JEWISH GENEALOGY RESEARCH

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JEWISH GENEALOGY RESEARCH

• Pete Tanner
• Suncoast Genealogy Services

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About Me

• Born raised here in Clearwater
• Bar Mitzvah Confirmation right here at TBI
• Married 3.5 years met my wife here at TBI
• One 2 year old daughter baby on the way
• Researching my genealogy on a regular basis since
  2006
• Board Member Jewish Genealogical Society of
  Tampa Bay
• Member Association of Professional Genealogists
• Bachelors Degree from UF and Masters Degree
  from USF in Information Systems
• Work as a Computer Programmer for the City of
  Clearwater

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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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Do You Know Your Ancestors?
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What Is Genealogy?

• Genealogy is the study of your unique family
  history. It is a personal record of your
  ancestors - when they were born and where they
  lived, who their children were and who they
  married, and where you belong in your extended
  family tree.
• Its not just about dead ancestors!
• Its also about your current living relatives

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Jewish Genealogy

• We are not just a religion, but also an ethnicity
• Your Jewishness is passed to you from your
  mother (Matrilineal)
• Determination of Kohanim or Leviim descent comes
  from your father (Patrilineal)
• Proof of Jewish status to become an Israeli
  citizen

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• Our last name was changed at Ellis Island

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• Our last name was changed at Ellis Island
• Ellis Island officials did not change names
• Checked medical health (turned away if too sick)
• Made sure immigrants could take care of
  themselves
• However Names were changed before and after
  arrival at Ellis Island

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• All the records from Europe were destroyed in WWI
  and WWII

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• All the records from Europe were destroyed in WWI
  and WWII
• Some records may have been destroyed in bombings
• However, most survived
• Nazis wanted to preserve synagogue records so
  they could identify the Jews
• Depending on where your relatives lived, there
  could be a large number of records available

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• The towns that my family were originally from no
  longer exist

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• The towns that my family were originally from no
  longer exist
• The towns are probably still there
• However, there may not be any Jews living there
  anymore
• In many cases, the current residents of the town
  remember the Jews that once lived there

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• No one in my family knows anything about our past

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Jewish Genealogy Myths

• No one in my family knows anything about our past
• Have you asked anyone?
• Many Jewish families dont like to talk about the
  past, but they may know more than you think
• Learning a small amount of information may be
  enough to get you started
• Reach out to distant relatives if necessary

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Where Did I Start?

• 7th Grade Project My Family Tree
• Interview family members
• Take good notes
• Write a report about my family
• Who Did I Interview?
• Two parents
• Four grandparents
• One great-grandparent

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What Did I Learn?

• Family from England, Russia, Poland
• Only learned one town name Stanslav
• Almost all settled in New York City
• Lower East Side, Brooklyn, Bronx
• One family settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania
• Some family lines no info at all

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What Did I Learn?

• Family Stories
• Great-Grandmother who died early no one knew
  her name
• 3x Great-Grandfather who went to Israel
  (Palestine) and died there
• Paternal line suspected to be Cohanim

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Fifteen Years Later (2006)

• Found my report in the back of my closet
• Decided to revisit my research
• Discovered many, many more resources via the
  Internet
• Started building my tree once again online
• Have been addicted to it since

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My Current Family Tree

• Sixty-Five direct descendants
• Eight generations
• Exact town where each family line originated
• Contains over 1,800 people
• Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
• Includes anyone who shares a common ancestor with
  me
• Hundreds of relatives alive today
• Living relatives in England, South Africa,
  Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil

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How Do You Get Started?

