FamilySearch, JewishGen and Litvak SIG: What are they hiding?

I like to keep up with records newly digitized by FamilySearch. A couple of years ago I posted an article about locating new record listings on a variety of websites - including FamilySearch. I assumed that their list accurately reflected their online holdings. Guess again!

Turns out that JewishGen and the Lithuanian-Jewish Special Interest Group (LitvakSIG) have some options for seeing indexed digitized records in their All Lithuania Database. They link to records digitized by FamilySearch from Family History Library microfilm. But, if one tries to locate the digitized records from the Historic Record Collections list on FamilySearch, one will not find them.

The All Lithuania Database

The All Lithuania Database is a cooperative venture between JewishGen and LitvakSIG). LitvakSIG, an independent  organization, works with researchers and archives in Lithuania to locate and index Jewish records. They also identify and index Lithuanian Jewish records that the Family History Library has on microfilm. Once LitvakSIG uploads indexes, they are available only to paid members of a one of their district groups for 18 months. After 18 months the records become available - for free - in the All Lithuania Database, which may be accessed via LitvakSIG and JewishGen.

The key concept behind LitvakSIG - and much of JewishGen - is that they provide indexes, but usually not digitized original records. Database summaries associated with each collection of indexed records should provide enough information for researchers to independently access the originals. Fortunate researchers who find indexed family records may have to contact archives in Lithuania or order microfilm from the Family History Library.

But recently, JewishGen and LitvakSIG seem to be following in the innovative footsteps of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland. During the last few years, this last group has worked cooperatively with Polish Archives to index and link to records that have been placed online by Polish archives. With just a few  clicks, one may be sitting in one's jammies looking, virtually, at records in Warsaw. Very slick.

So, Here's the Rub!

With regard to JewishGen and LitvakSIG, some records in the All Lithuania Database that were indexed from FamilySearch microfilm are now linked to records digitized and online at FamilySearch [I understand from Marion Werle that similar links may be found for LatviaSIG records on JewishGen.]. This great news! Unfortunately, one is unlikely to know about this unless one searches via the All Lithuania Database portal. 

For some reason, FamilySearch does not include these records on the long list of those collections that have been digitized. So, if one goes to their Historical Record Collections list, one will not see them. It ought to be listed between Liechtenstein and Louisiana, below - but, no.



To locate the Jewish Lithuanian records on FamilySearch  one must search their catalog for Lithuania and Jewish records. Metrical Books from Kovno show many film rolls. The vast majority have been digitized, as indicated by a little camera icon on the right side of the page. Those that have not been digitized are indicated by a microfilm roll icon.
 

Access via the All Lithuania database (JewishGen and LitvakSIG)

I located the All Lithuania Database by clicking the Databases tab on the JewishGen home page.

This took me to JewishGen's long list of databases. Scrolling down to Lithuania, I clicked on LitvakSIG "All Lithuania" Database. This took me to a search page on the LitvakSIG webpage.

For the case I was researching, I entered a surname as well as a community. Since I was searching a common name (Levin), I reasoned that specifying a town would limit results to those Levins most relevant to my research interest. 

I also specified phonetic search in both cases. This took into account the fact that original records were likely written in a different alphabet and that the town name may have been slightly different, as well. 

Results included records in several component databases within the All Lithuania Database. The following listing was included in the LitvakSIG "Lithuania Marriages and Divorces" list. 

To my joy, I found, not just an indexed record and a reference to a collection in a Lithuanian archive and a Family History Library microfilm, but, on the far left (red arrow), a hot link to FamilySearch (the website associated with the Family History Library). Note the information shown for the record number and year (blue arrow) as well as the microfilm item number and image number (red arrow). This information may be useful for finding the FamilySearch digital image of the original record.

Family History Library microfilms often contain more than one collection or collections that have been subdivided into "items." In this case, the far right column of the indexed record entry provides the microfilm number (2,291,760), item number (2), and image number (691). LVIA and Fond numbers in the last line would be terrific information if one decided to try to acquire the record directly from the Lithuanian archive. But, no need for that here. While on the All Lithuania Database results page, click the hot link (red arrow) and head directly to FamilySearch.

Note a few things:

• the film number (004221369) shown, above, in the image thumbnail area and also in the detail, below, does not match the actual Family History Library microfilm number. The microfilm number (2291760) is acknowledged in the first image of the digitized roll.

• from the FamilySearch thumbnail screen, one may look at thumbnails or switch to different views by clicking on one of the symbols on the right. The plus (+) will increase the size of the view. Minus (-) will decrease it. The solid square within a small frame allows one to toggle between numerous thumbnails and a single image. The broken square allows for full screen view.

