In anticipation of traveling to Warsaw, Poland, to attend the =
International
Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies 38th IAJGS International
Conference on Jewish Genealogy in August 2018, and of my desire to make =
a
roots trip to the sites of my heritage, I hired Ancestry Pro =
Genealogists in
October 2017 to research my Jewish ancestry in Poland [although I've =
been
researching my Jewish ancestry for 20 years, and have found many records =
and
connections with possible ties to my family ancestry, I had been able to
confirm relatively few of my findings as being tied to my family tree].

In July, 2018, on month prior to the planned start of the IAJGS =
Conference,
I received the following message >from the Ancestry Pro Genealogist =
Research
Team Manager:
Although we have not yet found records in Europe for your =
great-grandmother,
Perl, we have found some incredible information about the family - we =
have
the death records of Herszek Berkowicz Burzy=F1ski and Ma=B3ka Abramowna
Cymerman, your 2x great-grandparents and their 1845 marriage records. =
We
know >from these records that Ma=B3ka was born in Drogoszewo, Miastkowo, =
=A3om=BFa,
Russian Empire and died in Nowogr=F3d, =A3om=BFa, =A3om=BFa, Russian =
Empire [today,
Gmina Nowogr=F3d is in County =A3om=BFa , Volvodeship Podlaskie, in =
Country
Poland] Herszek was born in W=B1sosz, Szczuczyn, =A3om=BFa, Russian =
Empire and
died in Rydzewo, Miastkowo, =A3om=BFa, Russian Empire.
It took quite a bit of effort in a short timeframe to locate and engage =
a
travel firm in Poland that would take me on a roots trip to the specific
locations of interest to my genealogy. I found TRAVPOL and guide Andrzej
Puchacz who picked me up in Warsaw at my hotel on our agreed-upon time =
and
date. On our travel northeast >from Warsaw, Andrzej inquired of passersby
(local citizens) about places of Jewish cemeteries for my 2x great
grandparents Herszek Berkowicz Burzynski and Malka Cymerman. Andrzej =
learned

from querying a random person along the highway that the cemetery place =

in
the area is located in Nowogr=F3d. When we went to Nowogr=F3d, again =
Andrzej
queried local citizens and found out the location for the cemetery. It =
was
unmarked and inaccessible- but that didn't stop us. We climbed up a =
steep
incline through weeds and made our way to an area with 18 headstones.
Inscriptions were often worn away or obscured by weeds, but we did our =
best
to clear away some weeds and each of us took digital photographs. These =
may
shed further light on my ancestry.=20

I have since learned that the Jewish population of Nowogr=F3d in 1765 =
was 26
and the Jewish cemetery in Nowogr=F3d was created about 1778. Between =
1860 and
1908, nearly half of the general population of Nowogr=F3d was comprised =
of
Jews.

The cemetery is located on a hill, at the end of Poleglych Street. As a
result of the damage sustained after World War II and after the =
liberation,
the cemetery was devoid of tombstones. The Lauder Foundation in 2005 =
brought
one tombstone to the cemetery, and in 2007 more tombstones were brought =
from
the foundations of nearby buildings. Additional tombstones are kept in =
the
Open-Air Museum in Nowogr=F3d.=20

I have taken it upon myself to create a project for restoration of the
Jewish cemetery in Nowogr=F3d, and made contacts with key players in =
Poland
and elsewhere to help me advance this initiative.

FOD=AF (Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland) =
Director
Piotr Puchta and I have agreed on a list of items for prioritizing in =
the
fund-raising, and a target goal has been set for the costs of doing such
work. YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED FOR THIS MOST WORTHWHILE PROJECT.

Dan Oren, President of Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland, has set up =
a
fund-raising page for the Nowogr=F3d Jewish cemetery on the Friends of =
Jewish
Heritage in Poland website. The page has more details of the objectives =
of
the effort.

Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c) =
(3)
organization. Contributions are used only for projects in Poland. To
contribute, go to:
https://jewishheritagepoland.org/nowogrod.html

Warmest regards,
Jeff Miller