JewishGen: ShtetLinks' update

JewishGen's ShtetLinks pages have been added or updated:

Belarus: Dunilovichi (Dunilovitsh), Krivichi (Kshyviche, Krzywicze), Radoshkovichi (Radoshkovits). Ruzhany (Rozihnoy) was updated.

Romania: Husi (Khush)

Poland: Nowogrod

Lithuania: Pasvalys (Posvel, Posvohl)

To create a ShtetLink page for your ancestral shtetl or adopt an "orphaned" page, send an email.

If you'd like to do a page, but need help in creating it, email Susana Leistner Block.

JewishGen: Yizkor Book update - December 2009

During 2009, the JewishGen Yizkor Book database was updated by some 218 books and entries. The December updated included these projects, entries and updates:

Six new projects:

Hungary: Mezokovesd
Poland: Jaroslaw, Krasnystaw, Raciaz and Warka.
Slovakia: Sahy

Five new entries:

Lithuania: Ariogala, Zagare
Ukraine: Chervonograd
Hungary: Sarvar
Belarus: Vaukavisk

Updates made to:

Ukraine: Berezhany, Rozyszcze, Stepan
Poland: Brzeziny, Chelm, Czestochowa, Dembitz, Katowice, Kolo, Kutno, Nowy Sacz, Przytyk
Romania: Cluj-Napoca
Lithuania: Dusetos, Gargzdai, Rokiskis

To see all the new additions and updates, click here.

Montreal: Genealogists on the air!

Genealogy on the radio - listen to Stanley Diamond and Gary Schroeder speak about finding your roots on CJAD Talk Radio in Montreal, recorded December 30, 2009.

The two-part segment runs about 45 minutes in total: Part 1→Listen and Part 2→Listen

Stan, of course, is well-known as founder of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, his leadership of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Montreal and other Jewish genealogical endeavors. Gary Schroeder is president of the Quebec Family History Society.

James Mennie of The Gazette interviewed both men in the far-ranging conversation about various aspects of genealogy, such as the impact of the Internet, medical reasons, Western European sources, specialized ethnic genealogical societies (Italy and Jewish, etc.), finding Jewish records, JewishGen resources, connecting with researchers of the same name and geographical location, resources in Montreal, getting started, church records, immigration, changing names,

Called-in questions from listeners covered the following topics: surname origins, censuses, databases, New France early arrivals, Family History Centers, adoption, children's family tree projects, Scotland, changing borders, Polish records, Russia, UK, no names changed at ports of arrivals in Canada, online censuses, Italy, Portugal, local versus state archives in other countries, genealogical societies providing assistance, labor/DP camp records, International Tracing Service, contradictory data, civil records, marriage records, immigration records, Ireland, "burned records" myth, Trinidad, French records online and DNA genetic genealogy (FamilyTreeDNA.com mentioned),

A very informative session!

Maryland: University to drop Yiddish

Yiddish is on the budget chopping block at the University of Maryland.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the language, Yiddish dates to the 11th century and those Jews who settled along the Rhine River. It is written with Hebrew characters, uses German grammar and structure and its vocabulary incorporates German, Hebrew, Aramaic and Slavic.

While the 1,000-year-old language of Ashkenazi Jews has survived the likes of Hitler and Stalin, the switch to Hebrew in modern Israel and the assimilation of immigrants to America, there are few universities that offer it (Brandeis, Harvard, Columbia and a few others).

Not to get too far off track, but Tracing the Tribe believes it is even harder to find a Ladino course - anywhere - for today's generation of Sephardic students. No matter the language - Yiddish or Ladino - it is a shame to lose any part of one's heritage!

But in Maryland, funding is the problem.

I'm sad that our family lost both Yiddish and Russian in 1905, when my great-grandmother proclaimed to her children that they were now Americans and must speak English. While Yiddish remained the family's "house" (and community) language and my grandmother and her siblings were fluent, my mother was fluent as a child but gradually - through disuse - lost her ability to speak it. She understood it, but answered questions in English. Our generation knows even less and is familiar only with a relatively small number of words that we use correctly.

I've had the opportunity to take an elementary Yiddish class and also a beginning Russian class, so perhaps I recognize more than most, but nothing near the level I'd like to have achieved.

Growing up in New York City, of course, many Yiddish words are part of New York-speak, and many immigrants of other ethnicities don't know the origin of words they may use every day.

This Baltimore Sun story by Matthew Hay Brown covers the University of Maryland situation.