• in this roll, as shown in the thumbnail view above, the fourth image with a large numeral 1 indicates the start of item 1 on the roll. Item 1 will also end with a similar image and item 2 will start immediately after that. One may scroll through the images seeking those item numbers (as shown, below). 

Finding the record - Alternative 1

In this case, the easiest option is to search via the date of the record (1893) and record number (5). In the digitized record book, look at the first few pages after FamilySearch item 2. It includes images of the original book's index.

The index indicates that marriage records from 1893 will be found in record book pages 131 through 140. Navigating to page 131 (on FamilySearch, see image 682), finds a title page for 1893 records. Continue scrolling to record number 5 (circled in green, below) to find the Levin record. It is on record book page 136 (blue oval). Note that this image is number 691 (I've circled it in red). You may recall that the assigned number 691 was the image number identified in the right column of the All Lithuania Database search result for this record.

This alternative for record access may be a bit easier that alternative 2. But, one will not always be so fortunate to work with a metrical record book that contains an index. One may have to punt. So, here is an alternative browse strategy.

Finding the record - Alternative 2

As noted above, the database provided the film image number: 691. The image number, unfortunately, does not coincide with the FamilySearch digital image number because the digital images also count the microfilm roll number image and several administrative images at the start of each film. So, one may enter 691 to get close to the image on the roll, but one will still need to do a bit of browsing to find the correct page.

Above, I entered 691 and hit <new line>, which took me to an image showing 695. No "Levin" on this page. If I scroll back four images, I find a page imaged with the target number 691. Image 691 is actually on FamilySearch digitized image number 687. Levin, underlined in pencil on the page (and circled in red by me), is on this page. The first two letters are on one line and the last three on on the next. It helps, in this case to know what the name Левин [Levin] will look like in Cyrillic script.

The Up-shot

Why are these online digitized Lithuanian Jewish records not listed in the FamilySearch Historic Record Collections list? I have no idea (I will have to send a query to them, I guess). 

I have always assumed that past a certain point, as the digitized Historic Records Collection list gets larger,  FamilySearch would have to ditch the list and find a more elegant solution. Perhaps that is in the offing. But, right now it appears that some digitized records have not made the existing list. 

Bottom line? 

• It is important to know how to search a website's catalog. That is true whether one is using FamilySearch, Ancestry, JewishGen, or any genealogy website. And don't just check it once and be done with it. Particularly with FamilySearch, it seems they are picking up the pace of digitization. One doesn't want to miss anything and ... one may be pleasantly surprised. 

• Learn how to browse FamilySearch digitized microfilm for records of interest. FamilySearch is uploading digitized records at a fantastic pace and, in most cases, indexing has not kept up. Be flexible in one's browsing strategy. Each collection will have it's own peculiarities.

• And, of course, note that indexing activities by Jewish genealogy groups are allowing us to locate our family records within newly online data sets. Don't forget to thank them with monetary contributions (JewishGen donation page; LitvakSIG donation page).

Indices: Explore all Options

It's one o'clock in the morning. Do you know who else has indexed your data set?

Record collections are coming online with astonishing frequency. Many times we sigh with resignation as company B follows company A, which published the same collection a year or so previously. Later, company C provides the same  online collection. Aside from competition for customers, what's the point? The point is, researchers can benefit from independently indexed collections.

from Wikimediacommons

There are several reasons for searching the same or similar collections on more than one website. Different companies may have:

• their own proprietary image enhancement technology that may significantly improve viewing of otherwise identical images (compare, for example, enhanced 1940 U.S. census images on a variety of websites);
• advanced search options and tools allowing one to focus one's search energies;
• a variety of methods for moving within datasets to browse for images of interest (for example, I much prefer to browse manifests on sites that allow me to jump around among the images, not force me to advance only one image at a time; I also like to be able to rotate census images so I can read through the street names quickly when I am searching through an enumeration district); 

But none of this is important if you cannot find the image or have no idea where to look within the collection. 

Indexers often get a bad rap. Yes, indexing is a prime area where errors may be introduced. Ancestry has been criticized for using foreign indexers. FamilySearch has been criticized for not allowing input for corrections to their indices. A common complaint from researchers whose ancestors came from Eastern Europe is that Ellis Island manifests have been indexed by researchers who have no familiarity with those surnames and places. Because of that, some of the indexing errors seem bizarre to those of us who have some familiarity.

The truth is, despite these issues, indexing is the heart and soul of genealogy research. Yes the computer has revolutionized research. But, if not for indexing, much of that would not have been possible.

