Tracing Your Jewish Roots
Read the JewishGen FAQ (frequently asked questions),
a primer on Jewish genealogy.
This outline introduces records
and strategies that can help you learn more about your Jewish
ancestors. It teaches terminology and describes the content,
use, and availability of major genealogical records.
Two
major events shaped Jewish life of the past 200 years:
migration and the Holocaust. Few Jews today live where their
ancestors lived a century or two ago. As a result, many Jews
believe they cannot trace their family roots because:
My
family name was changed (at Ellis Island)
No
one in my family knows about the past
No
one is left alive to tell me about my family's past
All
the records were destroyed in the Holocaust
My
town was wiped off the face of the map
These
statements are myths. Jewish genealogy today is highly organized
and therefore help is available to dispel these myths. There
are many resources available to help you trace your Jewish
family heritage.
Jewish Genealogy for Beginners:
The First Ten Steps
Compiled by Bernard Kouchel
<bkouchel@jewishgen.org>
Jewish Genealogical Society of Broward County
THESE ARE THE FIRST STEPS YOU TAKE:
1. CONSULT YOUR FAMILY. Write, talk to, or
tape record every older member of your family you can reach.
Don't forget the in-laws.
The basic facts you need are:
a. The family names - In the old country
and in America.
b. The towns they came from- variant spellings,
todays country as well as the country when they left it.
c. The approximate dates of arrival in
America, ship names (If known), ports of arrival, and communities
in which they settled.
2. CHECK THE TOMBSTONES: Take someone who
can decipher the Hebrew or photograph the stones. Take several
angles, including close-ups, to be sure the letters are legible.
3. CHECK THE U.S. CENSUSES: If you know where your ancestors
lived in a census year, (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900,
1910, 1920, 1930; 1850, 1900, 1910 & 1920 indexed by state;
1880 partial index), you can find the microfilms at National
Archives branches, local historical societies, public libraries,
etc.
4. CHECK CITY DIRECTORIES: In census years
and at other times to get street addresses of your ancestors
(usually available in large public libraries).
5. CHECK ATLASES & GAZETTEERS for your
ancestral towns, noting present-day spelling and country.
6. FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH LOCAL AND COUNTY
COURT RECORDS: Useful for finding ancestral wills, probate
(estate) records, deeds (property bought or sold), and vital
(birth, marriage, death) records.
7. VISIT IMPORTANT ARCHIVES:
a. U.S.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES in Washington, DC with Regional Branches
around the country. Has census, ship's passenger lists,
military records (pre-WWI). Write: National Archives &
Records
Administration, Washington DC 20408. Ask for General Information
Leaflet for Genealogical Research.
b. AMERICAN
JEWISH ARCHIVES, 3101 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati OH 45220
(Hebrew Union College campus) has congregational records
and communal records in the U.S.
c. AMERICAN
JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 15 West 16th Street, New
York, NY 10011, has a guide to its genealogical resources.
http://www.cjh.org/
d. FAMILY
HISTORY LIBRARY (L.D.S., MORMON LIBRARY), 35 North West
Temple St., Salt Lake City, UT 84150, has the world's largest
collection of birth, marriage, death, and other genealogical
records. Cataloged by locality. Much of it is available
on microfilm via inter-library loan at branch L.D.S. Family
History Centers (small fee). For nearest branch locations,
see your local phone directory:"Churches, LDS."
8. TO FIND YOUR WAY THROUGH THESE AND OTHER
SOURCES, OBTAIN:
a. From Generation To Generation: How to
Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Personal History by Arthur
Kurzweil, Rev. Ed. 2004 (Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers)
b. Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the
New York Metropolitan Area (published by Jewish Genealogy
Society Inc., PO Box 6398, New York NY 10128). Details of
every major source, hours, contents, finding aids, directions,
etc.
c. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Genealogy,
Volume 1, Sources in the United States and Canada, edited
by Arthur Kurzweil and Miriam Weiner. (published by Jason
Aronson Inc. 1205 O'Neil Hway, Dunmore PA 18512.) A comprehensive
source covering all aspects of Jewish genealogical research.
d. The Source by Eakle & Cerny, (Ancestry
Publishing, PO Box 476, Salt Lake City, UT 84110). A very
complete guide to genealogical resources in the U.S. with
a Jewish research chapter.
e. Shtetl Finder: Gazetteer by Chester
Cohen, (Periday Co., PO Box 583, Woodland Hills CA 91365).
f. Where Once We Walked, A Guide to the
Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust Gazetteer),
By Gary Mokotoff & Sallyann Amdur Sack, (Published by
Avotaynu, Inc., 155 N. Washington Ave., Bergenfield NJ 07621.)
g. AVOTAYNU,
The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, (Journal,
Published quarterly, by Avotaynu Inc.)
h. The
JewishGen FAQ, a primer on Jewish genealogy.
9. JOIN A JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JGS).
For information on the society nearest you, see the International
Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).
|
