The Jews in the diaspora lived a double life. There is the Jewish world with its sources and the Gentile world with its sources.
To give an example of that double life, look at the famous historian Glickel. Her Gentile family-name is never mentioned in her Memorbook.
In the Jewish world she is called Glickel Hamel, in the Gentile records her husband's name suddenly changes from Chaim Hamel to Heine Goldschmidt.

Leipzig was founded in the Middle Ages on the intersection, the Via Regia, which runs from Russia to Paris, and another road, the Via Imperii, running from the Baltic coast to Venice.
Due to the contacts with Poland it became an important trade-center, which attracted many Jews. Although they had been expelled from Leipzig, the Jews played such an important part in trade, that it was impossible to prevent them from entering. Yet they had to enter through one gate and pay an entrance fee.
Between the years 1675
1764 all Jews and their escorts were registered under their Gentile names, the names as the German official heard them, including their place of origin.

From the book of Glickel Hamel (maiden name Pinckerle) we know: "the son Leib (in Hebrew Yehuda in German Levi, in Yiddish Leib) travelled to Leipzig and bought textiles".
Then comes a sad story about a young Jewish man who passed away and his father in law did not know how to give him a proper Jewish burial, as it was bad and unsafe to do so in Leipzig.
We also have the book from a rabbi from Nuremberg, Max Freudenthal, who made a record of all the registered Jewish names in Leipzig, in the patronymic way, the names of the father and his origin.
This book was published in 1928 in Frankfurt and it has copies in Germany (Dresden) and in Israel (Jerusalem).

We find the tracks of the famous painter, Josef Israels too, who's family used to go yearly to Leipzig and we find their names in the lists there.
Then we found the relation between them and the Dutch Kiek-family. Their whole family-tree is based on records from Leipzig.
Then there are details of the birth-year of one of the members of the Criel-family in Freudenthal's book.
The same story counts for the Minden- and the Fles-families, about whom we find tracks as well in the Leipzig records.

As a conclusion we find, that sometimes we find contradictions between sources.
For example Alexander Fles, who passed away in 1759, but according to the registration of Freudenthal, he visited Leipzig in 1763.
And this brings us to the point: who do we believe? Which are the right sources? Sometimes it is very difficult to come to a decision.

There exists an often forgotten rule, when we have a contemporary source. For instance someone tells that his father was born in Berlin, which could be correct, but it also could be mistaken. Yet, if a person declares himself that he originates in Darmstadt, when registering his intended marriage, we tend to believe him, and not his son, who could have been mistaken, remembering that his father came from a city in Germany, but he forgot from which one exactly.

Excerpt from the lecture in Hebrew of Dr.Jona Schellekens "The Leipziger Messe as a source in genealogy" given on the one-day seminar on Dutch Jewish Genealogy on January 15th,2008 of Amutat Akevoth and the Center for Research on Dutch Jewry-Source:-Publication of the English and Dutch translations of the lectures by Amutat Akevoth-Copyright 2009

Source:
Leipziger Messgäste: Die Jüdische Besucher der Leipziger Messen in den Jahren 1675 bis 1764
by Max Freudenthal
(Frankfurt am Main: J. Kaufmann Verlag, 1928).


AMERSFOORT:

Moses Hartig 1737-38.


AMSTERDAM:

Abraham Aboaff 1714 with son.

Father's name Abraham: David 1728 as servant of Israel Hartog; Friedmann, son of Abraham Isaak, 1736-54 with father, in these years also a few times on his own, 54-63 on his own with servant; Josef, son of Abraham Zadok, 1725-29 with father; Isaak 1690; Levin 1744-47, 49; Meyer, son of Abraham Zadok, in 1727 he is 14 years old; Philipp 1746 with Salomon Minden; Salomon 1752.

Douarte Trunio d'Acosta 1782 with servant Daniel Alexander 1691.

Jakob Alexander 1679. Levin Alexander 1685.

Simon Andreas 1705-11.

Father's name Aron: Abraham 1685, 1693-96, 1700-22, since 1713 as poor and "Mäkler", 1718 poor and old, afterwards with son until 1721; Benjamin 1696; Hirsch, son of Aron David, 1763 with vader; Josef 1730; Isaak 1761-62 as servant of Friedmann Abraham; Israel 1762-63 with Isaak and Israel Simon; Lion 1703; Philipp 1692-94; Salomon (or Samuel) I) 1688-93; II) 1754-63 as servant of Friedmann Abraham.

