JewishGen.org Discussion Group FAQs
What is the JewishGen.org Discussion Group?
The JewishGen.org Discussion Group unites thousands of Jewish genealogical researchers worldwide as they research their family history, search for relatives, and share information, ideas, methods, tips, techniques, and resources. The JewishGen.org Discussion Group makes it easy, quick, and fun, to connect with others around the world.
Is it Secure?
Yes. JewishGen is using a state of the art platform with the most contemporary security standards. JewishGen will never share member information with third parties.
How is the New JewishGen.org Discussion Group better than the old one?
Our old Discussion List platform was woefully antiquated. Among its many challenges: it was not secure, it required messages to be sent in Plain Text, did not support accented characters or languages other than English, could not display links or images, and had archives that were not mobile-friendly.
This new platform that JewishGen is using is a scalable, and sustainable solution, and allows us to engage with JewishGen members throughout the world. It offers a simple and intuitive interface for both members and moderators, more powerful tools, and more secure archives (which are easily accessible on mobile devices, and which also block out personal email addresses to the public).
I am a JewishGen member, why do I have to create a separate account for the Discussion Group?
As we continue to modernize our platform, we are trying to ensure that everything meets contemporary security standards. In the future, we plan hope to have one single sign-in page.
I like how the current lists work. Will I still be able to send/receive emails of posts (and/or digests)?
Yes. In terms of functionality, the group will operate the same for people who like to participate with email. People can still send a message to an email address (in this case, main@groups.JewishGen.org), and receive a daily digest of postings, or individual emails. In addition, Members can also receive a daily summary of topics, and then choose which topics they would like to read about it. However, in addition to email, there is the additional functionality of being able to read/post messages utilizing our online forum (https://groups.jewishgen.org).
Does this new system require plain-text?
No.
Can I post images, accented characters, different colors/font sizes, non-latin characters?
Yes.
Can I categorize a message? For example, if my message is related to Polish, or Ukraine research, can I indicate as such?
Yes! Our new platform allows members to use “Hashtags.” Messages can then be sorted, and searched, based upon how they are categorized. Another advantage is that members can “mute” any conversations they are not interested in, by simply indicating they are not interested in a particular “hashtag.”
Will all posts be archived?
Yes.
Can I still search though old messages?
Yes. All the messages are accessible and searchable going back to 1998.
What if I have questions or need assistance using the new Group?
Send your questions to: support@JewishGen.org
How do I access the Group’s webpage?
Follow this link: https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main
So just to be sure - this new group will allow us to post from our mobile phones, includes images, accented characters, and non-latin characters, and does not require plain text?
Correct!
Will there be any ads or annoying pop-ups?
No.
Will the current guidelines change?
Yes. While posts will be moderated to ensure civility, and that there is nothing posted that is inappropriate (or completely unrelated to genealogy), we will be trying to create an online community of people who regulate themselves, much as they do (very successfully) on Jewish Genealogy Portal on Facebook.
What are the new guidelines?
There are just a few simple rules & guidelines to follow, which you can read here:https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main/guidelines
Thank you in advance for contributing to this amazing online community!
If you have any questions, or suggestions, please email support@JewishGen.org.
Sincerely,
The JewishGen.org Team
|
I've posted before about helping a Ukrainian and Russian Kagan/Cohen family who lost track of their American cousins in the 1930s, after falling into conversation on a train with the grandson of the brother who stayed behind.
At long last we have succeeded at finding them, special thanks to Georgeann Moore at Temple University. She found the son who went to medical school and provided the link to his informative obituary.. So now we have dozens of cousins on this side and a still unknown number in Russia, hopefully more in Ukraine if there were survivors of all misfortunes of the 1930s and 40s. So thinking of an online platform for documenting this, in a multi-lingual way, the familysearch website comes to mind, since the website can be navigated in Russian as well as English, and material can be entered and viewed in both languages. So I'm curious if others have tried this, and how it worked out for them? Was it actually used and updated over there as well as here? -David Mason, Los Angeles
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
Philip Heilbrunn
A "vonce" also pronounced "Vantz" is a bed bug!
Not complimentary Philip Heilbrunn
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: My grandparents JONUSS and MAZUS from Ezere, Latvia
#latvia
#lithuania
Sherri Bobish
Ingrid, Have you tried looking for your family in these databases of Latvian & Lithuanian records? Try a soundex search if you don't get hits on the exact spelling of the surname. https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Latvia/ https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Lithuania/ Regards, Sherri Bobish
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Opole Lubelskie Ghetto
#holocaust
perlagold@...
I'm sorry, but I do not have any pictures or letters. Everything was taken away from my parents when they crossed into Russia to escape from the approaching Germans. There is a memorial book from Opole Lubelskie that is written all in Hebrew & Yiddish. Maybe that would have some info for you if you read either language. I am a fluent speaker of Yiddish, but my reading capabilities are not wonderful. I wish I could be of more help.
