I'm seeking a comprehensive descendant tree of the Rav. Mordechai JAFFE,
"Ba'alei HaLevushim" [~1530-1612]--especially in digital format: FTW or at
least in GEDCOM.

For years I have been trying to link my JAFFE family in Rawitsch, Posen
Province to the Ba'alei HaLevushim, with no success.

My oldest ancestor was Avraham Jaffe, b.~1680. >son Moshe> grandsons Shmuel
and Avraham, > great grandsons Avraham Shmuel, Shimshon, Meir, Hirsch and
Moshe.

The name pattern is similar to that of the rabbinical family -- but I
haven't found any Mordechai's in my family.

I have living JAFFE male relatives--direct-line descendants of my earliest
ancestor. Has any of you JAFFE's >from the Levushim family taken a DNA
test? If so I will get one of my cousins to do the same and we will see if
there is a genetic similarity.

Jim Bennett
Haifa, Israel

We are pleased to welcome the following webpages to JewishGen
ShtetLinks. We thank the owners and webmasters of these shtetlpages
for creating fitting memorials to the Jewish Communities that once
lived in those shtetlach and for providing a valuable resource for
future generations of their descendants.

Goniadz (Goniondzh), Poland
Created by Michael Rothschild
http://shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/goniadz/website/index.html
~~~

Illintsi (Linitz), Ukraine
Created by Rick Kolinsky and Richard Collins
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Illintsi/
~~~

Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk), Belarus
Created by Esther Rechtschafner and David Feldman
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Vitsyebsk/
~~~

Some of our shtetlpages were created by people who are no longer able
to maintain them.
We thank them for their past efforts and wish them luck on their
future endeavors.
We are happy to announce that one of these shtetlach were recently "adopted":

Siauliai(Shavel), Lithuania
Shtetlpage adopted by Assaf Urieli
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/shavli/shavli1.html

~~~

ShtetLinks webpages recently updated:

Kormend, Hungary
Created by Judy Petersen
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kormend/

~~~

If you wish to follow their example and create a ShtetLinks webpage
for your ancestral shtetl or adopt an exiting "orphaned" shtetlpage
please contact us at: < shtetl-help@... >
~~~

GOOD NEWS!! As a result for our appeal for HTML volunteers we now have
a team of dedicated people who will help you create a webpage for
your ancestral home.
Please contact us if you would like help in creating a ShtetLinks webpage.

Susana Leistner Bloch, VP, ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.
Barbara Ellman, ShtetLinks Technical Coordinator

On behalf of the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, we
are extremely pleased to announce that the distinguished French priest,
author, and humanitarian, Father Patrick Desbois, will be the keynote
speaker at the opening session in Philadelphia, Sunday, August 2, 2009. His
speech will be, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," which is also the title of his
book.

The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in
Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and
uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by
Bullets."

"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Desbois said.
Winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the
French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish
Religion. Father Desbois is the president of Yahad in Unum
(www.yahadinunum.org), whose mission is to increase knowledge and
cooperation between Catholic and Jews.

Commenting on Father Desbois, Conference Co-Chair David Mink said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference. He has
performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage
who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record
the death of loved ones on their family tree."

The Conference in Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009, will include programs
featuring archivists, researchers and genealogists >from around the world.
For more information, visit www.Philly2009.org.

Registration for the Conference and the Hotel are now open.

Information about programs will be coming in March.

Hope to see you all in Philadelphia this summer.

Anne Feder Lee
David Mink
Conference Co-Chairs

We are very pleased to announce that the 29th IAJGS International
Conference on Jewish Genealogy Discussion Group is now starting.

This is the discussion group to join to learn more about the
conference. Those who subscribe can ask questions about the
conference and Philadelphia as well as answer questions that
others pose. It is a moderated discussion group like all other
such Jewishgen groups. The co-hosts of the conference, IAJGS and
JGSGP, thank Jewishgen for once again making a conference
discussion group possible.

YOU will make the difference in the success of this discussion
group for we rely on all of you to ask questions, share
information about how to get the most out of a conference, tell
about all the great things in Philadelphia, and so forth. Once
the conference program is announced, this is a very good forum
for telling others about various speakers who will be present,
about SIG and BOF meetings, and about any other activities you
think important to watch out for.