Artists: Josef Abraham 1747, conjurer ("Taschenspieler"); Elias Barend, magician, conjurer ("Gaukler, Balancierer, Taschenspieler", 1756, 59 from Eidlitz, 60, 62 with wife; Baer Jakob 1762, from Abterode 1763; Levin Isaak, "Gaukler und Balancierer", 1753, 55 (also from Derenburg as "Taschenspieler"), 62 with Rebekka, who "dabeisteht"; musician.

Bernd Assur 1746-47. Nathan Assur 1737.

Marx Baer 1756.

Emanuel Barcus 1745.

Baruch Bendix1753 with Salomon Wallich. Moses Bendix see Nathan. Nathan Levin Bendix (see also Hamburg) 1714-37, with his sons Bendix (see also Nathan) 1732-37, Joel 1727, 34-35 from Berlijn, Samuel 1736-37, and his servant Jakob Moses from Hamburg 1704-32.

Juda Benjamin 1703 as boy, 15 with servant Abraham Boas 1743 at Benjamin Simon.

Simon Boas 1746 with Benjamin Simon. Samson Boas 1687.

Abraham Jakob Bochum (Bukkum, Buck, von Bocke, Bucker) 1700-05, 07-08, 10, 13, 17-19, 21-22, 24, 28, 31, 34, with wife 1705.

Andreas Buxbaum 1725.

Lion Clava 1722 with Moses de Roche.

Family name Cohn (Kohn, Kuhn): Elieser 1719; Hirschel David 1763 with servant; Jakob Mordechai 1730; Simon 1712 as servant.

Family name Coen (Coin, Coim, Coheim, Cohein, Caan): Benjamin 1707, 10-14 with servant; Levin 1711-12, 14-15 with two servants; Moses Eleasar 1693-94; Mordechai Eleasar 1751-52 with servant; Salomon Eleasar 1746 as servant of Bernd Assur (for his son see Frankfurt on the Oder); Samuel 1716 with servant.

Family name Cointinho (Cothinio, Continyo): Baruch Mendes 1708-09; Moses Mendes 1710-12.

Abraham Commandi1752 with servant.

Family name Da Fonseca: Aron 1719 with brother and servant; Daniel 1708; Jakob 1708, 29.

Father's name David: Aron 1761-63, with son Hirsch 1763; Assur with servant 1719; Jonas 1719 with servant; Samuel 1718-19.

Benjamin Jakob Dejony 1743-53 with Jakob Norden, at the same time 1751­52 with Mordechai Eleasar Coim.

Josef de Lemos 1748.

Family name De Samuel 1743-44 with Emanuel, 44-48 with servant.

Moses de Rossi (Rosche, Roche) 1719, 22, 26, 43.

Andreas Elias 1710-11.

Jonas Elias 1734 with servant. Simon Elias 1732 with wife Judith.

Moses Efraim 1760 with Isaak Flesch, 63 with Hirschel David Cohn.

Family name Flesch (Flöβ, Fleβ): Alexander 1746-56, 58, 60-63 (1756 on St.­Michael from Berlijn), 1758 on Easter as business partner of Isaak Salomon, often with servant from Berlin (Marcus Joachim) and Dessau (Aron Joachim); Daniel Heyman 1761; Isaak (probably son of Alexander) 1747-63 with Alexander, 56-57 and 62-63 from Berlin; Israel Levi 1734 with Jakob Elias; Juda Jakob 1750, 57 from Berlin, 61-62.

Isaak Galico 1743 with Moses Vita.

Goldschmidt 1728 servant of Josef Vita.

Moses Goldzier 1726 as servant without oath of Josef Vita.

Joel Gottschalk 1704, 10.

Family name Gumperts: David Abraham (once as Abraham David) 1730-52 Easter with son Gumpel 1751-52; Efraim David 1752-54 with brother Gumpel David, 55-56 on his own; Gumpel David 1751-52 with father, 52-55 alone; Lion (Levin) 1703, 1729-31, with son Moses 1731 and servant, as well as a female cook from Halberstadt; Marcus Philipp 1702, 07, 29-30 from Halberstadt, 30 also again from Amsterdam with servant; Moses Lion 1703, 29, 31 with father, 32, 35-36; Ruben Elias 1675; Philipp Levi 1704, 09, 19 with servant; Salomon Philipp 1729-31 with servant, ook uit Halberstadt, 1730 once on his own from Halberstadt.

Father's name Hartog: Elias 1699, 1703 with son; Heymann 1710, 13, 17, 19­21 with servant, he himself in 1720 as servant of Jakob Marcus; Josef I) 1687­1738-39.

Aron Samuel Hecht 1752-58 with servant Hirsch Jakob from Dessau.

Jakob Heilbrunn 1705, 07.

Aron Herz 1688. Levin Herz I) 1685; II) 1717-21 as servant of Jakob Joachim senior and junior.

