Volume 10, Number 1 November 2002 GG Matters Feature Articles 2 Coordinator’s Column 14 Abstracts of Some Papers Presented at the Shelley Kellerman Pollero Toronto Conference Summaries of papers that are of special 2 From the Editors’ Desks interest to Galicia researchers Edward Goldstein & Eva Rosenn 18 A Tale of Two Cities 3 Nat Abramowitz: In Memoriam Edward Gelles A Gesher Galicia charter member passes away Brody in Galicia and Livorno in Tuscany Town Updates 21 In Search of My Grandmother Chana, a “Graduated Midwife” 4 Kolomyya E. Jeanne Blitzer Andelman Alan Weiser 23 1923 Polish Business Directory on Library 4 Przemysl of Congress Site Barbara U. Yeager A great addition to on-line research 6 Rzeszow 24 The Archives of Ukraine Marian Rubin Some Q&As from their website 6 Tarnobrzeg Family Album Gayle Schlissel Riley 7 Schoolchildren in Gorlice JRI-Poland Chana Saadia 7 Galician Vital Records – What can You 17 Who Are These Gentlemen? Expect? Anneroos Reich Mark Halpern 23 Marlene Bishow’s Great-grandparents Samples of various vital record headings with Marlene Bishow translation into English 27 Joyce Eastman’s Great-granparents 13 AGAD Project: Is It Too Successful? Joyce Eastman Mark Halpern The success of the AGAD project has caused its costs to rise. What does this development mean to researchers? Coordinator’s Column From the Editors’ Desks Shelley Kellerman Pollero Edward Goldstein and Eva Rosenn Gesher Galicia has played an important part in the “The Family Album” successful growth of Jewish genealogy. The At the Toronto conference, Suzana Leistner Bloch Galitzianer is now a “journal,” having grown in suggested to us that we publish pictures from our scope and content, featuring articles by experts in readers in The Galitzianer. Accordingly, we their respective fields. Members participate in our On-line Discussion Group, create town web pages recently posted a message on the Galicia SIG on ShtetLinks, collaborate in Galicia regional mailing list asking you to send us old family research groups, and volunteer as Town or Shtetl pictures. In this issue, we publish a few we have Co-op Leaders and Archive Coordinators for the received. Let us know what you think. And look Jewish Records Indexing-Poland AGAD and Polish through your boxes of old photographs for inter- State Archives projects. esting ones you can send us (via e-mail attachment We have even more opportunities to expand only, please). Galicia research, especially with the vast amount of URLs and Email Addresses Galicia material in both Yad Vashem and the U.S. Some of you may have found the tiny format of e- Holocaust Memorial Museum. What can we do to tap these wonderful resources? To be sure, many of mail and website (URL) addresses in past issues our valued members are ready, willing, and able to hard to read. We are therefore changing it, begin- enter data into indexes. However, we need a leader ning in this issue. to oversee a variety of research projects!! We could The reasons behind our initial decision to use proceed NOW if only someone would step up to smaller type were: serve as Research Coordinator for Gesher Galicia. Ø When a long URL that does not contain a Look what Mark Halpern has done for the AGAD hyphen starts at the beginning of a line Word records, and Eden Joachim and Roberta Jainchill for breaks that URL (without using a hyphen) at the Rzeszow and Przemysl Archives projects, under the end of the line and continues it on the next the auspices of JRI-Poland! Under their leadership, line. If a long URL contains a “real” hyphen, many have volunteered and the projects have been Word breaks it at the hyphen, an ambiguous extremely successful. Now we can do this with convention for anyone not familiar with it. (Is other Galicia research projects. Who will volunteer to serve as the Gesher the hyphen part of the URL or isn’t it?) Galicia Research Coordinator and take a leadership Ø If a long URL starts within a line, but cannot be role in initiating and managing GG-sponsored fully accommodated on that line, Word moves research projects? Here are some of the duties and its beginning to the start of the next line. This responsibilities: often leaves an ugly white area in the middle of Ø Must be a member of GG and be willing to a paragraph. serve on the GG Steering Committee. Ø In order to minimize both this ambiguity and Ø Be the primary GG contact with the JG Re- unsightliness, we have been using a smaller search VP on GG-sponsored research projects. typeface. Occasionally, we have also com- Ø Identify project leaders for Yad Vashem and pressed the type. USHMM