Jewish Data- History and Genealogy

Jewish Data Times Issue 34

2010-09-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

9/27/10

Jewish Data Times Issue 34

Focused on records posted at www.jewishdata.com

1. More records from Chicago.

2. Great resource for early New York Jews.

3. History of Maryland Jew

4. Facebook.

1. Following a recent update, the database now includes more than 100,000 Jewish tombstone images from Chicago, mostly from Waldheim. More records from Waldheim are still being processed. To limit a search to Chicago records, enter Chicago in the location field at the member's page.

2. We have posted an old book called "Portraits Etched in Stone, Early Jewish Settlers 1682-1831" by David De Sola Pool, who carefully researched the early New York Jewish settlers. There is a major focus on the Manhattan Chatam Square cemetery of Shaerit Israel, which is the first Jewish cemetery in the United States. An old plaque states it was " Consecrated in the year 1656 when it was described as "outside the city" . During the war of the revolution it was fortified by the Patriots as one of the defenses of the city". David De Sola Pool copied the inscriptions on all the legible stones in his time, and traced the history of each individual interred there.. Many of those monuments are no longer there, and what remains of the cemetery is now open for only a few days a year.

For the benefit of researchers here is a list of family names in these records: Aaron, Abendena, Abrahams, Adolphus, Ashers, Benjamin, Benzaken, Berlin, Berned, Botinez, Brandly, Brandon, Burgos, Capadocia, Crasto, D'Aguilar, Da Costa, Daniel, De Fonesca, De Friez, De Mesquita, De Meza, De ivera, De Torres, Eting, Franks, Gomes, Gomez, Gomperts, Hart, Hays, Hendricks, Henriques, Hurtz, Hymans, Ilhoa, Isaac, Isaacs, Israel, Jacobs, Jesshurun, Jewel, Jonas, Judah, King, Lazarus, Leon, Levy, Lewis, Lopez, Louzada, Marks, Marques, Mendes, Meyers, Moravia, Moses, Myers, Nabaro, Nathan, Nathans, Noah, Nunes, Pardo, Philips, Picard, Pinheiro, Pinto, Reyna, Rodriguez, Ruden, Saixes, Seixas, Simons, Simson, Solomon, Torres, Valverde, Waag, Welcome, Zunts, Zuntz.

3. A book called "A Pictorial History of Maryland Jewry" by A.D. Glushakow, has recently been posted at the site. The author studied the early families who settled mainly in Baltimore. The following family names are included:
Adler, Agus, Aisenberg, Alter,Austrian, Ayares, Bak, Bambuce, Barrash, ass, Berger, Berman, Blaustein, Bluefield, Blumenthal, Borshay, Bodie, Chertkof, Chidechel, De Sousa, Dopkin, Drazin, Edlman, Eisenberg, Etting, Fagin, Fiedenwald, Freedman, Feinworth, Frenkill, Friedenwald, Ginsberg, Glushakow, Goldstrom, Gomborov, Gratz, Greenfield, Greenstein, Gutman, Heiling, Hochschild, Hoffberg, Hurwitz, Hutzler, Isaacson, Kaiser, Katz, Keyser, Levin, Lumbrozo, Macht, Meyerhoff, myers, Paul, Pearlmutter, Pliskin, Rayner, Rice, Rogers, Rosenfeld, Rubin, Ruderman, Saffra, Sherles, Schochat, Seiel, Shulman, Shustermna, Sobeloff, Solomon, Sonnerborn, Steinbach, Strasse, Subotnik, Szold, Turk, Weintraub, Youngelson.

4. Jewish Data is on Facebook. Please "like" the page and write on the wall.

Jewish Data Times Issue 33

2010-06-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 33 6/27/2010
Focused on records at www.jewishdata.com
1. More records from Chicago.