Philipp Herz 1728.

Moses Heymann 1729 with Benjamin Simon.

Jakob Heymb(Heym) 1698-99 as servant of Josef Hartich, 1700-10.

Israel Hirsch 1754 with Marcus Isaak. Lipman Hirsch 1697. Simon Hirsch 1764.

Abraham Levi Holländer 1761, 63.

Father's name Jakob: Abraham 1696-99; Benjamin, son of Jakob Elias Levi, 1743-49 with father, 51-52 with Mordechai Coin; Daniel 1684-88, 91, 93; Elias, grandfather of Jakob Elias, 1686-1701 with servant; Enoch 1726 as servant without oath of Salomon Aron Levin; Koppel z. Joachim; Hirsch 1760­61 with servant; Loebel 1738; Marcus 1710, 18-22, 26 with several servants; Mendel 1754 with Isaak Simon; Moses 1758; Nathan as servant 1687-92; Perl 1693; Salomon 1731-50 as servant of Benjamin and Samuel Simon; Suβmann 1721 with Marcus Jakob; Zacharias 1701, 03, 04.

Father's name Joachim: Benjamin 1721-23 with servant; David 1688; Elias 1700, 04 with Abraham Isaak; Jakob senior 1695-1720 with servant, among whom Lazarus Jakob from Halberstadt, and two sons from 1712, one of whom is Koppel Jakob; Jakob junior 1721 with servant; Josef 1718 with brother, 19; Levin 1715-17.

Father's name Joel: Levi, son of Joel Salomon, 1732 with father, 33-39, 41-42, 44-46; Levi, son of Philipp Joel, 1743-48 with father, 49; Meyer, son of Joel Salomon, 1711-31 with father, a few times also on his own; Philipp 1734, 40-41, 43-48; Wolf Levi 1729.

Jakob Jonas 1737.

Father's name Josef: Elias (son of Josef Hartog?) 1694, 1700 with Moses Israel, 02-08; Hirschel 1718 with Löbel Karpel; Jakob 1716-19 with servant and wife 1719; Isaak (see Salomon).

Father's name Isaak: Abraham 1716 with Jakob Josef, 17-54 with son Friedmann (see Abraham); Aron 1694, 1715; David 1695-1702 with wife and servant; Marcus 1748-56, 61, 63; Marcus the younger 1755; Meyer 1749-50.

Moses Isael 1697-1710 with servant Samuel Israel 1724 with Salomon Aron Levin.

Jakob Italiener 1682.

David Karpel 1723 with (father or brother) Löbel Karpel. Löbel Karpel (see Prague) 1714-36 on Easter with servant and sons Hirschel 1716-24, Gottschalk (Gottschling, Götschel) 1727-33, who in 1727/28 is 13 year old and on St.-Michael 1736 visits the fair alone and for the last time.

Zacharias Krause 1696.

Zacharias Lazarus 1710, Israel Lemmel 1729-31 with Lion Gumperts.

Father's name Levi (Levin, Loebi, Loebel): Abraham 1730; Aron Moses 1696­97, 1702-04, 07 with wife, 14, 17 with servant Moses; Bernd Jakob, son of Jakob Bernd Levi, 1747-63; Gerson Jakob, usually with Bernd Jakob Levi as his son, or more likely as his brother, 1747-60; Gottschalk, son of Löbel Karpel, see there; Hirsch 1760-63 with Bernd Jakob Levi, so a relative; Jakob Bernd (Barend) 1746, 48, 52-53 with son Bernd; Jakob Elias, son of Elias Jakob, 1733, 40 with Abraham Isaak, 43-49 with (son) Benjamin 1743-49; Jakob 1763 with Elias Meyer; Josef Elias 1717-19; Josef Meyer 1745 with Jakob Norden, 47 with Jakob Elias; Isaak I) 1694; II) 1734; Israel 1704 with Joel and Josef Salomon; Meyer 1706-08; Philipp 1695; Salomon 1703, 14, 15; Salomon Aron 1724, 26-27 with servant; Samuel Andreas 1737; Samuel 1763 with Marcus Isaak.

David Lichtenstadt 1719 with wife and maid.

Hartog Liebmann 1744. Isaak Liebmann 1750.

Levi Lipmann 1695-96 as 1683-84.

Isaak Magnus 1709. Simon Magnus 1714, 22.

Abraham Marcus 1718, 44. Josef Marcus 1716-18 together with Heymann Hartog and the latter's father, Marsell, servant of Passua, 1738.

Family name Matjora: Abraham 1715, 19­28, 30, 31, 33; Daniel 1726, 31; Simon 1717, 22-24.

