Ancestry.com: Yearbook collection launched

From Ancestry.com, comes news of the largest searchable online yearbook collection.

The US School Yearbook Collection - 10,000 yearbooks - now includes 60 million records for mere mortals as well as celebs.

The books include high schools, junior highs, academies, colleges and universities - military, public, parochial and private - from nearly every US state from 1875-1988.

Thank your lucky stars that New York's High School of Music & Art isn't included. You really don't want to see that "plastic" flip hairdo that required a full can of hairspray. Really.

While searches for various New York and Massachusetts relatives proved futile, our Seattle JASSEN family showed both my cousin Charlie at his high school and at UWashington and, a few decades later, his son Larry.

Celebrity-seekers, according to Ancestry, will find a goldmine in this collection, Tracing the Tribe doesn't care much about Sandra Bullock's Homecoming Dance photo. However, if you are looking for some interesting names, the Beverly Hills High yearbooks are always good for a treat - there were many familiar Hollywood names in the 1934 book, which also has Lionel Barrymore's signature on a message to a "silent partner."

If you are an Ancestry subscription holder, access is free. Others can get a 14-day free trial.

Search the collection here.

CAVEAT: It seems many large metropolitan cities are thin on the ground in the Ancestry collection, but there are other sources to research:

-- Steve Morse's work for Samuel J. Tilden HS (Brooklyn, NY). This produced photos of my uncle '53, my sister in '70, my mother's year wasn't there). Steve was '57).

-- The JGS of Long Island's collection (1,634 yearbooks from everywhere).

-- Steve Lasky's Thomas Jefferson High School Yearbook Project (Brooklyn, NY).

The Tilden and Jefferson books are excellent resources for Jewish genealogists, as they were both in largely Jewish neighborhoods until the early 1970s.

There's always Classmates.com, but few yearbooks seem to be posted, and to see those that are, you must upgrade ($) to gold membership for access to more features. E-Yearbook.com is another.

Have fun!

Pogroms: 250 events 1903-1905

We've all heard the stories of our immigrant ancestors. Their memories included their personal experiences of pogroms, raids and riots committed against Jewish residents of towns and villages across Europe.

My great-grandmother Riva BANK TALALAI (Tollin) described her frightening nights as she and her two children (toddler Leib and infant Chaya Feige) hid in church basements during these events as they made their way to safety to the boat for America.

She knew that if either child had cried out, the others in hiding would have had no compunction about smothering them to prevent the refugees from being discovered.

Fortunately, they did not cry. The family made it to the boat to join her husband and the children's father, Aron Peretz TALALAI (Tollin) in Newark, New Jersey.

In 1904, the following pogroms occurred in and around Mogilev, Belarus, which surely impacted our TALALAI family in the city and in area towns and villages.

On October 24, 1904, there were 14,000 Jews in a population of 22,093 in Mogilev; 120 Jews were injured; the chief of police had earlier said that a riot would occur and that Jews would not be protected. On the same day, in a place not far north of the city, called Gorki (where other Talalai relatives lived), some 69 shops were looted and demolished with a loss of 200,000 rubles.

A few days later, on October 27, there were a series of attacks on shtetls in the area: Amtchislav, Bykhova and Bunitchi (northeast of Vorotinschtina and Zaverezhye, where many Talalai had lived since the 1830s, about 12 miles south-southwest of Mogilev) Sielzi, Sukhany, Tchausy (where Talalai relatives lived), Tcherikov and Juravitch.

The table showed that in Bykhova, where Jews were 3,172 in a population of 6,536, all the Jewish shops and stalls were destroyed, with an estimate of 200,000 rubles lost. Army reservists caused the riots. In Tchausy (Chausy, Chaus), Jews numbered 3,000 of the 5,550 residents.

Unfortunately, I never heard my great-grandmother mention the towns in which she hid with the children. But I do know where relatives lived.

I know from other relatives - who stayed in Mogilev until immigrating in the 1980s and later - that the Gorki survivors moved into Mogilev soon after that pogrom, as did the Tchausy relatives (including a chief rabbi and religious court judge).

Steve Lasky at the Museum of Family History has announced a new report and table of pogroms committed 1903-1905.

The report was published in the American Jewish Year Book (Vol. 8, 1906-1907), by the American Jewish Committee. If you have not seen these volumes, do try to access them. They contain much information about Jewish communities around the world and in the US.

The table includes more than 250 European towns and cities where pogroms occurred from 1903-1906. There is a supplementary table of pogroms in other places in November 1905.

Comments sometimes include damage and other remarks about each event, and the table includes the date, geographical location, sometimes the Jewish and general population at each place.

