I am the Coordinator of the Kolomea Research Group. We maintain a web
site on our focus area, Kolomea Administrative District (KAD), at
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/kolomea/kolomad.htm. We wish to broaden
the information on our web site to include data on the communities
which comprised the KAD in Galicia initially under Austrian rule and
transcended through Polish rule, and eventually under Ukrainian rule
today.

At URL www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/kolomea/towns.htm is a list of 81
communities which were part of the KAD. If you can provide information
on any aspect of any of the communities, except for the Town of
Kolomea, over any period >from whatever sources, please provide the
information to me directly. Photographs are desired also. Sources may
include the Web, family histories and records, books, newspapers,
magazines, personal interviews. Please cite clearly the source of any
information provided.

Thank you,
Alan Weiser, Coordinator
Kolomea Research Group & Web Site
alanboy@...
Silver Spring, MD USA

I am the Coordinator of the Kolomea Research Group. We maintain a web
site on our focus area, Kolomea Administrative District (KAD), at
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/kolomea/kolomad.htm. We wish to broaden
the information on our web site to include data on the communities
which comprised the KAD in Galicia initially under Austrian rule and
transcended through Polish rule, and eventually under Ukrainian rule
today.

At URL www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/kolomea/towns.htm is a list of 81
communities which were part of the KAD. If you can provide information
on any aspect of any of the communities, except for the Town of
Kolomea, over any period >from whatever sources, please provide the
information to me directly. Photographs are desired also. Sources may
include the Web, family histories and records, books, newspapers,
magazines, personal interviews. Please cite clearly the source of any
information provided.

Thank you,
Alan Weiser, Coordinator
Kolomea Research Group & Web Site
alanboy@...
Silver Spring, MD USA

In a message dated 4/21/2006 8:21:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
david_kravitz@... writes:

< When my first child was born, we named her, in Hebrew, Leah Shoshana
after my late father-in-law Leib. >

==She wasn't really named "after" her grandfather whose Hebrew name I would
assume was either Yehuda (Judah) or its kinnuy Arieh (meaning Lion--Loeb in
German or Leib in Yiddish). You recalled his memory by bestowing on her one
name that begins with the initial of his Yiddish name. That certainly infringes
neither custom nor law and cannot in any way be called into question.

==I don't know whether one can truly call a woman *after* a man (except,
maybe, some of the rare unisex names like Yona or Simcha) . But there is
certainly a Hebrew feminine form for Yehuda (Yehudit = Judith), and Arieh, Loeb and
Leib translate as Leviah in the feminine (with a bet, not a vav), meaning
Lioness

Michael Bernet, New York

MODERATOR NOTE: Parents are free to name their children after dead relatives in
any way they like.

In a message dated 4/21/2006 8:21:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
david_kravitz@... writes:

< When my first child was born, we named her, in Hebrew, Leah Shoshana
after my late father-in-law Leib. >

==She wasn't really named "after" her grandfather whose Hebrew name I would
assume was either Yehuda (Judah) or its kinnuy Arieh (meaning Lion--Loeb in
German or Leib in Yiddish). You recalled his memory by bestowing on her one
name that begins with the initial of his Yiddish name. That certainly infringes
neither custom nor law and cannot in any way be called into question.

==I don't know whether one can truly call a woman *after* a man (except,
maybe, some of the rare unisex names like Yona or Simcha) . But there is
certainly a Hebrew feminine form for Yehuda (Yehudit = Judith), and Arieh, Loeb and
Leib translate as Leviah in the feminine (with a bet, not a vav), meaning
Lioness

Michael Bernet, New York

MODERATOR NOTE: Parents are free to name their children after dead relatives in
any way they like.

Dear Jewish Genners:

This is for your information for those Jewish Genners who might have
an interest in obtaining immigration records for deceased ancestors >from the
former INS, now known as the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Service (USCIS), a branch of government within the Department of Homeland
Security. For over 5 years we heard, that the USCIS had in-house proposed
regulations to address the long wait when genealogists submitted requests
for immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . The
long-awaited proposed regulations are now available for review and comment.
They were published in the April 20 edition of the Federal Register and may
access at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/
2006/E6-5947.htm

The regulations propose to establish a fee-for-service genealogy program
within the USCIS to process requests for historical records of deceased
individuals, expediting the long wait genealogists have for requests for
immigration records. The proposed regulations establish a mechanism for
determining the records necessary to ascertain that someone is deceased if
it is less than 100 years since their birth. It is assumed for the
regulations' purpose, persons 100 years of age or older would be considered
as deceased and no documentation of the death would be required.