Josef Mesquito 1685.

Father's name Meyer: Elias 1763 (see Levin); Hartung 1729, 31 and 32 with the Salomon family 32-33; Joachim 1715; Israel 1704; Moses 1710-11, 14-15, 23; Salomon 1709-11; Samuel 1700; Samson 1698; Simon 1762.

Abraham Michael 1717; 62 with servant.

Salomon von Minden 1746 with servant.

Father's name Moses: Alexander 1700, 03; Aron 1749; Emanuel 1709; Hirsch 1696; Jakob 1763; Joachim 1743-44 with servant; Löbel 1698-99; Magnus 1704, 08; Samuel 1723-24 with Löbel Karpel; Simon 1708, 10 with servant.

Father's name Nathan: the sons of Nathan Levin Bendix: Bendix 1732-37 partly with his vader, partly on his own, 38, 40, 48, 51, 53-56 with his brothers, his son Moses 1755-56; Joel, with vader, 1727, 34-35 from Berlin; Moses 1744-55 with his brothers, mostly with Samuel; Samuel 1736-37 with vader, 38-54 on his won, with wife Beligen 1754 (also called Samuel Nathann).

Daniel Nast 1690.

Jakob Noa 1714-15 with servant.

Family name Norden: Jakob 1730, 43-46, 48-53 with servant; Ruben Levi 1718; Levi Ruben 1744 with Jakob Elias Levi; Süβkind 1763.

Josef Paladie (Pallasche, Balliati, Baliagi) 1737-42 with Emanuel, 44-49 with Samuel De Meskita.

MosesPassua 1738.

Isaak Pheubusch 1751. Levin Pheubusch1749-52.

Michael Philipp, son of Philipp Salomon, 1743-44 with Joachim Moses. Moses Philipp 1719-31. Nathan Philipp1722 with Benjamin Simon. Zacharias Reutling (Reutlinger, Röthling, Rettling, Reidling) 1710, 19, 27, 28; his son Elias 1727 with father, 28, 33.

Marcus Elias Ries 1702, 04-11, 13-31.

Father's name Salomon: Abraham 1686-91; David 1717-27 with (brother) Joel Salomon, 1728-29; Joel 1686, 1703-32 with servant, including his brother David, his sons Meyer 1711-31 and Levi 1732 (see Joel); Josef, brother of the latter, 1703-09, 29; Jakob 1708-09 with servant; Isaak, I) son of Salomon Josef, 1702 with vader; II) 1751-63 with servant; Israel 1755 with Alexander Flesch, 58-60 with Isaak Salomon, 60-61, 63 by himself with servant; Levi Bernd 1732 with servant; Loeb 1752 with Commandi; Meyer 1740; Moses 1702; Philipp 1729, 31 (for his son Michel see Philipp); Simson 1697.

Abraham Samuel 1701-02, 19; 22-23 with Nathan Levin Bendix. Heymann Samuel 1701-02. Michael Samuel 1696.

Samuel Schulhoff 1737.

Isaak Selles 1716.

Father's name Simon: Aron 1685, 98-99; Benjamin 1729-39, 41­44, 46-47, 49-50 with several servants; Emanuel 1730-31; Hartog 1722; Isaak 1753 tot 54 with servant and he himself as servant of Salomon Jakob in Berlin; Lazarus, school teacher, 1708; Moses 1688; Samuel 1709, 34, 39-42, 44-46, 50 with servant.

Simon Simons 1759.

Daniel Steinhardt 1705.

Isaak Stiebel 1719 with son.

Levin Abraham Storch (also called Menz) 1722-52 with servant. Hirsch Jakob from Dessau and his son Abraham 1740, maybe the same as Hirsch Abraham, who 1731 with him, his son.

Josef Vita 1726, 28 with servant Moses Vita Cassuta 1743 with servant.

SalomonWallich 1753 with servant Abraham Wessel, "Mäkler", 1750.

Elias Wolff 1744-46 with Simon family. Kiewe Wolff1694-95. Levin Wolff 1704-09. Moses Wolff 1755.

Gerson Worms 1702. Josef Worms 1719.

Abraham Zadok1702-29 with sons Josef 1715-17, 25-29 and Meyer 1727, 14 years old. David Zadok 1704 with Abraham Aron.


THE HAGUE:

Bernd Löbel 1722.


NIJMEGEN:

Ascher Meyer 1740-41.


ROTTERDAM:

Salomon Abraham 1751, 53-54. [remark: in 1752 probably from Amsterdam.]




Jewish Merchant at the Leipziger Messe


Leipziger Messe around the year 1800


Merchant on the road to the Leipziger Messe