Myra Davis asked, << could someone look up a copy of a death
certificate for me in Phila. I have the name, and date of death. >>

If your person died after 1915, you need to write to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. Before 1915 the information is in the City of Philadelphia
Archives. Go to their webpage for instructions on how to order the Death
Certificate. < http://www.phila.gov/phils/carchive.htm >

Deena Abrams wrote, << I am anxious to obtain information >from a marriage
certificate filed in Philadelphia about 1888 or 1899. I wonder if there
is anyone who would be willing to look it up.. >>

Marriage License Applications for those years are available at the City
Archives (see website address above), and the Marriage License Bureau in
City Hall. A person who can go to the Marriage License Bureau can look up
the Application numbers in large volumes. You can look for as many
application numbers as you like, however, you can only look at 3 at a time
for free; after that there is a charge per look, and you can only look if
the microfilm reader is working. If it is not working, you can request the
Applications for "view only", and you'll need to go back to do the
viewing. I've been looking at 3 at a time for many years for my families.

Selma Neubauer
Philadelphia, PA USA
SelmaN@...

Myra Davis asked, << could someone look up a copy of a death
certificate for me in Phila. I have the name, and date of death. >>

If your person died after 1915, you need to write to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. Before 1915 the information is in the City of Philadelphia
Archives. Go to their webpage for instructions on how to order the Death
Certificate. < http://www.phila.gov/phils/carchive.htm >

Deena Abrams wrote, << I am anxious to obtain information >from a marriage
certificate filed in Philadelphia about 1888 or 1899. I wonder if there
is anyone who would be willing to look it up.. >>

Marriage License Applications for those years are available at the City
Archives (see website address above), and the Marriage License Bureau in
City Hall. A person who can go to the Marriage License Bureau can look up
the Application numbers in large volumes. You can look for as many
application numbers as you like, however, you can only look at 3 at a time
for free; after that there is a charge per look, and you can only look if
the microfilm reader is working. If it is not working, you can request the
Applications for "view only", and you'll need to go back to do the
viewing. I've been looking at 3 at a time for many years for my families.

Selma Neubauer
Philadelphia, PA USA
SelmaN@...

About 2 months ago someone wrote a very informative note on the conscription of Jews into the Russian army.

If someone has it, would they please forward it to me privately.

Louis Zetler
Hoshaya, Israel

MODERATOR'S NOTE: In addition to making this request, anyone seeking a previous message can search the Litvak SIG Discussion Group Archives on the JewishGen page <http://www.jewishgen.org>. You can find these Archives under Databases/General/SIG Discussion Group Archives. Entering a keyword such as "conscription" for a search of the Litvak SIG Discussion Group for the past six months might yield a number of messages, including the one being sought.

About 2 months ago someone wrote a very informative note on the conscription of Jews into the Russian army.

If someone has it, would they please forward it to me privately.

Louis Zetler
Hoshaya, Israel

MODERATOR'S NOTE: In addition to making this request, anyone seeking a previous message can search the Litvak SIG Discussion Group Archives on the JewishGen page <http://www.jewishgen.org>. You can find these Archives under Databases/General/SIG Discussion Group Archives. Entering a keyword such as "conscription" for a search of the Litvak SIG Discussion Group for the past six months might yield a number of messages, including the one being sought.

Ricki Zunk asked about family buried at Waldheim Jewish Cemetery in
the Progressive Order of the West Section.
When I needed information >from this cemetery I found their phone
number either >from the Cemetery Project on JewishGen, or one of the
internet search engines. I called and found them very helpful with info
about the person I was looking for, and the section he was buried in.
Try it, you'll get your information faster and better!

Selma Neubauer
Philadelphia, PA USA
SelmaN@...

Ricki Zunk asked about family buried at Waldheim Jewish Cemetery in
the Progressive Order of the West Section.
When I needed information >from this cemetery I found their phone
number either >from the Cemetery Project on JewishGen, or one of the
internet search engines. I called and found them very helpful with info
about the person I was looking for, and the section he was buried in.
Try it, you'll get your information faster and better!

Selma Neubauer
Philadelphia, PA USA
SelmaN@...

Mail to Arleen Shapiro <marvint@...>
is being returned.

The address was taken >from JGFF and there
no entries in either archive and she is not on List #5 JGFF bounced e-mail
addresses.

Does anyone have her current address?

Best regards,

Stephen A. Cohen #12106
East Meadow NY

PS: I am researching the following families:

BAUM:Germany/Bosen; EISENKRAMER, MARX & LEFEVRE, LEFEBRE: Germany:Rhineland
Palat; BASIST/ BASSIST:Belarus/Lida Dist; COHEN formerly
SHEINHOUS/SHEINHOUSE/ SHEINHAUS: Belarus/Radoshkovichi, Molodechno;
BIRNBAUM/ GOLDBERG/LEINKRAM: Galicia:Krakow; SCHNEPS/SHNEPS/SZNEPS:
Galicia:Debica formerly Dembitz,Tarnow; GELLER:Galicia:Mielec; KREINDLER;
ECKSTEIN;

Mail to Arleen Shapiro <marvint@...>
is being returned.