2. A list of some of the family names in the newest Chicago records.

3. An example of combining sources at Jewish Data.

4. Facebook.

1. More than 8,500 new images from Chicago's Waldheim cemetery have been posted today. This brings the number of records from Chicago to more than 94,000 records, and more are coming.

2. Here is list of family names in this new batch which have at least 5 images, not including very common Jewish family names such as Cohen, Levine, Goldberg etc.

If you are interested in any of these names, it would be good to conduct a search.

Abarbanel, Aberman, Abrahams, Abramovitz, Adams, Arkin, Aon, Asche, Asher, Bachmann, Bagel, Balkin, Barbakoff, Barmash, Baron, Barr, Bass, Begoon, Beller, Bender, Berenson, Berkelhamer, Berlant, Blank, Blattberg, Bodian, Brandt, Brodsky, Browdy, Brown, Buxbaum, Carnow, Chaikin, hapman, Chausow, Cherney, Chernoff, Chudnov, Citron, Claster, Cohan, Collender, Corness, Cooper, Corush, Crost, Cutler, Dane, Davis, Denenberg, Derdiger, Deutsch, Diamond, Dolinko, Dorf, Drebin, Dubin, Dubinsky, Dunn, Eddin, Elkin, Ellin, Ellis, Estes, Farber, Faust, Finder, Fine, Fink, Fogel, Foreman, Fox, Frank, Friend, Galfer,Gans, Garber, Geller, Gendler, gerber, Gerson, Gilden, Glasky, Glass, Glazier, Glick, Glickman, Golub, Gomberg, Gore, Gorin, Gould, Graff, Gruber, Gruenberger, Hecht, Hellig, Hershowitz, Hill, Hodes, Holland, Hollman, Holtzmann, Holtz, Issacson, Krupp, Kuklansky, Kurland, Kurtzman, Lakin, Leavitt, Lederman, Leeb, Levitt, Libitsky, Lichterman, Lipschultz, Lipschutz, Liss, Litwin, Lotterman, Lowy, Lurie, Lyons, Magid, Malinsky, Mamot, Mantell, Mark, Markin, Marks, Matenko, Matenky, Mednick, Millman, Milstein, Miretzky, Mirochnick, Missner, Moltz, Morris, Morrison, Mortimer, Morton, Moss, Myers, Nabat, Nath, Nathan, Nathanson, Nedlin, Neiditch, Nelson, Novak, Novick, Nudelman, Olefsky, Olshansky, Omens, Orleans, Orloff, Palmer, Patlak, Penn, Pickwad, Pielet, Plann, Platt, Plotnick, Polen, Polin, Pollack, Polonsky, Polsky, Pomerantz, Pomper, Popel, Porges, Porter, Portnoy, Posner, Present, Pretula, Price, Pritkin, Ragins, Resnick, Rich, Richmond, Rifkin, Right, Ripes, Rittenberg, Robbins, Robinson, Roiter, Roniss, Root, Ross, Ruekberg, Rushakoff, Rutizer, Sahlins, Samson, Schatz, Scher, Schultz, Schram, Schultz, Sebba, Serota, Shabsin, Shanaman, Shayne, Silk, Simonson, Sirt, Skolinik, Slotnick, Smehoff, Smilgoff, Smoler, Solotky, Sorkin, Spink, Stillerman, Stone, Stovitsky, Stubbs, Sugarman, Surlin, Tecotztky, Tenner, Tokowitz, Treger, Trilling, Turbov, Turetzky, Turkin, Turner, Tylass, Vinarsky, Volk, Waller, Warsaw, Weinhoff, Wisbach, Welstein, Wexler, Wigotow, Williams, Wreschinsky, Yampolsky, Yashon, Yuditsky, Yutkin, Zaidenberg, Ziv.

