Have you noticed that the key elements of the Russian document are translated by Yad VeShem?  It is often overlooked.
I looked up Ita Ainbund as an example and this is what it has written (yellow highlight is mine):

Good luck
Beth Erez
Hod Hasharon, Israel

I was informed by his son, Philip, that genealogist Al Lederer, a retired professor at the University of Kentucky, passed away on October 4.

Al and I shared an interest in the former Jewish community of Forchheim (Landkreis Forchheim, Bavaria) as well as the cemetery in Baiersdorf (Landkreis Erlangen-Höchstadt, Bavaria) which served Forchheim, Baiersdorf and other nearby communities. He was instrumental in seeing that the cemetery documentation was completed. He also led the effort which resulted in Rolf Kießling of Forchheim receiving an Obermayer German-Jewish History Award in 2013.

Davya, the earlier suggestions to look for death certificates and passenger manifests are really excellent.

Regarding other spellings of the name, I had a few thoughts.
1) I'm assuming that your family came from Eastern Europe rather than Germany or Austria. I haven't seen any Slavic language that uses a double "o" in the middle of a word. I think the original spelling is more likely to have a "u" instead of the double "o". Another possibility is an "o" with an accent (ó), which would also have been pronounced like the English "ooh."
2) If they lived in Poland or in areas in Belarus or Ukraine that might have been part of Poland at the time, the ending "tsky" was almost certainly "cky" as the letter "c" in this word would have been pronounced like "ts" in English.
3) Also, and this is really a long shot, if at some point the name used the Polish spelling, the second letter could be different. The original may have started with "Sł" where the "ł" is pronounced like a "w" in English. More important, when indexing is done by people who don't speak the language of origin, this "ł" is often transcribed as the English "t," and so you might also keep an eye out for names starting in "Stu" in the indexes of passenger manifests or other documents indexed by Americans.

Mary Ann Evan

Hi Everyone,

Struggling here a bit.  Working on my family tree and trying to find more information on births/marriages of the 'Kamenetsky' side of the family.  Primarily the 6 kids, one of whom was my great grandfather and died in the Ghetto. 

I believe I have their names, birth years (sort of), and towns of birth/residence.   Problem is via JewishGen I cannot find anything except a little bit in the 'family tree' research section which has an incomplete list.  

Details:

Children were all born to Benyamin Kamenetsky and Ettka.  I believe most were born in Dolginovo. It is possible the first two older boys Yaakov and Chaim-Zorach were in a different shtetl, but somewhere in that general area.  The other 4 were almost certainly born in Dolginovo:  Dveira, Yudel, Aaron and Leah/Liza.

At some point the family moved from Dolginovo to Minsk.  Hard to say when, but a rough guess would be around 1910. 

Everyone one of those people married and with the exception of Yaakov stayed in Minsk. 

Yet I can't find a single birth certificate/proof and not a single marriage cert. 

Are these records simply not things available on jewishgen?  
I was able to piece most of what I have from living relatives, but there are still missing people.  Some wives are not known at all. 

Here is a link to the public geni tree profile of Binyamin and the family:  https://www.geni.com/people/R-Binyamin-Kamenetsky/6000000018773052848

Any and all help would be super appreciated.

-- Arkady Kamenetsky

These are part of a series of high-definition photographs obtained from town residents, for identification.
If you are able to recognize someone, please contact me privately using the 'Private' button below.

Location: Houston, Texas; Vilna, Dieveniskes, Divenishok, Dziewieniszki, Jevenishok, Devenishki, Dzievianiski

Year: various: from 1900-35

Adam Cherson

Have you obtained Joseph's and Kate's death certificates?  Hopefully the informant(s) were there children who may have supplied info on where, in Russia they were from.

Johanna Becker
Newport, RI

Has anyone in Canada heard of a deceased Rabbi named Gerstein?

Albert,

Found on GoogleBooks:

The County Court Note-book - Volumes 1-5

The court orders payments to the wives of certain recruits from Frederick County.  March court 1779 (From the records of the county court)
Mrs. Levy, wife of David Levy; six children.
The records states that the above men were soldiers in Col. Weltner's regiment.

You might try contacting NARA to check if there are surviving records of his Revolutionary War service.  https://www.archives.gov/research/military/american-revolution

Regards,

Sherri Bobish

Amy,

Looks like Israel BACH submitted naturalization papers in Maryland in 1938.  Ancestry.com has the papers, including a photo of Israel BACH.