The address was taken >from JGFF and there
no entries in either archive and she is not on List #5 JGFF bounced e-mail
addresses.

Does anyone have her current address?

Best regards,

Stephen A. Cohen #12106
East Meadow NY

PS: I am researching the following families:

BAUM:Germany/Bosen; EISENKRAMER, MARX & LEFEVRE, LEFEBRE: Germany:Rhineland
Palat; BASIST/ BASSIST:Belarus/Lida Dist; COHEN formerly
SHEINHOUS/SHEINHOUSE/ SHEINHAUS: Belarus/Radoshkovichi, Molodechno;
BIRNBAUM/ GOLDBERG/LEINKRAM: Galicia:Krakow; SCHNEPS/SHNEPS/SZNEPS:
Galicia:Debica formerly Dembitz,Tarnow; GELLER:Galicia:Mielec; KREINDLER;
ECKSTEIN;

Mail to Kenneth H. Kaplan <kkaplan@...> is being returned. There
hasn't been any entry in either archive since 1998. Does anyone have his
current address?

Best regards,

Stephen A. Cohen #12106
East Meadow NY


PS: I am researching the following families:

BAUM:Germany/Bosen; EISENKRAMER, MARX & LEFEVRE, LEFEBRE: Germany:Rhineland
Palat; BASIST/ BASSIST:Belarus/Lida Dist; COHEN formerly
SHEINHOUS/SHEINHOUSE/ SHEINHAUS: Belarus/Radoshkovichi, Molodechno;
BIRNBAUM/ GOLDBERG/LEINKRAM: Galicia: Krakow; SCHNEPS/SHNEPS/SZNEPS:
Galicia:Debica formerly Dembitz,Tarnow; GELLER:Galicia:Mielec; KREINDLER;
ECKSTEIN;

Mail to Kenneth H. Kaplan <kkaplan@...> is being returned. There
hasn't been any entry in either archive since 1998. Does anyone have his
current address?

Best regards,

Stephen A. Cohen #12106
East Meadow NY


PS: I am researching the following families:

BAUM:Germany/Bosen; EISENKRAMER, MARX & LEFEVRE, LEFEBRE: Germany:Rhineland
Palat; BASIST/ BASSIST:Belarus/Lida Dist; COHEN formerly
SHEINHOUS/SHEINHOUSE/ SHEINHAUS: Belarus/Radoshkovichi, Molodechno;
BIRNBAUM/ GOLDBERG/LEINKRAM: Galicia: Krakow; SCHNEPS/SHNEPS/SZNEPS:
Galicia:Debica formerly Dembitz,Tarnow; GELLER:Galicia:Mielec; KREINDLER;
ECKSTEIN;

I have been asked by several people to explain exactly what rabbi's
elector's lists are. Questions asked were are they names of members of
communities who elect rabbis? Were they people who voted for local rabbis?
Was this an election that was organized by the Czar's government, or by
the local kahal? Any idea who won the election(s)?

Not knowing that much about these lists themselves, I asked Kaunas
Archivist Vitalija Girchyte to please explain. Her response was as follows:

begin quoted message
-----------------------

About the rabbi elections: The elections are of the so called "state
rabbi" ("kazeny ravin" in Russian). I do not know if he had any religious
functions, but he had to register births, marriages and deaths, keep these
vital registers and issue birth, death and marriage certificates. As the
registers were kept in both Hebrew and Russian and the certificates to be
produced to various state agencies - in Russian, the main requirement for
this state rabbi was to know Russian.

Officially he had to have certain education equal to 6 or even
4 classes of gymnasium in Russia, but it seems that in small
towns of Lithuania they never managed to find so educated
candidates and mere literacy in Russian was enough. He also had to be
loyal to the government, have no criminal record - on the basis of the
vital records men's age was established, they were drafted into the army,
and some state rabbis were accused of forging vital records, helping men
to avoid conscription, etc.

Each community had either a state rabbi or his assistant - their functions
were the same, but state rabbi was in the main town of the uyezd, his
assistants - in every community. Thus there was a state rabbi of Ukmerge and his assistants for Seta, Utena, Anyksciai, etc. In the elections of this rabbi could participate heads of households not younger than 25 years, but I am not sure if this meant all the Jews of the shtetl or only so called "settled towndwellers" - houseowners, shopowners, craftsmen belonging to guilds.

In smaller comunities the elections were direct, in larger
communities with several synagogues, like Kedainiai, at first the
representatives >from each house of prayer were elected. As you may have
noticed >from our records, in the elections of the rabbi of the main town of
each uyezd participated the representatives >from all the communities of
this uyezd, at least in the beginning of the 20th century.

