Dear Ricky and all,

Since this subject could be of interest to all H-siggers, I'm
replying your letter to the list.

As far as I know, "magyarositas" was common practice among Jews *and
gentiles* since the 18th century. The main motives behind this trend
were two: the mandatory decree for the Jews to adopt surnames (>from
1786 on) and the exacerbated Hungarian nationalism which resulted in
the 1848 revolution. What motivated mostly the Jews was the impulse
to get accepted by the Hungarian society (assimilation). Somebody
called Feher could circulate better in gentile circles then if he was
called Veisz (the Hungarian spelling of Weiss).

So this trend was extremely strong and only ceased during WW2 when,
no matter what was ones surname, 3 previous generations of gentile
ancestors were the only guarantee for non deportation or harassment
by the [anti] Jewish Laws (Zsido torvenyek) and the vicious
"nyilasok" (Arrow Cross gendarmerie).

Even during the communist regime the trend continued, although with
lesser vigor. This time the reason was different. It was *safer* not
to carry a very Jewish surname because, despite all the propaganda,
the communist regime was anti-sionist and anti-semite, mainly during
the Stalin era. A relative, who was born Hellschein, only changed his

surname to Takacs in 1948. By then he was an officer in the Hungarian
Army.

As for registers about name Hungarization, I am familiar with only
one very important publication (which contains family names of Jews
and gentiles):

Szazadunk Ne'vva'ltoztata'sai
(this century's changes of names)
a book published by Viktor Hornyanszky in 1895
which contains thousands of surnames of people who "hungarized" their
names >from 1800 to 1893. This is a real jewel for the genealogist but
it presents one BIG hurdle for the researcher: the names are listed
in alphabetical order but according to the surname TAKEN, not the
surname the person hold *before* he/she changed it. And there is no
cross index!

Thus, the book's searching can be extremely time consuming, as one
has to read through all its pages (over 300) to eventually bump into
a hit. And don't trust that *logical* name changes (that is,
meaningful translations >from one language into Hungarian) will lead
you quickly to discover an ancestor. Here are some examples of how
weirdly people acted when changing their surnames:

EISENBERGER (>from the iron mount) became VASVARI (>from the iron castle)
but several other surnames (Kohn, Hoffman, Varecska, Popa) were
changed into the same Hungarian name

WILFINGER became VECSEI but several WEISZes also adopted this same surname

BRANIK (portal keeper in Slovak) became VEDFI (the protector), but
people previously called WENK also took the same surname.

The book offers the following information:
* Surname taken
* Previous surname
* Occupation
* Town name (not clear if this is the birthplace or of abode)
* (eventually) the name of children who also took the same surname
* Number of the decree which authorized the name change; the last two
digits indicate the year in which the change was authorized.

How useful can this listing be to the researcher? Well, it depends.
You may find an unknown ancestor, you may confirm that an ancestor
existed and changed his name or you can get more confused then you
were before starting the search :-)

Now to the good news: this book has been filmed by the Mormons, thus
its contents can be examined in film number 0897093. BTW, this same
film contains the Postal gazetteer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
published in 1910, so you pay for one and get two excellent sources
for research.

Good hunt
Tom

PS: I first discovered the book mentioned through one of H-sigs very
active members - Janos Bogardi. I would ask Janos (if he is reading
this) to add his comments to the above, since he is very much more
familiar with Hungarian genealogical research then I'm.


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
no dia 03.01.01 `as 20:59 -0500 horas, Zebradisc@aol.com escreveu:
at 03.01.01 - 20:59 -0500, Zebradisc@aol.com wrote:

>| In a message dated 01/03/2001 5:32:39 PM Pacific Standard Time,
>| tom.vene@uol.com.br writes:
>|
>| > surnames could change according to the
>| > predominant language at a given period of time. In Hungary, for
>| > example, "magyarositas" was a very common practice. Wolf became
>| > Farkas, Stern became Csillag, Weisz became Feher
>|
>| i am quite interested in your above stated observation--Weisz is among my
>| tree as is coincidentally Feiner (and i have looked at Feher in
this regard)
>| where can i read more about "magyarositas" can you shed any
light as to what
>| period this was most common?
>|
>| i have some rather commonplace names all subject to interesting
variations so
>| it gets curioser & curioser...many thanks for any assistance
>| ricky schultz

--
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-
Tom Venetianer <mailto:tom.vene@uol.com.br>
Sao Paulo - Brazil

Dear Ricky and all,

Since this subject could be of interest to all H-siggers, I'm
replying your letter to the list.

