Clay in My Boots: A Romp Through My Genealogical Past

While my SNYDER Big Y-DNA test didn't provide many matches, I was able to contact the family of Joseph Nudelman, who is listed as an Earliest Known Ancestor. Our Y-DNA lines separated over 1,000 years ago, so he is a very distant relative. Here is his story: Joseph Nudelman's life story is a testament to the resilience and ambition of Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century. Born in a small village near Odessa, Russia in 1844, Joseph received a traditional Jewish education, becoming fluent in Yiddish and Russian.  After apprenticing as a carpenter, he became a wine and grain merchant in Romania due to pogroms in Russia.  Driven by the ideals of the Am Olam movement, which sought to establish Jewish agricultural settlements, Joseph, with financial backing from Baron de Hirsch, led a group of 25 families to America in 1881.  He was delayed due to his wife’s illness but followed in 1882 with more settlers. The journey wasn't easy.  The initial group gathered in Denv...