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Re: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Rachel
 

Hi

I've been reading the trail of this post with interest and wonder whether it
may start to unravel a mystery in my DNA which shows some Iberian decadency.
There are no family stories to shed insight into this but I do know that
this is >from my Paternal tree as my father's DNA shared this. I know very
little of his paternal grandmother apart >from that her marriage
authorisation said she was from'Courland'. Unfortunately, try as I might I
have a brick wall about her life before coming to England.

Rachel Poole
England
Latvia SIG #Latvia RE: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Rachel
 

Hi

I've been reading the trail of this post with interest and wonder whether it
may start to unravel a mystery in my DNA which shows some Iberian decadency.
There are no family stories to shed insight into this but I do know that
this is >from my Paternal tree as my father's DNA shared this. I know very
little of his paternal grandmother apart >from that her marriage
authorisation said she was from'Courland'. Unfortunately, try as I might I
have a brick wall about her life before coming to England.

Rachel Poole
England
Re: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Alan Kolnik
 

I have been told that my paternal grandfather's siddur (prayer book) was
"Nusach Spharad" -i.e. - in the Sphardi tradition. Many of my cousins have
quite dark complexions, and could easily pass for Sephardi Jews. Our family
on that side was >from Khozangorodok, a shtetl near Pinsk, though we have no
idea how we landed up there.

Alan Kolnik
Bethesda, MD
Latvia SIG #Latvia RE: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Alan Kolnik
 

I have been told that my paternal grandfather's siddur (prayer book) was
"Nusach Spharad" -i.e. - in the Sphardi tradition. Many of my cousins have
quite dark complexions, and could easily pass for Sephardi Jews. Our family
on that side was >from Khozangorodok, a shtetl near Pinsk, though we have no
idea how we landed up there.

Alan Kolnik
Bethesda, MD
Re: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Lisa Newman <lisa.newman.a@...>
 

In the family tree which the Latvian Historical archives in Riga
prepared for my Samuel family 20 years ago, it is clear that our
family was in Latvia as early as 1750 and continued to be there over
many many generations. At the IAJGS conference in London at that time
I met with the very helpful archivist who did the research; she was
one of the very few Jews employed then in the state historical
archives in Riga and took a particular interest in documenting
histories of Jewish families in Latvia.

Interestingly, the name "Samuel Samuel" recurs very often over many
generations in our tree and was even the name of my great grandfather
(born in Latvia) and of my first cousin (born in the U.S. in 1936). I
have been told that this name is particularly characteristic of
sephardic families.

As well, the shidduch of my own grandfather (doubtless arranged by his
father, Samuel Samuel, a very wealthy industrialist in Libau (now
Liepaja)) was with Golda, a daughter of a Pines family >from Ruzhany,
now in Belarus. They married around 1890. While the families
certainly had wealth in common, I believe they likely also had
sephardic ancestry in common.

Would love to hear >from others who could more light on this.

thanks,

Lisa Newman, Toronto, Canada
lisanewmantoronto@gmail.com
researching. SAMUEL, PINES, ROTENBERG
Latvia SIG #Latvia Re: Origin of Latvian Jews #latvia

Lisa Newman <lisa.newman.a@...>
 

In the family tree which the Latvian Historical archives in Riga
prepared for my Samuel family 20 years ago, it is clear that our
family was in Latvia as early as 1750 and continued to be there over
many many generations. At the IAJGS conference in London at that time
I met with the very helpful archivist who did the research; she was
one of the very few Jews employed then in the state historical
archives in Riga and took a particular interest in documenting
histories of Jewish families in Latvia.

Interestingly, the name "Samuel Samuel" recurs very often over many
generations in our tree and was even the name of my great grandfather
(born in Latvia) and of my first cousin (born in the U.S. in 1936). I
have been told that this name is particularly characteristic of
sephardic families.

As well, the shidduch of my own grandfather (doubtless arranged by his
father, Samuel Samuel, a very wealthy industrialist in Libau (now
Liepaja)) was with Golda, a daughter of a Pines family >from Ruzhany,
now in Belarus. They married around 1890. While the families
certainly had wealth in common, I believe they likely also had
sephardic ancestry in common.

