I recently discovered that I am a descendant of the Sephardic Jews who colonized Brazil. I am truly happy and have some questions.
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Where can I find official information about Jewish family trees?
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Is there any institution that keeps this data, like FamilySearch?
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Is there any scientifically valid way to link someone’s ancestry to their patriarchs? I managed to find Jewish lineages that go from my grandparents to the patriarchs on FamilySearch, but I don’t know which lineage is the most reliable.
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Is there historical data on the genealogy of ‘Branca Dias Coronel’? A historian traced our family tree back to Branca Dias, a Sephardic Jew who was persecuted by Portugal.
My grandfather descends from her, and I later discovered that my grandmother does too. I have the surname “Oliveira,” common among Jews who fled Portugal. In short, I have a lot to learn and I’m excited!