the jewish genealogical society of georgia december 2004 newsletter |
U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative
Obtaining Copies of Naturalization Certificates
What Makes a Great Genealogy Software Solution?
Genealogy Today: Veterans' Pensions are Window to the Past
Some emails about Yad Vashem data bank
Jewish Women who lived in Dortmund
Standards For Sharing Information With Others
Breman Library Update from Hariette
Do You Need HELP with Your Family Tree?
This program is open to all Breman Members.
"The JGSG Mentoring program provides one-on-one assistance to those interested in researching their family tree. Sessions take place at the Breman Library on the first Thursday of the month (beginning in Oct. 2004) from 10:30am-1:30pm. Appointments not needed."
JGSG Mentor program schedule:
Jan. 6, 2005 Barbara TellerFeb. 3, 2005 Peggy Freedman
Mar. 3, 2005 TBA
Apr. 7, 2005 TBA
Apr. 27 - Howard Margol
May 5, 2005 TBA
Subject: New Birth & Death Records for Mogilev and Rokov
From: "David M. Fox" <davefox73@earthlink.net>
I am happy to report that the following records were just added to the
Belarus Static Index (BSI) < http://www.jewishgen.org/Belarus/dido/dido.php>.
These same records will be added to the All Belarus Database (ABD)
< http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/belarus/> during the next quarterly
update.
Births
631 Mogilev 1875
624 Mogilev 1876
551 Mogilev 1877
515 Mogilev 1878
580 Mogilev 1879
284 Mogilev 1880
60 Rakov 1877
64 Rakov 1880
70 Rakov 1882
31 Rakov 1884
52 Rakov 1885
60 Rakov 1886
94 Rakov 1889
3616
Deaths
557 Mogilev 1875
465 Mogilev 1876
625 Mogilev 1877
560 Mogilev 1878
2 Rakov 1860
5 Rakov 1861
3 Rakov 1863
4 Rakov 1864
2221
New York City Grooms Index
Kings County Grooms and Brides: 1895 to 1897
Manhattan Grooms: 1895 to 1897
New York City Grooms: 1908 to 1936
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCMarriage.stm
New York City Death Records
1891-1919
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCDeathSearch.stm
Hints from Hariette
Steve Morse update
Steve Morse has added the 1915 New York State census street index for Manhattan to his website. It can be reached at:
http://www.stevemorse.org/nyc/nyc.php
The library at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum is open during the museum's hours (Monday - Thursday, 10 to 5; Friday 10 to 3 and Sunday 12 noon - 5pm). Generally, books can't be checked out, but members may check out videos and some teaching aids
A 'genealogy' computer is available in the library. In addition to the numerous books and periodicals available, you may use the Internet to access genealogy sites such as JewishGen, Ancestry and Cyndi's List.
I encourage you to take advantage of these benefits of Breman membership.
The New York Public Library is now open on Sundays from 1pm-6pm.
Among the rooms open are the Rose main reading room and the microform room (Room 100 - this has city directories and newspapers). The rooms with the census, vital records indices and ship manifests (Room 121) and Dorot Jewish Division will not open on Sundays.
U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative
Health care professionals have known for a long time that common diseases - heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - and even rare diseases - like hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia - can run in families. If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, it is not unusual for the next generation to have similarly high blood pressure.
Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and other blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which you may be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy.
To help focus attention on the importance of family health history, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., in cooperation with other agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a national public health campaign, called the U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative, to encourage all American families to learn more about their family health history.
In addition to the Office of the Surgeon General, other HHS agencies involved in this project include the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Whenever families gather, the Surgeon General encourages them to talk about, and to write down, the health problems that seem to run in their family. Learning about their family's health history may help ensure a longer future together.
My Family Health Portrait
Americans know that family history is important to health. A recent survey found that 96 percent of Americans believe that knowing their family history is important. Yet, the same survey found that only one-third of Americans have ever tried to gather and write down their family's health history.
Because family health history is such a powerful screening tool, the Surgeon General has created a new computerized tool to help make it fun and easy for anyone to create a sophisticated portrait of their family's health.
This new tool, called "My Family Health Portrait" can be downloaded for free and installed on your own computer.
The tool will help you organize your family tree and help you identify common diseases that may run in your family.
When you are finished, the tool will create and print out a graphical representation of your family's generations and the health disorders that may have moved from one generation to the next. That is a powerful tool for predicting any illnesses for which you should be checked.
For information on other activities of the Office of the Surgeon General, please visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.