You can learn how to subscribe to the Philadelphia '09 discussion
group at the conference website: www.Philly2009.org. Scoll down
the left-hand buttons to the one that says Conference Discussion
Group. Click on that button and you will find all the information.
Actual subscription is done at www.jewishgen.org

We look forward to your participation in our Philadelphia '09
conference group as well as seeing you in Philadelphia. The program
is shaping up to be a very exciting one and there will be many
wonderful activities available.

See you there!
Conference Co-chairs: Anne Feder Lee and David Mink

We are very pleased to announce that the 29th IAJGS International
Conference on Jewish Genealogy Discussion Group is now starting.

This is the discussion group to join to learn more about the
conference. Those who subscribe can ask questions about the
conference and Philadelphia as well as answer questions that
others pose. It is a moderated discussion group like all other
such Jewishgen groups. The co-hosts of the conference, IAJGS and
JGSGP, thank Jewishgen for once again making a conference
discussion group possible.

YOU will make the difference in the success of this discussion
group for we rely on all of you to ask questions, share
information about how to get the most out of a conference, tell
about all the great things in Philadelphia, and so forth. Once
the conference program is announced, this is a very good forum
for telling others about various speakers who will be present,
about SIG and BOF meetings, and about any other activities you
think important to watch out for.

You can learn how to subscribe to the Philadelphia '09 discussion
group at the conference website: www.Philly2009.org. Scoll down
the left-hand buttons to the one that says Conference Discussion
Group. Click on that button and you will find all the information.
Actual subscription is done at www.jewishgen.org

We look forward to your participation in our Philadelphia '09
conference group as well as seeing you in Philadelphia. The program
is shaping up to be a very exciting one and there will be many
wonderful activities available.

See you there!
Conference Co-chairs: Anne Feder Lee and David Mink

I'm seeking a comprehensive descendant tree of the Rav. Mordechai JAFFE,
"Ba'alei HaLevushim" [~1530-1612]--especially in digital format: FTW or at
least in GEDCOM.

For years I have been trying to link my JAFFE family in Rawitsch, Posen
Province to the Ba'alei HaLevushim, with no success.

My oldest ancestor was Avraham Jaffe, b.~1680. >son Moshe> grandsons Shmuel
and Avraham, > great grandsons Avraham Shmuel, Shimshon, Meir, Hirsch and
Moshe.

The name pattern is similar to that of the rabbinical family -- but I
haven't found any Mordechai's in my family.

I have living JAFFE male relatives--direct-line descendants of my earliest
ancestor. Has any of you JAFFE's >from the Levushim family taken a DNA
test? If so I will get one of my cousins to do the same and we will see if
there is a genetic similarity.

Jim Bennett
Haifa, Israel

On behalf of the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, we
are extremely pleased to announce that the distinguished French priest,
author, and humanitarian, Father Patrick Desbois, will be the keynote
speaker at the opening session in Philadelphia, Sunday, August 2, 2009. His
speech will be, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," which is also the title of his
book.

The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in
Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and
uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by
Bullets."

"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Desbois said.
Winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the
French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish
Religion. Father Desbois is the president of Yahad in Unum
(www.yahadinunum.org), whose mission is to increase knowledge and
cooperation between Catholic and Jews.

Commenting on Father Desbois, Conference Co-Chair David Mink said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference. He has
performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage
who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record
the death of loved ones on their family tree."

The Conference in Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009, will include programs
featuring archivists, researchers and genealogists >from around the world.
For more information, visit www.Philly2009.org.

Registration for the Conference and the Hotel are now open.

Information about programs will be coming in March.

Hope to see you all in Philadelphia this summer.

Anne Feder Lee
David Mink
Conference Co-Chairs

We are pleased to welcome the following webpages to JewishGen
ShtetLinks. We thank the owners and webmasters of these shtetlpages
for creating fitting memorials to the Jewish Communities that once
lived in those shtetlach and for providing a valuable resource for
future generations of their descendants.