Projects, help recruit volunteers to Not only does this process create a lot of work work on those projects, assist in monitoring for us, but it apparently also makes the URLs and progress, work with the JG Holocaust DB Technical Coordinator. email addresses more difficult to read. Ø Work with the JG Research VP on securing We have therefore decided to use the same type permission for research projects identified by face for URLs and email addresses as for the our members and acquiring donor agreements regular text (11-point Times New Roman). Both and volunteer agreements. will be underlined; as an added bonus, these URLs Ø Have a good grasp of Excel, JG database and email addresses will be “live” hyperlinks in the transcription standards, and budgeting, and an electronic edition (at least on a Macintosh), i.e., you understanding of JG research procedures. can click on them to get connected automatically. Ø Have good interpersonal and project- Just one word of caution: all hyphens that ap- management skills. pear within a URL at the end of a line are real, i.e., I know that someone can do this and many they are part of the URL. W more will then volunteer. Please contact me now. The Galitzianer 2 November 2002 Suzan Wynne wrote: Nat Abramowi tz: In Memoriam Nat was a very special man, with a big heart Nat P. Abramowitz, a charter member of Gesher and a quiet persistence that won him access to Galicia and a member of its first Steering Commit- sources and information. Not one to brag, he tee, passed away on August 24, 2002 following a seemed humbled by his ability to help others heart attack, according to GG member Eden through his contacts. When I first encountered Nat, Joachim. The members and Steering Committee of Gesher Galicia was just an idea that I had about Gesher Galicia extend their heartfelt condolences to organizing a group with a special interest in the his wife, Lucille, to his family, and to his many territory. Nat immediately "got" it and actively friends. Marian Rubin, former editor of The promoted the idea before and after the SIG was Galitzianer, and Suzan Wynne, Gesher Galicia formed in Toronto ten years ago. Nat Abramowitz founder and first editor of The Galitzianer, wrote was Number One on the list of Gesher Galicia remembrances of Nat; we have edited them slightly. members! Nat was an early pioneer in going to Poland to Marian Rubin wrote: Nat can be credited for important advances in try to access records. He once went to a repository Galician genealogical research. He was one of the in a certain district and was able to get the mayor of first researchers to bring us the news that some the town to violate every rule in the book. Nat had a western Galician vital records and other documents way of making his personal problem or concern so were held in the Lviv Archives. He had met a compelling that people wanted to help him. And, Ukrainian researcher with access to the Lviv boy, did this mayor help! He copied all of the Archives. When Nat became convinced that this Jewish records for the district and mailed them to researcher understood the needs of Jewish genealo- Nat. During his travels, Nat met and later told us gists, he announced in The Galitzianer that Alexan- about researcher Alex Dunai, who has been der Dunai was available to do research, and he enormously helpful to hundreds of Gesher Galicia provided detailed instructions for contacting him. members and others in the years since. Many genealogists were able to make break- During our last phone call just a few weeks be- throughs in their research by hiring Alex, and it was fore his sudden death, Nat shared that he had Nat who made this possible. completed his book about the Romanian side of his Nat did extensive research in Krakow, family. He was thrilled and relieved after several Rzeszow, Tyczyn, and other locations in addition to years of intense genealogical work and writing. I his research in Romania. He was generous in never imagined that this would be the last time we sharing his work, and when he found my family would talk to each other. Nat Abramowitz was a names among the records he obtained, he always treasure who will be missed by many. sent me copies. Contribute to JewishGen’s First Annual Appeal $300,000 needed by year end $121,058 raised - Aug 5 to Nov 1 $178,942 to go! JewishGen (JG) provides us with the vital resources for our ongoing genealogical research. It is free to us, but not free to JG, which bears the monthly expense of providing all the resources we use daily without a second thought. These costs must be met to overcome the current shortfall.