Joseph Smith and Jewish Privateers

I have been accumulating some interesting sources about the possibility of Sephardic Jewish ancestry for Joseph Smith.  I didn't want to just let the cat out of the bag, but I have to start somewhere.

First of all, there is the fact of Balthazar DeWolf.  I was quick to research him, because I like his name.  He is a great grandfather (exact greats presently unknown)  to Joseph Smith, through Solomon Mack.   Also, my 10th great grandparent.  You can find a lot of information about him and his family on the web. 

First off, the DeWolf family is supposed to  be responsible for funding around 25% of the slave trade in North America.  Beyond embarrassing.  The internets tell me there was a tradition of privateering in the family, which basically amounts to government-sanctioned piracy. 

And several sites have indicated the DeWolfs and others involved in the Triangle Trade were crypto- Sephardic Jews.  One of these sources was even the Rhode Island Jewish Community Center. They are facing facts, so why shouldn't we?

I found a new article today from a Dr Elizabeth Hirschman that cites there is DNA evidence for a group of Crypto- Jews in England who were involved in naval activity and privateering. 

She says:

The research to be presented argues that a large, but largely unacknowledged, group of crypto-Jewish Britons of Sephardic descent was present in England from the reign of Henry VIII onward to that of his daughter Elizabeth I, and that this community played a key role in guiding Britain’s naval development and New World colonization efforts. In particular, the new data source of DNA will be introduced as a way to support efforts of historical revision.

http://h06.cgpublisher.com/proposals/343/index_html

She does give some names of which the names of my family units are not mentioned, so the link is through occupation, place and intimation of religion. 

I found this particularly interesting:

Among the most prominent of this set of mariners were Sir Walter Ralegh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Phillip Sidney, Robert Cavendish, John Hawkins, Richard Grenville and Martin Frobisher. This group was united by its origins in southwestern England (Cornwall and Devon), its fervent Protestantism and marked anti-Catholicism, and its antipathy for Spain. Less known, but perhaps of even greater importance, is that the group of privateers was also bonded closely by marriage, kinship and business dealings – in some cases spanning several generations.

This gives me something to check for when looking at individuals surrounding the DeWolf line. I have noticed some strong intermarriage tendencies in other lines neighboring the Mack/Smith connection but I do not believe they originate from Southwestern England.