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Jewish Genealogy

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Jewish Genealogy RESEARCH OUTLINE Jewish Genealogy CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Introduction.............................. 1 This outline introduces records and strategies that Jewish Search Strategies. 1 can help you learn more about your Jewish Finding Jewish Records in the Family ancestors. It teaches terminology and describes the History Library Catalog. 5 content, use, and availability of major Maps of Jews in Europe. 7 genealogical records. Archives and Libraries. 9 Biography.............................. 1 1 Business Records and Commerce. 1 2 Using This Outline Cemeteries.............................. 1 3 Census................................. 1 5 This outline will help you evaluate various records Chronology............................. 1 7 and decide which records to search as you trace Church Records.......................... 1 8 your Jewish ancestors. Records that are uniquely Civil Registration......................... 1 8 Jewish are listed, as are other general sources, that Concentration Camps..................... 2 1 may contain the information you are searching for. Court Records........................... 2 2 These record sources are often created by the Directories.............................. 2 2 government or other organizations and list details Divorce Records......................... 2 3 about all people. Emigration and Immigration. 2 3 Encyclopedias and Dictionaries. 2 4 Gazetteers.............................. 2 5 This outline discusses in alphabetical order many Genealogy.............................. 2 9 major topics used for genealogical research, such Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945). 3 1 as “Archives and Libraries,” “Civil Registration,” Inquisition.............................. 3 3 and “Military Records.” “Church Records” are Jewish History........................... 3 3 discussed because many churches, which were Jewish Records.......................... 3 5 state churches of various countries, recorded Language and Languages. 3 7 information for Jews in certain time periods. Maps.................................. 3 8 Furthermore, where there were few Jews, Jewish Military Records......................... 4 0 births, marriages, and deaths were recorded by the Minorities.............................. 4 1 local churches. Names, Personal......................... 4 1 Naturalization and Citizenship. 4 5 At the end of this outline you will find a list of Newspapers............................. 4 6 Nobility................................ 4 7 additional subject headings under “Other Notarial Records......................... 4 7 Records,” a short bibliography of sources under Obituaries.............................. 4 8 “Further Reading,” and a glossary. Occupations............................. 4 8 Orphans and Orphanages.. 4 9 JEWISH SEARCH STRATEGIES Periodicals.............................. 4 9 Population.............................. 5 0 Probate Records.......................... 5 1 Those doing research on Jewish families should Schools................................. 5 2 first follow the genealogy strategies and methods Social Life and Customs. 5 2 for the area where the family was from. Research Societies................................ 5 3 outlines and other research aids can help you learn Synagogue Records....................... 5 5 about records and formulate strategies. In addition Taxation................................ 5 5 to general sources, which list all of the population Vital Records............................ 5 6 including Jews, there are many books, indexes, Voting Registers......................... 5 7 and other resources that have been created for Other Records........................... 5 8 Jewish research in particular. This is not a For Further Reading....................... 5 8 comprehensive listing of Jewish records available Comments and Suggestions.. 5 8 at the Family History Library but does list Glossary................................ 5 9 examples of the major types of records available. The following basic steps for genealogical research your ancestor lived, see “Gazetteers” and will help get you started: “History” in that outline. Step 1. Identify What You Know about Your • Learn about the jurisdictions of the places Family where your ancestors lived. You will need to know about civil and often church boundaries. Begin your research at home. Look for names, See “Gazetteers” in this outline for more dates, and places in certificates, letters, obituaries, information. diaries, and similar sources. Ask relatives for any information they may have. Record the information • Use language helps. Jewish records may be in you find on pedigree charts and family group Yiddish, Hebrew, or in the language of the record forms. country of residence. Some church records for Jews may be in Latin. See “Language and Step 2. Decide What You Want to Learn Languages” in this outline. Choose an ancestor to research for whom you know Compiled Records. Surveying research already at least a name, the town where he or she lived, and done by others can save time and reveal valuable an approximate date of birth. The more you know information. Check compiled sources such as: about your ancestor, the more successful you will be with further research. • Private collections of family histories and genealogies deposited in historical and It is best to begin by verifying the information you genealogical societies and other libraries already have. Then you can decide what else you • Printed family histories and genealogies want to learn about that ancestor. You may want to • Family histories, genealogies, and abstracts or ask an experienced researcher or a librarian to help transcripts of records on the Internet you choose a goal. • Compiled records of the Family History Library • FamilySearch™ International Genealogical Step 3. Select a Record to Search Index (IGI) • FamilySearch Personal Ancestral File Effective researchers first find background •Vital Records Index British Isles and Vital information. Then they survey compiled sources Records Index North America. See and finally they search original records. “For “Genealogy” in this outline for details about Further Reading” in this outline has a list of these sources. Similar indexes for other genealogy how-to books, both general and countries are in production. geographically specific, that give information about •Pedigree Resource File tracing Jewish ancestors. These records are described in “Biography,” Background Information Sources. You must “Genealogy,” and “Societies” in this outline. have some geographical and historical information. Remember, information in compiled records may This will help you focus your research in the have some inaccuracies, and the information in correct place and time period. them should be verified. • Find the place of residence. Use maps, Original Records. After surveying previous gazetteers, histories, and other place-finding aids research, you can begin searching original to learn about each place where your ancestor documents, which are often handwritten and lived. Identify governmental and ecclesiastical copied on microfilm or microfiche. Original jurisdictions, local Jewish congregations, cities, documents provide first-hand information counties, and other geographical features. recorded at or near the time of an event by a reliable witness. To do thorough research, you • Review local history. Jewish history and the should search: history of the area your ancestor lived in affected the records about the Jews. See • Jurisdictions that may have kept records about “Gazetteers” and “Jewish History” in this your ancestor. outline for more information. If there is a • Records of Jewish communities. research outline for the country or state where 2 Most researchers begin with civil registration, Step 5. Find and Search the Record census records, church records, or probate records. Suggestions for Obtaining Records. You may be Step 4. Use the Internet able to get the records you need in the following ways: Many individuals and organizations have made family history information available on the • Family History Library. The Library is open to Internet. This is particularly true of records the public and charges no fees for using the pertaining to the Jews. Internet sites often refer to records. For more information, write to: information others have placed on the Internet. These sites, also called home pages or web sites, Family History Library are connected with other sites to create the World 35 North West Temple Street Wide Web (www). Each site on the Internet has an Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400 address that enables you to go directly to that site. The most popular starting sites for genealogists • Family History Centers. The Family History include: Library can loan copies of most records on microfilm to thousands of family history http://www.familysearch.org/ centers worldwide. There is a small duplication http://www.cyndislist.com/ and postage fee for this service. http://www.usgenweb.org/ http://.worldgenweb.org/ • Local Archives and Libraries. Although the http://homepages.rootsweb.com/ Family History Library has many records on microfilm or microfiche, others are available For Jewish research, the most helpful sites are: only at local or national archives and libraries. See the “Archives and Libraries” section of this http://www.jewishgen.org/ outline for more information. http://www.feefhs.org/ • Libraries and Interlibrary Loan. Public, You can use search engines to search a broad range academic, and other research libraries may
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