As far as I know, "magyarositas" was common practice among Jews *and
gentiles* since the 18th century. The main motives behind this trend
were two: the mandatory decree for the Jews to adopt surnames (>from
1786 on) and the exacerbated Hungarian nationalism which resulted in
the 1848 revolution. What motivated mostly the Jews was the impulse
to get accepted by the Hungarian society (assimilation). Somebody
called Feher could circulate better in gentile circles then if he was
called Veisz (the Hungarian spelling of Weiss).

So this trend was extremely strong and only ceased during WW2 when,
no matter what was ones surname, 3 previous generations of gentile
ancestors were the only guarantee for non deportation or harassment
by the [anti] Jewish Laws (Zsido torvenyek) and the vicious
"nyilasok" (Arrow Cross gendarmerie).

Even during the communist regime the trend continued, although with
lesser vigor. This time the reason was different. It was *safer* not
to carry a very Jewish surname because, despite all the propaganda,
the communist regime was anti-sionist and anti-semite, mainly during
the Stalin era. A relative, who was born Hellschein, only changed his

surname to Takacs in 1948. By then he was an officer in the Hungarian
Army.

As for registers about name Hungarization, I am familiar with only
one very important publication (which contains family names of Jews
and gentiles):

Szazadunk Ne'vva'ltoztata'sai
(this century's changes of names)
a book published by Viktor Hornyanszky in 1895
which contains thousands of surnames of people who "hungarized" their
names >from 1800 to 1893. This is a real jewel for the genealogist but
it presents one BIG hurdle for the researcher: the names are listed
in alphabetical order but according to the surname TAKEN, not the
surname the person hold *before* he/she changed it. And there is no
cross index!

Thus, the book's searching can be extremely time consuming, as one
has to read through all its pages (over 300) to eventually bump into
a hit. And don't trust that *logical* name changes (that is,
meaningful translations >from one language into Hungarian) will lead
you quickly to discover an ancestor. Here are some examples of how
weirdly people acted when changing their surnames:

EISENBERGER (>from the iron mount) became VASVARI (>from the iron castle)
but several other surnames (Kohn, Hoffman, Varecska, Popa) were
changed into the same Hungarian name

WILFINGER became VECSEI but several WEISZes also adopted this same surname

BRANIK (portal keeper in Slovak) became VEDFI (the protector), but
people previously called WENK also took the same surname.

The book offers the following information:
* Surname taken
* Previous surname
* Occupation
* Town name (not clear if this is the birthplace or of abode)
* (eventually) the name of children who also took the same surname
* Number of the decree which authorized the name change; the last two
digits indicate the year in which the change was authorized.

How useful can this listing be to the researcher? Well, it depends.
You may find an unknown ancestor, you may confirm that an ancestor
existed and changed his name or you can get more confused then you
were before starting the search :-)

Now to the good news: this book has been filmed by the Mormons, thus
its contents can be examined in film number 0897093. BTW, this same
film contains the Postal gazetteer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
published in 1910, so you pay for one and get two excellent sources
for research.

Good hunt
Tom

PS: I first discovered the book mentioned through one of H-sigs very
active members - Janos Bogardi. I would ask Janos (if he is reading
this) to add his comments to the above, since he is very much more
familiar with Hungarian genealogical research then I'm.