The elections were held by the community, but under the control of local
administration and police, and the results had to be confirmed by Kaunas
guberniya administration - among the records of this Kaunas guberniya
administration are separate files on these elections for various
communities where we find these lists.

These files also usually contain various correspondence on this matter: reports of the local police on the candidates - usually they are said to be literate in Russian, having no criminal record, loyal to the government, in very few cases - their family lists, the results of the vote - how many votes were given for each of the two or, very rarely, three candidates, the confirmation of the results by Kaunas guberniya administration. Not all such files contain lists of electors. In some cases there are also lots of other papers - the complaints about the results on the basis the elections were not fair, somebody is accused of forgery, etc.

I am sorry, I never found - perhaps I never looked for - any official
regulations on the election of the rabbis, so this is all I know.

Vitalija


end quoted message
----------------------

Ada Greenblatt
ada.Greenblatt@...

I have been asked by several people to explain exactly what rabbi's
elector's lists are. Questions asked were are they names of members of
communities who elect rabbis? Were they people who voted for local rabbis?
Was this an election that was organized by the Czar's government, or by
the local kahal? Any idea who won the election(s)?

Not knowing that much about these lists themselves, I asked Kaunas
Archivist Vitalija Girchyte to please explain. Her response was as follows:

begin quoted message
-----------------------

About the rabbi elections: The elections are of the so called "state
rabbi" ("kazeny ravin" in Russian). I do not know if he had any religious
functions, but he had to register births, marriages and deaths, keep these
vital registers and issue birth, death and marriage certificates. As the
registers were kept in both Hebrew and Russian and the certificates to be
produced to various state agencies - in Russian, the main requirement for
this state rabbi was to know Russian.

Officially he had to have certain education equal to 6 or even
4 classes of gymnasium in Russia, but it seems that in small
towns of Lithuania they never managed to find so educated
candidates and mere literacy in Russian was enough. He also had to be
loyal to the government, have no criminal record - on the basis of the
vital records men's age was established, they were drafted into the army,
and some state rabbis were accused of forging vital records, helping men
to avoid conscription, etc.

Each community had either a state rabbi or his assistant - their functions
were the same, but state rabbi was in the main town of the uyezd, his
assistants - in every community. Thus there was a state rabbi of Ukmerge and his assistants for Seta, Utena, Anyksciai, etc. In the elections of this rabbi could participate heads of households not younger than 25 years, but I am not sure if this meant all the Jews of the shtetl or only so called "settled towndwellers" - houseowners, shopowners, craftsmen belonging to guilds.

In smaller comunities the elections were direct, in larger
communities with several synagogues, like Kedainiai, at first the
representatives >from each house of prayer were elected. As you may have
noticed >from our records, in the elections of the rabbi of the main town of
each uyezd participated the representatives >from all the communities of
this uyezd, at least in the beginning of the 20th century.

The elections were held by the community, but under the control of local
administration and police, and the results had to be confirmed by Kaunas
guberniya administration - among the records of this Kaunas guberniya
administration are separate files on these elections for various
communities where we find these lists.

These files also usually contain various correspondence on this matter: reports of the local police on the candidates - usually they are said to be literate in Russian, having no criminal record, loyal to the government, in very few cases - their family lists, the results of the vote - how many votes were given for each of the two or, very rarely, three candidates, the confirmation of the results by Kaunas guberniya administration. Not all such files contain lists of electors. In some cases there are also lots of other papers - the complaints about the results on the basis the elections were not fair, somebody is accused of forgery, etc.

I am sorry, I never found - perhaps I never looked for - any official
regulations on the election of the rabbis, so this is all I know.

Vitalija


end quoted message
----------------------

Ada Greenblatt
ada.Greenblatt@...

Can anyone provide information or direct me to possible sources of
information on author Nikolai OSTROVSKI of Sheptovka, Ukraine? He lived

from 1904-36.

Many thanks.

Lesley K. Cafarelli
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Can anyone provide information or direct me to possible sources of
information on author Nikolai OSTROVSKI of Sheptovka, Ukraine? He lived

from 1904-36.

Many thanks.

Lesley K. Cafarelli
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Can anyone tell me if there are records for the Chicago Orthodox Jewish
Home once located at 1648 S. Albany? I found two cousins, Abraham and
Leah HARRIS living there in the 1920's.

It is called the Ortodox Jewish Home for the Aged I believe the Chicago
Historical Society houses the records

Ellen Jacobs
Des Plaines, IL
Ellen A. Jacobs
EAJ12359@...

Can anyone tell me if there are records for the Chicago Orthodox Jewish
Home once located at 1648 S. Albany? I found two cousins, Abraham and
Leah HARRIS living there in the 1920's.