Would love to hear >from others who could more light on this.

thanks,

Lisa Newman, Toronto, Canada
lisanewmantoronto@gmail.com
researching. SAMUEL, PINES, ROTENBERG
Re: 1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

A. E. Jordan
 

The Russians to America books were built by reading the passenger
lists so the passenger list has to exist. In the 1940s (I think I
have the right decade) the National Archives microfilmed all the
passenger lists. That is the one and only set of microfilm records
of the passenger lists.

All of the databases work >from the master negatives which are
controlled by the National Archives. It is very possible that some
of the databases misloaded their versions into their databases. The
indexes you are finding online were also built >from the microfilm
including Ellis Island so if they are in the database that means they
were found on the passenger list, but of course the index can or will
be misspellings, bad interpretations, etc.

You need to check all of the various versions online between Family
Search, Ellis Island, Ancestry, etc. Some of them you may have to go
to the library because for example Ancestry is free in libraries or by
subscription at home. Don't trust the indexing especially on Ancestry
you can retrieve the individual ship's pages and read them one by one.

If all else fails you are going to have to get to the microfilm which
is harder than it sounds. NARA NYC for example has gone to the
databases and no longer has the film available. NARA downtown
Washington DC still has the microfilm. I assume the LDS at least in
Utah has the film and various other institutions. The NYC Public
Library had the film but I am not sure what its status is now.

I would spend time working on the online versions because I think if
you can get to the pages it is as complete as the microfilm but as
for missing names, etc. you need to see the page to know why it shows
that way in the index. There could be blanks, rips, missing sections,
etc. on the original pages. When you look at the images you will see
the original paper copies were not in the best of condition which is
why they were microfilmed in the first place.

Good luck with the search.

Allan Jordan

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Shuchat ahs613@gmail.com

According to Russians to America, a family named Swik arrived at Ellis
Island >from Glasgow on the Furnessia, Sept. 16, 1895. ...The microfilm records
seem to be missing.
JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: 1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

A. E. Jordan
 

The Russians to America books were built by reading the passenger
lists so the passenger list has to exist. In the 1940s (I think I
have the right decade) the National Archives microfilmed all the
passenger lists. That is the one and only set of microfilm records
of the passenger lists.

All of the databases work >from the master negatives which are
controlled by the National Archives. It is very possible that some
of the databases misloaded their versions into their databases. The
indexes you are finding online were also built >from the microfilm
including Ellis Island so if they are in the database that means they
were found on the passenger list, but of course the index can or will
be misspellings, bad interpretations, etc.

You need to check all of the various versions online between Family
Search, Ellis Island, Ancestry, etc. Some of them you may have to go
to the library because for example Ancestry is free in libraries or by
subscription at home. Don't trust the indexing especially on Ancestry
you can retrieve the individual ship's pages and read them one by one.

If all else fails you are going to have to get to the microfilm which
is harder than it sounds. NARA NYC for example has gone to the
databases and no longer has the film available. NARA downtown
Washington DC still has the microfilm. I assume the LDS at least in
Utah has the film and various other institutions. The NYC Public
Library had the film but I am not sure what its status is now.

I would spend time working on the online versions because I think if
you can get to the pages it is as complete as the microfilm but as
for missing names, etc. you need to see the page to know why it shows
that way in the index. There could be blanks, rips, missing sections,
etc. on the original pages. When you look at the images you will see
the original paper copies were not in the best of condition which is
why they were microfilmed in the first place.

Good luck with the search.

Allan Jordan

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Shuchat ahs613@gmail.com

According to Russians to America, a family named Swik arrived at Ellis
Island >from Glasgow on the Furnessia, Sept. 16, 1895. ...The microfilm records
seem to be missing.
Re: 1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

David Oseas <doseas{nospam}@...>
 

On 10/1/2019 3:18 AM, Alan Shuchat ahs613@gmail.com wrote:
Are there other ways to get the manifest to try to reconstruct the
family record?

You can browse through the digital images for the roll, without relying
on an index. On FamilySearch, go to
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1368704 , then scroll to
the bottom and click on "Browse through 3,243,589 images". This will
take you to another page with waypoints.

