Archief van de Familie Da Costa en aanverwante families
Item
Country
NL
Name of institution (English)
Amsterdam City Archives
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
dut
Contact information: postal address
Vijzelstraat 32, 1017 HL Amsterdam
Contact information: phone number
0031 202511511
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
stadarchief@amsterdam.nl
Reference number
946
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Archive of the Da Costa Family and related families
Title (official language of the state)
Archief van de Familie Da Costa en aanverwante families
Language of title
dut
Creator / accumulator
Da Costa family
Date(s)
1613/1859
Language(s)
dut
fra
por
spa
Extent
92 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Archief van de Familie Da Costa en aanverwante families is composed of diverse documents regarding the Da Costa family and related families, such as letters, wills, and marriage contracts, among others. The collection is divided into five series: 1) De Familie Da Costa (Da Costa Family); 2) Belmonte alias Schonenberg; 3) Aanverwante geslachten (Related families); 4) Stukken waarvan het verband met het archief niet is aangetoond (Records which have not been proved linked to the archive); and 5) Kopieën en foto's (Copies and photos of documents that once belonged to the archive). The first three series are subdivided by individuals and families.
The first series includes documentation related to members of the branch of Da Costa family that settled in Amsterdam. They are the following:
- Isaac da Costa (1670-1716) and his brother Abraham da Costa (1676-1741): several documents, including deeds relating to the sale of a house on Weesperstraat (1-2); records on the company formed by the Costa brothers (3); correspondence (5, 8, 10); wills and codicils of Abraham Aboab (6), Sarah Cohen Nassy (7); among other documents.
- Isaac van Abraham Da Costa (1718-1779): correspondence, 1741-1780 (11).
- Ribca Ricardo, wife of Daniel Haim da Costa (1761-1822): correspondence, 1822 (12).
- Isaac da Costa (1798-1860), poet and historian: correspondence (13-14) and documents on the genealogy of the Da Costa and Belmonte families (15-20).
Isaac da Costa married Hannah Belmonte in 1821. For this reason, this collection also includes documents concerning members of the Sephardic family Belmonte, alias Schonenberg. They are the following:
- Francisco de Schonenberg (1653-1717): correspondence, 1682-1709 (22); a receipt for a shipment of medicines, 1705 (23); transcripts of documents concerning the military alliance between England, Portugal, and the Netherlands, 1704-1714 (24); and documents related to the settlement of Pedro Brochius and Co. in Lisbon in 1707-1714 (25).
- Rachel Belmonte (1655-1725): a receipt from the States of Zeeland, 1725 (26), and documents on the estate of Francisco de Schonenberg, 1718-1729 (27).
- Salomon van Jacob Belmonte (1681-1747): power of attorney from his cousin Rachel Belmonte, 1718 (28); an affidavit from Raphael Dias Brandon and his wife Sara van Jacob Belmonte, 1729 (29); letters from Abraham de Baruch da Costa in 1735 and Aron de Abraham da Costa in 1743 (30); documents on debts (31-32); and a letter from Joseph and Jacob Salvador to Salomon's widow, Rachel da Costa, in 1748 (33).
- Lea van Jacob Belmonte (1684-?): a petition to the aldermen of Amsterdam regarding the drawing up of a true copy of the deed of their marriage contract, 1720 (34).
- Jacob van Salomon Belmonte (1725-1756): deed of his prenuptial agreement with Ester Franco Mendes (1731-1793), 1755 (35); records related to the guardianship of Ester Franco Mendes' daughter from her previous marriage, 1756-57 (36, 38 and 39); wills of Ester Franco Mendes in 1757 and 1767 (37 and 41) and Mordecai Franco Mendes in 1756 (40); and deed of division of Salomon Belmonte's estate between his daughter Ribca and his daughter-in-law Ester Franco Mendes, 1774 (42).
- Jacob van Jacob Belmonte, alias François de Schonenberg (1757-1804): letters from Ester Franco Mendes and Benjamin de Sola in 1782-86 and Abraham Cardozo Jr. in 1782 (43), documents concerning the rights of Jacob Belmonte and his wife Simcha da Costa on their relatives' estates (44), and letters to Simcha da Costa (45).
The third series of this collection comprises records concerning eleven families related to the Da Costa family, namely:
- Abas: wills of Gratia Abendana Osorio, alias Gratia Abas, in 1712 (46), and Abraham Abas in 1719 (48); letter from Jacob Mendes Coutinho do Abraham Abas in 1712 (47); death record of Abraham Abas, 1715 (49); act of venia aetatis of Moses Abas, 1739 (50); and debt obligations of Sara Abas, widow of Abraham Abas (51).