We all have our favorite websites and search tools, but when all else fails in your search, bail and go to another site that has the same collection, indexed via a different set of indexers.[1]

I will admit, that I have been an ardent follower of the freely accessible Italian Genealogy Group and German Genealogy Group indices of New York City vital records. These entities partnered in a volunteer effort to index records available through the New York City Municipal Archives. I would sometimes use the Steve Morse One-Step search forms to access them. But, even after Ancestry put indices of these same records online, I still saw most benefit in staying with the ItalianGen/GermanGen indices.

Unfortunately, one thing we do not see often enough with complex record sets is independently derived indices that include different/additional information. I have lamented previously that I did not see much value added when FamilySearch decided to initiate their own indexing project for New York manifests. I wanted to see additional information indexed, such place of birth, closest relative in the old country and address and/or name of the person the immigrant planned to meet at their destination.

New York City vital records? Enter FamilySearch. 

On 20 March 2015 they added [2]:

• New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949

• New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909

• New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1866-1938

As I usually do, I immediately tested the new indices with one of my unusual family surnames: Liebross. I figured after all these years I'd pretty much exhausted the Liebross vital records collections in New York City. But, FamilySearch added an element to their indexing of death records that had not been included by previous indexers: parents' names (parents' names are also included in birth and marriage record searches).

ItalianGen/GermanGen and Ancestry indices have coded first name, age at death, date, certificate number and county. Results in the marriage index also provide easy access to spouse names.

Using the Steve Morse search form one can also get results that include the FHL microfilm number. One would not see parents' names until one had acquired the original record. Where there were several people indexed with the same or similar names, this created a bit of a crap shoot. Many of us have ordered records we thought might be correct only to discover that the parents names were not. 

The new FamilySearch index not only adds a bit more certainty to the process of record acquisition, but also to the hope of finding new records.

Results of my recent Liebross search surprised me. Early in my family history research I'd found that my great aunt Rose who, I thought, had never married, had indeed married (in 1926) and later divorced (in 1931) a dentist named Nathan J. Bernstein. I'd located the marriage certificate indexed on ItalianGen.[3]

In FamilySearch's new NYC Municipal Deaths index database, I waded through the expected indexed records and then, towards the end, noted records where Liebross was the deceased's mother's surname.

Oh, my! Rose Liebross Bernstein had a baby who had died: Ira Howard Bernstein.

 

He was born and died between census enumerations. It is unlikely I ever would have found him. While I have since found him in the same cemetery (Mt. Lebanon) as the rest of the family, he and his parents were not buried in the same plots.  

[It is interesting to note that when I searched on Liebross in the FamilySearch marriage index I received no hits. Several Liebross family members are identified in the ItalianGen marriage index search results. This is another example of why one should use more than one index in one's searches.]

Of course indexers always make choices. While FamilySearch has included much more information that previous indexers, cause of death is not indexed; nor identification of the informant, the doctor, funeral home, etc. I have no particular criticism of that.  

The results provide more information than may be searched from FamilySearch's search box. It would be nice if the search box allowed for searching on particular dates (or even months) of death and birth. Right now one may only search on a range of years. Why not allow searches on particular addresses (the smallest geographical unit one may now search on is city)?

Regardless, this new index is huge. I have already found my great aunt's previously unknown child. By searching on family surnames, one may be able to find death records for women whose married names were previously unknown. 

If FamilySearch allowed more specific time or area searches, one one might be able to conduct research into community deaths in one small area of the city. Think of the context one might develop for understanding one's family and their lives at particular times and places.

I now await delivery of a copy of the original death record for Ira Howard Bernstein from the New York City Municipal Archives.

Let's hope new indices keep coming from a variety of sources. As researchers we must try new indices to expand our opportunities for success. 

Notes:
1. It would be nice if companies were up-front about how their collections were indexed? In addition to collection descriptions on websites, they should include how indices were derived. That way one might be able to tell if indices on different websites were independently developed or copied from another (also accessible) source.
2. The data sets do not actually contain death records from 1949 or marriage records from 1938. The records end the year before those designations. It would be good if FamilySearch corrected that so researchers do not think they might find death records from 1949 and marriage certificates from 1938.
3. Queens County, New York, marriage certificate no. 3319 (1926), Nathan Judas Bernstein and Rose Liebross, 14 November 1926; Municipal Archives, New York.

Of Elephants, MyHeritage, FamilySearch and balderdash!

I received two messages this morning that made me turn around to consider the elephant in the corner of the room - or at least made me think about how I honor my deceased relatives' history and how I conduct my "cousin"-baiting:

• A message posted on my blog post (11 November 2012) about my father's WWII service from the offspring of my father's Army Air Corps pilot, Lt. John V. Wessling. 

• A press release from MyHeritage announced that My Heritage and Family Search will be sharing family trees.