Israel gives a home address in Baltimore, but says that his wife and children live in St. Louis.

Regards,

Sherri Bobish

--

Hi Dave, 

I'd like to relate to one aspect of the epitaph which, to my knowledge, belongs to Hungarian tradition only. 

The line which says :Sh[em] i[mo] Yudit i. e. the name of his mother was Yudit.
Sephardic Jews often mention the name of the mother of the deceased in the same line as the name of the father. 
Most Ashkenazi Jews do not mention the mother at all. In Hungary (in that aspect Slovakia is a country of Hungarian culture for the Jews) there is this special formula: His/Her mother was.... 
I asked a number of persons about the origin of this formula and could not obtain a satisfactory answer. The only suggestion that I couldn't check that this custom started with Neolog jewry.
I would appreciate comments from the group on this question  

Best regards, 
Laurent Kassel 
Moreshet  Israel 

My grandfather was conscripted into the Russian Army somewhere around 1900 - 1904.  His name was Michael Goldsmith.  To whom do I contact to find his military record.  How do I contact the Russian Government?  Can I contact them in English or does it have to be in Russian?
Any help would be appreciated.
Karen Goldsmith Adelman
karengadelman@...

I found a number of BDM records through The family history center Familysearch  Nowy Wishnitz synagogue records. I also communicated with the Bochnia Archive which is 5 miles north of Nowy Wishnitz (bochnia@archiwum)

Dennis Rice

Don't overlook the possibility of Galveston as the port of entry.  That's where my GF came in in 1909.

Lee Hover

This is one of a series of high-definition photographs obtained from town residents, for identification.
Please contact me privately using the 'Private' button below, if able to help.

FACTS:

Title: Youths From the Town
Location: Dieveniskes, Divenishok, Dziewieniszki, Jevenishok, Devenishki, Dzievianiski, Vilna Province (south of Vilna City)

Year: about 1928

Comments: seated from left: Unknown-A (possibly a relative of either Blumeh Movshovitsh or Breyneh Rudnik), Yakov Benyakonski (confirmed), Bilkhe Cherson (confirmed), Hershl Rogol (confirmed); standing from left: XXXX Levine, Blume Movshovitsh (confirmed), David Berkovitsh (confirmed), Breyneh Rudnik (confirmed), Unknown-E, Unknown-F (E and F may be siblings)

Adam Cherson

 

Researching:

 

SOLTS, KAPLAN, LEVINE, SZCULC, PORTNOI–  Dieveniskes, Divenishok, Dziewieniszki, Jevenishok, Devenishki, Dzievianiski, Konvalishki, Kallelishok, Vilna Province, Israel

 

RUBINOVITSH, RUBINOVICH, GREIS, GREENES, GREEN– Smarhon, Smorgon, Smorgonie, Svir, Lida, Oshmyany Province, Vilna Province, Israel

 

BENYAKONSKI, BINIAKONSKI, BINAKONSKI, KARTSHMER, SMID, SCHMIDT, DEVENISHKI, GRODZENCZIK, GRODSINSKI, OLKENITSKI, GLAYKH, GLICKMAN, RUDNIK, SHAMIR, SZMERKOWICZ, CHAFETS, CHAFETZ, GOTTLIEB, GURNOFELSKI, KHLAVNOVICH, CHLAVNOVICH, KALAI, BALASHER, BALTORISKI, PRUSAK, PRUSKIS, RAPPAPORT– Voronova, Voronove, Varanova, Binakoni, Benyakon, Yashun, Jiasiunai, Jiasiuny, Rudnia, Lida, Vilna, Dieveniskes, Divenishok, Dziewieniszki, Jevenishok, Devenishki, Dzievianiski, Konvalishki, Kallelishok, Siauliai, Svir, Vilna Province, Oshmyany Province, Israel, Ireland

 

KHRSZN, KHERSON, CHERSON, GERSON, JERSON, RABINOVITSH, RABINOVICH, COHEN, HACOHEN, GERSHON, GERSHONOVITSH, EDELMAN, MELAMED, KARTSHMER, ROGOL, VINOKUR– Dieveniskes, Divenishok, Dziewieniszki, Jevenishok, Devenishki, Dzievianiski, Konvalishki, Kallelishok, Vilna, Volozhin, Bielica, Vilna Province, Oshmyany Province, Israel

 

