Jamaican Civil Registration of Births

When researching Jewish families in any part of the world, it is always nice to have multiple sources for information. It can not only be useful in verifying current information but may also provide help in adding new family members. One great example of this, are the records of the Civil Registration of Births for Jamaica.
In their wonderful book, The Jews of Jamaica Tombstone Inscriptions 1663-1880 (FHL book #979.92 V3), Richard D. Barnett and Philip Wright, list the burials of 2 sons of Jacob Henry De Pass and his wife Louise Alberga. Those sons, George Cecil and Arthur Rich are buried in Kingston, Jamaica at the Orange Street Cemetery. While it is possible that these are the only 2 children in the family, another record to search would be helpful in finding out if that were true.
Thanks to the Historical Record Collections database located at http://www.familysearch.org/, that is now possible to do from home. On the front page of FamilySearch, the collections can be browsed by location. Simply by clicking on the link for Caribbean, Central and South America, (Shown Below) all of the collections for that region can be shown.

In that list of 75 collections for the region, there are 3 specifically for Jamaica. Included in those are the Jamaica, Civil Birth Registrations with over 1.25 million records. Included with those records are all the images. This makes searching the records quite easy.

In looking for records of the family of Jacob Henry De Pass and his wife Louise Alberga, a simple search using the last name De Pass yields 660 hits. Included amongst those records are the birth registrations of four daughters. They are an unnamed daughter born in 1880, as well as Violet May born in 1882, Dorris Marjorie born in 1889 and Norah Gwendolan born in 1890. According to the records (shown below) all 4 daughters were born in Kingston.

A further search of these records finds many more members of the family. While this example is of Jamaica, there are now hundreds of databases from around the world that may include record of our Jewish ancestors. A few moments to get acquainted with the site could prove to be most beneficial in your research.

The Jews of St. Thomas part 2

As mentioned before, the Family History Library has in its collection the Synagogue birth records from the Jewish Congregation of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. These records (FHL intl. film #882930) cover the years from 1786-1954.
As one goes through these records some very interesting details of the Jews of St. Thomas emerge. While the majority of the records are from St. Thomas, other places such as St. Croix, the Dominican Republic, Barcelona and Venezuela are often mentioned. The records show just how close the communities were. As part of that closeness, it appears that no matter how far they were from home, their hearts had never left.
In the birth records we find that Seligman and Zipporah Rothschild had at least 10 children born to them. The first six were born in St. Thomas, while child #7, a son, Herman and child #8, another son, named Charles Ancel were born in Germany, Herman in Hamburg and Charles Ancel in Munich. In both cases the entree states that the birth was communicated back to St. Thomas.
This same communicating of the birth record exists for many families. Hannah, the daughter of Abraham and Sarah M. Baiz was recorded as having been born on the 26th of June in 1844, in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Again, their bodies may not have been in St. Thomas, but their hearts were.

These records have now been added to the Knowles Collection -Jews of the Caribbean database and will be availble after the next update.

Gentleman's Magazine

In researching our family histories we are always looking for that wonderful new source. Sometimes, however, it is the older unused source that can provide us with the information we are seeking. One of those great unused sources is The Gentleman's Magazine.

Beginning in January of 1731, the magazine was published monthly, until 1907, when publication was ceased.
Within the volumes, one can find all sorts of information, from biographies, histories and even poetry and pictures. For those researching their family histories, the information on births, marriages and deaths is incredible. The collection of the Family History Library includes the bound volumes as well as the complete index. The indexes (FHL book # 942 B2g index)shown at right, is 75 volumes by itself. The index shown is a small part of the index for the family surname Goldsmid. Simple to use, simply look in the volume corresponding to the year and then turn to that page.



A few examples of the Goldsmid family are shown here. First in 1803 on page 788, is announced the marriage of Isaac Goldsmid to his cousin.

Further in 1846 part 2, page 84, is listed the title by which Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid will use in England. Finally, the issue for 1815, the deaths of 2 children of Isaac Lyon Goldsmid are listed. On page 381 we find that Daniel, the second son and George, the fourth son died at Brighton.

While this collection is available at the Family History Library it is also available online and can be searched. A very valuable tool that should be checked for any mention of English families and especially those in London.