Goniadz (Goniondzh), Poland
Created by Michael Rothschild
http://shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/goniadz/website/index.html
~~~

Illintsi (Linitz), Ukraine
Created by Rick Kolinsky and Richard Collins
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Illintsi/
~~~

Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk), Belarus
Created by Esther Rechtschafner and David Feldman
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Vitsyebsk/
~~~

Some of our shtetlpages were created by people who are no longer able
to maintain them.
We thank them for their past efforts and wish them luck on their
future endeavors.
We are happy to announce that one of these shtetlach were recently "adopted":

Siauliai(Shavel), Lithuania
Shtetlpage adopted by Assaf Urieli
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/shavli/shavli1.html

~~~

ShtetLinks webpages recently updated:

Kormend, Hungary
Created by Judy Petersen
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kormend/

~~~

If you wish to follow their example and create a ShtetLinks webpage
for your ancestral shtetl or adopt an exiting "orphaned" shtetlpage
please contact us at: < shtetl-help@... >
~~~

GOOD NEWS!! As a result for our appeal for HTML volunteers we now have
a team of dedicated people who will help you create a webpage for
your ancestral home.
Please contact us if you would like help in creating a ShtetLinks webpage.

Susana Leistner Bloch, VP, ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.
Barbara Ellman, ShtetLinks Technical Coordinator

We are very pleased to announce that the 29th IAJGS International
Conference on Jewish Genealogy Discussion Group is now starting.

This is the discussion group to join to learn more about the
conference. Those who subscribe can ask questions about the
conference and Philadelphia as well as answer questions that
others pose. It is a moderated discussion group like all other
such Jewishgen groups. The co-hosts of the conference, IAJGS and
JGSGP, thank Jewishgen for once again making a conference
discussion group possible.

YOU will make the difference in the success of this discussion
group for we rely on all of you to ask questions, share
information about how to get the most out of a conference, tell
about all the great things in Philadelphia, and so forth. Once
the conference program is announced, this is a very good forum
for telling others about various speakers who will be present,
about SIG and BOF meetings, and about any other activities you
think important to watch out for.

You can learn how to subscribe to the Philadelphia '09 discussion
group at the conference website: www.Philly2009.org. Scoll down
the left-hand buttons to the one that says Conference Discussion
Group. Click on that button and you will find all the information.
Actual subscription is done at www.jewishgen.org

We look forward to your participation in our Philadelphia '09
conference group as well as seeing you in Philadelphia. The program
is shaping up to be a very exciting one and there will be many
wonderful activities available.

See you there!
Conference Co-chairs: Anne Feder Lee and David Mink

We are very pleased to announce that the 29th IAJGS International
Conference on Jewish Genealogy Discussion Group is now starting.

This is the discussion group to join to learn more about the
conference. Those who subscribe can ask questions about the
conference and Philadelphia as well as answer questions that
others pose. It is a moderated discussion group like all other
such Jewishgen groups. The co-hosts of the conference, IAJGS and
JGSGP, thank Jewishgen for once again making a conference
discussion group possible.

YOU will make the difference in the success of this discussion
group for we rely on all of you to ask questions, share
information about how to get the most out of a conference, tell
about all the great things in Philadelphia, and so forth. Once
the conference program is announced, this is a very good forum
for telling others about various speakers who will be present,
about SIG and BOF meetings, and about any other activities you
think important to watch out for.

You can learn how to subscribe to the Philadelphia '09 discussion
group at the conference website: www.Philly2009.org. Scoll down
the left-hand buttons to the one that says Conference Discussion
Group. Click on that button and you will find all the information.
Actual subscription is done at www.jewishgen.org

We look forward to your participation in our Philadelphia '09
conference group as well as seeing you in Philadelphia. The program
is shaping up to be a very exciting one and there will be many
wonderful activities available.

See you there!
Conference Co-chairs: Anne Feder Lee and David Mink

I am trying to trace the address of my family (BERGBAUM) who were >from Lodz
and not simply deportees to the ghetto >from outside the area.

My grandfather Samuel had 5 siblings - Zipporah Raela (who married Joseph
SCHNEIDER), Isaac (name changed to Jean), Hyman, Baruch (name changed to
Bernard), Miriam Pearl (who married Shmuel SZAO). These siblings' parents
were Azriel (1862-1933) and Rosa (d.1897) BERGBAUM. Azriel remarried Cyna
and their son Moishe died in the Lodz ghetto in 1943.

In the Lodz Ghetto database on this site, I have located an address for
Moishe at "Matrosen Gasse". Underneath it, is the address "Insel Strasse".