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
no dia 03.01.01 `as 20:59 -0500 horas, Zebradisc@aol.com escreveu:
at 03.01.01 - 20:59 -0500, Zebradisc@aol.com wrote:

>| In a message dated 01/03/2001 5:32:39 PM Pacific Standard Time,
>| tom.vene@uol.com.br writes:
>|
>| > surnames could change according to the
>| > predominant language at a given period of time. In Hungary, for
>| > example, "magyarositas" was a very common practice. Wolf became
>| > Farkas, Stern became Csillag, Weisz became Feher
>|
>| i am quite interested in your above stated observation--Weisz is among my
>| tree as is coincidentally Feiner (and i have looked at Feher in
this regard)
>| where can i read more about "magyarositas" can you shed any
light as to what
>| period this was most common?
>|
>| i have some rather commonplace names all subject to interesting
variations so
>| it gets curioser & curioser...many thanks for any assistance
>| ricky schultz

--
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-
Tom Venetianer <mailto:tom.vene@uol.com.br>
Sao Paulo - Brazil

Can anyone help me translate these two pages of a Yiddih article about the
destruction of the area around my grandfather's home town? The story is "The
Devastation of the Jews of Pasvalys and of Nearby Jewish Communities of
Jonishkelis, Vashkai, Linkuva, Pumpenai, Salochiai and Vahalnikas" by B
Rainus in the book "Lite Volume 1" by Sudarsky and Katzenelenbogen. Thanks.

The thumbnail image is on ViewMate at the address:

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/toview82.html#vm245

The full text is on ViewMate at:

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/vm245.html

Thanks.

Max Heffler (max@texsys.com)

Can anyone help me translate these two pages of a Yiddih article about the
destruction of the area around my grandfather's home town? The story is "The
Devastation of the Jews of Pasvalys and of Nearby Jewish Communities of
Jonishkelis, Vashkai, Linkuva, Pumpenai, Salochiai and Vahalnikas" by B
Rainus in the book "Lite Volume 1" by Sudarsky and Katzenelenbogen. Thanks.

The thumbnail image is on ViewMate at the address:

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/toview82.html#vm245

The full text is on ViewMate at:

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/vm245.html

Thanks.

Max Heffler (max@texsys.com)

<<Anyone out there know the Northern New Jersey Cemeteries?

A couisin tells me his father is buried in Richfield Park, New Jersey.
The father lived and worked in Hoboken, New Jersey. I don't know a
Richfield Park and I am wondering if it could be Rochelle Park. Any
other thoughts on which cemetery I might be looking for?>>

You might try the jewishgen cemetary database. It should include a
complete listing of known cemetaries in North Jersey.
There is a Richfield Park as well as Rochelle Park. I don't think either
place has a cemetary. There is Mt Moriah in Fairview just over the border

from Richfield.

Judy Salomon

MODERATOR NOTE: The International Jewish Cemetery Project Index
is at: http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/index.html

I am looking for the surname Jiskoot.
I hope that you can help me. Thanks.

Pieter J. DenDekker, The Netherlands

p.dendekker@filternet.nl

<<Anyone out there know the Northern New Jersey Cemeteries?

A couisin tells me his father is buried in Richfield Park, New Jersey.
The father lived and worked in Hoboken, New Jersey. I don't know a
Richfield Park and I am wondering if it could be Rochelle Park. Any
other thoughts on which cemetery I might be looking for?>>

You might try the jewishgen cemetary database. It should include a
complete listing of known cemetaries in North Jersey.
There is a Richfield Park as well as Rochelle Park. I don't think either
place has a cemetary. There is Mt Moriah in Fairview just over the border

from Richfield.

Judy Salomon

MODERATOR NOTE: The International Jewish Cemetery Project Index
is at: http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/index.html

I am looking for the surname Jiskoot.
I hope that you can help me. Thanks.

Pieter J. DenDekker, The Netherlands

p.dendekker@filternet.nl

Hi Folks!

I appreciate everyone's attempt at helping, but since this is not a
computer expert group, I don't think my query about an inexpensive ISP
offering newsgroups (in particular, the newsgroup for JewishGen which I
believe is soc.genealogy.jewish) was completely understood by many of the
respondents. And that was partially my fault, since I wasn't clear about
what I am looking for, either. As I stated before, I am no expert on
these matters - but my friends' (oversimplified for me) explanation, if I
understood it correctly, is that there is a service out there that is
separate >from the Internet. It is called a news or NNTP server. Most
free or inexpensive ISPs do *not* offer access to them. Premium ISPs,
which usually cost $19.95 or more per month for unlimited service,
generally do, though the number of newsgroups offered varies from
provider to provider. AOL also offers newsgroup access filtered through
their website (just as Internet access through AOL is also indirect).

