Interesting they say they are working on Sept 25.  I've been waiting on a Visa File since July 2020.  Online tracking still shows "active"

Debra HIRSH

We all know about nicknames for given names. Dick/Richard, Bill/William, Valodya/Vladimir, and so on. I have a genealogical mystery that can be resolved if the family name KONYAKOV, pronounced KONyakov, not konYAKov, could be a nickname for the family name KONOVALOV. Southeastern Ukraine, early 20th century. Any ideas? Thanks. 
Mel Comisarow
Vancouver BC

Randy,
That's very good news.
Is it possible to donate to this project via paper check and snail mail? I need to keep a paper trail.
Thanks—
Dan Rottenberg
Philadelphia PA
dan@...

Based on my search of Czernowitz vital records (Sadagura was a district of it), I believe the parents are:
- Gerson or Gerschon Rothstein, died on April 20, 1893
- Brana or Breine Graf (or Greif)
The couple had other two children:
- Moses Leib, born in July 7, 1861
- Hersh born on August 4, 1859
According to the document, Simon was born around 1869. In his naturalization paper Simon declared his birth date as Dec. 10th, 1869.

Valentin Lupu
ISRAEL

Ancestry DNA shows that I am 100% Ashkenazi. It does not say I am Polish or Russian, etc. The US government used to list Jews as a minority race with protections that such a classification afforded. It then changed the classification to a religion so that racial protections were removed. Would love to hear from people that better understand this.
Linda Lang
Researching Broude, Ginsburg, Frankel, Friend

The sentence should have read, "The transliterators were not Russian speakers and the patronymic suffixes (as with most of the JewishGen databases) weren't  transliterated." Just the names of the patronymics were included (e.g., Boruch instead of Boruchovitch). 
--
Marion Werle
<canadagenes@...>

I have been waiting 240 days for a naturalization document that I only wanted because it might have a photograph.  And that is after the initial 45 days I waited for them to confirm they had it.  It is still considered "Active". So frustrating.  Yet, I understand.

Prior to COVID, I received a visa application in 2 months after the initial search time.  I also received a "not found" after an initial search said it was available.  That one took another month for them to confirm it was not found.  Count yourself fortunate if you have access to this file because the information I found in mine was incredible.

Marlise Gross
Cherry Hill, NJ

Hello Gary,

I found the husband's granted naturalization petition at FamilySearch, examined the back side of that document, and see that the order admitting Jerome to citizenship was on February 15, 1923 (the petition was filed earlier in 1922).  Here's the link that worked for me https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MD-M8P2?i=306&cc=1999177.  

Lena may have assumed she became a citizen on her husband's petition not realizing the law had changed.  She might have discovered her noncitizen status if she applied for any relief during her husband's illness and learned she must naturalize to qualify for the benefit.  Or maybe some other reason.  But it seems clear she did not derive citizenship through her husband's naturalization prior to Sept 22, 1922.

Marian Smith

Ok, here's my take:

I am looking for photos of Zakroczym from the time it had a Jewish community.  Anything in the 1800s up to and including WW2.  Especially if there are photos with Jewish interest: synagogue, cemetery, market, homes, etc.
I could not find anything online anywhere. 
Thanks
Relly Coleman

FELD, Zakroczym, Dobrzyn nad Wisla

Can anyone make sense of a town name “Luzow” or “Luzon” in (I assume) Poland? I’ve just come across a scribbled note from my father where he notes - Leah (my grandmother.. who came to the US in the early 1900s) was born in “Luzow” (hard to read) and later lived in Pabianice with an already married sister. I had always thought she was born in Pabianice. Any help is appreciated.

Steve Granek

King David Memorial Park in Fairfax, VA.
Beth Sholom Congregation Cemetery, Capital Heights, Maryland
B'nai Israel Cemetery, Oxon Hill, Maryland USA
Elesavetgrad Cemetery, Anacostia  District of Columbia  District Of Columbia


Janis Friedenberg Datz
jjdatz@...

--
Bruce Drake
Silver Spring, MD

Researching: DRACH, EBERT, KIMMEL, ZLOTNICK
Towns: Wojnilow, Kovel

Hi Louis,
I have found a detailed map of that area, from 1944: http://clubklad.ru/maps/5980/ It is obviously a map used by Germans in the WWII. 
There are many small villages indicated that are not present on Google. The village that you are looking for might have been very small (one-two streets) and now does not exist any more. 
You may try this is map. You need the area between Zolochiv and Brody. You can download the map - there is a button under it, in the right corner. 
There are also older maps on this website, from the WWII and Austrian maps: http://freemap.com.ua/lvovskaya-oblast/brodovskij-rajon
If you still cannot find the village, then it is possible to contact local archives. 

Elena Boldyreva,
Toronto Canada
Looking for Rogovins/Ragovins (Volozhyn, Szack, Minsk)

I am going to write to Allan with a substantial list of graves to photograph -- and a check.

I saw a useful hint for getting inscriptions when there is snow on the ground. Smear some snow over the inscription and scrape away the surface. The letters will be more legible in white. The snow will melt and clean the crevices.

David Jacobowitz

I've posted a letter in (I think) Romanian for which I need a translation. It is on ViewMate at the following address ...
https://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/viewmateview.asp?key=VM92974
Please respond via the form provided on the ViewMate image page.
Thank you very much.
--
Michael Serber
Plymouth, Minnesota
mbserber@...

Knowing nothing about Rabbi Schorr, but on linguistic grounds alone, I am almost certain Joyas is correct. I happen to have KNISBACHER family from Tlumacz.  Jeff Knisbacher 

Hi Judy

I believe that ‘Wladyslawow’ may refer to the town of Wloclawek, [ the  ‘l’ s should be slashed through, converting the sound to ‘w’.  It is pronounced roughly ‘Vwotzwavek’ ) The town is today in Poland, north of Kolo and Konin.  I am not sure about today’s name for your great-grandfather’s brother’s town. Maybe Rawicz in Poznan region, but that’s a long shot.The vital records for Wloclawek are mainly lost. However there are some records in the JHI, Warsaw.  You could try a global search of Jewishgen for the town’Wloclawek’, surname ‘Baumgarten’.

My great-grandfather on my mother’s side was born in the town of Izbica Kujawska , in this region. When I spoke to my grandmother, late in her life, she said her father came from ‘Radislavik’. It wasn’t until years later that I realised that she was referring to the region ( not town) of Wloclawek. Incidentally, she lived for most of her life in Cardiff, UK .

Judith Silver , London
Researching in this region PRZEDECKI, MICHALOWSKI, RAWICKI from Izbica Kujawska,  KATZ, SPIRO, GRADOWKSI from Piotrkow Kujawski, PRZEDECKI from Strzelno.