It is called the Ortodox Jewish Home for the Aged I believe the Chicago
Historical Society houses the records

Ellen Jacobs
Des Plaines, IL
Ellen A. Jacobs
EAJ12359@...

On a tombstone of my great grandfather who died in upper Franconia in
1876, I can read some but not all of the Hebrew inscription.

One line ends with the Hebrew words "kaf-el-kaf" (hand to hand) rhyming
with it is a line that seems to end with "ratzuy la-dov" (desirable to/for
a bear--Ber was one of his names)

Does anyone recognize these phrases.

His wife, Eva/Chawe, daughter of Wolff BERG, who died in 1858 at 45, a few
weeks after giving birth to her eighth child, a daughter, has a strange
decoration at the top of her stone. It looks vaguely like the torsos from
the waist up of two people putting their heads together, but I doubt very
much they would have put a human image on the stone. Does anyone have any
guesses as to what would have been put on the stone of a woman who died
after childbirth?

Many thanks

Michael Bernet, New York

WOLFF (Pfungstadt, Frankfurt/M, Koenigsberg, Amsterdam, N.Carolina);
BERNET, BERNERT, JONDORF(Frensdorf, Bamberg, Nurnberg); FEUCHTWANGER
(Schwabach, Hagenbach & Fuerth); KONIGSHOFER (anywhere); BERG, WOLF(F),
(Demmelsdorf & Zeckendorf); OPPENHEIMER: Hemsbach, Hd'lberg; GUTENSTEIN
(B. Homburg, Hessdorf); FRENSDORF/ER (anywhere); MAINZER (Lorsch);
GOLDSCHMIDT (B. Homburg, Hessdorf). ALTMANN (Silesia); TIMMENDORFER

On a tombstone of my great grandfather who died in upper Franconia in
1876, I can read some but not all of the Hebrew inscription.

One line ends with the Hebrew words "kaf-el-kaf" (hand to hand) rhyming
with it is a line that seems to end with "ratzuy la-dov" (desirable to/for
a bear--Ber was one of his names)

Does anyone recognize these phrases.

His wife, Eva/Chawe, daughter of Wolff BERG, who died in 1858 at 45, a few
weeks after giving birth to her eighth child, a daughter, has a strange
decoration at the top of her stone. It looks vaguely like the torsos from
the waist up of two people putting their heads together, but I doubt very
much they would have put a human image on the stone. Does anyone have any
guesses as to what would have been put on the stone of a woman who died
after childbirth?

Many thanks

Michael Bernet, New York

WOLFF (Pfungstadt, Frankfurt/M, Koenigsberg, Amsterdam, N.Carolina);
BERNET, BERNERT, JONDORF(Frensdorf, Bamberg, Nurnberg); FEUCHTWANGER
(Schwabach, Hagenbach & Fuerth); KONIGSHOFER (anywhere); BERG, WOLF(F),
(Demmelsdorf & Zeckendorf); OPPENHEIMER: Hemsbach, Hd'lberg; GUTENSTEIN
(B. Homburg, Hessdorf); FRENSDORF/ER (anywhere); MAINZER (Lorsch);
GOLDSCHMIDT (B. Homburg, Hessdorf). ALTMANN (Silesia); TIMMENDORFER

I am looking for the family of the NATHAN sisters (Eva and Jennie) born
Germany to Morris (Moses) NATHAN and Rose (Rossie). They may have had
one or more brothers as well.

Wondering if they overlap with anyone's family tree?

Eva NATHAN was born July 8, 1867 (according to her death certificate) in
Germany. She immigrated to the United States in the 1880s and married
Barnet SANDERS. She died September 30, 1929 in New York.

Jennie NATHAN was born around 1871 also in Germany and immigrated to the
United States around 1890. She married Goodman COHN and had children
Moses (Martin), Elias (Eli), Gussie, Rose and Edward. She died Otober 30,
1948.

I know this is a long shot but I am hoping because I am stuck on finding
out when and where they were born and when they came to the United States.
Any help will be appreciated.

Allan Jordan

I am looking for the family of the NATHAN sisters (Eva and Jennie) born
Germany to Morris (Moses) NATHAN and Rose (Rossie). They may have had
one or more brothers as well.

Wondering if they overlap with anyone's family tree?

Eva NATHAN was born July 8, 1867 (according to her death certificate) in
Germany. She immigrated to the United States in the 1880s and married
Barnet SANDERS. She died September 30, 1929 in New York.

Jennie NATHAN was born around 1871 also in Germany and immigrated to the
United States around 1890. She married Goodman COHN and had children
Moses (Martin), Elias (Eli), Gussie, Rose and Edward. She died Otober 30,
1948.

I know this is a long shot but I am hoping because I am stuck on finding
out when and where they were born and when they came to the United States.
Any help will be appreciated.

Allan Jordan