I am currently on Juno Web as well as AOL, but Juno does not provide
newsgroup access at all through a news server. They recommend reading
newsgroup data through web based sites such as dejanews.com or
supernews.com . That is not what I am looking for - because the format
is different than it is in direct access.

One respondent to my inquiry did send me a link to what he says is a free
site that offers access to most major newsgroups through a news server.
I will try that within the next few weeks, and if anyone wants to
privately E-mail me and ask how it went, I will respond when I can (am
very busy in the next few weeks and need to spend less time on the
computer!). A couple of the other responses also spoke of news server
access to newsgroups. But most of the people who answered my inquiry,
with the best of intentions, did not really address the issue of news
server access, and it is unclear to me whether or not they know that the
ISPs they recommended offer it. But thank you all anyway. Anyone with
further comments on this, please contact me privately.

Lynne Shapiro
Western Mass.

Hi Folks!

I appreciate everyone's attempt at helping, but since this is not a
computer expert group, I don't think my query about an inexpensive ISP
offering newsgroups (in particular, the newsgroup for JewishGen which I
believe is soc.genealogy.jewish) was completely understood by many of the
respondents. And that was partially my fault, since I wasn't clear about
what I am looking for, either. As I stated before, I am no expert on
these matters - but my friends' (oversimplified for me) explanation, if I
understood it correctly, is that there is a service out there that is
separate >from the Internet. It is called a news or NNTP server. Most
free or inexpensive ISPs do *not* offer access to them. Premium ISPs,
which usually cost $19.95 or more per month for unlimited service,
generally do, though the number of newsgroups offered varies from
provider to provider. AOL also offers newsgroup access filtered through
their website (just as Internet access through AOL is also indirect).

I am currently on Juno Web as well as AOL, but Juno does not provide
newsgroup access at all through a news server. They recommend reading
newsgroup data through web based sites such as dejanews.com or
supernews.com . That is not what I am looking for - because the format
is different than it is in direct access.

One respondent to my inquiry did send me a link to what he says is a free
site that offers access to most major newsgroups through a news server.
I will try that within the next few weeks, and if anyone wants to
privately E-mail me and ask how it went, I will respond when I can (am
very busy in the next few weeks and need to spend less time on the
computer!). A couple of the other responses also spoke of news server
access to newsgroups. But most of the people who answered my inquiry,
with the best of intentions, did not really address the issue of news
server access, and it is unclear to me whether or not they know that the
ISPs they recommended offer it. But thank you all anyway. Anyone with
further comments on this, please contact me privately.

Lynne Shapiro
Western Mass.

Hello! I am looking for any information about a town where my ancestors
lived in Ukiraine (located in the Kiev province about 115 miles south of
Kiev). The town was called Katerinapol (or Ekaterinapol) in Ukraine and
was referred to as Kalniboloto as the Yiddish shtetl name. I did find
both the Russian and Yiddish versions of the town in the Shtetl finder.

My family lived there in the late 1800's and early 1900's and escaped in
1919 to Bucarest, Romania where they made passage to Ellis Island in 1922.
Most of the Landsman left around the same time when the pograms were
threatening to kill everyone in the town. Both Jews and Gentiles lived in
the town. The Landsman formed a society in Brooklyn, NY in 1900 to help the
families who settled in America. The society is still active with 6
members! It is called the Kalniblader Society and I am in touch with the
current president (who was not >from the town so he has little information
for me)

My family was in the grain business and the last names were Ostrovsky
(changed to Oster) and Stoianka (changed to Stone). The only thing I know
about the town, is the actual coordinates (The coordinates are 58,56N
30,58E) Attached is a link to a map on MapQuest.com -
http://www.mapquest.com/cgi-bin/share?sjl3sae3q39eoybr

Apparently the town had a lot of Pine trees because my grandfather talked
about a health farm located near the town for recuperating Tuberculosis
patients.

