This work contains a detailed account of the methods used by the author in delving into his family background. The enquiry encompasses the entire continent of Europe over a period of many centuries. Gelles, Griffel, Wahl, Chajes, Safier, Loew, and Taube are part of a larger tapestry of interrelated families that takes in Katzenellenbogen, Yaffe, Shapiro, Halpern, Hillman, Fraenkel, Horowitz, Rapaport, and many others. Genealogical methodology and historical perspectives are themes transcending the details of a family nexus that emerges as a microcosm of the millennial Jewish presence in Europe. The book includes nearly 200 place names and over 100 family names and should be a useful work of reference for some of these families. It contains much unpublished material accompanied by documents and notes, sketch maps, a glossary, a bibliography, and 54 genealogical charts.