There is a report of the Duma Commission of the Bialystok Massacre in June 1906 - it was published in the London Jewish Chronicle (July 13,1906) - providing many details of what happened. If your family had a connection to Bialystok - as did some of my family - read the report to see if any names are listed.

Read about the Duma debates as the report was presented, as well as the US Congress resolutions proposed and passed (1905-6).

The Museum's information is courtesy of the American Jewish Committee Archives. Access all this information here.

New York: Long Island yearbook project

As Tracing the Tribe has reported frequently, yearbooks are a wonderful source of family information.

Nolan Altman of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island (JGSLI) personally conveyed the following information on the society's yearbook project, begun in June 2006.

The project's goal is to act as an intermediary as it matches researchers with yearbook owners.

Yearbooks are rich sources of genealogical information. We can see our grandparents, our aunts and uncles, even ourselves in our younger days. Often, the photos elicit such comments as "how did I get my hair to look like that?" In various yearbooks, I've found my mother and her brother's high school graduation photos, my mother's sorority group photo and other family photos, such as my great-uncle's medical school graduation.

Along with the images are often address lists, congratulatory ads placed by adoring families, as well as your relatives pictured in myriad club, sports team and academic group shots.

The JGSLI board decided it would be a valuable service to its members if the society could inventory yearbooks in members’ personal libraries and make that information available for genealogical look-ups.

During the last year, the society has matched up dozens of researchers with yearbook owners. Here is the list of available books. Since being made public, inquiries have been received from non-members as well. Much of the collection is from the New York City / Long Island area, but researchers could be currently living anywhere in the world.

As non-members from other geographical areas began to demonstrate interest, the JGSLI decided to expand the project and inventory yearbooks from other JGSs, genealogical groups and other sources.

JGSLI, unlike the yearbook projects of Steve Lasky and Steve Morse, does not own or physically hold the listed volumes, which remain in the personal libraries of individuals who make them available for look-ups.

The society is the matchmaker, arranging the contact between the yearbook owner and the researcher. Requests are sent to yearbook_project@jgsli.org - the society replies using that email address and forwards the request by blind copy to the book's owner. The owner will comply with the request. Those who sign up to participate and list their books, understand they will receive requests.

Each book's owner signs a Yearbook Project Form from the JGSLI site:

“Submitting a listing means that you have volunteered to be contacted by email and are willing to provide information, a photocopy, or scan for the researcher. JGSLI is only making the information available to researchers. Owners of the books are responsible for following up with the request.”

Researchers contact the group through the email above, and JGSLI hopes researchers will also provide information to help other researchers.

Due to the increase in requests, JGSLI is looking at a longer term goal to approach other societies, groups and individuals to expand the yearbook inventory and make matches easier.

It is an easy way to help a fellow researcher. After all, the request might come from someone who may hold the yearbook for which you've been searching for a very long time.

For more information, contact Nolan Altman.

Museum of Family History : New for April

The Museum of Family History's Steve Lasky is always improving the site. Here's his April update covering Latvia, the website redesign, yearbooks and Holocaust memorials.

Jews of Latvia:

Many chapters in this exhibit are now available in French (as well as English) from the Max Kaufmann book "Churbn Lettland: The Destruction of Jews of Latvia." Steve is attempting to make available for non-English speakers and he is hoping to do more in French and other langauges, if he can find more native speakers of other languages to assist him.

Steve would very much like to have the Kaufman chapters made available in Russian and invites someone who is qualified to volunteer to assist. Any language help would be appreciated.

Linked to this exhibit is the second part of "The Young Men and Women of our Town." While the first part was for Lozdzieje, Lithuania, the second is for Riga and includes a number of large group photos. In the section are 1928-1932 photos of the local Gordonia youth group. Can readers identify any of those pictured?

The "Wall of Remembrance" is dedicated to honoring the memory of those
Latvian Jews who died during the Holocaust.

For all the Latvia exhibits, click here and follow the links.

Website redesign:

Steve has redesigned a few dozen pages of his website and hopes readers like the result. Each page has a Google-powered search engine. There are separate webspages listing more than 100 audio clips and more than 60 video clips, including links to each of their pages. The redesign is still in progress. If you'd like a sneak peek at the redesign, email Steve.

Thomas Jefferson High School Yearbook Project:

Steve now includes more than sixty yearbooks, 1927-1987, with some 40,000 names for Thomas Jefferson High School. Search any book online cover to cover, or search (using Steve Morse's One-Step searchable database) the complete database by first name, surname, yearbook year or address.

Steve Morse has a similar database for nearby Samuel Tilden High School. The two databases for Tilden and Jefferson total 95 books with nearly 70,000 names. Seve and Steve hope to add more books to the database when they become available. Both schools are in Brooklyn, NY.