ABRAMS, APOLLON, ARONSON, CHERSON, BALTER, BASEN, BELIKOFF, BENSINGER, BENYA, BERMANN, BIMBLICH, BINAKONSKI, BLETZ, BRAUDE, BRAUR, BROCHSTEIN, COHEN, DAVIS, DE SHIELDS, DRIZEN, ELKAN, ENOS, FAMILANT, FINKEL, FRIEDMAN, GLAZER, GOLDWASSER, GOLDWATER, GORDON, GOULD, GRODINSKY, GROW, GUTKIN, HATCHER, HOECHSTETTER, HOCHSTEIN, HORWITZ, JACKSON, KARP, KATZ, KOHLENBERG, KUPFER, LABOVITZ, LANZET, LEININGER, LIPMAN, LUBETSKI, MATZ, MELMED, MIELZINER, MITTELSTAEDT, NELSON, MINK, MORRISON, PALLETZ, PRENSKY, RABINOWITZ, RAYBIN, RECKON, REINES, RIVESMAN, RODER, ROSEN, ROTHBERG, RUBENSTEIN, RUBIN, RUDBERG, RUDNITSKY, RUTBERG, SAGAN, SAGANSKI, SCHWED, SECONDHOUSE, SHOHAM, SHULMAN, SIMKO, SINDEROVSKY, SOLKOFF, SPIRT, STAMLER, STAUFFER, STREISAND, STROMBERG, TELENT, TILZER, VURGAIT, WEINSTOCK, WEITZMAN, WHITE, WHITMORE, WILLIAMS, WOLF– California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Australia, England, Ireland, Spain, Venezuela

Albert,

Because you mention that David Levy served in a German battalion unit at Valley Forge, and his wife was born in a German-speaking area, it raises the question about whether he might have been of Ashkenazi origin.

All early American Jews were not all Sephardic. It is true that synagogues operating at the time in America were practicing Sephardi rites, but there are highly visible examples of those who were Ashkenazi that actively participated and intermarried into those communities. One notable example is the religious leader of Shearith Israel in Manhattan in the late 1700s, Hazan Gershom Mendes Seixas himself, was the son of a Sephardic father and a mother of Ashkenazi descent. 

DNA: Not always passed down through all lines, so just because your DNA results didn't show any Jewish, doesn't mean it's not possible. This is assuming you took an autosomal DNA test. 

David Levy is listed in the Daughters of the American Revolution ancestor database (index) as #A069673.The dates differ with him born circa 1740 and death as before 1-18-1804. He was a non-commissioned officer shown as QUATERMASTER SERGEANT, ALSO PVT IN CAPTS KEEPORT, BALTZEL, BUCHARDT, BUNNER and LCOLS GEORGE STRICKER, LUDWIG WELTNER; GERMAN REGT, CL. His wife's name is slightly different as well and listed as Barbara Weisser.

Ordering Genealogical Documentation from DAR: 
More information can be purchased about any patriot ancestor appearing in the DAR database for $10-$30 to see supporting documentation and/or descendant applications including significant genealogical detail about relationships. To search, visit https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/default.cfm?Tab_ID=1. Once you find someone in the results, click on the "PURCHASE" button to order. If more than one descendant application is available, select the one most recently submitted which will be the last one on the list.

Intermarriage in 18th C. America: 
The prominent colonial Jewish gentleman, Simon Gratz of Philadelphia, may or may not have married a non-Jewish woman whom he sired 7 children with. All of the children were raised Christian, and there is no evidence their parents, Simon and Mary Smith married. There are other examples in this time period of similar relationships between Jews who remained involved in the Jewish community but "married" or coupled outside of the faith. Your description of baptisms and roles in the church for David Levy's family are consistent with this. Were they always affiliated with the Lutheran church or another? Some churches excommunicated members for marrying outside of their faith. And where are David Levy and his family buried?

A new JewishGen US Research Division website covering 1624-present will provide links and guidance on research for all periods in America including colonial Jewish families. Suggestions or materials for content are welcome.
--
Ellen Shindelman Kowitt
Director, JewishGen US Research Division
Colorado
ekowitt@...

Dear Albert:

I suggest that you get in touch with my sister, Dr. Mara Cohen Ioannides, a professor at Missouri State University, who is an expert on American Judaism and American Jewish History, and has been tracking various early Jewish families for historical research.

https://english.missouristate.edu/MaraIoannides.aspx

-Dr. Stephen M. Cohen
Central New Jersey