Jewish Marriage in Amsterdam / Trouwen in Mokum 1598-1811 is the single, monumental genealogical sourcebook for Jews, both Sephardic and Ashkenazi and living in all parts of the world, in search of their ancestors having their roots in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was one of the main centers both of the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewry in the 17th and 18th century, mainly due to religious tolerance. Also in 1796 all Jews were granted all civil rights. Within the Jewish community Amsterdam was called ‘Mokum Alef’, ‘the safe haven which name starts with an A’. Hence the Aleph in the cover design of this series (see the other available books) on Jewish genealogy in Amsterdam.
This book is the first and only comprehensive index to all Jewish marriages in Amsterdam between 1598-1811 as recorded in the birth, marriage and death registers of the City of Amsterdam. From 1811, due to civil administration legislature enforced by Napoleon Bonaparte, all people living in the Netherlands were required to register with a fixed family name. Among Jews these newly-registered civil names could differ widely from the names used within their community. The book provides the fundamental and often obscure link between the civil registration before 1811 and the Civil Registry from 1811 onward. The 15.238 records contain the names of the future couple, usually the names of the father or mother, names of witnesses, family name, patronymics, place of origin, and all name spelling variations.