3. One of the advantages of Jewish Data listings is that various record types display together in results. Here is an example: If we are looking for information on Alfred Decker, we find a tombstone with little information. It only states Alfred Decker 1871-1948. However, right below it, there is a listing for the same name from Who's Who in American Jewry, 1926. From here we gain much more information: First it tells us his birthday November 2, 1871 in Kirchheimboanden, Pfalz, Germany. His parents Were Abraham and Johanna. Back to the Decker listings, we see the tombstone for his parents which tells Abraham Decker was born December 8, 1826 in Gauesheim in der Rheinpfalz and died in Chicago on February 18, 1899, and Johanna's maiden name was Rueb, and she was born October 8, 1829 in Gau-Odernhan in Rheinhessen. She died on January 29, 1899.

The book listing continues to detail his education, names of companies he founded, and charities he supported.

4. Please visit our new Facebook page for Jewish Data. Comments are welcome.

Jewish Data Times Issue 32

2010-06-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 32 4/26/10

Focused on records at www.jewishdata.com

Jewish Data Times Issue 32 4/26/10

Focused on records at www.jewishdata.com

1. Many new records from Chicago.
2. A special valuable book with Rabbi biographies.

3. Facebook.

1. A recent site update brings the number of Chicago images to over 86,000. Most of them are from the large Waldheim cemetery, but there are several other locations too. Quite a few of the Chicago tombstones have small pictures on them, and they are usually visible in the images. We expect to complete posting records from Waldheim this summer.
2. A Hebrew book with short Rabbbi biographies and snapshots has been posted. The book is called Anshei Shem, authored by Rabbis Shmuel Zarski and Moshe Dovid Schiff. It lists more than 100 famous Rabbis around the world who were alive in 1940. Many of the Rabbis are listed as living in European cities. Unfortunately, some of those Rabbis did not survive the Holocaust, and these biographies are one of their last records. All of the records have been indexed into English name listings.
Here is a translation of one listing:
The Rebbe of Koznitz- Rabbi Aaron Yechiel Haupstein, son of the Tzadik Rabbi Yerachmiel Moshe of blessed memory. Born is Koznitz in 1889, educated by his father, and later filled his father's position in 1909 as the Rebbe. Thousands of followers come to be near him. He is a staunch fighter for Torah and Judaism. He is a descendant great Rabbis and scholars of Koznitz, Galicia, Grodzik, Lizensk, Tshernoble, Rabbi Yakov of Przysucha , Karlin, Rabbi Yehoshu Heschel of Apt, and more. He lives in Otwack, Poland.
Information from this book can be combined with other records in the database. For example, a record for Rabbi Aaron Weintraub tells that he was born in Poland in 1906 and after serving as a Rabbi in Poland, moved to Israel in 1936. He is listed as a descendent of the famous Rabbi Yehoshua Falk, whose tombstone image from 1765, buried in Frankfurt Germany- is in the database.

3. Jewish Data is now on facebook. Please check it out and say you "like it".

If you would like to unsubscribe please click here info@jewishdata.com and write unsubscribe in the subject.

2010-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 31

2009-11-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 31 11/05/09 Focused on records at http://www.jewishdata.com/

1. Summary of recent posted records.

2. Records that are on the way to the site.

1. Thousands of records have been processed and posted at the site recently. Here are some of them:
* More than 20,000 images from Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, which brings the total record count from this location to more than 74,000

* More than 5,000 images from the Baron Hirsch cemetery in Staten Island on Richmond Ave.

* Several thousand new images from the Baron De Hirsch cemetery in Montreal Canada. * More than 25,000 images from Chicago's Rosehill, Rosemont Park, and Waldheim cemeteries.

* A small but historic batch of images from several Ukraine cities such as Medzshibush, Barditchev, and Niezin. To view these records enter Ukraine in the location field. 2. In rsponse to questions about what new records will be arriving, here are some of the records being processed:

* A large batch of 60,000 images from Chicago's Waldheim cemetery

* Thousands of images from Staten Island

* Thousands of images of the entire old Back River cemetery in Montreal

* Several old books on Jewish communities in NY, Boston, and Baltimore.