MyHeritage adds 900 million records to its global digital archive

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah – February 2, 2015: MyHeritage, the leading destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history, today announced that 900 million global historical records have been added to its searchable digital archive, bringing the total to more than 6 billion. By combining its huge and rapidly expanding digital repository of historical records with its matching technologies and newly-released Instant Discoveries™ experience, MyHeritage is helping families unlock their past faster and on a larger scale than ever before.

The additional content announced today is among the fruits of MyHeritage’s strategic partnership with FamilySearch, the world’s largest genealogy organization. The records consist primarily of family tree profiles that have been submitted by more than 22 million users on FamilySearch. Integration ensures that this data is refreshed on MyHeritage on a daily basis as it is updated on FamilySearch. Adding this data to MyHeritage alongside the 27 million global family trees submitted by users of MyHeritage, brings together for the very first time 2 of the world’s 3 largest family tree collections. The beneficiaries are the users of the two organizations that will receive matches whenever MyHeritage technologies locate overlaps between the trees. Millions of users will make new discoveries and find new, previously unknown ancestors and relatives thanks to this partnership.

Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage said: "Unraveling the family history of the people of the world requires two primary ingredients - advanced technologies and massive amounts of data. MyHeritage is constantly pushing the limits in developing big data technology for family history discoveries, and today’s announcement marks a substantial advancement in our accumulation of data. We're proud to work closely with FamilySearch to empower families across the globe to learn about their past and, through it, about themselves. Today’s big step helps make the world a little smaller and bring people closer together."

Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch said: "Partnerships are a major focus in FamilySearch’s strategy to increase family history discoveries for more people. We value our strategic partnership with MyHeritage and appreciate their global reach and contribution to technology in the family history space. We believe this integration is paramount to the greater good of the community and look forward to a fruitful 2015 and beyond.”

Before I began genealogy blogging, I occasionally used to send out emailed updates to different branches of my family regarding research successes or questions. When I started this blog more than three years ago, I hoped to inspire my relatives to share family stories. Some family members have responded positively, but not many. I think those that are loathe to share publicly and not motivated to share privately, are, frankly, loathe to share publicly and not motivated to share privately - and the ease of posting responses to my posts on this blog has not solved those issues.

Of those relatives who are reading, some comment on my FaceBook page where I announce new posts, some comment to me via email, and some comment not at all. Based on responses, I think most are very pleased when I post something about their direct ancestors and have not expressed privacy concerns. I try to protect information on living people.

Where the blog has really shined has been its presence in search engines. I have been found by several distant cousins (and now by my father's WWII pilot's family) because I have posted accounts that mentioned their relative's names. In most cases, these contacts have been extremely positive events, improving my knowledge about my family.

It is for these same reasons that I have, over the years, posted iterations of my family tree on JewishGen's Family Tree of the Jewish People, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, Geni.com and Rootsweb's World Connect Project. Via all of these platforms, I have been contacted by or made contacts with researchers whose information has advanced my research.

One might notice a glaring absence from this list. FamilySearch: the elephant smiling fetchingly in the corner. Despite my great love for the wonderful work that FamilySearch does, I have not put my tree on their site. 

When I have taught introductory Jewish genealogy classes, I often extoll the virtues of researching on FamilySearch.org or at their numerous brick and mortar research facilities: access is free, they won't bother you for donations, they're extremely nice, they don't proselytize online or at their research centers. But, best of all, their record content is exceptional and improving greatly all the time.

Among my Jewish genealogy audiences, eyebrows are often raised when FamilySearch is mentioned. Many Jewish people do not wish to share their trees with the Latter Day Saints. They feel twice burned by stories of posthumous baptisms of Jewish Holocaust victims and fear that posting trees on FamilySearch will foster this behavior. To Jewish people it was an assault on the memory of those who died clinging to their beliefs to baptize them posthumously.

My understanding is that LDS members are only supposed to posthumously baptize people to whom they are related and that the second time it happened, when someone was caught baptizing a Jewish non-relative - Simon Wiesenthal's Holocaust-era relatives - the renegades were stifled (my LDS acquaintances can let me know if this is an inaccurate assessment). 

If this is indeed true - and I have no reason to believe that FamilySearch, institutionally, was behind the Holocaust victim baptisms - then we need to move beyond conspiracy theories.

Now to my mind, posthumous baptisms should not matter to those of us who do not believe in baptism at all: do what you will, it's a bunch of balderdash, anyway! But, I still have not put my tree on FamilySearch. Guess it's my little gut check.