Use your browser's find function to locate the link that leads to Roll
648. There are approx 970 images on this roll; however, since you know
the ship name and date, you can use the thumbnails & internal indexes to
find the desired section faster.

Regards,
David Oseas

Researching:
HYMAN/HEYMAN/HEIMOWITS/CHAJMOVITS: Zemplen-Dobra, Hungary > New York
KLEIN: Satoraljaujhely (Ujhely), Hungary > New York > Los Angeles
OSEAS/OSIAS/OSIASI/OZIAS: Iasi, Romania > Chicago > Milwaukee > Los Angeles
SCHECHTER/SCHACHTER: Odessa, Ukraine > New York; SHERMAN: Iasi, Romania
> New York > Los Angeles; STECKER: New York > Florida
WICHMAN: Syczkowo (Bobruisk), Belarus > Milwaukee > Los Angeles
JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: 1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

David Oseas <doseas{nospam}@...>
 

On 10/1/2019 3:18 AM, Alan Shuchat ahs613@gmail.com wrote:
Are there other ways to get the manifest to try to reconstruct the
family record?

You can browse through the digital images for the roll, without relying
on an index. On FamilySearch, go to
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1368704 , then scroll to
the bottom and click on "Browse through 3,243,589 images". This will
take you to another page with waypoints.

Use your browser's find function to locate the link that leads to Roll
648. There are approx 970 images on this roll; however, since you know
the ship name and date, you can use the thumbnails & internal indexes to
find the desired section faster.

Regards,
David Oseas

Researching:
HYMAN/HEYMAN/HEIMOWITS/CHAJMOVITS: Zemplen-Dobra, Hungary > New York
KLEIN: Satoraljaujhely (Ujhely), Hungary > New York > Los Angeles
OSEAS/OSIAS/OSIASI/OZIAS: Iasi, Romania > Chicago > Milwaukee > Los Angeles
SCHECHTER/SCHACHTER: Odessa, Ukraine > New York; SHERMAN: Iasi, Romania
> New York > Los Angeles; STECKER: New York > Florida
WICHMAN: Syczkowo (Bobruisk), Belarus > Milwaukee > Los Angeles
Re: Fagaras Diary #romania

Marilyn Newman
 

Hello Gavriel,
I forwarded your message to my son, Bernard Newman. Rabbi Silberman was our
G-G Grandfather. Our many Newman/Neuman ancestors come >from Fagaras.I never
heard of the Fagaras Diary. We'll see what my son knows.
Where do you live?

Marilyn Newman
Florida, formerly Pittsburgh, PA
Also, Newmans in Chicago




From: gavriel.david@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2019 09:14:05 -0400
X-Message-Number: 1
=20
I, and many of my ancestors, originate >from Fagaras, Romania.
I would very much appreciate any help in locating the "Fagaras diary".
I have found out about it's existence at
https://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/pinkas_romania/rom1_00331.html .=20
=20
[Tiny URL] https://tinyurl.com/y5jtywql
=20
This is the only result returned by Google search for "Fagaras diary"
=20
It says:
...The first rabbi of the community, Yehuda Silbermann (1855-1863)
wrote a diary about the life of the community; it is a valuable source
for the history of the Jews of Transylvania and is called "The Fgagars
Diary."
=20
Gavriel David
=20
MODERATOR NOTE; Please sign all messages with your name, and place of resi=
dence,
i.e.city,state,country.=20
=20
=20
Romania SIG #Romania Re: Fagaras Diary #romania

Marilyn Newman
 

Hello Gavriel,
I forwarded your message to my son, Bernard Newman. Rabbi Silberman was our
G-G Grandfather. Our many Newman/Neuman ancestors come >from Fagaras.I never
heard of the Fagaras Diary. We'll see what my son knows.
Where do you live?