Jewish Data times Issue 28

2008-12-31T14:05:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 28 6/23/08
Focused on records posted at http://www.jewishdata.com/
1, Many new records from Brooklyn, NY
.2. New entries from Israel.
3. Many records edited.
4. Several responses we received.

1. More than 20,000 new records have been posted from Washington Cemetery inBrooklyn NY. So far, there are now more than 52,000 indexed images from thislocation. This Jewish cemetery has been in use since 1867, and in the nearfuture we plan to complete the work of imaging and documenting this entireJewish cemetery.

2. Several thousand record listings have been entered for Hebrew tombstoneimages from the famous Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem. One will notice that allthe tombstones are flat, and many contain information on which European City the person emigrated from. To date, 1,320 images have been indexed, and theproject will continue. More indexing has been worked on from Har Menuchos inJerusalem, of which 5,100 of the 6,000 images are now searchable.

3. Records from the following locations have recently been edited to includemany of the Hebrew only, or difficult to read monuments. Mt. Olive from LosAngeles, CA- 1,262 records, and Jewish cemeteries in Milwaukee WI- 6,219.

4. Here are some of the responses we received in connection to the articlein issue 27 called "Talking stones?" which is reprinted below..

Maury Kitces: Let me tell what has happened today - since I rejoined.First some background.My distant cousin Ethel was named for an aunt of hers who had "died inchildbirth". She knew nothing else about this woman, not even her marriedname. She always wanted to know more about her, and where she was buried.About 10 years ago my cousin found a letter that was written to her aunt byher (unknown) uncle, and it was signed "Louis". So now we were looking forLouis and Ethel, married between 1930 (when she left Montreal) and 1937 whenmy cousin was born. With much work, we located the marriage record of LouisCohen and Ethel Dunsky (1 Oct 1933 in Brooklyn). We have been searching allof the available government records for Ethel Cohen without success foryears.This morning, I looked for Ethel Cohen in your database, and there it was,the tombstone that my cousin has been looking for 30 years or more!Ethel Cohen, bat Chaim, died Feb 1935, age 26. I emailed my cousin, whoimmediately went to the cemetery, where she found the records that showedshe was buried with a stillborn baby. Here is what she wrote back to methis evening."You are fantastic. Truly fantastic. Thank you so much for uncoveringEthel Cohen's whereabouts. When I received your message this morning, Inoticed that her father was listed as Chaim, and when I called the cemeterythey said she was buried with a stillborn baby. Donald and I immediatelydrove to the cemetery in Elmont, NY and visited the gravesite. It is such arelief to have found Ethel, and I will be indebted to you forever."So, if anyone else asks "What value can there be in old stones standing openin the field?" Now you have an answer.Mary Miller: Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for the tombstone photos.Wehave tried many times to get information about the burial of my greatgrandmother. I have come upon your site and found not only her tombstone,but her parents as well. Again, these are wonderful images which help toconfirm the family heritage as I have been recording it! With birthdates,death dates, family relationships...they are invaluable, not to mention veryspecial to have when I am so far away and cannot make the trip myself.

Margaret Levine: Thank you for identifying the graves of my maternalgreat-grandparents,Louis and Jane Levi Wolfe. It is amazing to have the online photos! I wasalso able to get a copy of census data on their household in Syracuse fromthe American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, another excellent resource.