- Abendana: documents concerning the settlement of the estate of Ester Abendana, wife of Abraham de Joseph da Costa, and her brother Fernando Osorio, 1684-1686 (52).
- Aboab: documents of confirmation of agreements between the executors of the will of Hester Aboab and Elias Aboab, 1672 (53).
- Aboab Cardozo: confirmation of the will of Isaac Aboab Cardozo, brother-in-law of Isaac de Baruch da Costa, 1728 (54).
- Cohen d'Azevedo: letter from Angela Abendana Mendes to Yaël Cohen d'Azevedo (55), and deed of confirmation of an agreement concerning the division of the estate of Hester Cohen d'Azevedo, 1685 (56).
- Curiel, alias Nunes da Costa: deed on a grievance of Jerónimo Rodrigues Lamego of Rouen against Jeronimo Nunes da Costa, 1657 (57).
- Franco Mendes: documents concerning the estate of Mordechai Franco Mendes, 1756-1804 (58).
- Lobato: summons of Reuel Lobato, widower of Ribca Israel Ricardo, to appoint new executors of Joseph Israel Ricardo's estate, 1782 (59).
- Israel Ricardo: marriage contracts of Joseph Israel Ricardo and Hana Abas in 1721 (60), Jacob da Silva Curiel and Rachel Israel Ricardo in 1748 (62), and David Ricardo and Bathsheba Shemach Aboab in 1762 (63); records on debts related to Joseph Israel Ricardo (61), David Ricardo Jr. (64); codicil of David Ricardo Jr., 1774 (65); power of attorney of David Ricardo from Curaçao on David Ricardo Jr. in Amsterdam, 1776 (66); birth certificate of Ribca, daughter of David de Joseph Israel Ricardo, 1768 (67); extract of Hana de David Ricardo's death record, 1785 (68); documents relating to the estates of Joseph Israel Ricardo (69) and Judah de Benjamin Senior (70).
- Senior: wills of Mordechai Senior, 1680 (71), Sara Senior (72) and Moses Senior, 1728 (74), deed of confirmation of an agreement on the settlement of the estate of Juda Senior Henriques, 1719 (73), deed of discharge of Benjamin Senior from the claims against the estate of Moses Senior (75); marriage contract of Mordechai van Benjamin Senior and Sara Senior, 1734 (76).
- Ximenes Belmonte: deed of transfer of a homestead called "Ruijssenstein", located on the Amstel, by Mathijs Barnage to Francisco Ximenes Belmonte, 1708 (77) and confirmations by the Supreme Court of Holland of deeds on the inheritances of Gratia Ximenes Belmonte in 1713 (78) and Hester Belmonte in 1714 (79).
The fourth series of this collection gathers assorted records apparently not related to the Costa family. Here, it is possible to find some interesting materials, such as a deed by Albertus of Austria and Isabella of Spain appointing Luís de Palma mint master in Antwerp in 1613 (80); documents from the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam (83 and 88) and the "Santa Companhia de Dotar Órfãs e Donzelas" (Brotherhood for providing dowries to young women and orphans), 1616-1756 (84); an extract of the "Livro dos Termos" (minute book) of the Congregation Beth Jacob of The Hague, 1717 (85); a family tree of the Castro Tartas family (86), or letter to Moses Cohen Belinfante in Copenhagen, 1775 (87).
Some of these documents have digital copies available online.
The first series includes documentation related to members of the branch of Da Costa family that settled in Amsterdam. They are the following:
- Isaac da Costa (1670-1716) and his brother Abraham da Costa (1676-1741): several documents, including deeds relating to the sale of a house on Weesperstraat (1-2); records on the company formed by the Costa brothers (3); correspondence (5, 8, 10); wills and codicils of Abraham Aboab (6), Sarah Cohen Nassy (7); among other documents.
- Isaac van Abraham Da Costa (1718-1779): correspondence, 1741-1780 (11).
- Ribca Ricardo, wife of Daniel Haim da Costa (1761-1822): correspondence, 1822 (12).
- Isaac da Costa (1798-1860), poet and historian: correspondence (13-14) and documents on the genealogy of the Da Costa and Belmonte families (15-20).