The Family Health Portrait can be downloaded from http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/download.html
What is a GEDCOM..How can I read a GEDCOM...Opening a GEDCOM
If you are not familiar with GEDCOM files, here is a good article to bring you up to speed.
http://genealogy.about.com/library/weekly/aa110100b.htm
Obtaining Copies of Naturalization Certificates
Posted to the Belarus sigFrom: esther buchsbaum estherbuchsbaum@yahoo.com posted to the Belarus sig
I believe someone asked to hear about any successes achieved. I have one to report:
I had a lot of information about my father's steps toward naturalization, but I had not been able to find his actual naturalization certificate. Years ago, I had written to the INS for a copy, and they wanted $50 for a copy, when I had all the numbers, dates, etc., that they needed to locate it. Someone on JewishGen suggested the Dept. of Homeland Security, via the Freedom of Information act. I wrote and they sent it to me... not an excellent copy, but supposedly the best they could do, and free.
Esther Buchsbaum
Tybee Island, GA, USA
And a follow-up
From: "Joan Parker" <joanparker@intergate.com>
As a follow up to this success story. FOIA does send bad copies, but if you have the certificate number depending upon where your dad was naturalized you can get a much better copy from the court for a small fee.
Joan Parker Immediate Past President
JGS of Greater Miami, Inc. Miami , FL
What Makes a Great Genealogy Software Solution?
Whether you're a weekend genealogist or a professional researcher, selecting the right genealogical software program can make all the difference in how much satisfaction you will derive from your own family history research. Accessing, recording and reviewing data is not only orderly, but fun. Most all the genealogy programs are adept at letting you enter then view your family data in a variety of formats, so the software you select will largely depend on the criteria you set. Here is a web site that answers many questions that we believe you should ask when evaluating genealogy software so that you can make an informed decision about which is the best genealogy software program for your needs. www.genealogy-software-review.com
Genealogy Today: Veterans' Pensions are Window to the Past
CONNIE LENZEN for The Columbian
( Reprinted with permission from The Columbian )
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, an armistice was signed to end the war that we call World War I. In 1926, Congress set aside Nov. 11 as Armistice Day. Today, we know it as Veterans Day, a day to celebrate all veterans, living and dead.
There are a lot of people who qualify: more than 42 million served in the military during wartime and more than 600,000 died in battle.
After the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress promised money or land to soldiers who would serve until the end of the Revolutionary War. Those who were disabled as a result of battle injuries, and the widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the war, were entitled to compensation.
Following this precedent, Congress authorized pensions for those who served in succeeding wars, for those who suffered service-connected disabilities in wartime or peacetime, for the dependents of men who died as a result of service in wartime or peacetime, and for widows of pensioners.
A pension application file consists of an envelope containing a pension application with supporting documents. The envelope may contain additional claims based on the same service, including those filed by the veteran under later pension acts and those filed by the widow or other survivors of the veteran.
The documents in the file include such things as the declaration of the veteran or widow, affidavits of witnesses, and copies of death and marriage records.
Every pension file should contain at least three types of information:
* Evidence establishing the identity of the applicant.
* Evidence of the soldier's service.
* A record of the action taken on the claim.
Resources
Federal pension files are in the custody of the National Archives.
It's difficult to figure out what is available and how to access the records. This is a case of needing a guide through the wilderness. James Neagles' U.S. Military Records is an excellent reference. Copies of his book can be found in many libraries, and it is usually available in bookstores.
Several pension indexes are on Ancestry.com, an Internet site. This includes indexes to Revolutionary War pensions and Civil War pensions.
If you don't have a subscription to Ancestry, there are a couple of places where you can use it for free. The Vancouver Library has a subscription to Ancestry Plus, the library version. It's on the PAL computers at each of the branches. Also, the Family History Centers have a subscription to Ancestry.
Connie Lenzen can be reached in care of The Columbian, P.O. Box 180, Vancouver, WA 98666. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a personal reply. Or e-mail her at gencolumn@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 2004 by The Columbian Publishing Co. P.O. Box 180 , Vancouver , WA 98666 .
Some emails about Yad Vashem data bank
I went to the website ............I tried clicking on the add to the data base option and low and behold I was asked to search the database first.
I did some searches with mixed results. The search options can be confusing .
I entered the old name of my fathers hometown(Koidanov) and came up with nothing but then entering the modern version(Dzerzhinsk) and came up with a number of names and some data.
To make things more confusing some of the listings used the old hometime name not the modern one.
This brings up the problem that many survivors and descendents have no idea of what the modern names of the stetls there families came from are.
----------------------
The Yad Vashem database is an amazing resource to be so readily available. However, one must always take into consideration the fact that pages of testimony were filed by survivors after the war was over. All information on the forms is from memory, and
sometimes from guesses and assumptions. The most important thing on the mind of the submitter was to preserve the memory of a relative or friend. Very often, there are mistakes in the details. This should not in any way depreciate the value of the pages of testimony.
