Research for Baghdad under Ottoman Empire

[vicky19]

Hi Im trying to research John Nahum Farage, possible born 1858 in Baghdad. I posted this in under 'Europe' forum on Rootschat - (so sorry for the duplication) as I initially thought he was born to European parents in Baghdad, I have sent for his marriage certificate to find out what his father's name is - but this will take a while to arrive. From the other post have since found out he could be either from Baghdad's Jewish Community due to his name - or from the name of one of his daughter's 'Mena Ferida" he could also be from a Muslim background. Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction for research as I have never searched in this geographical area before. Thanks Vicky

[ShaunJ]

Linking to the other thread to minimise duplication of research effort: https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=830949

[ShaunJ]

Searching the JewishGen databases brings up hits for Nahum Farage in Macedonia and France:
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/all/

[vicky19]

Thanks ShaunJ I will have a look. Vicky

[JustinL]

I have responded to the earlier post on the Europe board.

Shaun - what search terms did you use to come up with France and Macedonia?

None of the JewishGen databases hold records from Iraq. Farag(e)/Faraj were recorded in Syria, Israel, Brazil and Argentina. The last three were no doubt places to which Jews from Arab countries chose to emigrate. The database of Aleppo marriages serves as a good verification that the Farag(e)/Faraj was a recognised surname in Arab-Jewish communities. Murad Farag was a prominent Egyptian Jew.

The names Mena and Ferida (Farida) can be found in many communities. Also bear in mind, that in Arab-speaking Jewish communities such as Baghdad, girls in particular were likely to be given Arabic names. Having said that, Mena (Mina, Meena and other variants) are also known variations of the Hebrew name Menuchah meaning "peaceful or restful".

Justin

[ShaunJ]

The JewishGen search terms that I used are as in the snip below. However I now see that the "surname" default is "phonetically like" and the "given name" default is "sounds like" !

[JustinL]

Hello Shaun,

Ah right. I don't know how those two default settings are combined within the JewishGen software, but the results are pretty far-removed from what I would have expected. 

[vicky19]

Thanks Justin,

I think I'm going to have to be patient and wait for the marriage certificate to arrive and hope it gives some more insights into this family, if they are Jewish so many records have been destroyed over the years the most we can hope for is that belief that the family came from the Eastern Med area, whether they were European and traders in Iraq or actual Iraqi citizens of whichever religion. but thanks both for your help. Vicky