At the University of Maryland, which has stood alongside Harvard and Columbia as one of the nation's few schools to consistently offer instruction in the Germanic tongue, the recent announcement that the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies would be dropping it in the fall shocked area enthusiasts.

"U- Maryland has had the biggest commitment to Yiddish as a language anywhere in a hundred-mile radius," says Harvey Spiro, president of Yiddish of Greater Washington, which organized a letter-writing campaign. "We're not a particularly political organization, but this kicked us in the gut."

The center now has cobbled together the money to pay its longtime instructor through the next academic year. But after that, director Hayim Lapin says, it is unlikely to continue funding a full-time faculty member dedicated to the language.

Said Lapin, it isn't about the language but about the budget crisis resulting in fewer visiting faculty, less Bible, less history and less or no Yiddish.

Born in postwar Germany where Yiddish was her first language, Professor Miriam Isaacs has taught elementary and intermediate Yiddish at Maryland for 15 years:

"We're at a critical point in that the generation of Holocaust survivors, my parents, they're not around anymore," she says. "Or if they're around, they can't do a lot of translating. So if nobody learns it, you know, the Holocaust Museum archive is full of Yiddish materials. The University of Maryland has been acquiring Yiddish books galore. Who is going to read them? Who is going to be able to have access to them?"

And what about those Yiddishisms currently in use in English? Spiro says that because so many comedians used the words, people believe the language is funny or for dirty jokes, while he says, that isn't his Yiddish:

"The Yiddish that I read and the Yiddish I speak is a language for everyday communication. I read novels in Yiddish. I read the Yiddish newspaper."

Yiddish culture incorporated an active press, popular theater and literature - it wasn't just the world of Borscht Belt comedians. World War II decimated Yiddish speakers. Prior to the Holocaust, there were some 11 million speakers. Half were killed, others lost in pogroms and immigration. Today fewer than 2 million live in mainly Orthodox communities in a few cities.

However, in some communities, it is considered a way for today's generation to connect with their heritage. In Poland, the US and in Israel, there are language programs and summer institutes to help them learn.

Isaacs says that, at Maryland, mostly Jewish students register. These include students who have Yiddish-speaking relatives and want to see it remain alive. She says the intensive elementary fall course fills, but a much smaller number continue with the spring intermediate class.

The language has fallen victim to budget problems derived from lower returns on endowments. The center is trying to at least schedule the classes on a per-course basis for those interested. According to experts quoted in the story, Hebrew is required in a serious Jewish studies program, although Yiddish isn't, but should be.

On the other hand, for Sephardim, it is even harder to find a Ladino course than for Ashkenazi to find Yiddish courses.

Read the complete story at the link above.

Florida: Palm Beach, NARA records, Jan. 13

Join the jolly genealogists of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County at their next meeting, "digging for treasure in your pajamas," on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.

Tracing the Tribe thinks they mean digging for treasure while wearing pajamas, not that there is buried treasure in your pj's. Of course, Tracing the Tribe hasn't seen your pj's.

The day's program features 11.30am SIG sessions (Belarus, Lithuania), 12.30pm brick wall session, 1pm business meeting and the main event, all at the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach.

Fee: members, free; others, $5. Dress: Bunny slippers optional (NOTE: This is Tracing the Tribe's feeble attempt at a joke!).

The speaker is Rob Richards, National Archives Records Administration Archivist, from Atlanta, Georgia, whose complete topic is "Digging for Treasure in Your Pajamas - Searching NARA records with your personal computer."

Until recently NARA records were only available on site at national or regional offices. NARA is now digitizing and placing online many genealogically important records.

The program will identify records at NARA and demonstrate how to search those records for specific information using your personal computer. It includes both a PowerPoint presentation and live Internet searches. The topic is suitable for beginners and experienced researchers.

Richards holds a BA in History (University of Nevada Las Vegas) and and MA in Library and Information Science (University of Illinois). He has been with the National Archives for seven years, with four in Denver before his move to Atlanta as senior archivist. He has given many workshops concerning NARA records, many on genealogical resources.

See the website for more information. Brick wall session questions may be submitted in advance.

New York: Defining Sephardic identity, Jan. 14

A kick-off event exploring identity in New York's Sephardic communities will take place at the Next Generation Culture Café of the American Sephardi Foundation (ASF) in January.

"Defining Sephardic: A Roundtable Discussion on Sephardic Identity" begins at 6.30pm, Thursday, January 14.