Talking Stones?Some people wonder about the great efforts by the staff ofhttp://www.jewishdata.com/ to photograph entire Jewish cemeteries around the world,and then index and post them at the site. It seems more popular to searchfor official Government records in basement State archives for birth,marriage, census, and death records. But stones? What value can there be inold stones standing open in the field?To this we offer a response: The value of any individual record is bestmeasured by the information it provides. One particular can lead to moreinformation which can help form a full picture about the life of the targetperson and their descendents. Every record is certainly unique and deservescareful examination. Let us consider and compare the information offered bya tombstone image vs. a regular record such as a birth or census record. Thedocument may record report a single detail, for example - Joseph Cohen livedat 245 Main St. and came from Russia in 1886. A tombstone image typicallyprovides a basic record on the person- his or her birthdate, father's name,date of death, Jewish name, words indicating where he or she was a parent orgrandparent. Occasionally the image of the stone may record the person'scountry and city of origin, their occupation, and their majoraccomplishments on this earth. Is there any other record that provides somuch information in one image?When considering the value and validity of each record, one willinquire -who created the record? In the case of a Government record, it isdifficult to know who was the source. Perhaps a Government official justasked a few questions without taking the time to make sure they understandthe answers correctly. Sometime census volunteers justified writing entriesbased on a neighbor's word. A monument however, was inscribed in stone bychoice words provided by close loving family members who also paid for theinscription. Knowing this will cause us to not overlook any subtle hint theymay have intended to convey to us in their carved words.As to the fact that the monuments seems too easy to access compared torestricted Government archives, we may suggest: G-D Almighty in his infinitewisdom, created the world in a manner that essentials such as air and waterare plentiful, and readily available at no charge. In a similar vein:tombstone records, precisely because they are so essential for genealogyresearch- they are open in the fields waiting for any visitor to find themand appreciate the information they are telling. At Jewish Data we aretrying to capture the maximum number of images before the stones fade bynatural or sometimes unfortunately un-natural causes. The small fee athttp://www.jewishdata.com/ is only for the convenience of viewing records quicklyand comfortably, while sparing the time and money it would require to travelaround the world. If at least some of these points are correct, we are leadto the conclusion that tombstones are records in stone which speak louderthan documents alone.

Jewish Data Times Issue 29

2008-12-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 29
Focused on records posted at http://www.jewishdata.com/
1. New records from Oregon.
2. More records from Brooklyn, NY- Washington Cemetery.
3. A member who used the database to trace back hundreds of years
.4. Thank you to all members.

1. We are pleased to announce the arrival of records from the State of Oregon. The Waverly Jewish cemetery in Albany, Oregon is now at the site. While it is a small Jewish cemetery, all monuments have been posted. The oldest monument is for Albany Sarah Rosenthal in 1878. Some of the Early families are: Joseph, Rosenthal, Senders, and Sternberg. Some of the monuments tell where the immigrants came from, such as Lena May Senders (1837-1901) from Frensdor Bavaria, Leon Senders (1833-1904) from Bosen Germany, Aaron Senders (1835- 1896) from Bosen Germany, Sophia Joseph (1836-1903) from France, Lewis Kline (1828-1900) from Kalish Polen, Adeline L. Kline (1832-1899) from Kourland Russia. Special thanks to Lisa Williams for sending us the images and data.

2. The most recently posted batch of records from Washington cemetery in Brooklyn contains more than 4,000 tombstone images. During processing, one record happened to attract our attention, at is read Louis Blumenthal 1876-1912 "who fearlessly sacrificed his life for the love of his friends. Peace be unto him". A quick google search for Louis Blumenthal 1912, retrieved a NY Times free archive story telling that he was a blacksmith who was scheduled to testify against a group of horse poisoners on the East Side. Apparently the group first tried to extort him for money, and after refusing, they firebombed his house. Knowing that he was about to testify against the leader, Charles Vitusky, they sent a hit man to murder Blumenthal in front of his friends.Ultimately, Vitusky was convicted by previous testimony Louis Blumenthal had given.

3. Micheal Moritz wrote this: " I must say that your site has helped me begin to solve a family mystery and view grandparents in a cemetery in Brooklyn, and then look at the graves of ancestors from 500 years ago in Frankfurt, Germany. I absolutely commend the hard work, and hope that more cemeteries will be available in the future!"

4. We are grateful to all our members who enable us to continue capturing, indexing, and posting records.

new records from around the world. Many members continue their membership and let it renew. That is wonderful. However, if any member does not wish to continue after the initial 3 month period, please send an e-mail message to support@ccbill.com to cancel anytime during the three months. We only want happy members who feel they are gaining by having access to the database while saving their time and money.

