Index to BillionGraves now at www.familysearch.org

As the collection of databases in the Historical Records section of www.familysearch.org continues to grow, some amazing records for genealogists are becoming more readable available. A great example of this is the new addition of a name index to the Billiongraves.com website.
BillionGraves is a database of records and images from cemeteries around the world, all tagged with GPS locations, making the gravesites easy to find. The BillionGraves site includes images of the headstones as collected by an amazing group of volunteers.

The search tool for the Billiongraves website is very user friendly. Once the names are found in the database at familysearch, the actual image can be found at BillionGraves. The search tool allows the researcher to filter by name, location and years. I performed a search for Abraham Katz who I knew was buried in New York.

The results for Abraham Katz included the person I was searching for. He died on 25 August 1931 and is buried at the Mount Zion Cemetery in Maspeth, New York. The quality of the image of his headstone was very good.

 

The BillionGraves database is a great addition to the FamilySearch site, and is another valuable source for those researching their Jewish ancestors.

Vienna, Austria Jewish Records of Birth, Marriage and Death 1784-1911 on www.familysearch.org

In the past few days there have been some more wonderful additions to the Historical Record Collections located at www.familysearch.org. One that will be of special interest to those researching their Jewish families is the Vienna, Austria, Jewish registers of Birth, Marriage and Death for the years 1784-1911.
The collection itself, although not name indexed at this point, and by no means a complete record still contains over 200,000 images of the original records from the Jewish community. The collection can be viewed by visiting the Central Europe section of the Historical Records Collections and clicking on the link.

The records themselves are of very high quality and easily read, even for those with little or no knowledge of the language. The record below is of the marriage of Israel Kellerman to Friederike Dukes on 14 Apr 1907. This incredible record also lists both sets of parents for the happy couple.

These incredible records can be viewed at www.familysearch.org, which is a totally free search.

Paris 2012

The time is fast approaching for this years annual conference of the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies), which will be held in Paris, France. The conference, which will be held from the 15th - 18th of July, is a wonderful opportunity to join with others sharing a love of Jewish genealogy, and learn more about ways to locate those who have paved the way for us.
For more information and to get registered please visit www.paris2012.eu.