-----------------------
When you go to www.yadvashem.org, the first screen is has some photos and a title: Search the Central Database...", and is followed by a quotation from a man, evidently a Holocaust victim. This page has an "Enter" button, which leads to the actual search form. Try the Advanced Search, which enables you to select a combination of variables. Fore example, I searched for "Krantz" and " Brest" to identify my father's family. The site might well still have bugs, and it might be overloaded, but keep at it. I have already found two Pages of Testimony, which led me to American individuals.
-------------------------
Today Nov 22 Yad Vashem memorial has opened their new data base of some 3 million Holocaust victims (which took them over nine years to compile) -they are still working on getting info on the remaining 3 million) I went on the site today and found my father's family who perished in the Holocaust- in Romania. The data base listed about 200-300 Schmerlers in total but there probably are duplications and also listed are Schmerlers from Poland & Germany who are not close relatives. I concentrated on the hometown (shtetl) where my father was born & up came about 20-25 close relatives. Unfortunately I did not know the names of his brothers & sisters who did not surive (one sister did & went to Israel) but I was able to find one brother- born 5 yrs before my father. The details surrounding this brother Meir listed his father as Jakov who is my grandfather and whom I am named after (he died in 1929-30).
The site is amazing and I am sure your Genealogical group will want to use it to find any relatives who perished in the Holocaust. The details on each person show the camp where & when they were sent to plus any other available info obtained by the Yad Vashem personnel.
The web site is www.yadvashem.org Note- Since this is the first day it took me a long time to go from link to link- very very slow- which I am sure is due to the overwhelming usage of the web site.
--------------------------
Is anyone else having this problem?
Although I can get a clear No Results message on some name or place searches, other times I can tell there are results, but they do not display, only the disclaimer lines show.
I know from "Nu What's Nu?" that there is a firewall conflict with the display, and have adjusted Norton to accept everything from Yad Vashem. Still, I can't get the names to display.
Obviously, turning off the firewall is not an option even though it's been suggested. Though the research could be done at the library or at work where presumably the data would come through, it would be better to do it at home. I think there's a feedback link somewhere on the website for collecting problems.
Meanwhile, is anyone else having this problem? Has anyone found the solution?
----------------------
The Yad Vashem database does seem to be on-line.
I used it successfully... briefly. After that it got, well, flakey. And it stayed that way for two days. (I haven't tried it today.)
Often instead of returning search results or a specific error message, executing a search would bring up an introductory web page.
My guess is that it is overwhelmed by inquiries -- a sad enough story in itself.
One more point: Based on my brief experience I think it may take a bit of time for many users to get accustomed to using this particular search engine, and maybe there will be a little tuning at the Yad Vashem end. Probably best to be patient and tolerant...
And thankful. The availability of this database is a very significant step forward.
MODERATOR NOTE: It has been pointed out that if you have a firewall (Norton or others)you may have to disable it when you search Yad Vashem. Also please remember what happened when Ellis Island database first went up and be patient!!!
From......Henry Birnbrey [>>] Hbirnbrey@cs.com
I just received a list of Jewish Women who lived in Dortmund, Germany from 1930 to 1945. I will be more than glad to do a look up for anyone.
The majority of the list seems to be women who were forced to surrender their jewelry to the Nazis, and in their usual fashion the Nazis made a list of this, but it also gives other data on those same women including which camp they were sent to etc.
Standards For Sharing Information With Others
Recommended by the National Genealogical Society
Conscious of the fact that sharing information or data with others, whether through speech, documents or electronic media, is essential to family history research and that it needs continuing support and encouragement, responsible family historians consistently:
- respect the restrictions on sharing information that arise from the rights of another as an author, originator or compiler; as a living private person; or as a party to a mutual agreement.
- observe meticulously the legal rights of copyright owners, copying or distributing any part of their works only with their permission, or to the limited extent specifically allowed under the law's "fair use" exceptions.
- identify the sources for all ideas, information and data from others, and the form in which they were received, recognizing that the unattributed use of another's intellectual work is plagiarism.
- respect the authorship rights of senders of letters, electronic mail and data files, forwarding or disseminating them further only with the sender's permission.
- inform people who provide information about their families as to the ways it may be used, observing any conditions they impose and respecting any reservations they may express regarding the use of particular items.
- require some evidence of consent before assuming that living people are agreeable to further sharing of information about themselves.
- convey personal identifying information about living people—like age, home address, occupation or activities—only in ways that those concerned have expressly agreed to.
- recognize that legal rights of privacy may limit the extent to which information from publicly available sources may be further used, disseminated or published.
- communicate no information to others that is known to be false, or without making reasonable efforts to determine its truth, particularly information that may be derogatory.
- are sensitive to the hurt that revelations of criminal, immoral, bizarre or irresponsible behavior may bring to family members.
©2000 by National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to copy or publish this material provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice.