Moderated by filmmaker and Be-chol Lashon's New York director Lacey Schwartz, the participants will be:

-- Zena Babayov: New York University master's (communications) student and active member of the Bukharan community in Forest Hills, Queens.

-- Mijal Bitton: Yeshiva University/Stern College junior from Argentina and an active member of the Sephardic Community of Great Neck, Long Island.

-- Sion Setton: Manhattan's Safra Synagogue director of youth programming, with Iraqi, Syrian and Egyptian heritage.

-- Matieu Furster: Software engineer with both Moroccan Sephardi and Russian Ashkenazi heritage.

Admission is free. Light refreshments served. Email reservations or call 212-294-8301 x8356.

This is the first event of a year-long program funded by the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. ASF also received assistance from the Consulate General of Spain in New York.

For more information, click on the ASF site and see future events.

Answering Questions: MyHeritage-Beit Hatfutsot project

Since Tracing the Tribe posted the new collaboration between MyHeritage.com and Beit Hatfutsot, readers have asked some good questions.

Here are answers to some. As others come in, Tracing the Tribe will help to get them properly answered.

Visit the FAQ at MyHeritage.com for additional information.

Q1. I've got a couple of questions about Family Tree Builder and MyHeritage, I hope you don't mind me asking.

A1. Of course not. Ask away.

Q2. I've been using Family Tree Maker for over 10 years, I think. Do you think it's worth the hassle for me to transfer all the assets I have in Family Tree Maker over to Family Tree Builder.

A2. I believe that it is a good idea to preserve your years of hard work in various formats in various locations. To start using Family Tree Builder, all you need to do is export a GedCom from Family Tree Maker.

Q3. Regarding the privacy issue, can I make everything completely private that I put online using MyHeritage.com's Family Tree Builder?

A3. Yes. One hallmark of MyHeritage.com is its respect for the type of data privacy its tree creators desire. Information can be made public to all, restricted to those invited or made completely private.

For non-members, all information about living individuals is hidden. You see only “Private + LastName.”

The creator of a family site may invite relatives to the site, but may also choose to not allow others to make changes in the data. In other words, only the tree creator or administrator can add information or make changes. This protects your data.

Q4. If everything is free, how is MyHeritage funded? How do I know that if I start to use their services they won't disappear in a few years and I'll have to move everything over again?

A4. MyHeritage.com is funded through its premium and premium-plus accounts, for which there is a charge (see answer to next question for more information). The site has some 9 million trees and grows every day. The advantage is that your tree, if submitted through the special MyHeritage page will be stored at Beit Hatfutsot forever, as it is a national institution.

Q5. While it all sounds good and I'm all for proliferating family trees, I suspect there's more to it. For example, cost. Many times I saw the word "free," but I suspect there's an opportunity here for me to spend money here. Since my family tree is already scattered on the web and held in disk storage in various locations already, I'm not sure I need to do so again for a cost.

A5. Storing your Jewish family tree at Beit Hatefutsot means that it will be in a central repository for the future. You can always send your tree directly to the Museum via a GedCom and it will be stored at no cost - for free. You can download the MyHeritage Family Tree Builder software for free to use on your own computer, import yourGedCom and then maintain your tree in another format, or establish a nice family site at MyHeritage.

MyHeritage’s basic account is free for up to 250 names, and additional space is nominal (click here for premium site information). Family sites provide space for documents, photos, videos and a way to connect with family around the world.

Sending a GedCom directly to Beit Hatfutsot is free, no matter the size of your tree. It is another place to store your family tree information for the future and for your descendants.

Q6. When the Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP) (at JewishGen.org) "merged' data from Dorotree, I thought that was what Beit Hatfutsot was partnering with on its trees. Now it seems not to be so. What is going on?

A6. I don’t believe FTJP merged any data with Dorotree. Over the years, Beit Hatfutsot has used various software, much of which is now obsolete. MyHeritage’s cutting-edge software is free (the others had to be purchased).

While MyHeritage members can search for and see information from others, members can make their data completely private. Trees are not merged as in some other online sites and MyHeritage members do not lose control of their own trees; privacy is respected at MyHeritage.

Beit Hatfutsot will be acting as a storage facility for everyone’s Jewish family trees. While information will also be on MyHeritage (using the special software version) and privacy controls can be set as the tree creator desires (or changed later, if s/he decides to), the tree transferred to the Museum is basically in storage. It can be searched on the museum’s premises, will not be online for open searching, but staff can search for individuals.