This would be a separate, and new process than the existing FOIA process.
The regulations propose charges for searches, per record request, varying

from $16.00 to $45 depending upon the type of search requested AND a

separate fee for retrieval, duplication, and release of $16-$5 for microfilm
records or $26-$55 for textual records.

These are proposed regulations. After written comments are submitted by
interested individuals, final regulations will be promulgated by USCIS at a
later date.

Jan Meisels Allen, director
IAJGS and chairperson,
Public Records Access and Monitoring Committee

Dear Jewish Genners:

This is for your information for those Jewish Genners who might have
an interest in obtaining immigration records for deceased ancestors >from the
former INS, now known as the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Service (USCIS), a branch of government within the Department of Homeland
Security. For over 5 years we heard, that the USCIS had in-house proposed
regulations to address the long wait when genealogists submitted requests
for immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . The
long-awaited proposed regulations are now available for review and comment.
They were published in the April 20 edition of the Federal Register and may
access at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/
2006/E6-5947.htm

The regulations propose to establish a fee-for-service genealogy program
within the USCIS to process requests for historical records of deceased
individuals, expediting the long wait genealogists have for requests for
immigration records. The proposed regulations establish a mechanism for
determining the records necessary to ascertain that someone is deceased if
it is less than 100 years since their birth. It is assumed for the
regulations' purpose, persons 100 years of age or older would be considered
as deceased and no documentation of the death would be required.

This would be a separate, and new process than the existing FOIA process.
The regulations propose charges for searches, per record request, varying

from $16.00 to $45 depending upon the type of search requested AND a

separate fee for retrieval, duplication, and release of $16-$5 for microfilm
records or $26-$55 for textual records.

These are proposed regulations. After written comments are submitted by
interested individuals, final regulations will be promulgated by USCIS at a
later date.

Jan Meisels Allen, director
IAJGS and chairperson,
Public Records Access and Monitoring Committee

In a message dated 4/21/2006 mark@... writes:

< I've always understood that it was Jewish tradition not to name children
after living relatives. Someone just mentioned to me that this isn't the
case for particularly orthodox families.

< I've been doing research into my family history
(www.cioconsult.co.uk/fh/),
and am trying to work out the relationships between certain people, but am
confused by some that should be close relatives, but appear to name children
the same. eg: two brothers both naming a son Geoffrey within 5 years of each
other.>

==That's a frequent confusion. One does not name a child after a living
person--but there,s nothing wrong with giving a child the same name as one borne
by a living person.

==Customarily, when grandfather dies, every one of his children will name a
child after that person, and so you end up with many cousins and uncles in the
extended family all with the same name. They're named in honor of the dead
ancestor, not of a living descendant. of the ancestor In many of my
ancestral families, a dozen or more cousins/uncles/nephews bear the same name.

==You might also come across a person who has his father's name as a second
name. An example is the very pious Rabbi Samson Rafael HIRSCH (b 1808),
founder of Modern Orthodoxy, whose father was named Rafael FRANKFURTER. This was
a relic of the period before around 1813 in Germany, when Jews were
compelled to select permanent family names. Up to that time, a Jewish male was known
officially by his personal name followed by his father's personal name (and
usually preceded by the distinction Jud). So Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, so
named officially at birth, would have been designated in the synagogue as
Shimshon *ben* Rafael.
Michael Bernet, New York

In a message dated 4/21/2006 mark@... writes:

< I've always understood that it was Jewish tradition not to name children
after living relatives. Someone just mentioned to me that this isn't the
case for particularly orthodox families.

< I've been doing research into my family history
(www.cioconsult.co.uk/fh/),
and am trying to work out the relationships between certain people, but am
confused by some that should be close relatives, but appear to name children
the same. eg: two brothers both naming a son Geoffrey within 5 years of each
other.>

==That's a frequent confusion. One does not name a child after a living
person--but there,s nothing wrong with giving a child the same name as one borne
by a living person.