During the past few nights I've been reading Mary Antin's The Promised Land, her 1912 reminiscence of her years in Polotsk and life as a Jewish immigrant in the United States. In her recollections of the sometimes challenging relations between Jewish and Gentile populations in Polotsk, she noted that as a child she felt that compared to pogroms:

...There was one thing the Gentiles might do to me worse than burning or rending. It was what was done to unprotected Jewish children who fell into the hands of priests or nuns. They might baptize me. That would be worse than death by torture. Rather would I drown in the Dvina [river] than a drop of baptismal water should touch my forehead...sooner would I rush out to the mob that was passing and let them tear my vitals out...rather would I be seized with the plague, and be eaten up by vermin...there was no pain that I would not bear - no, none - rather than submit to baptism...

Oh. 

I guess the "balderdash" argument would hold no sway with someone who has that perspective. I think the LDS and our Jewish ancestors might (shall we say) be operating under different paradigms.

I see this morning's announcement from MyHeritage as a game changer for recalcitrant Jewish genealogists - the elephant has moved and is now seated at the table. The announced agreement is the logical extension of all these recent partnerships forged among genealogical titans (FamilySearch, Ancestry, Find My Past and MyHeritage): not just increased access to records, but also global access to family trees. 

In my view, hiding one's family trees from public viewing on any platform is not only detrimental to continued solid research but is also the antithesis of what serious researchers should be doing. Research can only be improved in the light of day and with the constructive criticism of fellow researchers. So, we should be applauding the MyHeritage - FamilySearch announcement.

The question for Jewish genealogists is no longer "can we trust the LDS Church to protect our ancestor's reputations?" but, "do we need to trust them?" I'd like to believe the first answer is "yes," but I absolutely can say that the second answer is "no." 

Jewish people are drawn to genealogy for all the same reasons that Gentiles are drawn to it, but with one big addition. Jewish genealogy has become, because of the Holocaust, an important way to honor and remember those (including whole communities) whom others sought to wipe from the earth. We may be motivated partly by what others did to us, but now we can be motivated by what we can do for our own - regardless of what others may do or want to do. We need to move on as genealogy victors and try to embrace the "balderdash" argument because with that attitude we may best serve our ancestors and their memories.

Family trees are soon to be shared among nearly all platforms. Gut checks are now likely irrelevant. The LDS are policing their troops. I hope their diligence in this regard continues. I also understand that elephant meat is not kosher. But, even if we Jewish genealogists don't partake, our work will improve. We and our ancestor's memories stand to benefit.

IAJGS solidifies bonds with both FamilySearch and Ancestry

The last few months have included so many amazing new cooperative efforts among genealogy giants that I only spent some short passing moments wondering where the Jewish genealogy community was in all this.[1] In the last two weeks, however, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) has announced two new appointments that seem to solidify relationships with both FamilySearch and Ancestry.[2]

IAJGS Advisor

Shipley Munson, of Sandy, Utah, has been appointed IAJGS Advisor to assist the board of directors in refining and implementing its strategic plan.[1] Munson comes with a history of great success in both the private sector (including Frito-Lay, Gillette, and Apple Computer) and non-profit sphere (FamilySearch). He is Chief Marketing Officer and Director of the Outreach Division for FamilySearch and was creator of the largest nationwide genealogy conference in the United States, RootsTech.

Last year FamilySearch provided the technology and expertise to online video stream some IAJGS 2013 (Boston) presentations in IAJGS Conference LIVE! This was a joint production of IAJGS, and FamilySearch, with generous support of Harvey Krueger. As a result, those who were not able to attend the conference in person were able to to participate virtually, selecting from among 50 presentations. IAJGS and FamilySearch will do the same for the IAJGS 2014 conference in Salt Lake City (27 July-1 August 2014). 50 presentations will be streamed for at-home viewing. Go to the following link to register for either the conference and/or IAJGS Conference Live! : https://conference.iajgs.org/2014/registration_form.cfm.

It looks like Munson will be advising IAJGS on technology integration and marketing efforts for its member societies. For this he will draw on his experience with over 500 genealogy societies and recruitment of over 170,000 volunteers for the 1940 Census indexing project. This sounds like Jewish genealogists could be in for some very exciting times with Munson on-board.

IAJGS Board Member

The IAJGS FaceBook page included an announcement of the appointment of Quinton Atkinson, of Orem, UT, as IAJGS Director-at-large. Atkinson is North American Director of Content Acquisition and Partner Development at Ancestry.com., has been with the company for 16 years and has participated in ten IAJGS annual conferences. He has many years experience working internationally with repositories in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Mexico, and China and has developed cooperative relationships with organizations such as United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, JewishGen, The American Jewish Historical Society. 

IAJGS Early-Bird Registration

As long as we're speaking about the conference, don't forget that early-bird registration ends on 31 May 2014 for this year's 27 July - 1 August IAJGS conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Why pay more?