Jewish Data times Issue 27

2008-12-31T13:56:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 27 2/29/08 Focused on records posted at http://www.jewishdata.com/

1. More records from Brooklyn, NY.
2. Thousands of hard to read and Hebrew records have been indexed .
3. An additional index field for immigration douments is introduced.
4. Talking stones?

1. More than 8,000 additional images have been posted from WashingtonCemetery in Brooklyn. This brings the total number of more than 38,000records from this location. We have received thankful messages from severalmembers who happily discovered and viewed at Jewish Data- old tombstoneimages for relatives interred at this large Brooklyn cemetery. Thisoccurred after inquiring at the Cemetery office and being assured that norecords or tombstones exist for the names they asked about.

2. Our editors have carefully worked on thousands of records from Newark NJ,Dalton PA, Linden Hill Long Island, Milwaukee WI. These records were eitherdifficult to read or are in Hebrew, both of which are reasons to requireextra attention. These records are now searchable and accessible This isanother reason to suggest periodically using the search engine to conductsearches on names that previously came up fruitless.

.3. As we strive to present a variety of records, including information rich- Declaration of Intention dicuments, we have started a new time -consuming inititave for which we will appreciatte member feedback to judge it's effectivenes. Declaration documents record the applicant's heigh,weight, date and place of birth, and other details. Being that many of thesedocuments are for common Jewish names, without a year recorded in the index,it is difficult to know if the listing for Louis Bernstein, for example- isthe one you are looking for. To solve this we started entering in the notesfield- the city and country he applicant was born in. In this case- you willnow see three documents for Louis Bernstein- one from Minsk, one fromElizabethgrad, and the third- from Kiev. This information my helpresearches decide which record to select.

4. Some people wonder about the great efforts by the staff ofhttp://www.jewishdata.com/ to photograph entire Jewish cemeteries around the world,and then index and post them at the site. It seems more popular to searchfor official Government records in basement State archives for birth,marriage, census, and death records. But stones? What value can there be inold stones standing open in the field?To this we offer a response: The value of any individual record is bestmeasured by the information it provides. One particular can lead to moreinformation which can help form a full picture about the life of the targetperson and their descendents. Every record is certainly unique and deservescareful examination. Let us consider and compare the information offered bya tombstone image vs. a regular record such as a birth or census record. Thedocument may record report a single detail, for example - Joseph Cohen livedat 245 Main St. and came from Russia in 1886. A tombstone image typicallyprovides a basic record on the person- his or her birthdate, father's name,date of death, Jewish name, words indicating where he or she was a parent orgrandparent. Occasionally the image of the stone may record the person'scountry and city of origin, their occupation, and their majoraccomplishments on this earth. Is there any other record that provides somuch information in one image?When considering the value and validity of each record, one willinquire -who created the record? In the case of a Government record, it isdifficult to know who was the source. Perhaps a Government official justasked a few questions without taking the time to make sure they understandthe answers correctly. Sometime census volunteers justified writing entriesbased on a neighbor's word. A monument however, was inscribed in stone bychoice words provided by close loving family members who also paid for theinscription. Knowing this will cause us to not overlook any subtle hint theymay have intended to convey to us in their carved words.As to the fact that the monuments seems too easy to access compared torestricted Government archives, we may suggest: G-D Almighty in his infinitewisdom, created the world in a manner that essentials such as air and waterare plentiful, and readily available at no charge. In a similar vein:tombstone records, precisely because they are so essential for genealogyresearch- they are open in the fields waiting for any visitor to find themand appreciate the information they are telling. At Jewish Data we aretrying to capture the maximum number of images before the stones fade bynatural or sometimes unfortunetly un-natural causes. The small fee athttp://www.jewishdata.com/ is only for the convenience of viewing records quicklyand comfortably, while sparing the time and money it would require to travelaround the world. If at least some of these points are correct, we are leadto the conclusion that tombstones are records in stone which speak louderthan documents alone.

