This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Pestana; Alit; David; Bouteneir Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kRC.2ACE/5554 Message Board Post: Would like to trace the Pestana name (Cuba) and perhaps connect with family related to Pedro Pestana. He was an attorney [then judge] in Santiago de Cuba. He died in the mid to late 1950s; and he was my maternal grandfather. My mother, Alicia Pestana-David, was born in Havana in 1929. Her brother (my uncle) is Luis Pestana, born around 1927. My grandmother (Pedro's wife) was Amely David-Alit. She was born in 1900 in Brazil. She then lived in France for the 1st 8 years of her life, and then relocated to Cuba. Her dad's name, I am told, was Gaston Bouteneir (sp?) - a Frenchman. My grandmother's mother, I am told, was born in Jerusalem and her last name was Alit. However, no one seems to be able to explain where the surname "David" came from, and I am wondering if there are any Jewish roots in my family. Anyone with information - please let me know. Thank you.