Notes:
1. See: the Ancestry Insider blog. Also this infographic.
2. Special thanks to James Tanner's Genealogy's Star blog and to the FamilySearch blog for alerting us about these announcements.

ItalianGen and Ancestry make a match

New agreements and partnerships between commercial and non-profit genealogy organizations seem to be coming to light weekly. The latest popped up on Ancestry.com yesterday. Ancestry has placed ItalianGen.org's New York City vital record indices on Ancestry's website.

Last September I extolled the virtues of improvements ItalianGen had made in their search functions and look. Now, however, Ancestry has placed the same index online and one may search it with their tools. This is a good thing.

Back in the dark ages of my research when I was searching for my grandparents' marriage certificate, I had trouble finding it. Turns out, my grandfather's name, Joseph Wilson, had been written on the certificate and indexed for Italiangen as "Jos Wilson." When I searched on Joseph, those with the first name Jos did not appear in the results. When I searched on J Wilson, there were too many results.

Enter Ancestry whose search engine recognizes that if one enters "Joseph," it should also consider results for "Jos." It also allows one to search on both spouses names in the same query. Italiangen does not provide that option.

Ancestry's search form for NYC marriage certificates

Being able to match spouses would have saved me a great deal of effort. On Italiangen I had to going through results, clicking each spouse button to see if an indexed record was from my Joseph Wilson.

ItalianGen's search results for NYC marriage certificates

Ancestry's results include a well-placed link to the New York City Department of Records to order a copy of the certificate.

Of course, those who are familiar with Steve Morse's plethora of search options know that one may also search the ItalianGen indices via his site. While Morse does not provide a tool to search on both spouses at the same time and does not provide a link to the NYC Department of Records, he does provide a link to FamilySearch.org microfilm numbers. And, armed with that information, names of the couple, date of marriage and certificate number, one may choose to order a copy of the record via the FamilySearch Photoduplication Department.

FamilySearch Adds Hungarian Jewish Vital Records Index

On 19 December 2013, FamilySearch added an index: "Hungary, Jewish Vital Records". The index addresses 11,066 records ranging from 1800 to 1945. The title of this record set in Hungarian is "Magyarország, Zsidó Anyakönyvek." 

The FamilySearch description of the record set indicates that this index may also be foud online on JewishGen. However, it is not clear from browsing JewishGen's Hungarian databases where this might be located (JewishGen do not seem to have a record set with exactly 11,066 records).

The citation for this collection is:

“Hungary, Jewish Vital Records, 1800-1945,” database, FamilySearch Record Search ([ https://familysearch.org/ Record Search]); from Magyar Orszagos Leveltar (Hungary). “Index of Jewish vital records from the Kingdom of Hungary". Magyar Orszagos Leveltar (Hungary), Budapest. FHL microfilm, 26 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

We are what we index

I'm amazed. Why decide to do another index of a database and provide the same information that everyone else provides? I know I'm late to the show - particularly since FamilySearch has been indexing passenger manifests for quite a while now - but why didn't FamilySearch have their volunteer indexers include some of the most valuable pieces of information on the manifest? Specifically, the names and addresses of those left behind, those to whom the immigrant is going, and place of birth. I think they've missed the mark. [1]

Don't get me wrong: I am pleased that FamilySearch chose to work on a new index for manifests. Dueling indices from several online genealogy record providers are becoming the norm and I welcome them. I have found it useful in my research to occasionally jump from one index provider to another. Different indexers may record variations on the hand-written names; some search engines provide more robust searching options; search engines may offer or use differing sources or parameters of soundex (American, Daitch-Mokotoff, Beider-Morse); some databases are easier to navigate than others; and companies vary in how well they enhance their online images (even if the originals are from the same source). In fact, when teaching beginning genealogy classes, I encourage budding researchers to go beyond one favorite genealogy site to look at the same record sets on another - especially if having trouble finding a record in one website's index.

Short of OCR or recent promises of computerized reading of handwritten records, search engines are limited by the underlying indexes. [2] With existing manifest database indices, finding information on relatives in the new country and the old is dependent upon finding records via passenger search. One may search via name or place of origin (residence) for a particular individual. Where residence may be different than birth place or location of relatives/friends in the old country, you can't get there from here (!). One must ford through individual records to find the differences.

210 Grand Street - now a Chinese restaurant

Research would be greatly eased with  additional searchable information. For example, I am interested in community emigration. I would love to find out how many people (and who) from the shtetl of Labun wound up in the early twentieth century at 210 Grand Street, Manhattan. I have several relatives who did. I have also found a few other, perhaps unrelated, landsman who did, as well. Many seem to have become glaziers in New York City. Were my Malzmann family members the center of this gang of glaziers? Or, was this more a town-based enterprise? I can now search on the town of residence and see from the manifests where people are heading. But were there people heading to that address who were not from that town? Right now, no way to check.