Please let me know if you know anything about this town or know of any
historical societies in the Kiev province that I could write to or call.

Thanks so much.

Shalom!

Muni Oster

Hello! I am looking for any information about a town where my ancestors
lived in Ukiraine (located in the Kiev province about 115 miles south of
Kiev). The town was called Katerinapol (or Ekaterinapol) in Ukraine and
was referred to as Kalniboloto as the Yiddish shtetl name. I did find
both the Russian and Yiddish versions of the town in the Shtetl finder.

My family lived there in the late 1800's and early 1900's and escaped in
1919 to Bucarest, Romania where they made passage to Ellis Island in 1922.
Most of the Landsman left around the same time when the pograms were
threatening to kill everyone in the town. Both Jews and Gentiles lived in
the town. The Landsman formed a society in Brooklyn, NY in 1900 to help the
families who settled in America. The society is still active with 6
members! It is called the Kalniblader Society and I am in touch with the
current president (who was not >from the town so he has little information
for me)

My family was in the grain business and the last names were Ostrovsky
(changed to Oster) and Stoianka (changed to Stone). The only thing I know
about the town, is the actual coordinates (The coordinates are 58,56N
30,58E) Attached is a link to a map on MapQuest.com -
http://www.mapquest.com/cgi-bin/share?sjl3sae3q39eoybr

Apparently the town had a lot of Pine trees because my grandfather talked
about a health farm located near the town for recuperating Tuberculosis
patients.

Please let me know if you know anything about this town or know of any
historical societies in the Kiev province that I could write to or call.

Thanks so much.

Shalom!

Muni Oster

Spent the day working in New York at the archives (and found nothing much by
the way) but I have a few tidbits that might help someone else.

Here's a list of woman with the surname of LEVITT married in the Bronx, New
York between 1933 and 1937 (names, dates and certificate numbers):

1933:
Bessie 1-1-1933 #628
Betty 12-10-32 #211
Dora 6-27-33 #4459
Ida B. 5-28-33 #3395
Lena 9-8-33 #6495

1934
Evelyn 9-20-1934 #7743

1935
Helen 10-20-1935 #9513

1936
Ethel 4-22-1936 #3135
Lena 6-28-36 #5397
Nina 3-29-36 #2617
Yetta 10-11-36 #8828

1937
Lillian 9-12-1937 #7546
Pearl 5-29-37 #3759
Sophie 6-20-37 #5681

Hope this helps someone's research. (Please don't write me for more
information because this is all I have, handwritten notes I took going
through the brides' index.)

Allan Jordan
aejordan@aol.com

The close friend of a Moskowitz ancestor I am searching was born in Varos
Nameny, near Kosice. Does someone have an alternate or modern name for
this town? the researcher I am working with in Slovakia believes that this
may be Vranov nad Toplou, and I wondered if others doing Hungarian
research have additional ideas.

Joan Pollak
Merion, Pa.

Spent the day working in New York at the archives (and found nothing much by
the way) but I have a few tidbits that might help someone else.

Here's a list of woman with the surname of LEVITT married in the Bronx, New
York between 1933 and 1937 (names, dates and certificate numbers):

1933:
Bessie 1-1-1933 #628
Betty 12-10-32 #211
Dora 6-27-33 #4459
Ida B. 5-28-33 #3395
Lena 9-8-33 #6495

1934
Evelyn 9-20-1934 #7743

1935
Helen 10-20-1935 #9513

1936
Ethel 4-22-1936 #3135
Lena 6-28-36 #5397
Nina 3-29-36 #2617
Yetta 10-11-36 #8828

1937
Lillian 9-12-1937 #7546
Pearl 5-29-37 #3759
Sophie 6-20-37 #5681

Hope this helps someone's research. (Please don't write me for more
information because this is all I have, handwritten notes I took going
through the brides' index.)