Jewish Data times Issue 26

2008-12-31T13:55:00.002-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 26 12/24/07

Focused on records posted at http://www.jewishdata.com/

1. New records posted from Long Island, NY.
2. New records from Deans, New Jersey.
3. Large batch from Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
4. Records from Israel locations are being processed.
5. Several thousand more records from Elmont, NY.

1. There first batch of more than 3,500 images from Long Island is fromPinelawn, Long Island- Wellwood Cemetery, located on Wellwood Ave. Thesemonuments date from around 1940 and on. Here are some family names forwhich there are at least 5 records, excluding the most common Jewish familynames: Axelrod, Baker, Becher, Brown, Chasan, Chernick, Dorf, Feinsilber,Forman, Friesel, Froum, Gaynor, Glaser, Kaffee, Kalfus, Kivowitz, Lande,Pinker, Reider, Rogoff, Shultz, Sindel, Smith, Strahl, Tuchman, Yass, andZagofsky.See 2. for more details.

2. A batch of close to 3,000 records from Deans, NJ- Floral Park on Rt.130- has been posted. Many of these records and the ones listed above fromPinelawn- Long Island are from Chassidic communties from Munkatch, Bobov andothers. Those monuments are in Hebrew only. Gradually they will be indexedinto English. We did notice that more than a few of these monuments claim"Yichus" - honorable lineage- from great European Rabbis.

3. The latest batch of 9,000 records brings a total of 29,000 images fromthis Brooklyn Jewish cemetery. The oldest monuments are from the 1880's. Anumber of them state the person's birthplace, for example: Tobias Hecht (1811-1896) fromRuppertshofen, Germany, Sette Hecht (1827-1911) from Bartsadt, Germany, Abraham Goldsmith (1810-1885) fromNesselroeden, Germany, and Louis Tubachnick (1858- 1899) from Nemirov,Russia. Some of the images have large office buildings in the background,making this location recognizable.The records from this location are a great information resource. Here is apartial list of family names which have at least 5 records, excluding themost common Jewish names, and as a sample, only names beginning with the letters A, B,and Z: Ackerman, Ainbinder, Albert, Albstein, Alexander, Alper, Alperstein,Alpert, Alter, Altholtz, Amdur, Anderson, Appel, ppelbaum, Asch, Ascher,Aschner, Ash, Asher, Ashkenas, Baer, Baird, Baker, Ball, Barash, Bard,Barkan, Barnett, Barofsky, Baron, Baronsky, Baschkopf, Baskind, Bass, Bauer,Bauman, Becher, Beck, Beecher, Beer, Bell, Bellick, Bergida, Berliner, Bern,Bernard, Bero, Bettleman, Beltz, Bienstock, Bierman, Binder, Blakeman,Blank, Blanket, Blatt, Blattberg, Bleetstein, Blutstein, Bock, Bogursky,Botwinick, Brand, Braunn, Braverman, Bresack, Brill, Brody, Brook, Brooks,Brown, Buchbinder, Buchholtz, Zaretsky, Zeiger, Zeiflin, Zelenko,Zelevansky, Zellr, Zeltser, Zhavtis, Zinner, Zorn, Zucker, Zuckerberg,Zweigenhaft, Zwerin, Zwerling, and Zwick.

4. Batches of thousands of new records are being processed fom the followingIsrael locations: Safed, Har Menuchos, Mt. of Olives, Tiberias, SheikhBader-Jerusalem. These records will be described in detail when they arefully indexed.

