The Knowles Collection: May 2020

04 May 2020

Estonia Jewish Population Registers, 1921-1940, at FamilySearch

The National Archives of Estonia, Tallinn contain many population registers for the Jewish population living in Estonia. This collection includes the time frame from the Russian Revolution to the end of World War II. While they are written in Estonian, they are very easy to read and can be a great tool for those with ancestry in Estonia. FamilySearch now has the digital images available online for free.

The record above is a great example of these records.
Line # 7 shows Maks Abramson, who was born in Tallinn in 1881. He is married and a merchant by trade. He is married to Zilla.
Line #8 is the record of his wife, Zilla Abramson, maiden surname Goldberg. She was born in 1896 in Latis.
Included on both entries are the names of their two sons, Gabriel, who was born in 1920 and David who was born in 1922.
These records can be accessed through the FamilySearch catalog. The entry is found below.

Growth and Change

In the 12 years since the Knowles Collection was first published, the numbers have climbed from 7,500 to over 1,4000,000. So many of our ancestors left their native lands for new homes. Because of that movement the collection will now be in 6 different databases. All of them will be under the Knowles Collection umbrella. They are Jews of The British Isles; Jews of the North America; Jews of Europe; Jews of South America and the Caribbean; and Jews of Africa and the Orient and the newest one, Jews of the Southern Pacific.. This is a great indication of how universal our families are, and of how much still needs to be done.