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 ................. 4 content, use, and availability of major Maps of Jews in Europe ................... 7 genealogical records. Archives and Libraries .................... 9 Biography ............................. 11 Using This Outline Business Records and Commerce........... 12 Cemeteries............................. 12 This outline will help you evaluate various records Census................................ 14 and decide which records to search as you trace Chronology ............................ 16 your Jewish ancestors. Records that are uniquely Church Records......................... 17 Jewish are listed, as are other general sources, that Civil Registration........................ 18 may contain the information you are searching for. Concentration Camps .................... 20 These record sources are often created by the Court Records .......................... 21 government or other organizations and list details Directories............................. 21 about all people. Divorce Records ........................ 21 Emigration and Immigration............... 22 This outline discusses in alphabetical order many Encyclopedias and Dictionaries ............ 23 major topics used for genealogical research, such Gazetteers ............................. 24 as “Archives and Libraries,” “Civil Registration,” Genealogy ............................. 27 and “Military Records.” “Church Records” are Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) ............ 29 discussed because many churches, which were Inquisition ............................. 30 state churches of various countries, recorded Jewish History.......................... 31 information for Jews in certain time periods. Jewish Records ......................... 33 Furthermore, where there were few Jews, Jewish Language and Languages ................. 34 births, marriages, and deaths were recorded by the Maps ................................. 36 local churches. Military Records ........................ 37 Minorities ............................. 38 At the end of this outline you will find a list of Names, Personal ........................ 38 additional subject headings under “Other Naturalization and Citizenship ............. 42 Records,” a short bibliography of sources under Newspapers............................ 42 “Further Reading,” and a glossary. Nobility ............................... 44 Notarial Records ........................ 44 JEWISH SEARCH STRATEGIES Obituaries ............................. 44 Occupations............................ 45 Those doing research on Jewish families should Orphans and Orphanages.................. 45 first follow the genealogy strategies and methods Periodicals............................. 46 for the area where the family was from. Research Population ............................. 47 outlines and other research aids can help you learn Probate Records......................... 48 about records and formulate strategies. In addition Schools ................................ 48 to general sources, which list all of the population Social Life and Customs.................. 48 including Jews, there are many books, indexes, Societies............................... 49 and other resources that have been created for Synagogue Records...................... 50 Jewish research in particular. This is not a Taxation............................... 51 comprehensive listing of Jewish records available Vital Records........................... 51 at the Family History Library but does list Voting Registers ........................ 53 examples of the major types of records available. Other Records .......................... 53 For Further Reading...................... 53 The following basic steps for genealogical Comments and Suggestions................ 53 research will help get you started: Appendix A: Glossary.................... 55 Step 1. Identify What You Know about Your • Use language helps. Jewish records may be in Family Yiddish, Hebrew, or in the language of the country of residence. Some church records for Begin your research at home. Look for names, Jews may be in Latin. See “Language and dates, and places in certificates, letters, obituaries, Languages” in this outline. diaries, and similar sources. Ask relatives for any information they may have. Record the information Compiled Records. Surveying research already you find on pedigree charts and family group done by others can save time and reveal valuable record forms. information. Check compiled sources such as: Step 2. Decide What You Want to Learn • Private collections of family histories and genealogies deposited in historical and Choose an ancestor to research for whom you genealogical societies and other libraries know at least a name, the town where he or she • Printed family histories and genealogies lived, and an approximate date of birth. The more • Family histories, genealogies, and abstracts or you know about your ancestor, the more successful transcripts of records on the Internet you will be with further research. • Compiled records of the Family History Library • FamilySearch™ International Genealogical It is best to begin by verifying the information you Index (IGI) already have. Then you can decide what else you • FamilySearch™ Personal Ancestral File want to learn about that ancestor. You may want to • Vital Records Index British Isles and Vital ask an experienced researcher or a librarian to help Records Index North America. See you choose a goal. “Genealogy” in this outline for details about these sources. Similar indexes for other Step 3. Select a Record to Search countries are in production. • Pedigree Resource File Effective researchers first find background informa-tion. Then they survey compiled sources These records are described in “Biography,” and finally they search original records. “For “Genealogy,” and “Societies” in this outline. Further Reading” in this outline has a list of Remember, information in compiled records may genealogy how-to books, both general and have some inaccuracies, and the information in geographically specific, that give information them should be verified. about tracing Jewish ancestors. Original Records. After surveying previous Background Information Sources. You must research, you can begin searching original have some geographical and historical information. documents, which are often handwritten and This will help you focus your research in the copied on microfilm or microfiche. Original correct place and time period. documents provide first-hand information recorded at or near the time of an event by a • Find the place of residence. Use maps, reliable witness. To do thorough research, you gazetteers, histories, and other place-finding should search: aids to learn about each place where your ancestor lived. Identify governmental and • Jurisdictions that may have kept records about ecclesiastical jurisdictions, local Jewish your ancestor. congregations, cities, counties, and other • Records of Jewish communities. geographical features. Most researchers begin with civil registration, • Review local history. Jewish history and the census records, church records, or probate records. history of the area your ancestor lived in affected the records about the Jews. See Step 4. Use the Internet “Gazetteers” and “Jewish History” in this outline for more information. If there is a Many individuals and organizations have made research outline for the country or state where family history information available on the your ancestor lived, see “Gazetteers” and Internet. This is particularly true of records “History” in that outline. pertaining to the Jews. Internet sites often refer to information others have placed on the Internet. • Learn about the jurisdictions of the places where These sites, also called home pages or web sites, your ancestors lived. You will need to know are connected with other sites to create the World about civil and often church boundaries. See Wide Web (WWW). Each site on the Internet has “Gazetteers” in this outline for more an address that enables you to go directly to that information. 2 site. The most popular starting sites for Centers worldwide. There is a small duplication genealogists include: and postage fee for this service. http://www.familysearch.org/ • Local Archives and Libraries. Although the http://www.cyndislist.com/ Family History Library has many records on http://www.usgenweb.org/ microfilm or microfiche, others are available http://.worldgenweb.org/ only at local or national archives and libraries. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/ See the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline for more information. For Jewish research, the most helpful sites are: • Libraries and Interlibrary Loan. Public, http://www.jewishgen.org/ academic, and other research libraries may have http://www.feefhs.org/ some published sources for Jewish research. Many provide interlibrary loan services that You can use search engines to search a broad range allow you to borrow records from other of Internet sites that contain certain keywords. For libraries. example, if you want to find Jewish cemetery records for a certain place, type in “Jewish” and • Look-Up Exchange. There are lists of people