Regards, Perla Goldschmidt Doylestown, PA
|
||
|
|
||
|
finding PELZEL in Montevideo
#general
Paul Silverstone
In 1947 my cousins name GARBATY flew to Montevideo from New York to see
Hedwig PELZEL, 1483 Calle Largo, Montevideo They had spent the war in Shanghai, and perhaps this person was a relative who could give me some information on the family, Is it possible to find this family today? -- Paul Silverstone West Vancouver, BC see: www.paulsilverstone.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
Witunski/Witenski family from Lutomiersk
#poland
bobbymax911@...
I am looking for information about my grandmother’s family. Her maiden name was Vetensky. We believe before she emigrated to London it was probably Witunski or Witenski, probably from Lutomiersk in Poland. She had a sister who married a baker and moved to Colorado (no names). Her brother, Morris, emigrated to New York. We do not know their parent’s names. If anyone has information on this family please let me know.
MODERATOR NOTE: Please reply privately with family information
|
||
|
|
||
|
elissa7@...
Hi All,
Someone has my Great grandfather Louis Kaplan and wife Esther Wallach and other family in a Kaplan Tree on Ancestry.com with lots of wrong information. He's listed as Louis Svisloch Kaplan when Svislach is where he was from. Lot of other wrong information. My Great grandfather only had 1 child (my Grandpa Simon) and Simon only had 2 children. I am the only one doing genealogy on the family so I am not sure who these people are. I no longer have full access to Ancestry .com where the tree is located and there was no button to contact the person. Louis Kaplan born 1872 had a sister named Pearl/Paula Kaplan Rosen and a brother named Sam who died a bachelor between 1920-1930 in NYC. There may have been other siblings which we don't know about. There parents were Asny Watnick and Samuel Movshe Kaplan. Esther and Louis Kaplan lived in Danbury, CT. I am hoping to find the person with the family tree on Ancestry or more family. Thanks in advance, Elissa Haden Palm Springs, CA Researching KAPLAN, WATNICK, WALLACH
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
JoAnne Goldberg
In the house where I grew up, we had an annual invasion of flying ants that my parents referred to as "voncen" -- same word I guess. Bedbug in German is Wanze.
-- JoAnne Goldberg - Menlo Park, California; GEDmatch M131535
BLOCH, SEGAL, FRIDMAN, KAMINSKY, PLOTNIK/KIN -- LIthuania
GOLDSCHMIDT, HAMMERSCHLAG,HEILBRUNN, REIS(S), EDELMUTH, ROTHSCHILD, SPEI(Y)ER -- Hesse, Germany
COHEN, KAMP, HARFF, FLECK, FRÖHLICH, HAUSMANN, DANIEL -- Rhineland, Germany
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
Laurie Sosna
Anyone else remember the episode of M*A*S*H ("38 Across")?
Hawkeye couldn't finish a crossword puzzle because he didn't know the five letter Yiddish word for bedbug that begins with V. Laurie Sosna San Francisco, CA
|
||
|
|
||
|
Invitation to Zoom meeting: "Woman in Gold" with Randy Shoenberg
#event
Ben Kempner
The Jewish Genealogy Society of Southern Nevada invites you to a Zoom meeting at 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, November 8: “Woman in Gold” with Randy Shoenberg. To request a Zoom link, please complete this form: Zoom Link Request
|
||
|
|
||
|
Havana, Cuba: Group Photo, Club Juvenil Hebreo de Cuba, June 1942
#photographs
The recent post by Adam Cherson of class photos from Havana's Centro Israelita reminded me that I had this photo, which was taken in June 1942 of the going-away party for my mother, Chana Anita Levik, held by the Club Juvenil Hebreo de Cuba (Jewish Youth Club
of Cuba) shortly before she immigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, USA. My mom is the one seated near the center with the flowery dress.
If you are interested in learning about my mother's life in Cuba, read her memoir at: https://martinfischer.webs.com/Chana_Levik_Fischer_memoir.html
-- Martin Fischer Vice President-Publicity Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois JGSI website: https://jgsi.org
|
||
|
|
||
|
Name of Moss, Mosse
#unitedkingdom
sandranyberg@...
My Grandfather's side of the family has the name of Moss or going back to the 1600's Mosse.
I was told that my grandfathers family came to England "on the boats" whatever that means. I checked the name and it goes back to the family living in Essex. The family seemed to have been baptised so I thought they could not be Jewish. I have researched the name and think they were but cant trace the family. Any suggestions? Many thanks Sandra
|
||
|
|
||
|
Marcia Segal
Hello,
This may be outside the scope of the group, but I wondered if there are thoughts as to what name Sabolor might be (if "vitz" is "son of")? It's possible it was misheard and written down as Sabolor and should have been something else. However, if could be a name specific to Russia that doesn't translate directly. Many thanks in advance.This may be outside the scope of the group, but I wondered if there are thoughts as to what name Sabolor might be (if "vitz" is "son of")? It's possible it was misheard and written down as Sabolor and should have been something else. However, if could be a name specific to Russia that doesn't translate directly. Many thanks in advance. Sincerely, Marcia Segal
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
Max Heffler
Vantz: https://jel.jewish-languages.org/words/1635 - bedbug
My ex-father-in-law used to use it
Max Heffler Houston
From: main@... [mailto:main@...]