==Customarily, when grandfather dies, every one of his children will name a
child after that person, and so you end up with many cousins and uncles in the
extended family all with the same name. They're named in honor of the dead
ancestor, not of a living descendant. of the ancestor In many of my
ancestral families, a dozen or more cousins/uncles/nephews bear the same name.

==You might also come across a person who has his father's name as a second
name. An example is the very pious Rabbi Samson Rafael HIRSCH (b 1808),
founder of Modern Orthodoxy, whose father was named Rafael FRANKFURTER. This was
a relic of the period before around 1813 in Germany, when Jews were
compelled to select permanent family names. Up to that time, a Jewish male was known
officially by his personal name followed by his father's personal name (and
usually preceded by the distinction Jud). So Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, so
named officially at birth, would have been designated in the synagogue as
Shimshon *ben* Rafael.
Michael Bernet, New York

Let's be clear about this. The Ashkenazi tradition is to name a child after
a dead relative, but that does not mean that two, or more, children of the
same generation can't carry the same name.

You may have a living uncle named Leib, who is named for his mother's
grandfather. That does not prevent you >from naming your child Leib, after
your wife's father. All they had to do was announce the identity of the
person being remembered.

More commonly, all the descendents of a parent who died young, or of a
beloved grandparent, may name a child for that person. The first child so
named does not prevent others >from being so named in honor of the same
person. In my mothers family, her maternal grandmother was named Esther. My
mother had a sister named Esther and every one of her aunts and uncles on
that side of the family had a child named Esther, all in honor of that one
grandmother. There was Brahna's Esther and Joseph's Esther and Sylvia's
Esther, and so on.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY

"Mark Lewis" <mark@...> wrote in message

I've always understood that it was Jewish tradition not to name children
after living relatives. Someone just mentioned to me that this isn't the case
for particularly orthodox families.

I've been doing research into my family history (www.cioconsult.co.uk/fh/),
and am trying to work out the relationships between certain people, but am
confused by some that should be close relatives, but appear to name children
the same. eg: two brothers both naming a son Geoffrey within 5 years of each
other.

This doesn't sound right to me, and yet I'm sure these two are brothers.

So my question is: Is my understanding of this tradition correct? And/or was
the tradition in Kiev (where my family came from) different?

BTW - I don't believe my family were orthodox (we're not now), but of
course, going back 100 years, as I am here, things could have been different.
London

MODERATOR NOTE: The general principle of why members of the same family carry the
same given name has been fully explored. Postings will only be considered if they
pursue a diffeent line.

Let's be clear about this. The Ashkenazi tradition is to name a child after
a dead relative, but that does not mean that two, or more, children of the
same generation can't carry the same name.

You may have a living uncle named Leib, who is named for his mother's
grandfather. That does not prevent you >from naming your child Leib, after
your wife's father. All they had to do was announce the identity of the
person being remembered.

More commonly, all the descendents of a parent who died young, or of a
beloved grandparent, may name a child for that person. The first child so
named does not prevent others >from being so named in honor of the same
person. In my mothers family, her maternal grandmother was named Esther. My
mother had a sister named Esther and every one of her aunts and uncles on
that side of the family had a child named Esther, all in honor of that one
grandmother. There was Brahna's Esther and Joseph's Esther and Sylvia's
Esther, and so on.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY

"Mark Lewis" <mark@...> wrote in message

I've always understood that it was Jewish tradition not to name children
after living relatives. Someone just mentioned to me that this isn't the case
for particularly orthodox families.

I've been doing research into my family history (www.cioconsult.co.uk/fh/),
and am trying to work out the relationships between certain people, but am
confused by some that should be close relatives, but appear to name children
the same. eg: two brothers both naming a son Geoffrey within 5 years of each
other.

This doesn't sound right to me, and yet I'm sure these two are brothers.

So my question is: Is my understanding of this tradition correct? And/or was
the tradition in Kiev (where my family came from) different?

BTW - I don't believe my family were orthodox (we're not now), but of
course, going back 100 years, as I am here, things could have been different.
London

MODERATOR NOTE: The general principle of why members of the same family carry the
same given name has been fully explored. Postings will only be considered if they
pursue a diffeent line.

Dear Gersiggers,
I have in my possession the Pinkas Mohel of Alexander
Tachauer >from Nurenberg who between 1920-1933 did
circumcise in Nurenberg, Fuerth, Bamberg and other
small towns [in that region].

