Russians are eager to rediscover roots

When I located Talalay cousins in Mogilev, St. Petersburg and Moscow, most of them told the same stories.

They knew relatives had gone to America long ago. Their parents and grandparents had once possessed photographs and stacks of letters from the American family.

But, during Stalin’s era, these momentos and family connections were considered liabilities and, if found, could have meant one-way tickets to Siberia. Almost all of these families burned anything that could connect them to America.

Sometimes, I had copies of these precious pictures in my collection and was able to send copies to them, and connections were established once again.

However, this kind of rediscovery isn’t just fueled by people who had left the old country.

Russians of all backgrounds are eagerly looking for their roots, for ties that were long buried during the Communist era.

Click here for a fascinating article on this new activity.

Thank you!

I thought I'd take a few minutes and thank you for reading Tracing the Tribe.

This adventure along Discovery Road is always fascinating.

I've been keeping track of where readers are located - it is a truly global community.

While readers in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and Israel represent the largest numbers, also represented are Australia, Iran, Nigeria, Dubai, Malaysia, India, Ireland, Colombia, South Africa, Philippines and even Papua, New Guinea!

I'd like to encourage readers to leave comments, ask questions, and to let me know if you've discovered a new resource or relevant website and think everyone should know.

Best wishes,

Schelly

Ancestors in the Attic

I love the BBC shows like Flog it!, Antiques Roadshow and Cash in the Attic. I love to watch people who bought something for the equivalent of a few dollars watch the same item end up in a ferocious bidding war for hundreds or even thousands of pounds at auction.

Now, History Television (elsewhere, the History Channel) will be carrying a Canadian production, Ancestors in the Attic. Although the ancestors discovered during the show won't be auctioned off -- we know they are priceless -- the thrill of the chase, the mystery of history will be enough for us.

Canadian viewers can see it at 9.30 pm on Wednesdays beginning Oct. 18; non-Canadians should check their History Channel affiliates for information. I hope ours will carry it.

Each episode will feature a team of genealogy detectives taking on three cases that have family history mysteries.

Click here for all the details on the first eight episodes and the team involved in the genealogical research for the show.

Thanks to Rick Roberts of Global Genealogy for alerting readers to this.

We are what we eat: A Sephardic Sukkoth

Today, The New York Times featured a great Sukkot food tradition article, "Cooking Defines Sephardic Jews at Sukkot." Related articles offer New York area stores which carry exotic ingredients as well as some delicious recipes, like Sofrito Batatas (veal stew with tomato, allspice and fried potatoes.)

My former editor at the Jerusalem Post used to say, "Schelly, not everything is about genealogy."

However, I found that when interviewing, talking about family history was a great ice-breaker and got the story moving.

Family researchers know everything is connected to genealogy, and cuisine is one of the most important.

The dishes and flavorings our great-grandparents and grandparents prepared, carried on by our parents and in our own families, always tie that thread of connection a bit tighter. The food traditions of our families are part of us, and we'll pass these delights down to all the generations to come.

Foods are clues to our origins as well. Is your family's favorite kugel salty or sweet? What do you put on your latkes?

Ask any Iranian Jew which holiday is the most memorable, and he or she will likely say Passover, when we chase everyone around the house with handfuls of scallions. It is very cathartic, and I don't think I've ever gotten through Dayenu since I married into this community. At the sound of the first "d" the huge mounds of scallions are grabbed and the chase is on until exhaustion sets in.

And of course, the Persian halek, this community's version of charoset, is a a mouth-watering dream, with many varieties of fresh and dried fruits, nuts, pomegranate paste, wine, and each family's secret ingredient. But we'll have to wait a few months more for this one!

Tracing the Tribe invites readers to post their favorite dishes from their own backgrounds in the Comments section.

New York: Center for Jewish history

The Center for Jewish History in New York City houses the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and presents many interesting exhibits and programs. The Jewish Genealogical Society (New York) also meets at the CJH.

Upcoming programs of possible interest to Italian, Belarus and Eastern European researchers include:

Tuesday, October 17: "The Banality of Good" will present a panel of historians, survivors and rescuers, who will explore various aspects of Italian citizens and public officers who chose to help persecuted Jews by opposing anti-Semitic policies.

Wednesdays, October 25 and November 15: 2005 CJH Fellows will present papers based on their research last year.

The first will feature Stanford University PhD candidate Elissa Bemporad's "The Yiddish Experiment in Minsk, 1920-1938," while the other will present Maya Benton, PhD candidate in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, on "Shuttered Memories of a Vanishing World: the Deliberate Photography of Roman Vishniac and its Effect on Modern Jewish Self-Consciousness."

Epidemics and lost branches

Why do individuals and entire family branches suddenly disappear?

Dick Eastman has provided researchers with some fascinating information on epidemics.

The rampant spread of disease was common in the days before penicillin and other "wonder drugs" of the twentieth century. Our ancestors lived in fear of epidemics, and many of them died as the result of simple diseases that could be cured today with an injection or a prescription.

If you ever wondered why a large number of your ancestors disappeared during a certain period in history, you may want to investigate the possibility of an epidemic. Many cases of people disappearing from records can be traced to dying during an epidemic or moving away from the affected area.

You'll have to subscribe for the rest.

I first became aware of the genealogical impact of the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918-19 when searching for family in Philadelphia a few years ago and I posted about the possibilities to JewishGen.

According to experts, Philadelphia was one of the hardest-hit cities. On one day, some 10,000 individuals died. The story goes that city services were so overwhelmed that individual graves could not be dug and victims were buried together.

Earlier worldwide flu epidemics took place in 1775-6 and again in 1857-9.

Dick's story, on his newsletter's Plus Edition (subscription required) provides dates and locations of worldwide and U.S. major epidemics, such as flu, cholera, yellow fever and typhus.

Never too early: The 2010 census

It's only 2006, but the 2010 census is just around the corner, relatively speaking.

The Genealogue's Chris Dunham offers a sneak peek at what we may expect.

I discussed this with Steve Morse, who says he's already working on a One Step page for the 2010 census.

Chris previously posted another item featuring Steve's popular Web site.

Thanks, Chris, for always providing light-hearted looks at genealogy.

Steve has a great sense of humor ... fortunately.

Did I mention that Steve received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies at the August conference? In his acceptance remarks, he noted that this may have been the first Lifetime Achievement Award granted to someone who began developing his resources only five years ago.

Aden's Jewish cemeteries

For two very interesting articles from the Yemen Times, look for "Jewish Tombstones in Aden, Parts 1(link) and 2(link)."

The author is Professor Aviva Klein-Franke of the Martin-Buber Institute for Jewish Studies at the University of Cologne, Germany.

Four Jewish cemeteries in the Aden area have been documented. Two ancient cemeteries were closed to burials prior to the 19th century. A third one, in the Crater area of the city center, was still in use during the British occupation. The newest cemetery (1860-1967) is Ma‘ala.

Among Aden's Jews, and in Yemen, the word for cemetery is me‘ara (pl. me‘arot, cave, caves). The ancient Aden cemetery was called me‘ara yesana or old cave. The old cemeteries had been abandoned for many generations before the British arrived, although the Crater cemetery near the Jewish quarter was in use until about 1860. Many tombstones bearing Hebrew inscriptions were scattered over the area.

Ma‘ala was used until the Jewish community was dissolved in 1967, and has hundreds of graves.

The articles discuss the researchers (Sapir, Harkavy, Ben Zvi and others) who visited Aden and what they discovered.