The Chalek/Chalick/Cheil Surname Project
Description:
Anecdotal evidence points to the Cheilek/Chalek family originating in Spain, traveling to Greece (around the time of the Spanish Inquisition ?) and then to Ukraine. The Chaleks are Levi's. Here is some of the anecdotal information: An 1800's k'tubah, now lost, contained a statement that 300 years earlier, the family came to Ukraine from Greece; the male signer promised not to tell anyone about the family's origin since the Ukrainian Jews did not hold Greeks in high regard. The k'tubah, in the possession of Louis Chalek, was lost when he died. There is a major Greek island whose capital city's name is a variant of Cheilek. Did the Chalek who left Greece for Ukraine take the name of the ciy as his surname? Or, since Cheilek is a Hebrew name, did the Greek Cheileks come from Spain where Shephardi commonly used Hebrew surnames? The Cheilek who left Greece from Ukraine left in the early 1500's. US immigrants to Massachusetts are buried in a Spephardi cemetery. Also, one Chalek recalls that her mother pointed out that their family knew and sung different Hebrew songs than their Ashkenazi neighbors. On the other hand, The Cheilek genetic haplogroup is Q and most matches are in Europe and are Ashkenazi.
Members:
3
Other surnames in Project
Chalek, Chalick, Chalik, Cheilek, Cheilik
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