Thanks for all the encouragement and details for my upcoming trip. Note to Barbara Rogers and any other Manuel Gunsaulus descendants. I have read with special interest much of the speculation about the religious origins of him. He is actually not my blood ancestor but my childrens', whose paternal line includes Manuel Gunsaulus (the grandson or great grandson) and Janntje Van Etten through their daughter, Eleanor "Lena" and her husband, Jacob Wolfe. It is Eleanor's husband's and father's origins on which I am concentrating. The Gunsaulus origins fascinate me, personally, because of my own Jewish family lineage. I have conducted a lot of research on the Crypto Jews and read recent material and books about the Inquisition, which highlight more current events and discoveries. Many of the original forced, "fake converts" from Judaism to Catholicism later did abandon the Catholic doctrines for other options. Dutch Reform or Protestantism would have represented a compromise, even temporarily, to a hidden Jew. The lure of the freedoms allowed within the Dutch religious order would have been very attractive. And many Spanish Jews who were expelled, emigrated to Portugal as a first refuge. Another historic topic which I came across in a Netherlands tour guide book, indicates that the North Brabant area, from which Jan Van Etten came, was long dominated by Spanish occupiers who controlled the area in earlier centuries. Perhaps after coming to the North Brabant area from Spain or Portugal, an early Gunsalus had felt safe enough to abandon Catholicism in this more tolerant community. DNA testing might provide the only non-refutable evidence, as it doesn't seem that there were any Jewish religious habits (Shabbat and holiday, kashrut law observances) that were carried over to subsequent Gunsaulus generations. However, a pattern that I've noted in many Gunsaulus descendants is a strong dedication to religious life, community service and learning, which may be inherited or taught traits. Pamela Turner <mailto:pturnertaylor@adelphia.net> pturnertaylor@adelphia.net NE OH