The Jewish Victorian

As we research our families, there are many things that become quite obvious. First, newspapers are an incredible resource for information, and second, wouldn't it be nice if there was an easy way to access all that information. Well, if the footprints of your family passed through the British isles, you have a great tool for your research.



Doreen Berger has gleamed the Jewish Newspapers of the British Isles for the years 1861-1880. Her books (FHL #942 F2bd 1861-1870, and FHL #942 F2bd 1871-1880) are now available and are indeed a must have for researchers.

These books, published through Robert Boyd Publications, are very easy to use. Thanks to a lot of dedicated work, the records are alphabetical by surname. The records which include not only births, marriages and deaths but other types of records as well, such as obituaries, court records and many more.
In addition, references have been given to locate the records of other family members.

This blog would like to thank Doreen for her incredible work and encourage all researchers to obtain their own copy.

Marcus Baum of Prussia and South Carolina

In the early 1900's, Dr. Barnett A. Elzas compiled the records of the Jewish Cemeteries of South Carolina (FHL film #1013426 item #15). While most of the graves give just birth and death information, sometimes the information from the tombstones gives much more. Such is the case of the information for Marcus Baum.

"This Shaft is erected to Commemorate the Life and Death

of Marcus Baum, Born in Schwersenz, Prussia, on the 7th day of March 1833

The sterling qualities of his nature were illustrated by his brief career, to

which a glorious Death in defence of his adopted Country formed a fitting close.

In the Battle of the Wilderness on the 6th day of may 1864 he fell at the side

of his beloved Chief, Gen. J. B. Kershaw, a martyr to the "Lost Cause"

His bones now mingle with the dust upon that field of Honor, but his

memory is enshrined in the hearts of those who esteem it a privilege

to erect this humble momento."

From history we know that The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 campaign against General Robert E. Lee.

Finding Jewish Families at pilot.familysearch.org

A wonderful tool for those researching for their Jewish ancestors, is Record Search at pilot.familysearch.org. record search is the home of hundreds of databases holding hundreds of millions of individual records. To often it is overlooked because there are no Jewish specific databases, however, the records of our ancestors can be found there. A few easy steps can find those family members.

The image above is the starting page for searching Record Search. You have two options, either enter your names in the search boxes, to search all the records at once, or click on the Search or Browse our record collections. Should you choose the second option, you will be taken to the map below.

Once the map above appears, simply click on the region that you think you would most be able to find your family. For the record, according to this map, the British Isles are part of Europe. I know that is not the case, but for now we have to live with it. Once an area is chosen, the individual databases for that location will appear. If you click on Europe, you will see a list of all the countries. I then clicked on the Netherlands, which gave me the databases listed below. The red star signifies that the database is new. Record Search is constantly being added to and should be checked often.
From the list above I chose the first database, Netherlands Births and Baptisms, 1564-1910. I chose this because I know a family I am researching, the Gluckstein's were very prominent in Amsterdam before making their way to London. By entering the surname Gluckstein into the search box, I obtained the results listed below.

This is indeed the family I was looking for. The Gluckstein family moved from Holland to London and became leaders in business, military and government service. Even though it was not a Jewish database, the family was there. Record Search can be a great tool for Jewish researchers.


The records of the Glucksteins can be found in The Jews of the British Isles.

These Are the Names: Jewish Lives in Australia 1788-1850

It is not very often that a source comes along that can cover the Jewish community of an entire country.For Australia, that has indeed happened.

In his book These Are The Names: Jewish Lives in Australia 1788-1850 (FHL book # 994 K3l), Rabbi John S. Levi, lays the foundation of the history of the Jewish people in Australia. Regardless of whether they came free or as convicts, Ashkenazim or Sephardim, man or woman, there stories are beautifully told here. The book even provides the references to other sources vital to family researchers.

In his own words, I believe Rabbi Levi, in the Author's Note section, tells us what makes this book so important. he says " These Are The Names is written for the layman to pick up and read. I hope the references will lead investigators to do their own research. I have tried to provide the clues. I for one, believes he has been most successful.