• Be a good detective
• Learn how to search the various online resources
• If a record you are seeking isnt available
  online, see if you can find it offline
• Talk to other people who are researching common
  surnames or towns
• Dont give up
• Everyone will hit a brick wall dont let it
  discourage you
• If a record isnt available now, it may become
  available in the future

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Ancestry.com

• Most popular genealogy website
• Contains the greatest amount of records
• US State Census Records
• Immigration Records
• Military Records
• Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
• Naturalization Records
• Newspaper Articles
• Message Boards
• Other Users Family Trees

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Census Records

• US Federal Census Taken every 10 years
• 1940 is latest year currently available
• State Censuses Varies depending on state
• Gives a snapshot of a family at that point in
  time
• Most include name, address, age, place of birth,
  occupation
• Some include years married, year of immigration,
  naturalization status
• Example Tannenbaum Family In 1920

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Immigration Records

• Information about the immigrant at the time of
  their arrival to the US
• Information varies depending on year of arrival
• Most include name, age, occupation, nationality,
  place of birth
• May list family members from their last place of
  residence
• May list who they are coming to live with in the
  US
• Example Sylvia Bloomberg Arrival

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Naturalization Records

• Usually consist of two separate forms
• Declaration of Intention (First Papers)
• Petition for Naturalization (After 5 year
  residency requirement)
• Contain a wealth of genealogical data
• Name, DOB, Place of Birth, Arrival Date, Port of
  Arrival, Spouses Name/Age/Birthplace, Childrens
  Names/Ages/Birthplaces, Current Residence,
  Witness Information
• Example Irving Schechtman Naturalization

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JewishGen.org

• Premier website serving the Jewish Genealogy
  community
• Non-Profit mostly staffed by volunteers
• Relies on donations to operate
• Full of resources, including tutorials for
  beginners
• Offers online interactive courses on various
  Jewish Genealogy topics
• Overview Video This Is JewishGen

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JewishGen.org

• Country-specific databases
• Ex Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, UK,
  Latvia, Lithuania
• Holocaust database
• Family Finder towns surnames currently being
  researched by other site users
• Town Finder 6,000 Jewish communities, mostly
  in Europe
• ViewMate Allows you to post photographs
  documents online and request help from other
  users
• Burial Registry (JOWBR) contains around 2
  million records of Jewish burials throughout the
  world

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Tombstone Inscriptions

• Tombstones are important to Genealogy, but even
  more important in Jewish Genealogy
• Hebrew name listed important when looking for
  records from Europe
• Fathers name listed may be your only reference
  to the father of an ancestor
• Many Jewish cemeteries will photograph a
  tombstone for you (sometimes at a small cost)

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Tombstone Inscriptions
Fischel Son of Yitzchak
Maite Daugher of Israel
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Special Interest Groups

• Websites and mailing lists centered on one
  specific area of interest
• Most are centered on a geographic region
• Users often communicate and help each other with
  research
• Great resource to help with specific questions
• Many SIGs raise money for projects
• Obtaining records
• Translating records
• Photographing Jewish cemetery tombstones

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Newspapers/Obituaries

• Families often posted life events in the
  newspaper
• Births, Marriages, Deaths, Anniversaries
• Visits from out of town relatives
• Articles written about relatives
• Many websites provide newspaper archive access
  (most for a fee)
• Many newspapers also available overseas

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Newspapers/Obituaries
My 3rd Great Grandmother Leah Cohen (nee
Rybicki) Obituary printed in the Jewish Chronicle
of England Died on 10 Jul 1923 in Manchester
England Prior to discovering this, I knew
nothing of her seven other children
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Newspapers/Obituaries
My 2nd Great Grand Aunt Fanny Cohen (nee
Brown) Printed in the Auckland (NZ) Star in April
of 1897
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Newspapers/Obituaries

• Obituary records can be a great source of current
  information about your relatives
• Recent obituaries may list the name and city of
  residence of your living relatives
• That information can then be used to track your
  relatives down
• I often use Facebook to find relatives and make
  contact with them

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Family Stories

• Great-Grandmother who died early no one knew
  her name
• 3x Great-Grandfather who went to Israel
  (Palestine) and died there
• Paternal line suspected to be Cohanim

