Virginia Records on FamilySearch

In the last few weeks, FamilySearch has added records to a few different databases that go a long way toward help those with family history in the State of Virginia.

Those databases, Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 and Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Death Records, 1853-1912, are part of the Historical Record Collections at FamilySearch. Both collections contain records and images from various counties in Virginia. In the case of the marriages, the records were turned over to the county clerks by those who performed the marriages. The clerks then sent the records to the state auditor who preserved them. Both databases are wonderful collections of very informative records. The originals are in the custody of the Virginia State Library in Richmond. 

Below, are examples from the various collections. The first, is the marriage record for the marriage of Sydney S. Cohen and his wife Bessie Flax. The second and third, are the death records of two sons of Meyer Cohen and his wife Esther Michael. Those boys, Maxie and Sidney, both taken by accidental drowning.

 

As more records become available, these collections should continue to grow.

The Guggenheimer Family, from Bavaria to Virgina

The latest addition to the Knowles Collection is a family history of the Guggenheimer family. Abraham Guggenheimer (1779-1864) was born in Bavaria where he married Dolze Bacharach (1785-1855). Abraham and Dolze became the parents of 11 children, born in Hurben, Bavaria. It was many of these children who became the first of the Guggenheimer's to migrate to the United States, most settling in Virginia.
Like many early American Jewish families, the early Guggenheimer's have left an incredible legacy for their descendants. Some, like Nathaniel Guggenheimer, have distinguished themselves in service to their new country. On the 15th of September of 1863, the Governor of Virginia, John Letcher, signed a commission making Nathaniel Guggenheimer a Captain in the First Regiment of Cavalry of the 12th Brigade and the first Division of the Virginia Military. Others, such as Joseph N. Ulman, married into the family, he married Ella, daughter of Isaac, he being the grandson of Abraham and Dolze. Joseph N. Ulman, served his country as a judge on the Supreme Court of Baltimore.
The Guggenheimer's were in America in the early 1840's, and were established in Virginia cities such as Richmond, Lynchburg and Warm Springs. This did not stop the family from extending their influence to others areas as well. Clara, a granddaughter of Isaac and Clara Guggenheimer married into the Binswanger family of Philadelphia, themselves an early respected Jewish family.
The Guggenheimer are another example of an early Jewish family that quickly identified themselves with their new home and became very influential in those communities. The records of the Guggenheimer family have now been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of North America database and will be available after the next update.