Isaac da Costa married Hannah Belmonte in 1821. For this reason, this collection also includes documents concerning members of the Sephardic family Belmonte, alias Schonenberg. They are the following:
- Francisco de Schonenberg (1653-1717): correspondence, 1682-1709 (22); a receipt for a shipment of medicines, 1705 (23); transcripts of documents concerning the military alliance between England, Portugal, and the Netherlands, 1704-1714 (24); and documents related to the settlement of Pedro Brochius and Co. in Lisbon in 1707-1714 (25).
- Rachel Belmonte (1655-1725): a receipt from the States of Zeeland, 1725 (26), and documents on the estate of Francisco de Schonenberg, 1718-1729 (27).
- Salomon van Jacob Belmonte (1681-1747): power of attorney from his cousin Rachel Belmonte, 1718 (28); an affidavit from Raphael Dias Brandon and his wife Sara van Jacob Belmonte, 1729 (29); letters from Abraham de Baruch da Costa in 1735 and Aron de Abraham da Costa in 1743 (30); documents on debts (31-32); and a letter from Joseph and Jacob Salvador to Salomon's widow, Rachel da Costa, in 1748 (33).
- Lea van Jacob Belmonte (1684-?): a petition to the aldermen of Amsterdam regarding the drawing up of a true copy of the deed of their marriage contract, 1720 (34).
- Jacob van Salomon Belmonte (1725-1756): deed of his prenuptial agreement with Ester Franco Mendes (1731-1793), 1755 (35); records related to the guardianship of Ester Franco Mendes' daughter from her previous marriage, 1756-57 (36, 38 and 39); wills of Ester Franco Mendes in 1757 and 1767 (37 and 41) and Mordecai Franco Mendes in 1756 (40); and deed of division of Salomon Belmonte's estate between his daughter Ribca and his daughter-in-law Ester Franco Mendes, 1774 (42).
- Jacob van Jacob Belmonte, alias François de Schonenberg (1757-1804): letters from Ester Franco Mendes and Benjamin de Sola in 1782-86 and Abraham Cardozo Jr. in 1782 (43), documents concerning the rights of Jacob Belmonte and his wife Simcha da Costa on their relatives' estates (44), and letters to Simcha da Costa (45).
The third series of this collection comprises records concerning eleven families related to the Da Costa family, namely:
- Abas: wills of Gratia Abendana Osorio, alias Gratia Abas, in 1712 (46), and Abraham Abas in 1719 (48); letter from Jacob Mendes Coutinho do Abraham Abas in 1712 (47); death record of Abraham Abas, 1715 (49); act of venia aetatis of Moses Abas, 1739 (50); and debt obligations of Sara Abas, widow of Abraham Abas (51).
- Abendana: documents concerning the settlement of the estate of Ester Abendana, wife of Abraham de Joseph da Costa, and her brother Fernando Osorio, 1684-1686 (52).
- Aboab: documents of confirmation of agreements between the executors of the will of Hester Aboab and Elias Aboab, 1672 (53).
- Aboab Cardozo: confirmation of the will of Isaac Aboab Cardozo, brother-in-law of Isaac de Baruch da Costa, 1728 (54).
- Cohen d'Azevedo: letter from Angela Abendana Mendes to Yaël Cohen d'Azevedo (55), and deed of confirmation of an agreement concerning the division of the estate of Hester Cohen d'Azevedo, 1685 (56).
- Curiel, alias Nunes da Costa: deed on a grievance of Jerónimo Rodrigues Lamego of Rouen against Jeronimo Nunes da Costa, 1657 (57).
- Franco Mendes: documents concerning the estate of Mordechai Franco Mendes, 1756-1804 (58).
- Lobato: summons of Reuel Lobato, widower of Ribca Israel Ricardo, to appoint new executors of Joseph Israel Ricardo's estate, 1782 (59).
- Israel Ricardo: marriage contracts of Joseph Israel Ricardo and Hana Abas in 1721 (60), Jacob da Silva Curiel and Rachel Israel Ricardo in 1748 (62), and David Ricardo and Bathsheba Shemach Aboab in 1762 (63); records on debts related to Joseph Israel Ricardo (61), David Ricardo Jr. (64); codicil of David Ricardo Jr., 1774 (65); power of attorney of David Ricardo from Curaçao on David Ricardo Jr. in Amsterdam, 1776 (66); birth certificate of Ribca, daughter of David de Joseph Israel Ricardo, 1768 (67); extract of Hana de David Ricardo's death record, 1785 (68); documents relating to the estates of Joseph Israel Ricardo (69) and Judah de Benjamin Senior (70).