Questions.
Is the data saying that Moishe moved >from one address to the other. Both
streets are within the ghetto.

Are there records that include someone's Lodz ghetto address with their
pre-ghetto address.

Which sites have searchable databases for names/addresses of Lodz residents
1860-1939

For all help and suggestions I am most grateful.

Chris GOULD
London/UK.

On behalf of the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, we
are extremely pleased to announce that the distinguished French priest,
author, and humanitarian, Father Patrick Desbois, will be the keynote
speaker at the opening session in Philadelphia, Sunday, August 2, 2009. His
speech will be, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," which is also the title of his
book.

The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in
Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and
uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by
Bullets."

"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Desbois said.
Winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the
French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish
Religion. Father Desbois is the president of Yahad in Unum
(www.yahadinunum.org), whose mission is to increase knowledge and
cooperation between Catholic and Jews.

Commenting on Father Desbois, Conference Co-Chair David Mink said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference. He has
performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage
who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record
the death of loved ones on their family tree."

The Conference in Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009, will include programs
featuring archivists, researchers and genealogists >from around the world.
For more information, visit www.Philly2009.org.

Registration for the Conference and the Hotel are now open.

Information about programs will be coming in March.

Hope to see you all in Philadelphia this summer.

Anne Feder Lee
David Mink
Conference Co-Chairs

I am trying to trace the address of my family (BERGBAUM) who were >from Lodz
and not simply deportees to the ghetto >from outside the area.

My grandfather Samuel had 5 siblings - Zipporah Raela (who married Joseph
SCHNEIDER), Isaac (name changed to Jean), Hyman, Baruch (name changed to
Bernard), Miriam Pearl (who married Shmuel SZAO). These siblings' parents
were Azriel (1862-1933) and Rosa (d.1897) BERGBAUM. Azriel remarried Cyna
and their son Moishe died in the Lodz ghetto in 1943.

In the Lodz Ghetto database on this site, I have located an address for
Moishe at "Matrosen Gasse". Underneath it, is the address "Insel Strasse".

Questions.
Is the data saying that Moishe moved >from one address to the other. Both
streets are within the ghetto.

Are there records that include someone's Lodz ghetto address with their
pre-ghetto address.

Which sites have searchable databases for names/addresses of Lodz residents
1860-1939

For all help and suggestions I am most grateful.

Chris GOULD
London/UK.

On behalf of the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, we
are extremely pleased to announce that the distinguished French priest,
author, and humanitarian, Father Patrick Desbois, will be the keynote
speaker at the opening session in Philadelphia, Sunday, August 2, 2009. His
speech will be, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," which is also the title of his
book.

The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in
Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and
uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by
Bullets."

"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Desbois said.
Winner of the B'nai B'rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the
French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish
Religion. Father Desbois is the president of Yahad in Unum
(www.yahadinunum.org), whose mission is to increase knowledge and
cooperation between Catholic and Jews.

Commenting on Father Desbois, Conference Co-Chair David Mink said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference. He has
performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage
who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record
the death of loved ones on their family tree."

The Conference in Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009, will include programs
featuring archivists, researchers and genealogists >from around the world.
For more information, visit www.Philly2009.org.

Registration for the Conference and the Hotel are now open.

Information about programs will be coming in March.

Hope to see you all in Philadelphia this summer.

Anne Feder Lee
David Mink
Conference Co-Chairs

A small aside in connection with Jews, Beer and Inn-keeping.

In 2003 my husband and I went on a private 'Roots' tour of Galicia,
including a visit to Sanok (pre WW2 population: 60% Jewish). We
were shown around the Skansen - A huge open air Folk Architecture
Museum, by a young official tour guide who was a post-graduate
Tourism student at Rzeszow University. In a two hour tour the
young man regaled us with an enormous amount of information about
what he assured us were 'all' the local population groups in the
area, which 'formed the unique complex of Polish-Ukrainian
ethnic-cultural borderland groups'. Namely: The Bojks, the Lemks
and the Pogorzans. There was no mention of Jews nor any sight of
any Jewish artefacts.

We played dumb and did not reveal any Jewish connection. But at
the end of our warm and lengthy encounter my husband asked very
innocently: "By the way, were there any Jews in the area?" "Yes"
came the reply "but nobody liked them." "Oh, why was that?" My
husband wanted to know. "Because they were all innkeepers" (sic!!)