Among others he did one of my KOENIGSBUCH
relatives in Bamberg, the Kissinger brothers in Fuerth
and the Loebles in Bamberg (Herbert Loebl published a
few years ago a book about the Jews of Bamberg).

If you have the birth year of any boy in those cities
between 1920-33 he may be listed in this record. It
gives the Hebrew name of the boys which in many cases
was forgotten by their bearers.

Jacob Rosen Jerusalem <abuwasta@...>

Dear Gersiggers,
I have in my possession the Pinkas Mohel of Alexander
Tachauer >from Nurenberg who between 1920-1933 did
circumcise in Nurenberg, Fuerth, Bamberg and other
small towns [in that region].

Among others he did one of my KOENIGSBUCH
relatives in Bamberg, the Kissinger brothers in Fuerth
and the Loebles in Bamberg (Herbert Loebl published a
few years ago a book about the Jews of Bamberg).

If you have the birth year of any boy in those cities
between 1920-33 he may be listed in this record. It
gives the Hebrew name of the boys which in many cases
was forgotten by their bearers.

Jacob Rosen Jerusalem <abuwasta@...>

I have recently discovered a short biography of my grandfather, Josef ZINKER
RANALD. In it, he states that for high school he attended the "Military
Academy and University" in Vienna, Austria. He graduated >from the "Imperial
Austrian War College" and was also a student at the "Sigmund Freud School of
Applied Psycho-Analysis" in Vienna, Austria. He variously said he was born
in Lwow/Lemberg/Dalmatia/Galicia, in 1901 and emigrated to the US in 1920.
He was prone to embellishment, so I wonder if any of the above has any grain
of truth to it. However, I don't doubt that he did indeed attend a
gymnasium and then University, possibly in Vienna. It would be most
interesting to find out where he actually attended. What schools were Jews
permitted to attend in Vienna during this time period?

If anyone has any thoughts or information on this I would be most
appreciative.

Caroline Curvan
Ossining, NY
Searching Zinker, Ziemand, Zimmand

I have recently discovered a short biography of my grandfather, Josef ZINKER
RANALD. In it, he states that for high school he attended the "Military
Academy and University" in Vienna, Austria. He graduated >from the "Imperial
Austrian War College" and was also a student at the "Sigmund Freud School of
Applied Psycho-Analysis" in Vienna, Austria. He variously said he was born
in Lwow/Lemberg/Dalmatia/Galicia, in 1901 and emigrated to the US in 1920.
He was prone to embellishment, so I wonder if any of the above has any grain
of truth to it. However, I don't doubt that he did indeed attend a
gymnasium and then University, possibly in Vienna. It would be most
interesting to find out where he actually attended. What schools were Jews
permitted to attend in Vienna during this time period?

If anyone has any thoughts or information on this I would be most
appreciative.

Caroline Curvan
Ossining, NY
Searching Zinker, Ziemand, Zimmand

In a message dated 4/21/2006,tulse04-news@... writes:

< There is apparently a connection between the family and Rabbi Yomtov Lippman
Heller (1579-1654) who became Chief Rabbi of Bohemia.

< I discovered in my researches that he was born in Wallerstein in Franconia
in Southern Germany, which is where my family came from.

The family of R' YomTov Lippman Heller, as his surname indicates, originates

from Schwaebisch Hall wich (as its name indicates) is in Schwaben (Swabia).

Schwaben is now split; Wallerstein is at the eastern edge and now part of
Bavaria, but was never part of Franconia.

R' YomTov Lippman Heller studied under the Maharal of Prague, officiated in
various communities in Austria and Poland. He is famous for his authorship
(Tosfot Yomtov) of a well-received and much cited commentary on the Mishna.

He was a Levite. I have detected a vague pattern of YomTov being associated
with Levites and invite further information about any such link. Do you have
a YomTov in the family (personal or family name)? Please let me know
whether he was a Levite or not

Michael Bernet, New York

MODERATOR NOTE: Please respond privately unless the posting raises points of
general interest.

In a message dated 4/21/2006,tulse04-news@... writes:

< There is apparently a connection between the family and Rabbi Yomtov Lippman
Heller (1579-1654) who became Chief Rabbi of Bohemia.