The synagogue records of Mattersdorf, Hungary

For many years the town of Mattersdorf was under the rule of Hungary. The city was located in the Bergensland region, that area between the Austrian Alps and the lowland area of western Hungary. Since 1921 however, it has become Mattersburg, Austria's eastern most province. Believed to have been settled by brothers fleeing Spain in the 1400's the population of Mattersdorf has fluctuated from around 400 in the 1740's to almost 900 in the by the early 1800's.
In an article published in the spring of 2007 (Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Vol. XXIII. No. 1, Spring 2007) Carole Garbuny Vogel and Yitzchok N. Stroh, give a beautiful desription of not only the history of Mattersdorf, but also of the families that lived there. One of those families was the Abeles family. The family Abeles lived in Mattersdorf and also a few neighboring towns such as,Eisenstadt and Lackenbach. They were a large family and to this day number hundreds, if not thousands of desendants.
Some of those descendants, hoping to preserve the records of the community have translated the birth, marriage and death records and linked them together as families. The total number of persons linked together is over 7500 people. These records have now been added to the Knowles Collection, and are available for anyone to use.

These records are available in the Jews of the Europe database.

Museum Of Family History

As we research our Jewish families, eventually we seem to always end up in that cold, dusty archive somewhere in the world. While, the thrill of finding that long lost ancestor makes any location more tolerable, I would still like to stay in the comforts of my own home as long as possible. To me, finding a relative while dressed in my pajamas, is just as fun as being cold. For those who like to start their research from home, the perfect museum has arrived.

The Museum of Family History ( http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/) has no walls, you can't drive there to visit, and even if you did, finding a proper parking space would be impossible, because the museum exists only in cyberspace. Its goal is simple, To Honor and Preserve the Memoryof Our Jewish Families and Culture for the Present and Future Generations.

The museum has an incredible collection of records for family research. Some of the records include histories of communities, cemetery collections, memorials of those who died in the Holocaust, and so much more. It is truly an incredible resource for anyone with Jewish ancestry, regardless of country of origin.

Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society

One of the joys of being involved in Jewish family history research, is always seeing new wonderful webites, and if I am able to come across a site that deals with Poland, that is all the better. So imagine the excitement this morning as I have been reading through the website of the Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society (www.gombinsociety.org/).

Even though Gombin, may be most famous for its wooden synagogue, which was first built in the year 1710 and restored in 1893, this website is a wonderful place to learn more about the Jewish community there. While some sections appear to still be a work in progress, I have found myself unable to leave the site, and thank them for their incredible work.

Accessing the Knowles Collection through Family Search Community Trees

As the collection continues to grow, the challenge becomes how to make the collection more easily accessible to researchers. The database can be downloaded by GEDCOM into any genealogical program. However, it is a large file that can be a challenge to some computers. Hopefully, that problem can be addressed through FamilySearch Community Trees.

Community Trees is a fully searchable database that gives researchers views of individuals, families, ancestors and descendants. It also allows reserachers to print records, view sources and even download some records. Additionally, researchers can search a particular tree or search across multiple trees. The records below shows, Catherine Gluckstein as the daughter in a family grouping with her parents, Samuel Henry and Hannah (Joseph) Gluckstein, her husband,and children. The record even provides a list of sources that were used to create this family record.

Another advantage of Community Trees is the ability to Print the records, such as the Pedigree Chart here for Catherine. The program can be set to print as many generations as are wanted, or can be saved, by downloaded to any medium, for printing later. Hopefully, Community Trees will allow researchers throughout the world easier access to The Knowles Collection.

To access Community Trees visit
http://histfam.familysearch.org/.

1901 and 1911 Ireland Census Records

As of Jun of 2010 those individuals searching for their Jewish ancestors in Ireland have been given a gift. The 1901 and 1911 censuses of Ireland are now available free online at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/. All counties are included. Up until this time the census of 1911 was the only one included here. This site will be most benefical for anyone looking for their ancestors in turn of the century Ireland.


Even though, the record above is taken from the microfilm collection of The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, it is easy to see what wonderful information is available.

Cemetery Scribes

Every now and then there is a website which has the kind of incredible information that researchers just can't get enough of. Cemetery Scribes is one of those. Even though the site is not new, the name is. Formerly known as GenPals, the name has been changed. Cemetery Scribes has a large amount of information about Jewish records, including a wonderful database of burial records, some with pictures included. While it would be enough to have access to the burial records, Cemetery Scribes goes way beyond that. In addition to the death records, researchers will find information and histories about cemeteries, or about the symbols and customs associated with burials.
Anyone interested in Jewish research will find this a very valuable resource.