World Holocaust Memorials:

For Zamosc, Poland researchers, the many names inscribed on the Zamosc memorial in Beth El Cemetery (New Jersey) is now available here.

Steve is always looking for more material for the virtual Museum of Family History. If you have material to contribute, contact him - and also receive the Museum e-newsletter.

Museum of Family History: New this month

There's always something new at Steve Lasky's virtual Museum of Family History. Here's the March update:

- “Churbn Lettland: The Destruction of the Jews of Latvia” – Very important telling of events, written in 1947 by a survivor. More material from the English translation has been added, mainly about the Small Riga Ghetto. Also included, an index of all surnames in the book. Visit the “Wall of Remembrance,” with photos of some who died or were killed in Latvia during WWII. Add your own photos and biographies;

- The the film preview for "Horodok: A Shtetl's Story 1920-1945" is now online. Just scroll down to no. 19 and click. Make sure your speakers are on before you do, as the film clip begins once the page opens. The film is in Hebrew with English subtitles. There are several places named Horodok/Gorodok. This one is north of Minsk in the area between Rakov, Radishkovitz and Moladechna.

-Yiddish Theatre: Morris Axelrad, Yiddish actor; Placards of the Yiddish Theatre.

- Postcards from Home: Budapest, Hungary; Ilza, Poland; Czernowitz, Ukraine.

- World Holocaust Memorials: Lithuania – Kupiskis, Rokiskis.

- Living in America: The Jewish Experience – Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York. Currently, 32 yearbooks (1927-1949) are now online, browsable page-to-page or searchable using the Steve Morse one-step database.

Steve writes that he now has 20 additional books (from 1950) but needs volunteers for simple data entry. Watch for updates on the genealogical importance of yearbooks.

- Steve adds that he's working on a site redesign and would like some opinions. If you'd like to evaluate it, contact him.

He'll also be producing a free periodic Museum e-newsletter (not a blog) for those who have supported his work through contributions of material (photos, text, etc.) - see the “Credits and Acknowledgments” page. Supporters will be the first to receive news of future exhibits, links to previews, hear other ideas, read relevant words of inspiration, and more.

Those who would like to receive it by email, should write to Steve here, including your first and last name, email address and, for statistical purposes only, your country, state and town.

For other questions or information, write to Steve.

Museum of Family History: New in February

Where in the world is Steve Lasky, creator of the Museum of Family History and what has he done now?

He was in Florida and he's always busy improving his cyberspace Museum of Family History.

Steve reminds visitors that he now offers a Google-powered search engine on the site's home page or on a separate Search page. Check the site map page.

- Jewish Philadelphia now has its fourth entry - reading Jack Segal’s story about growing up in Philly in the early-mid1900s.

- Thomas Jefferson High School Database has new information from the January and June 1931 yearbooks. In the next month or so, Steve plans to add data from the 1933-34 and 1938-40 books. Volunteers needed: Steve needs some help with simple database entry for the senior photos. The sooner he gets some help, the sooner the database will be updated.

- Just for Latvia researchers, Steve will be placing online excerpts from the English translation of “Chorbn Lettland: The Destruction of the Jews of Lettland.” This important work was written soon after the war, in 1947, and recently translated to English.

- Read the first excerpt from this book re Simon Dubnow, Jewish historian, writer and activist.

- The Screening Room now offers a film clip of "The Tree of Life." A Los Angeles woman comes to terms with her father's death by traveling to Italy, where he was born, to trace the family tree. Her 82-year-old aunt (her father's sister) helps and she travels from city to city, searching ancient manuscripts and interviewing many quirky scholars to piece together the puzzle and fascinating story of her Italian Jewish ancestors. At the link above, click on number 18 and turn on your speakers.

- New Jersey's Riverside Cemetery now has a searchable database; click on "Genealogy Search."

- The Jewish Museum of Maryland has five PDF files available for download with the cemetery burial listings for Baltimore, Maryland.

For questions or to volunteer to assist with yearbook entries, contact Steve.

Warm fuzzies: Uncle Lou's graduation photo

Following the very kind comment of an anonymous reader concerning my great-uncle, Dr. Louis Tollin, detailed here, I set out to find his yearbook photo. I used to have a copy here somewhere, but believed it had been lost in our last move.

I emailed the University of Maryland Medical School Alumni Association yesterday. Today, I had a nice email from them with Uncle Lou's 1927 yearbook entry attached (above).

Thank you, University of Maryland!

I was also successful - about 12 years ago - in contacting what was South Side High School - now Shabazz High School - attended by Uncle Lou, my grandmother and their siblings. When I called them, a very nice young woman went into a back room and found the dusty records.