< I discovered in my researches that he was born in Wallerstein in Franconia
in Southern Germany, which is where my family came from.

The family of R' YomTov Lippman Heller, as his surname indicates, originates

from Schwaebisch Hall wich (as its name indicates) is in Schwaben (Swabia).

Schwaben is now split; Wallerstein is at the eastern edge and now part of
Bavaria, but was never part of Franconia.

R' YomTov Lippman Heller studied under the Maharal of Prague, officiated in
various communities in Austria and Poland. He is famous for his authorship
(Tosfot Yomtov) of a well-received and much cited commentary on the Mishna.

He was a Levite. I have detected a vague pattern of YomTov being associated
with Levites and invite further information about any such link. Do you have
a YomTov in the family (personal or family name)? Please let me know
whether he was a Levite or not

Michael Bernet, New York

MODERATOR NOTE: Please respond privately unless the posting raises points of
general interest.

Hello,

I hope my question is appropriate for this discussion group. I have been
researching my family tree and have come up against a brick-wall. My great
grand-father was a German subject and his brother a Russian/Polish subject.
Their surname in this country was RICH which I would guess was changed

from something else. What is my best hope of trying to find out their

original surname? Is it possible to find passenger lists? They were Jews and
came into the UK with their parents when they were children sometime around
1870.

Kind regards,

Nicholas Rich
Birmingham, UK

MODERATOR NOTE: Passenger lists to the United Kingdom >from eastern Europe are very
poor or non-existent. A useful document "Research in the UK" can be obtained
free of charge >from david_kravitz@...

Hello,

I hope my question is appropriate for this discussion group. I have been
researching my family tree and have come up against a brick-wall. My great
grand-father was a German subject and his brother a Russian/Polish subject.
Their surname in this country was RICH which I would guess was changed

from something else. What is my best hope of trying to find out their

original surname? Is it possible to find passenger lists? They were Jews and
came into the UK with their parents when they were children sometime around
1870.

Kind regards,

Nicholas Rich
Birmingham, UK

MODERATOR NOTE: Passenger lists to the United Kingdom >from eastern Europe are very
poor or non-existent. A useful document "Research in the UK" can be obtained
free of charge >from david_kravitz@...

In a message dated 4/21/2006, ben.forman@... writes:

< Kalman derives >from the Greek name Kalonymos (Kalo=good + nymos=name) that
is the translation of the Hebrew Shem Tov >

==Both Kalonymos and ShemTov utilize "name" also in the sense of
"reputation." So it wasn't just a euphonious name but a mark of a great person.
(The initials bet-shin-tet on a tombstone are an acronym for BeShemTov--died
with a great reputation; the founder of Hassidism and a number of other great
rabbis and "miracle workers" bore the title Ba`al Shem Tov, which is interpreted
as either "of great reputation" or "possessor of the secret Divine Name that
was a key to their miraculous power.)

==ShemTov is popular as a first and family name among Sephardim and Eastern
communities but rare among Ashkenazim.

==I have been told by a Hungarian speaker that Kalman is an Hungarian name
with no connection to the Jewish Kalonymos. Beider does not mention a
Hungarian origin but finds vestiges of a Kalman name used by German non-Jews

Michael Bernet, New York

In a message dated 4/21/2006, ben.forman@... writes:

< Kalman derives >from the Greek name Kalonymos (Kalo=good + nymos=name) that
is the translation of the Hebrew Shem Tov >

==Both Kalonymos and ShemTov utilize "name" also in the sense of
"reputation." So it wasn't just a euphonious name but a mark of a great person.
(The initials bet-shin-tet on a tombstone are an acronym for BeShemTov--died
with a great reputation; the founder of Hassidism and a number of other great
rabbis and "miracle workers" bore the title Ba`al Shem Tov, which is interpreted
as either "of great reputation" or "possessor of the secret Divine Name that
was a key to their miraculous power.)

==ShemTov is popular as a first and family name among Sephardim and Eastern
communities but rare among Ashkenazim.

==I have been told by a Hungarian speaker that Kalman is an Hungarian name
with no connection to the Jewish Kalonymos. Beider does not mention a
Hungarian origin but finds vestiges of a Kalman name used by German non-Jews

Michael Bernet, New York