If I could search by address in the USA, knowing the addresses of relatives who'd already made the journey, I might be able to find some relatives for whom I have not been able to locate manifests. I might be able to locate hitherto unknown relatives. I might also be able to find more relations if I could search on those addresses in the old country. [3] This kind of information is critical for working with and via the FAN (Friends, Associates and Neighbors) principle in our genealogical research - particularly in large cities where relatives may or may not wind up living near each other.

Recognizing the utility of this additional information, the Ukraine Special Interest Group (SIG) of JewishGen started to remedy this situation by indexing records on a town-by-town basis. [4] An indexer must first search the Ellis Island database (and others) for people who resided before emigration in the indexer's community of interest. Then they must sort through to make sure they indeed have the correct town; identify the Jewish people; and index the records including family's/friend's and addresses on both sides of the ocean.

There are some advantages to doing indexing in this manner. Those indexing the records have some familiarity with overseas town names and immigrant names. So, there should be fewer transcription mistakes. But, it's slow going.

The communities affiliated with individual passengers in this new Ukraine SIG indexing project are usually locations of last residence rather than birth. This is due to the fact that the underlying existing index on the Ellis Island website does not usually include town of birth. So we are likely missing a set of people. We won't be able to capture those who were born in our village of interest, but most recently resided elsewhere.

Another problem I see with the Ukraine SIG project is that if one wanted to later build on this database, filling in with records not previously indexed so that others besides town-oriented Jewish genealogists would benefit, it would be time-consuming to locate and index the previously non-indexed records. In fact, it probably would not be worth the effort to account for those records that had been picked through and indexed. Just start over. But, for right now, considering my research interests, it's the best indexing project going.

So, here's my thought: when planning a new index, find out what's really useful and go for it. Adding to the available indexed information may be the most powerful argument for participating in an otherwise parallel indexing project. I wish FamilySearch had done that.

Notes:
1. I am not indexing for FamilySearch right now. I was an enthusiastic (and productive) indexer for FamilySearch during the 1940 Census indexing juggernaut. I enjoyed the experience. They have an awesome interface and I'd do it again. I am on hiatus from indexing - working on other projects. I suppose I could be wrong, but I didn't see any evidence that FamilyFamilySearch is indexing additional information.
2. Optical Character Recognition - computerized finding aid for mining words in typed or typeset documents. Mocavo has recently announced they are getting ever closer to developing a computer program to decipher hand-written records.
3. As an example, see my series (still a work in progress) on Fannie Greenfield. My first post in that series is here.
4. I actually started doing this on my own several years ago for my Yurovshchina/Labun community website (http://www.kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/yurovshchina/index.html). However, I would be remiss to not mention that I am currently on the board of the Ukraine SIG.

Jewish Genealogy Resources, Elizabeth Shown Mills and the NY Times

The New York Times Booming section published Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Advice on How to Research Family History, Part 2," on 13 November 2013.

Among the topics ESM addressed are two regarding Holocaust-related research:

• Geographic ‘Memory Holes’ Created by the Holocaust
• Migration of Holocaust Survivors to Argentina

I was actually pleasantly surprised to see this because ESM's case study examples are usually from the southern part of the United States. ESM gave all the correct advice, but the  concept of a "geographic 'memory hole' " (whatever that may be) may be somewhat challenged by the good works in progress by several Jewish genealogists and special interest groups. Most of these projects are free access - although many depend upon donations to keep them going.

Riga, Latvia - See the JewishGen Latvia Database which has over 160,000 records. A query on Riga netted 26,000 results.

Kaunas, Lithuania - Litvak SIG reports that the Kaunas District (Uyezd) Research Group has spend upwards of $35,000 thus far acquiring, translating and distributing 160,000 individual records from this area. The area includes Kaunas and many surrounding villages. Much of this is accessible via the All Lithuanian Database (with 1 million + records) or the JewishGen Lithuanian Database (with 1.5 million records) hosted on JewishGen. Some are currently only accessible via paid membership in the Litvak SIG Kaunas District group.

Moscow, Russia - see the Moscow kehilalinks webpage hosted on JewishGen.

Warsaw, Poland - Jewish Records Indexing-Poland has indexed more than 5 million vital records since it began in 1995. These records are included in registers from many former Polish Commonwealth towns in Eastern Europe, including Warsaw. The most exciting news is that the Polish State Archives is in the process digitizing all their records. As Jewish records are digitized, JRI-Poland creates direct links to them from their indices.