I suppose that this is further reliable confirmation of our
forefathers' beer related occupations. But I wish some Galizianer
who is wiser than I am could explain this supposedly well
educated young man's non sequitur.

Happy Purim
Rachel Wilson
Salisbury UK

A small aside in connection with Jews, Beer and Inn-keeping.

In 2003 my husband and I went on a private 'Roots' tour of Galicia,
including a visit to Sanok (pre WW2 population: 60% Jewish). We
were shown around the Skansen - A huge open air Folk Architecture
Museum, by a young official tour guide who was a post-graduate
Tourism student at Rzeszow University. In a two hour tour the
young man regaled us with an enormous amount of information about
what he assured us were 'all' the local population groups in the
area, which 'formed the unique complex of Polish-Ukrainian
ethnic-cultural borderland groups'. Namely: The Bojks, the Lemks
and the Pogorzans. There was no mention of Jews nor any sight of
any Jewish artefacts.

We played dumb and did not reveal any Jewish connection. But at
the end of our warm and lengthy encounter my husband asked very
innocently: "By the way, were there any Jews in the area?" "Yes"
came the reply "but nobody liked them." "Oh, why was that?" My
husband wanted to know. "Because they were all innkeepers" (sic!!)

I suppose that this is further reliable confirmation of our
forefathers' beer related occupations. But I wish some Galizianer
who is wiser than I am could explain this supposedly well
educated young man's non sequitur.

Happy Purim
Rachel Wilson
Salisbury UK

I've been reading all the mails about alcohol in Galicia. Just
wanted to add a memory of my aunt Sure Breindel SCHWARTZ who is
now 99. She told me that her grandfather Schmiel SCHWARZ had an inn
in Kalwarija Paclawska. As a young girl I suppose around 1920 or
before she would come >from Dobromil with her brothers to help serve
when there would be a pilgrimage. She said that it was illegal to
serve alcohol and it was done >from a separate back room. She also
remembered that during the pilgrimage bands of pick pockets
would arrive >from Przemysl and take their pickings at the inn.

Jackie Schwarz, Antwerp, Belgium

I've been reading all the mails about alcohol in Galicia. Just
wanted to add a memory of my aunt Sure Breindel SCHWARTZ who is
now 99. She told me that her grandfather Schmiel SCHWARZ had an inn
in Kalwarija Paclawska. As a young girl I suppose around 1920 or
before she would come >from Dobromil with her brothers to help serve
when there would be a pilgrimage. She said that it was illegal to
serve alcohol and it was done >from a separate back room. She also
remembered that during the pilgrimage bands of pick pockets
would arrive >from Przemysl and take their pickings at the inn.

Jackie Schwarz, Antwerp, Belgium

My grandfather owned a tavern in Debno, Galicia, near Jaroslaw.
I wonder if anyone knows about taverns in that area. His name was
Moshe Joseph SCHUS(S)HEIM. If you know any Schusheim's I would
appreciate any info.

Elaine Schusheim Rosenberg

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Don't forget to register or update surnames and
towns of interest in the JewishGen Family Finder, one of
JewishGen's most popular resources. Your entry creates a permanent
record where anyone searching the same surname can find you quickly,
and you can find them. To register a surname in the Family Finder
for the first time or to modify your list, go to
http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/ and click "Enter."
(Several JewishGenners are researching SCHUS(S)HEIM >from Debno,
Jaroslaw, and other nearby towns.)

My grandfather owned a tavern in Debno, Galicia, near Jaroslaw.
I wonder if anyone knows about taverns in that area. His name was
Moshe Joseph SCHUS(S)HEIM. If you know any Schusheim's I would
appreciate any info.

Elaine Schusheim Rosenberg

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Don't forget to register or update surnames and
towns of interest in the JewishGen Family Finder, one of
JewishGen's most popular resources. Your entry creates a permanent
record where anyone searching the same surname can find you quickly,
and you can find them. To register a surname in the Family Finder
for the first time or to modify your list, go to
http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/ and click "Enter."
(Several JewishGenners are researching SCHUS(S)HEIM >from Debno,
Jaroslaw, and other nearby towns.)