Moral: Contact your ancestors' high schools, colleges or universities and see what they might have. You may be pleasantly surprised! Don't forget to contribute your own family yearbooks to online resources to make it easier for others to find information for their own families.

Get ready to do the genealogy happy dance!

Yearbooks: Genealogical info, photographs

Genealogists know that yearbooks are useful to track relatives and view their photographs.

Think of your own yearbooks, high school and college. Some include only graduating seniors' photos and information; others may include info on students of other years. Some include an address index. Many contain ads from proud parents congratulating their offsprings' achievements.

At the very least, they are a good source of fun - remember those old haircuts and cutting-edge fashions of long ago?

My own high school yearbook photo is a source of endless humor. How exactly did I get my hair into that lacquered flip? I seem to remember walking around with huge rollers in my hair for long periods of time - and trying to sleep in them - and using a can of hairspray each day! I'd show it to readers but I don't have my yearbook here in Israel. Lucky you!

It's also interesting to see our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles in their teens and young adulthood.

Alumni associations of high schools and colleges may have additional information as well - it's always worth a call. I attended New York City's High School of Music & Art (known as M&A), which has a particularly active alumni association, excellent reunions, a good newsletter and raises money for school-related activities. M&A has a number of alumni genealogists as well, including Rosanne Leeson, vice president of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS).

There are several Jewish genealogical and historical societies working to collect yearbook information, and the always-amazing Steve Morse also has a project solely for Brooklyn's Tilden High School. I would have attended Tilden if I hadn't gone to M&A. My mother, uncle and sister graduated from Tilden, and I just found my uncle, Robert Fink, using Steve's Tilden yearbook page here. Bob was class of '53, but my mother graduated in the 40s and is not (yet) listed, and my sister's year is not yet indexed.

Steve's approach is different from the projects underway (see below) by JGS of Long Island and Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. He focuses only on Tilden and only borrows yearbooks long enough to scan them. A volunteer transcribed the yearbooks (names and addresses). This is helpful as you can find everyone who lived on a certain street.

Currently, Tilden is represented by almost all the yearbooks from the 50s-60s, with one from the 30s - some 18,000 names. The project is less than a year old. Search here and click on a name to see the yearbook page.

Why did Steve undertake this new project? He hopes that others will do the same thing for their own schools. Additionally, he says, "I will make all the tools that I developed freely available to interested parties. This includes the search-application generator, the street-list generator, etc."
The JGS of Long Island launched its yearbook project in June 2006 to match researchers with yearbook owners. There's an online inventory of school yearbooks, showing school, year, city and state. Yearbook owners scan or photocopy content for interested researchers.

The JGSLI acts as an intermediary in soliciting yearbook owners to share information with researchers. The past year has seen dozens of connections. Originally, the focus was New York City/Long Island, but the project has expanded to include yearbooks from other JGSs, genealogical groups and interested individuals.

The project is described in detail on the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies page here. Click on the link for the November IAJGS Echo. The item includes the yearbook database link and how to volunteer your own yearbook for this project. The spearhead for this project at JGSLI is Nolan Altman.

In Michigan, former JGS of Michigan president Mark Manson writes about the yearbook project of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan (JHSM).

For 10 years, the JHSM has been soliciting the donation of yearbooks, first from Detroit high schools and now expanded to the entire Metro Detroit area and many cities throughout the state.

The group is creating on online index of all seniors in each book. Currently, there are more than 112,000 names from some 600 books; some 1,000 books in total will be indexed. The earliest book is 1904 Central High School (Detroit).

The project has received multiple copies of books for many years. The ultimate plan is to scan and place images online. Thus multiple books are needed to create one "clean" copy, because many books have pages missing, photos may have been cut out, autographs obscure photos.

The JHSM plans to sell CD copies of the scanned books for $36 each. The funds will be used to support, fund and continue the project. All seniors in all books are indexed. Books include public, private and parochial schools (no matter the affiliation). The project has received college, university, medical and law school books; junior high school books, school newspapers, large class photos, reunion books, graduation programs as well as dried corsage flowers in pages of books more than 60 years old.

Names already indexed can be viewed here. click on YEARBOOK PROJECT, type in a last name and first name. Click SEARCH and view results.

The JHSM is encouraging other genealogical and historical societies to also begin such a project in their own communities. Hundreds of projects are already online, including databases on Ancestry.com and other major websites.

These books are very valuable to researchers, and many get thrown away every day, thus reducing the chance that someone might find information of value. Please check with your own relatives and see what they might have in their own libraries. If a relative dies and you are involved in checking through their possessions, try to find a good home for any yearbooks found.

Do you know where your yearbooks are now?

Think about offering them to one or both of these or other projects to preserve the valuable information they contain.