On Behalf Of loren greenberg via groups.jewishgen.org
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2020 4:15 PM To: main@... Subject: [JewishGen.org] Yiddish Question #yiddish
Hello, -- Web sites I manage - Personal home page, Greater Houston Jewish Genealogical Society, Woodside Civic Club, Skala, Ukraine KehilalLink, Joniskelis, Lithuania KehilaLink, and pet volunteer project - Yizkor book project: www.texsys.com/websites.html
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
Deanna Levinsky
In my family a "vonce" was a bedbug but actually applied to a person to mean someone rather sneaky Children received this appellation if the were squirmy, or sneaky but it was more charitable than when applied to an adult
Deanna Levinsky -- Deanna M. Levinsky, Long Island, NY
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Yiddish Question
#yiddish
Ellen Slotoroff Zyroff
My recollection is that it means a "louse" (plural "lice").
On Thursday, October 22, 2020, 02:37:40 PM PDT, loren greenberg <greenberg.loren@...> wrote:
Hello, I have heard the expression "vonce" used by my parents and others from NYC while growing up. I am certain it is a Yiddish expression altered by English speakers. It was used to refer to an active child. Perhaps a "rascal" or "shovav" in Hebrew? Does anyone know what the genesis of this expression is? Thank you, Loren Greenberg Los Angeles, CA Abelow - Merkine, Lithuania Golub(ofsky)- Vasilishki, Belarus Milner - Smiltene, Latvia Shafir, Schaeffer, Melamed, Agazim, Vinograd -StaroKonstantinov, Ukraine Volpiansky - Kaunas and Balbieriskis, Lithuania -- ZOLOTOROV (Chernigov, Ukraine; Kiev, Ukraine); SLOTOROFF (Kiev, Ukraine) CHARKOVSKY or SHARKOVSKY(Ukraine); LEVINE (Ukraine and Minsk, Belarus); GLUSKIN (Ukraine) LIMON (Berestechko, Volynia, Ukraine) TESLER (Horochiv, Volynia, Ukraine) ZYRO (Zabolativ, Ukraine) TAU (Zalolativ, Ukraine) PISTERMAN (Ukraine) ROTH / ROT (Ataki, Bessarabia, Moldova) BLAUSTEIN (Chernigov, Ukraine or Minsk, Belarus)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Translation of Birth Records From Galicia
#translation
#galicia
Mark Halpern
Hi Warren:
On 2020-10-22 1:35 pm, wmetzgerusa via groups.jewishgen.org wrote:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Yiddish Question
#yiddish
loren greenberg
Hello,
I have heard the expression "vonce" used by my parents and others from NYC while growing up. I am certain it is a Yiddish expression altered by English speakers. It was used to refer to an active child. Perhaps a "rascal" or "shovav" in Hebrew? Does anyone know what the genesis of this expression is? Thank you, Loren Greenberg Los Angeles, CA Abelow - Merkine, Lithuania Golub(ofsky)- Vasilishki, Belarus Milner - Smiltene, Latvia Shafir, Schaeffer, Melamed, Agazim, Vinograd -StaroKonstantinov, Ukraine Volpiansky - Kaunas and Balbieriskis, Lithuania
|
||
|
|
||
|
Lithuanian Telephone Books
#lithuania
Todd Brody
Hey genners:
My gr-grandfather left Lithuania in 1929 for the United States.
I have been trying to find Lithuanian phone (or other directories) prior to 1929 to see if I could find his address.
The earliest directory on the Genealogy Indexer seems to be 1930.
The website for the European Reading Room of the Library of Congress says that they have a 1923 directory for all of Lithuania (Telefonu Abonentu Knyga), but that directory doesn't appear to be online.
Is anyone aware of other Lithuanian directories for the period prior to 1929 -- bonus points if they are available online.
My gr-grandfather lived in Telsiai, but it is possible that by the end of his time in Europe he was living in Kaunas.
Thanks for your help.
Todd Brody
|
||
|
|
||
|
Re: Elm Ridge Drive, Toronto
#canada
boris
Thank you, Jeremy,
From google street views, it is clear that the area was redeveloped later; I just did not know it was because of the expressway construction.
That whole area was very Jewish from the beginning, that's why my hope is that there are a few genealogists who will recognize the names (and that's why I posted the entire 1951 Directory page).
Boris
-- _______________________________________ Boris Feldblyum FAST Genealogy Service boris@...
|
||
|
|