Q7. What happens if a tree is already in Beit Hatfutsot's database? How are those who put it there years ago going to know that MyHeritage is now working with Beit Hatfutsot? If they want to update their tree information, must they do it through MyHeritage?

The project with Beit Hatfutsot applies only to new users and new trees on MyHeritage built via this special page http://www.myheritage.com/BeitHatfutsot

If your tree is already at Beit Hatfutsot, ask them for the tree's ID and use that ID as the name of your MyHeritage tree or as your user name. MyHeritage will send periodic updates to the museum, so that specific ID number will tell Beit Hatfutsot to update that specific tree already in its database.

For more information, contact Daniel Horowitz at MyHeritage.com or Haim Ghiuzeli at Beit Hatfutsot.

Pittsburgh: 125 city directories online!

Searching for relatives who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? Here's a collection of 125 directories dated 1815-1945.

The directory collection is "Historic Pittsburgh City Directories," in the University of Pittsburgh's Digital Research Library. Thanks to ResearchBuzz for this head's-up.

Search parameters: simple keyword (even an occupation) or advanced search; author or title. Results show which city directories contain the keyword and a count of how many hits in that specific directory. Click on "results detail," learn more about the specific directory and see the lines that matched your search.

You can also explore the community for that directory. Click on "Table of Contents," and see that directory's contents, including maps and advertisements. Click on those items and link to other pages.

Save images of pages of interest with a mouse right-click. While ResearchBuzz noted the option to view the page as an image or PDF, it didn't seem to work properly.

While ResearchBuzz did sample searches for SMITH and "clockmaker," Tracing the Tribe used a surname (COHEN/COHN) and keywords that might be more useful to our readers.

Here's one of the useful titles for Tracing the Tribe's readers:

The Pittsburgh Jewish community book; comprising the names and addresses of members and the history of Jewish organizations, also a history of the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa., Jewish criterion, [c1917]-

A general search for COHEN produced 98 hits in the following resources (adding COHN produced more):

-- Wiggins' directory of Greensburg and Westmoreland County for 1890-91 containing, in alphabetical order, the names, occupations and residences of the inhabitants of Greensburg, also of a list of the taxpayers in the township, giving the assessed value of real estate and personal property.

-- Harris' Pittsburgh business directory for the year 1837 : including the names of all the merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, professional, men of business of Pittsburgh and its vicinity.

-- 1920 The Pittsburgh social secretaire.

-- 1917 The Pittsburgh Jewish community book; comprising the names and addresses of members and the history of Jewish organizations, also a history of the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.

-- 1898 Directory of all business and professional men and official guide of Beaver County, Penn'a. : together with a complete map.

-- 1913-17 Directory of the philanthropic, charitable, and civic agencies of the city of Pittsburgh. Vol. 1

-- Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1864-1865.

-- The Pittsburgh and Allegheny blue book, 1895, Vol. 9.

-- Pittsburgh Allegheny business directory, 1875-6 : containing a complete classified and alphabetically arranged list of the business houses of the cities and adjacent boroughs

-- 1878 A confidential business report of Pittsburgh and Allegheny.
Author: Business Men's Protective Association.

-- Directory of Homestead Borough, West Homestead Borough, Munhall Borough 1902

-- Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities ... 1861-2 through 1895 (not a complete series)

-- 1850 The Pennsylvania business state directory: containing the names of professional men, mercantile firms, and manufacturing establishments, together with all the courts, post offices, public institutions, banks, corporations, companies, hotels, associations, & c. & c., throughtout the state, also the principal firms of the city of Cincinnatti, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland ;

-- 1854-5 Ulman's Pennsylvania business directory and eastern, western, and southern circular : for the year 1854-5,

-- c1880 Watson & Co.'s classified business directory of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and prominent towns within a radius of forty miles.

Hits for COHEN ranged from one (and also a COHN) in the 1861-62 Pittsburgh and Allegheny City Director, page 55:

There were 17 hits for COHEN (and a few COHN) on several pages in the 1869-70 book. On page 101, see:

Scrolling through more recent books, numbers rise with the growth of the Jewish community in the city and surrounding areas.

On the Historic Pittsburgh site, there are top tabs for Full Text, Maps, Images, Finding Aids, Census, Chronology and the HSWP Catalog. Under Images, find more than 13,000 historic photographs in 44 collections, including the recently added 27-image Hebrew Institute Collection (1915-1970).

Read more here.