Allan Jordan
aejordan@aol.com

The close friend of a Moskowitz ancestor I am searching was born in Varos
Nameny, near Kosice. Does someone have an alternate or modern name for
this town? the researcher I am working with in Slovakia believes that this
may be Vranov nad Toplou, and I wondered if others doing Hungarian
research have additional ideas.

Joan Pollak
Merion, Pa.

I have just posted to JewishGen Viewmate (VM241) a family tree in Hebrew
containing Moses Maimonides and what appears to be his descendants down to
about 1400 CE. =A0It is copied >from an article by Abraham Hayyim Freiman in
a book entitled "Aluma", edited by Binyamin Menashe Levine, Jerusalem: 1936, If anyone could assist in translating this tree and reproducing it in
English, it would be greatly appreciated by all researchers of the MAIMON
surname.

Web address: http://www.jewishgen.org/ViewMate/toview81.html#vm241

Many thanks,

Rick Ford
West Palm Beach, FL

I have just posted to JewishGen Viewmate (VM241) a family tree in Hebrew
containing Moses Maimonides and what appears to be his descendants down to
about 1400 CE. =A0It is copied >from an article by Abraham Hayyim Freiman in
a book entitled "Aluma", edited by Binyamin Menashe Levine, Jerusalem: 1936, If anyone could assist in translating this tree and reproducing it in
English, it would be greatly appreciated by all researchers of the MAIMON
surname.

Web address: http://www.jewishgen.org/ViewMate/toview81.html#vm241

Many thanks,

Rick Ford
West Palm Beach, FL

Dear Subscribers,

Please note a new posting, the translation of a yizkor book on Boryslaw,
a town near Drohobycz, south-west of Lwów at
www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/Borislav/Borislav.html .

This book, A Tysmienica Nadal Plynie ("The Tysímienica still flows").
a poetic, extended, elegy for the lost life of Jewish Boryslaw, was
written several years ago by the late Leopold Held, a French-educated,
Boryslaw-born oil engineer. Tysmienica is the name of the river which
flows through the towns of Boryslaw and Drohobycz.

We owe a debt of thanks to Alex Sharon for drawing our attention to this
book and to Rozia Held Shapiro, the author's daughter, who gave
permission for its translation and publication.

Further thanks must be extended to three diligent translators, Edmund
Henenfeld, Inga Karliner and Chris Wozniak, who have given much of their
time and expertise to this work and continue to translate the remainder
of the chapters and also to Alex Sharon who has given invaluable
assistance in the translation of local and technical references and to
George Lee for translation the excerpts of Polish poetry in the book.

This book has great value for anyone interested in Boryslaw in
particular and more generally in the fascinating oil industry that was
developed by Jews in the Drohobycz area and Jewish life in Galicia
before the war. The book also has an index of names, not yet posted on
the web, but coming soon.

The book was not "officially" published but was privately printed in
Poland. Rozia Held Shapiro told us that about one thousand copies were
published and distributed free. The Polish bookstore of Mr. Neustein on
Allenby Street in Tel-Aviv also distributed this book without charge
several years ago.

The idea of writing the book was born during the summer of 1978 when a
number of
Boryslaw Holocaust survivors, friends, and family members of Mr. Held
met in Stockholm,
Sweden, where many of the last Polish Jews who left Poland settled
following the 1968/9 anti-Semitic campaign of the Polish government.

In November of the same year, Mr. Held published an article "Boryslaw of
Our Youth" in
Tel-Aviv's Polish language newspaper Nowiny Kurier. The next day, Mr.
Munysh Majer,
representative of the "Do Not Forget" Committee called Mr. Held and
asked him to write a "Sefer Yzkor" Book to commemorate the Boryslaw
haShoah victims. Thus the book by Mr. Held represents Boryslaw Yzkor
Book, written with only one goal in mind - to preserve the memories.


Valerie Schatzker
Editor

Hello !
I'm looking for old or recent amateur pictures >from Rozwadow (near

Tarnobrzeg , Poland)

Thanks ,
J.Holzman,
Antwerp,Belgium
holzman@pandora.be