750 circumcision chair
Moheel-books:
(1) Isaac Auerbach (1753-1792)
(2) Wolf Cohen (1789-1811)
(3) Abraham Jacob van Gelder (1791-1808)
(4) Isaac Weijl (1805-1811)
(5) Abraham Mozes Levits and Mozes Abraham Levits (1812-1873)