Marilyn Newman
Florida, formerly Pittsburgh, PA
Also, Newmans in Chicago




From: gavriel.david@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2019 09:14:05 -0400
X-Message-Number: 1
=20
I, and many of my ancestors, originate >from Fagaras, Romania.
I would very much appreciate any help in locating the "Fagaras diary".
I have found out about it's existence at
https://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/pinkas_romania/rom1_00331.html .=20
=20
[Tiny URL] https://tinyurl.com/y5jtywql
=20
This is the only result returned by Google search for "Fagaras diary"
=20
It says:
...The first rabbi of the community, Yehuda Silbermann (1855-1863)
wrote a diary about the life of the community; it is a valuable source
for the history of the Jews of Transylvania and is called "The Fgagars
Diary."
=20
Gavriel David
=20
MODERATOR NOTE; Please sign all messages with your name, and place of resi=
dence,
i.e.city,state,country.=20
=20
=20
1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

Alan Shuchat
 

According to Russians to America, a family named Swik arrived at Ellis
Island >from Glasgow on the Furnessia, Sept. 16, 1895. According to the
Ellis Island database, the family was named Switz. I think a mother
and 4 children were traveling, but only the children's names appear
and the surname and first names are mangled. The microfilm records
seem to be missing. The passenger ID, frame, and line numbers are
given, but there is no image of the manifest. On FamilySearch, the
microfilm (M237 Roll 648) has the ship and the date, but not the family
or, for that matter, any passengers who came >from Russia. Are there
other ways to get the manifest to try to reconstruct the family record?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Alan Shuchat
Newton, MA

SHUKHAT (Talnoe, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Odessa, Balta (Abazovka),
Tavrig, Pogrebishche)
VINOKUR (Talnoe), KURIS (Mogilev-Podolskiy, Ataki, Berdichev)
ZILBERMAN (Soroki, Kremenets), BIRNBAUM (Kamenets-Podolskiy)
KITAIGORODSKI (Zvenigorodka)
JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen 1895 Ellis Island record - missing? #general

Alan Shuchat
 

According to Russians to America, a family named Swik arrived at Ellis
Island >from Glasgow on the Furnessia, Sept. 16, 1895. According to the
Ellis Island database, the family was named Switz. I think a mother
and 4 children were traveling, but only the children's names appear
and the surname and first names are mangled. The microfilm records
seem to be missing. The passenger ID, frame, and line numbers are
given, but there is no image of the manifest. On FamilySearch, the
microfilm (M237 Roll 648) has the ship and the date, but not the family
or, for that matter, any passengers who came >from Russia. Are there
other ways to get the manifest to try to reconstruct the family record?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Alan Shuchat
Newton, MA

SHUKHAT (Talnoe, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Odessa, Balta (Abazovka),
Tavrig, Pogrebishche)
VINOKUR (Talnoe), KURIS (Mogilev-Podolskiy, Ataki, Berdichev)
ZILBERMAN (Soroki, Kremenets), BIRNBAUM (Kamenets-Podolskiy)
KITAIGORODSKI (Zvenigorodka)
Sokolow Podlaski book #poland

Katarzyna Markusz <katarzyna.markusz@...>
 

Dear Friends,

I represent the Gszarim Foundation, which works to commemorate
Polish-Jewish history and strengthen knowledge about Jewish heritage
among Polish people.

We deal with, among others, translating into Polish memorial books
written by Jews who survived the Holocaust. To date, we have
translated into Polish three books about Sokolow Podlaski. These
books, written in Yiddish, were not available to current residents of
the town because of the language barrier. Our translations are
available for free on this website http://sokolow.jewish.pl/. We've
built a kind of community around this website. We published archival
materials on it, which we received >from a descendant of the Sokolow
Jewish survivors. When a resident of Sokolow found old pages written
in Yiddish, she gave them to us and we also translated and published
them. We also organized a children's competition for an essay about
Sokolow Jews - these works were also on our website. Together, we care
about this part of our common history.

We seek your support to fund the ongoing project of translating from
Yiddish into Polish a 750-page Memorial Book (Yizkor book) of Sokolow
Podlaski, originally published in 1962 in Tel Aviv. The whole cost of
it is 45,000 PLN. The foundation will apply for funding, but initially
funds are needed for so-called own contribution. Hence the idea of
conducting an online fundraising.

This is the only way for local people to learn about our common
Polish-Jewish history and heritage! Please, help us and them!

You can support this project here https://pomagam.pl/en/sokolowpodlaski

Yours faithfully,
Katarzyna Markusz
JRI Poland #Poland Sokolow Podlaski book #poland

Katarzyna Markusz <katarzyna.markusz@...>
 

Dear Friends,

I represent the Gszarim Foundation, which works to commemorate
Polish-Jewish history and strengthen knowledge about Jewish heritage
among Polish people.