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Mystery Great Grandmother

• First I found her in the 1930 Census
• Learned her first name, age, date of arrival
• Next I pulled their NYC Marriage Record
• Learned her maiden name, parents names
• Next I found her Naturalization Record
• Learned her birth city and exact arrival date
• Next I found her Immigration Record
• Learned who she listed as family in the US
• Finally I pulled her NYC Death Record
• Learned death date, how she died, place of burial

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Mystery Great Grandmother
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3x Great Grandfather Died In Israel
Printed in the Jewish Chronicle of England on 7
Feb 1908
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Paternal Line Cohanim

• The Cohen line has been passed from father to son
  without interruption for 3,300 years
• Until recently, there was no way to prove you
  were a Cohen
• Now, scientists have identified a set of genetic
  markers that all are shared by all Cohanim
• These markers are called the Cohen Modal
  Haplotype
• Only men can be tested for the markers

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Paternal Line Cohanim

• In June of this year, I had my Y-DNA tested
• A few weeks later, I received my results, which
  included the following
• My grandfather was not just making things up!
• My DNA says I am definitely a Cohen!

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Genealogical DNA Testing

• Besides providing Cohen matches, DNA testing has
  other uses for Jewish people
• DNA Shoah Project Collects genetic material
  from Holocaust survivors and their immediate
  descendants in hopes of reuniting relatives
  displaced during the Shaoah
• DNA surname geographical projects track the DNA
  of people with specific surnames or from specific
  areas in Europe

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Genealogical DNA Testing

• Three basic types of DNA tests for genealogy
• Y-DNA Passed from father to son
• Looks at your direct paternal line
• Can only be taken by males (only males have a Y)
• mtDNA Passed from mother to all her children
• Looks at your direct maternal line
• Can be taken by anyone
• Autosomal DNA Present in all of us
• Looks at all your non-sex DNA (22 pairs)
• Can estimate your ethnicity
• Can match you with possible cousins who share DNA

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Genealogical DNA Testing

• I have taken a Y-DNA test and an Autosomal DNA
  test
• Y-DNA test confirmed Cohen heritage and provided
  matches to other males with matching Y-DNA
• Autosomal DNA test provided an ethnicity
  breakdown and matches to both male and female
  cousins who share my autosomal DNA
• More About Autosomal DNA

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My Ethnicity

• My ethnicity breakdown
• European Jewish
• Poland, Ukraine, Romania
• Persian/Turkish/Caucasus
• Iran, Turkey, Armenia
• Central European
• Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic
• Finnish/Volga-Ural
• Russia, Finland
• Uncertain
• Alien (according to my wife)

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My Cousin Matches

• Matches could go back hundreds and even thousands
  of years
• Degree of cousin relationship is predicted by the
  amount of DNA shared with others
• I currently have around 4,800 cousin matches!
• I concentrate on close matches with shared
  surnames
• Was able to confirm a connection to a distant
  cousin who I found via research

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Third Party DNA Sites

• Take your DNA Raw Data and upload it to other
  sites
• GedMatch.com compare your results with people
  who have tested with other companies
• More results more possible cousin matches
• Promethease.com provides a report on your
  genetic attributes
• Propensity to diseases, eye color, hair type
  color, reaction to medications, etc.

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In Conclusion

• There are many, many sources of genealogy
  information I have only gone over a small
  percentage of what is out there
• Try not to get too overwhelmed!
• Ask for help (internet message boards, Jewish
  Genealogical Society, your local library)
• Like most hobbies, it can get costly, but you
  determine how much money you want to spend

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In Conclusion

• I provide research services through my company,
  Suncoast Genealogy Services
• Feel free to visit my website to learn more about
  the services I provide
• http//www.suncoastgenealogy.com
• You will also find a copy of this presentation
• If you would like to use my services, I will
  donate 10 of my fees to the Yachad and Lyla
  chapters of Hadassah