- Senior: wills of Mordechai Senior, 1680 (71), Sara Senior (72) and Moses Senior, 1728 (74), deed of confirmation of an agreement on the settlement of the estate of Juda Senior Henriques, 1719 (73), deed of discharge of Benjamin Senior from the claims against the estate of Moses Senior (75); marriage contract of Mordechai van Benjamin Senior and Sara Senior, 1734 (76).
- Ximenes Belmonte: deed of transfer of a homestead called "Ruijssenstein", located on the Amstel, by Mathijs Barnage to Francisco Ximenes Belmonte, 1708 (77) and confirmations by the Supreme Court of Holland of deeds on the inheritances of Gratia Ximenes Belmonte in 1713 (78) and Hester Belmonte in 1714 (79).
The fourth series of this collection gathers assorted records apparently not related to the Costa family. Here, it is possible to find some interesting materials, such as a deed by Albertus of Austria and Isabella of Spain appointing Luís de Palma mint master in Antwerp in 1613 (80); documents from the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam (83 and 88) and the "Santa Companhia de Dotar Órfãs e Donzelas" (Brotherhood for providing dowries to young women and orphans), 1616-1756 (84); an extract of the "Livro dos Termos" (minute book) of the Congregation Beth Jacob of The Hague, 1717 (85); a family tree of the Castro Tartas family (86), or letter to Moses Cohen Belinfante in Copenhagen, 1775 (87).
Some of these documents have digital copies available online.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Costa family was originally a New Christian family from Portugal that moved to Amsterdam in the 17th century, where some of its members adhered publicly to Judaism and integrated the Jewish community of this city. In 1614, the merchant and philosopher Gabriel da Costa (1583/4-1640), better known by his Jewish name Uriel Acosta, emigrated to Hamburg with one of his brothers and his mother. In 1623, he moved to Amsterdam, where his other two brothers had gone to live.
Uriel and his brothers became the progenitors of a prominent family of merchants, financiers, scholars and diplomats in Amsterdam, with branches to other destinations of the Western Sephardic Diaspora. Through marriage, the Costas connected to other renowned Sephardic families, such as the Belmonte-Schonenberg, the Abas, Aboab, the Abendana, the Ricardo, or the Franco Mendes, for instance.
Among the most famous members of the Costa family is the poet and historian Isaac da Costa (1798-1860), son of Daniel Haim da Costa and Ribca Ricardo. Isaac and his wife Hannah Belmonte converted to Protestantism, and he became a strong defensor of Christianity against the Enlightenment, as expressed in his brochure Bezwaren tegen den geest der Eeuw (Objections to the Spirit of the Age), published in 1823. His most well-known work is Israel en de Volken (Israel and the Gentiles), a history of the Jewish people up to the 19th century published in 1848, whose third volume deals with the history of the Spanish-Portuguese Jews. The Da Costastraat and the Da Costagracht in Amsterdam-West are named after him.
Uriel and his brothers became the progenitors of a prominent family of merchants, financiers, scholars and diplomats in Amsterdam, with branches to other destinations of the Western Sephardic Diaspora. Through marriage, the Costas connected to other renowned Sephardic families, such as the Belmonte-Schonenberg, the Abas, Aboab, the Abendana, the Ricardo, or the Franco Mendes, for instance.
Among the most famous members of the Costa family is the poet and historian Isaac da Costa (1798-1860), son of Daniel Haim da Costa and Ribca Ricardo. Isaac and his wife Hannah Belmonte converted to Protestantism, and he became a strong defensor of Christianity against the Enlightenment, as expressed in his brochure Bezwaren tegen den geest der Eeuw (Objections to the Spirit of the Age), published in 1823. His most well-known work is Israel en de Volken (Israel and the Gentiles), a history of the Jewish people up to the 19th century published in 1848, whose third volume deals with the history of the Spanish-Portuguese Jews. The Da Costastraat and the Da Costagracht in Amsterdam-West are named after him.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The fonds is divided into five main series: De Familie Da Costa (The Da Costa Family); Belmonte alias Schonenberg; Aanverwante geslachten (Related families); Stukken waarvan het verband met het archief niet is aangetoond (Documents whose connection to the archives has not been proven); Kopieën en foto's (Copies and photographs). The first series is divided into four subseries, and the second series is divided into six subseries, each dedicated to one or more family members. The third series is divided into eleven subseries, each one attributed to one of the families related to the Da Costa family. In each series, records are arranged chronologically.
Access, restrictions
Digital copies of some documents are available online:
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Joana Rodrigues, 2022
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archief van Jac. de Vries Jr. | Scope and content |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Stadsarchief Amsterdam | Collections (official language of the state) |