There are many Warsaw records located within the Warsaw archives and among the many not-yet-digitized microfilms of the Family History Library. See JRI-Poland's Warsaw page for the status of indexing these records.

Budapest, Hungary - Ongoing data collection/indexing projects are listed on JewishGen's Hungarian SIG pages.

Vienna  - Genteam has been indexing records from archives in Vienna and the vicinity for several years. They now have more than 8 million records indexed. Many of these are Jewish records.

While there's no question that records have been lost, I like to think that Jewish genealogists may be able to learn from the burned courthouse issues with which U.S. Southern states' genealogists (such as ESM) contend. I think the landowner records/cadastral maps that Gesher Galicia (the Galicia SIG) has been collecting may, for many shtetlach, be the partial answer to Jewish genealogists' missing European records issues. As someone recently pointed out, we need to love the records we have. I think that there is more and more to love.

ESM also addressed several additional questions regarding:

• Identifying Ancestral Photos
• Genealogical Templates for Citing Sources
• Numbering Systems for Genealogy
• Researching a Railroad Employee in 1921
• Beginning Indian Research from the U.S.
• Becoming a Professional Genealogist

I like the fact that the questions selected for treatment are not all beginner issues. And I excitedly await the third installment next week of ESM's New York Times' question and answer sessions. 

FamilySearch displays Jewish BMD and census records from Mantova, Italy, 1770-1899

As of today, 8 September 2013, FamilySearch.org has added Italian Jewish records to its ever growing list of digitized records online.

 

Italy, Mantova, Mantova, Jewish Records, 1770-1899  (Italia, Mantova, Mantova, Registri Ebraici, 1770-1899)

 

These include Jewish birth, marriage, death and census records from the Archive for the Israelite Community of Mantova (Archivio della Communità Israelitica di Mantova).

 

The 304 images in the collection are browsable. They have not been indexed.

New York City Vital Record Indices, 1949-1965

So my previous discussion of accessibility of New York City death record information left out a critical resource that I knew about, but flaked on while writing the post. There are printed registers (indices) for New York City Deaths and Births through 1965. These registers have been microfilmed (although not digitized nor online yet) and are available to rent from the Family History Library via FamilySearch.org. Armed with date of death and certificate number from these registers, one may order New York City death certificates from the Department of Health and minimize search time and fees.

I have actually used microfilm rolls resident at my closest FamilySeach Library (Mesa, AZ) of birth certificate indices for New York City that carry one through 1965 births. The Family History Library also has film for NYC deaths through 1965 and NYC marriages through 1937 (although ItalianGen already has a marriage index through 1937 online).

FamilySearch.org has filmed three documents they produced in 2005 and 2006 on New York City vital record registers:

Register of New York City Death Records
Register of New York City Birth Records
Register if New York City Marriage Records

These books may be read online or downloaded from FamilySearch. They explain the records that exist and the organization of the data. They also identify the Family History Library microfilm rolls on which one may access the filmed register pages.

For New York City death records, for example, one would access the following microfilms to see Register pages for 1947 through 1965 (indexed records for 1949-1965 are not currently online at ItalianGen, although I know they're working on it):

1947-1951        Film 1,324,925
1952-1956       Film 1,324,926
1957-1960       Film 1,324,927
1961-1962       Film 1,324,928
1963                 Film 1,324,929
1964                 Film 1,324,930
1965                 Film 1,324,931

I have used pages from these films to help index records that already appear in ItalianGen online indices and will appear in future indices. This is what a portion of a page from the death record microfilmed index looks like.

The data of genealogical interest on the register pages for the years 1947-1965: 

• Surnames - each year includes individuals listed alphabetically by surname; 
• First name - alphabetically following surname.  Newborns may only show "male" or "female");
• Age - generally in years, however, children may be shown with an M for months or D for days old;
• Date of death - month, day, and year. The year is indicated only by its last digit. However, the full year is identified on the bottom of each page.
• Borough of the City of New York - Bronx (X), Brooklyn (K), Manhattan (M), Queens (Q), and Richmond (R). Y indicates that the person died outside New York City.  
• Certificate number. If a number appears in this column following a Y in the Boro. column, it represents the State in which the person died. The FamilySearch book includes a key to these numbers. 

Death records are typically filed by county. If someone died outside New York City, don't expect to get a death certificate at the New York City Municipal Archives or at the Department of Health. But, if one doesn't know where the person died, this last column with the state key could be a great clue on where to look next.

But don't forget, no matter how well-armed with information you are (and no matter how sweet you and your mother think you are), you will not be able to acquire a death record less than 50 years old in New York State unless you can prove you are the deceased person's parent, spouse, sibling or direct descendant.