Hi everyone,

Now that I got the birth places sorted, I am hoping to find census information on great-grandparents and their siblings.  
They were all born between 1885-1905ish.  All were born either in Dolginov or in a large estate 9 km east of Dolginov. 

I have tried birth records for Belarus and came up with absolutely nothing.  So I either assume they were never registered or they got lost.

Revision lists seem to be my best bet, but looking at JewishGen the latest Belarussian revision list was taken in 1858. 
There is also the 1897 census, but for whatever reason large parts of this revision list was destroyed.  That which remains does not appear to cover my area.

They were all alive before the breakout of WW2, all survived WW1 unscathed.  What would be my next best step?

Thank you so much.
--
Arkady Kamenetsky

My understanding is that the first Soviet census of Belarus in the 1920s is still mostly intact in the Belarus archives - I have not had any luck though in discovering any indexes or finding aids, or information on how to order copies remotely. Perhaps someone locally can be hired to look at the records?

BTW - for many towns there was also a revision list made in the 1870s - but none of these are posted on Jewishgen (yet).

regards
Daniel Eig

Please contact an organisation based in London UK and Belarus called The Together Plan.  They are helping the remnants of the  Jewish communities in Belarus realise their potential of carrying out research into families who used to make up an important part of pre-20thC European Jewry.  The researchers have huge advantages:  they speak Russian, Belarussian and English;  they live in the area;  they are only too familiar with the bureaucratic ways of this totalitarian State;  they are trained and mentored by Western experts. The Directors can provide you with testimonials.  
I'm sure they will get through the brick wall !

Good hunting,
Margaret Levin (London UK)

I have had quite a bit of success using Yad Vashem when families are known to have been residing in Europe during the interwar period, especially if they are believed to have been living there when WWII broke out. Not only are there Pages of Testimony, but other records, such as ghetto lists, lists of the persecuted, etc., are also coming online. You may find related households on Yad Vashem. I used Pages of Testimony this past week, in combination with Lithuanian Internal and Foreign passport applications I found on www.JewishGen.org, to piece together large portions of my extended family.

Best of luck.
Regards,
Cary Pollack

I used the Together Plan. Not sure what they can find for your family (they traced my Minsk family branch back to the 1700s), but they should be able to give you an idea of what is possible.
--
Carl Kaplan

KAPLAN Minsk, Belarus
EDELSON, EDINBURG Kovno, Lithuania
HOFFERT, BIENSTOCK< BIENENSTOCK Kolbuszowa, Galicia
STEINBERG, KLINGER, WEISSBERG, APPELBERG Bukaczowce, Galicia