Reader’s Review
“Nothing Short of Amazing”
A few years ago, I retired from a career as a police detective. Sadly, in retirement, I became a junkie. Yes, I freely admit I’ve been a genealogy junkie for a number of years now. Recently, my insatiable habit has been fed by a newly discovered connection, that of the books authored by two stalwart researchers Elizabeth Hirschman and Donald Panther-Yates. First, there was When Scotland was Jewish. And now, I’ve just finished my first read through of their latest endeavor, Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America.
As a person addicted to family history, I know I share a frustration with like minded souls in that I’ve not had the time or means to run down every lead or theory that I’d developed while gazing at family trees, naming patterns, ports of emigration, and maps of migration. Suddenly, I’ve found two fellow travelers, Hirschman and Yates, who have not only done light years worth of investigation for me, they have actually validated many of the theories I’d developed on my own.
When Scotland was Jewish was an eye opening sojourn through the lands of many of my European forefathers. Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America, on the other hand, has brought it all closer to home. It is nothing short of amazing.
I completed my first read through in two sittings and found so many families I recognized from my own amateurish sifting, including: Van Cortland, Van Rensselaer, Abrahamsen, Coffin (Cohen), Giles, Gardner, Van Sandt, Ash, Moore, Yeamans, Davis, Swan, and Vann. The list is almost endless. If you are like me, an obsessed archaeologist, rooting around in your past, Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America is your book. I can only hope the next offering of these two authors is as enlightening!
—George Collord Mount Shasta, California.
