Family Search Updates 9 January 2015

Over the last week or so FamilySearch has been busy updating some of their existing Historical Record Collections. A couple of these have been discussed in this blog previously, the Argentina, National Census, 1895 and the many Belgium Civil Registration collections. Below, is the list of the additions for the week.

many of these collections are great sources for records of our Jewish ancestors. The list above is just a small fraction of the almost 1900 collections now available at FamilySearch. The complete list of Historical Record Collections, is search able from any computer and as always is free of charge.

Argentina National Census 1895 at www.FamilySearch.org

One of the newest databases available free of charge at http://www.familysearch.org/ will be a great tool for those with Jewish ancestry in Argentina.
That database is the Argentina National Census 1895.

Taken on 10 May 1895, the collection is a name search able census with 3.8 million images. It can be found in the Historical Record Collections section of the website.

Argentina was a great melting pot for people from many countries, a fact that becomes obvious as the census is searched. To search the collection simply find the following link:

Once in the collection simply search by name. Using the surname Cohen, I found 161 hits for people with that surname. Included in those was the record below, which shows James Levy and his wife Bella Cohen de Levy. They were listed as having the religion of Israelita. The information shows they were both born in England and had been married 27 years with 3 children. Those three children, Samuel, Daniel and Anita are all living in the same home in Buenos Aires. Many thanks to FamilySearch and best of luck as you look for your own families.

Jews of Argentina

One of the newest set of records that has come into my hands, is a collection of records for a family that left Western Europe and settled in Argentina. The history of this family is a parallel to the Jewish history of Argentina itself. Like this family, the Jewish history of Argentina goes back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition, when many Jews fleeing the persecution made their way to what we would now call Argentina.

While there were Jews in Argentina earlier, the first organized Jewish community came in to existence after 1810, when Independence was gained from Spain. From this time on the community began to grow and prosper. Some of the important dates in Argentina Jewish history include;

• In the middle part of the 1800's , Jews from places like France began to settle in places like Buenos Aires.
• In 1868, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires.
• The first synagogue was established in 1875.
• The late 1800's saw immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe as people fled poverty and persecution.
• By 1920, over 150,000 Jews from places such as Morocco and the Ottoman Empire had made Argentina their home.
• The current Jewish population of Argentina is about 250,000 people, which would make it the largest Jewish community in Latin America.
  

When added the records of the Jews of Argentina will be found in The Jews of America database.