My great-grandmother was Ellen Malissa Israel (1876-1962) of Grays, Knox Co, KY, whom I remember well from my early childhood up to my teen years. From my grandmother’s Bible, I have all of Malissa’s siblings plus her father and mother (he had 3 different wives). I’m fairly certain his father and mother were Isom Israel and either Betty or Elizabeth Higgins (lived in Barbourville, KY).
Beyond that, I’m only guessing so far. A friend of mine did some research and came up with the line going back to a Solomon Israel (1660-1734) from Jamaica and NY—and then on back to Abraham Israel (de Pisa) born in 1600 in Portugal and died in NY (which would certainly mean a Sephardic origin). But, as I say, none of that has been verified. I’m kind of new at this, and am greatly interested in this branch of my family.
I would very much appreciate any information relating to my Israel line or any advice about where to look.
My family website is at
http://bakerdesign.com/bakerhistory . Look under the “Genealogy” tab for the “The Israels” tab.