Dear BIALYGenners:

At the recent annual Jewish Genealogy Conference in Las Vegas, we held
the 2nd Annual BIALYGen meeting. At this meeting, about 30 researchers
with roots >from Bialystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Bokiny, Ciechanowiec,
Grodek, Jalowka, Krynki, Kuznica, Milejczyce, Michalowo, Nowy Dwor,
Siemiatycze, Sokolka, Sokoly, Suchowola, Tykocin, Wasilkow, and Zabludow
were in attendance.

As usual, we covered the basics about BIALYGen

1. The area covered by our group along with the list of towns,
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Towns.htm

2. The website that was started up earlier in 2005

3. The goals of BIALYGen,
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Homepage.htm

4. The organization,
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Contact.htm, and

5. How researchers can help make BIALYGen a success,
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Support.htm

On the website the following areas were explained in more detail:

1. This discussion forum and its benefits in sharing information and
accessing the expertise of members.

2. The Articles & Features webpages, waiting to publish your story or
article.

3. Cemetery section, with information on two Cemeteries, which needs
your photos and observations

4. Publications section, listing many publications of interest to
members. If you have read any of these, prepare a short synopsis and
submit it.

5. Research projects -- read on

Completed Projects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. 1897 Grodno Gubernia All- Russian Census -- see
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/1897Census.htm

2. Surname Index to Bialystok Photo Album of a Renown City by David
Sohn -- see
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Bialystok_Photo_Album_Surnames.htm

3. Inventory of Survivor Testimonies at the Jewish Historical
Institute -- see
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/Testimonies.htm

4. Bialystok Regional Liquidation Office list of Seized Property -- see
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/RLO_USHMM.htm

5. Bialystoker Memorial (Yizkor) Book English part published on Internet
with permission of The Bialystoker Center -- now completely online at
http://www.zchor.org/bialystok/yizkor1.htm thanks to Ada Holtzman

Projects in Progress
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Bialystoker Memorial (Yizkor) Book Surname Index -- completed by
David Rosen and Sidney Zabludoff and waiting to be added to the BIALYGen
website.

2. Index of Bialystok Kehilla 1927-30 Declarations to Marry -- about
120 documents copied at the Central Archives for the History of the
Jewish People in Jerusalem

3. Index of Bialystok Kehilla 1926-27 Death Register -- about 500
documents copied at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish
People in Jerusalem

4. Index of Tombstones at the Wschodnia Street Cemetery (see
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/BialCem.htm) - about 400
inscriptions photographed and translated by the Polish State Conservator
of Bialystok in the 1980s.

5. Translation of "Pinkos Bialystok," a two volume history of the Jews
of Bialystok >from earliest time to after WW1 written in Yiddish by A.S.
Hershberg -- The 20 pages of the Table of Contents are being translated.
This will become a JewishGen Yizkor Book project (see
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/)

6. The Bialystoker Center Yahrzeit Card Indexing project -- about 5,000
cards are 80% scanned. These images will be used to create a searchable
database on JewishGen. See
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/bialygen/YahrzeitCards.htm.

7. Tykocin 1905 Tax List -- 376 entries of Jews who owned property and
paid taxes has been translated by Jane Neff Rollins and is waiting to be
added to the BIALYGen website.

8. Tykocin 1826-1867 birth, marriage, and death records are being
indexed by JRI-Poland

9. Bialystok 1904 birth, marriage, and death records are being indexed
by JRI-Poland

New Projects
~~~~~~~~~~
1. Historical Museum of the City of Bialystok will be sharing copies of
documents and maps with BIALYGen.
a) First document is 1929 Bialystok Telephone Directory, which will
be indexed and placed online
b) We should receive a copy of a 1915 Bialystok City map, the first
map produced with Street names and numbers. Hopefully, we can use this
map and other documents to find locations where our ancestors lived and
worked.
c) We have a large group of images of postcards and other
correspondence of Mr. Wulf Wrobel >from the 1930s. These are in Yiddish
and may contain information important to all of us.
d) We are also expecting scans of other pre-war scenes and people of
Jewish Bialystok, which we will place online in our Photo album.

2. JRI-Poland initiatives
a) Archivist and professional researchers will be expanding the
indices already created for Bialystok and Tykocin. This means adding
father's father name, mother's maiden name and mother's father's name
where they exist.
b) A new source of 20th Century genealogical information will be
indexed. These are listing for 1928-38 of men that evaded the Polish
draft in Bialystok Province. Data includes date and place of birth,
place of residence, and parents' names.

Bialystok Wschodnia Street Cemetery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I described my April visit to the Cemetery. The condition of the
Cemetery continues to deteriorate. As a City park, the free access means
dumping and vandalism will continue. A project to restore the Cemetery
has commenced and was explained.

Jewish Family History Foundation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David and Sonia Hoffman, the principals of the Foundation explained
their goal of providing genealogical data >from the 18th Century for the
Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They already have data

from towns formerly in the Grand Duchy during >from the 1765 and 1784

Census/Tax lists for Sokolka, Suchowola, Janowa, Korycin, Zabludow,
Krynki, Wasilkow, Kuznica, Novy Dwor, Sidra. For more information see
the Foundation website at http://www.jewishfamilyhistory.org/.

With very hot (115 degrees Fahrenheit / 46 degrees Celsius) regards from
Las Vegas,
Mark Halpern
BIALYGen Coordinator

MODERATOR'S NOTE: A hearty "Yasher Koach" to BialyGen Coordinator Mark
Halpern and Research Coordinator Sidney Zabludoff for amassing such an
impressive amount of research material in the two short years in which
since BialyGen was organized.