We deal with, among others, translating into Polish memorial books
written by Jews who survived the Holocaust. To date, we have
translated into Polish three books about Sokolow Podlaski. These
books, written in Yiddish, were not available to current residents of
the town because of the language barrier. Our translations are
available for free on this website http://sokolow.jewish.pl/. We've
built a kind of community around this website. We published archival
materials on it, which we received >from a descendant of the Sokolow
Jewish survivors. When a resident of Sokolow found old pages written
in Yiddish, she gave them to us and we also translated and published
them. We also organized a children's competition for an essay about
Sokolow Jews - these works were also on our website. Together, we care
about this part of our common history.

We seek your support to fund the ongoing project of translating from
Yiddish into Polish a 750-page Memorial Book (Yizkor book) of Sokolow
Podlaski, originally published in 1962 in Tel Aviv. The whole cost of
it is 45,000 PLN. The foundation will apply for funding, but initially
funds are needed for so-called own contribution. Hence the idea of
conducting an online fundraising.

This is the only way for local people to learn about our common
Polish-Jewish history and heritage! Please, help us and them!

You can support this project here https://pomagam.pl/en/sokolowpodlaski

Yours faithfully,
Katarzyna Markusz
Austria to Grant Citizenship to Descendants of Victims of Holocaust #austria-czech

Tony Hausner
 

Jan Meisel Allen informed us that the Austrian government is allowing citizenship to
descendants of victims of the holocaust. Does anyone know what if any the
benefits of obtaining such a status.

Tony Hausner
Silver Spring, MD
(primary email address: thausner@gmail.com)
Austria-Czech SIG #Austria-Czech Austria to Grant Citizenship to Descendants of Victims of Holocaust #austria-czech

Tony Hausner
 

Jan Meisel Allen informed us that the Austrian government is allowing citizenship to
descendants of victims of the holocaust. Does anyone know what if any the
benefits of obtaining such a status.

Tony Hausner
Silver Spring, MD
(primary email address: thausner@gmail.com)
Austrian citizenship #austria-czech

Diana Holdsworth <dihold@...>
 

Thanks to Jan for her information on Austrian Citizenship.

Three days ago, I emailed the Austrian Consulate in NYC. They replied that
they would know more about the details of application next Spring, 2020.
They are working out the details of application. According to their email to me,
the application process begins in September, 2020. Someone >from the Consulate
then kindly telephoned and asked if I would like to be put on the email list they are
compiling so that when definitive information becomes available, probably in the
Spring, they can let me know. I would advise interested parties to email their nearest
consulate, let them know of your interest, and request to be put on a mailing list for
information. I assume consulates are preparing such information email lists to prevent
having to answer hundreds of individual emails, phone calls.

In the meantime, I am gathering materials that would likely be required, such
as my mother's birth certificate >from Vienna, any document that would show
that she was a resident of Vienna, Austria, that sort of thing, so
as to be prepared when the application gates open.

Diana Holdsworth
Dianaholdsworth.com
Austria-Czech SIG #Austria-Czech Austrian citizenship #austria-czech

Diana Holdsworth <dihold@...>
 

Thanks to Jan for her information on Austrian Citizenship.

Three days ago, I emailed the Austrian Consulate in NYC. They replied that
they would know more about the details of application next Spring, 2020.
They are working out the details of application. According to their email to me,
the application process begins in September, 2020. Someone >from the Consulate
then kindly telephoned and asked if I would like to be put on the email list they are
compiling so that when definitive information becomes available, probably in the
Spring, they can let me know. I would advise interested parties to email their nearest
consulate, let them know of your interest, and request to be put on a mailing list for
information. I assume consulates are preparing such information email lists to prevent
having to answer hundreds of individual emails, phone calls.

In the meantime, I am gathering materials that would likely be required, such
as my mother's birth certificate >from Vienna, any document that would show
that she was a resident of Vienna, Austria, that sort of thing, so
as to be prepared when the application gates open.

Diana Holdsworth
Dianaholdsworth.com
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