Copyright © 2001 National Genealogical Society, all rights reserved.
National Genealogical Society, 4527 17th Street North, Arlington, VA 22207-2399
Tel. (703) 525-0050 or (800) 473-0060; Fax (703) 525-0052
Breman Library Update from Hariette
The following books have been added to the Breman Genealogy collection:
Finding Your Jewish Roots in Galicia: A Resource Guide Wynne, Suzan F.
From a Ruined Garden Kugelmass, Jack and Boyarin,Jonathan (Eds./Translators)
Upon the Doorposts of Thy House : Jewish Life in East-Central Europe Yesterday and Today Gruber, Ruth Ellen
Eliyahu's Branches : The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family Freedman, Chaim
Mindis Family of Georgia
Library Resources for German-Jewish Genealogy Ellmann-Krüger, Angelika G.
Computer Genealogy : A Guide to Research through High Technology Pence, Richard A.
Evidence! Mills, Elizabeth Shown
First Steps in Genealogy Allen, Desmond Walls
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors: Special Strategies for Uncovering Hard-to-Find Information about Your Female Lineage Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo
Genealogists Question and Answer Book: Solutions and Advice for Maximizing Your Research Results Melnyk, Marcia Yannizze
The Handy Book for Genealogists Everton, George B.
Netting Your Ancestors Howells, Cyndi
Organizing Your Family Search Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo
Producing a Quality Family History Hatcher, Patricia Law, CG
The Sleuth Book for Genealogists: Strategies for More Successful Family History Research Croom, Emily Anne
Your Guide to the Family History Library: How to Access the World's Largest Genealogy Resource Warren, Paula Stuart; Warren, James W.
American Passenger Arrival Records – Updated Tepper, Michael
Hamburg Passengers from Kingdom of Poland and Russian Empire: Indirect Passage to NY 1855-1873 Moser, Geraldine and Silverman, Marlene
Migration from the Russian Empire: Lists of Passengers Arriving at the Port of New York Glazier, Ira A. (Ed.) (6 volumes)
Congregation of St. Thomas Synagogue
Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors Krasner-Khait, Barbara
Finding Our Fathers Rottenberg, Dan
Jewish Genealogy Yearbook 2000 Syllabus from the 20 th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Salt Lake City , Utah
Latter Day Leaders Sages and Scholars Rosenstein, Neil
Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names Kolatch, Alfred J.
Avotaynu A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names : Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciations, and Migrations Beider, Alexander
Russian-Jewish Given Names: Their Origins and Variants Feldblyum, Boris
A Corner of the Tapestry A History of the Jewish Experience in Arkansas ,1820s-1990s Lemaster, Carolyn Gray
Genealogical Resources in the National Archives
The Graveyard Shift A Family Historian's Guide to New York City Cemeteries Inskeep, Carolee
Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States Schaefer, Christina K.
They Became Americans: How to Discover Your Family or Ancestors in Naturalization Records Szucs, Loretto Dennis
Third to None, a history of the Jews of Savannah
Your Guide to the Federal Census For Genealogists, Researchers, and Family Historians Hinckley, Kathleen W.
In Their Words: A GenealogistsTranslation Guide -- Polish Shea, Jonathan and Hoffman, William F.
Jewish Bialystok and Surroundings Wisniewski, Tomasz
Jewish Roots in Poland : Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories Weiner, Miriam
Poland - A Historical Atlas Pogonowski, Iwo Cyprian
Shtetl Hoffman, Eva
Jewish Documentary Sources in Russia , Ukraine and Belarus A Preliminary List Sallis, Dorit and Web,Marek (Eds.)
The Jews of Lithuania A History of a Remarkable Community 1316-1945 Greenbaum, Masha
Pinkas HaKehilia\ot-Lita Encyclopedia of Towns-Lithuania Levin, Dov (Ed.)
Some Archival Sources for Ukrainian-Jewish Genealogy Kronik, Aleksander and Sack, Sallyann Amdur
Vilniaus Getas ( Vilnius Ghetto) Lists of Prisoners
Jewish State Museum of Lithuania
Trace Your Roots with DNA
http://eogn.typepad.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2004/11/trace_your_root.html
Images of America : Fort Benning , GA - Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.
Postcard History: Columbus , GA - Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.
(no link)
Wills and Other Probate Records -
Spammers use Holocaust to boost credibility
Experts say a 419 email scam from the Czech Republic uses legitimate organisations and Holocaust victims to strengthen its case. A spammer has bombarded at least 75,000 inboxes with an email scam that offers recipients a share of $35m (£19.5m) from a World War II Holocaust victim's bank account, experts say. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39168766,00.htm
For more information, contact Gary Palgon at jgsg@thebreman.org.
© 2003 William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. All rights reserved. Contact Us. Site Map.