5. An additional batch of 3,000 records from Beth David in Elmont, NY-brings the number of images from there to more than 7,000. The variety offamily names is colorful and it seems that many are Sefardic. Here arefamily names of which there are at least 5 records, excluding the mostcommon names: Askinazi, Attas, Azrolan, Babuch, Bacola, Barouch, Bartwink,Beck, Becker, Bell, Bodner, Bortnick, Brafman, Brody, Cantos, Chernuchin,Coffina, Coffino, Colchamiro, Dariff, De Castro, Dorman, Elias, Eskanazi,Ganis, Geber, Gilter, Glasser, Grodsky, Hametz, Hiller, Homelsky, Kass,Katcher, Kitzes, Kniznick, Kostick, Koulias, Kruglack, Lafazan, Lazansky,Lenchner, Levitt, Lindner, Luftig, Master, Matsil, Matza, Mazza, Menachem,Merchant, Millman, Mirsky, Mishkin, Mitchel, Mogel, Muntner, Mutachi,Nachmias, Nadler, Nahoum, Naphtali, Negrin, Nicokiris, Olshner, Ovadia,Paul, Petrillo, Pincus, Post, Provitch, Ricklin, Robbins, Savetsky,Schinasi, Sinder, Smith, Socol, Sokal, Storch, Sylvester, Thaw, Tobias,Trager, Tropino, Warshaw, Winter, acuel, Yellin, Yomtov, Zaffos, Zavetsky,Ziff, Ziperstein, and Zwitman.

Jewish Data Times Issue 25

2008-12-31T13:55:00.001-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 25 11/24/07

Focused on records posted at http://www.jewishdata.com/

1. More records posted from Ridgewood, NY.
2. A large batch of 8,000 records from Montreal has been added to the database.

1. A folder of 1,800 images was added last week from Ridgewood, NY- Linden Hill, on Metropolitan Ave. This brings the number of records from Linden Hill to more than 5,000. Here is a list of family names from this location with at least 10 records (excluding the most common Jewish family names) :Alsberg, Auerbach, Basch, Bauer, Bauman, Beck, Bleir, Bloch, Bondy, Bullowa, Eckstein, Fischer Fishel, Flashner, Fluegelman, Fox, Frank, Frankel, Froehlich, Fuld, Haas, Hahn, Herzig, Hirsch, Kind, Klauber, Lambert, Lederer, Lefler, Loebl, Mahler, Nathan, Neuberger, Offner, Palitz, Pick, Pollack, Popper, Potosky, Propper, Raisler, Rosenheim, Rown, Sabath, Schwartzkopf, Shaw, Simm, Sandheim, Spitzer, Stark, Steiner, Stiner, Tanzer, Weil, Weisburg, Weisel, Weisl, Zandek, and Zeimer. Judging from the family names, it is obvious that many of the families arrived from Germany.

2. More than 8,000 records have been posted from Montreal, Canada- Baron De Hirsch on Savane St. This location is the largest Jewish cemetery in Montreal and to date, there are more than 19,000 records from this location already posted in the database. These records are an excellent source for anyone who has roots in Canada.There is also a helpful office on the premises which would assist anyone requesting to find a monument.

Jewish Data Times Issue 10 June 1, 2004

2007-11-06T07:47:00.001-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
http://www.jewishdata.com/

Issue number 10 - June 1, 2004

1. Records from Springfield, MA.
2. More Documents from Kings County (Brooklyn) NY
3. Records from the Albany NY Jewish World Newspaper from the 1960's.

1. More than 4,000 records and images from West Springfield, MA Beth El/ Bnai Jacob at Kings Highway have been posted, about half of this Cemetery. The oldest tombstones are for Etta Horenstein- 1892, Heime Seltzer- 1893, Adolph Aduskin, Louis Brown, and Max Feinberg- 1894.

There are a number of US Army Veterans from the Spanish War, World War I and II. For example Max Grinowetz- served in the war with Spain, Harold M. Wiener, Maurice Pottern, William S. Miller, and the following men were killed in action: Nathan Greenberg, Sidney Rulnick, Ronald K. Zundell, and Bernard Katz.

The following men are inscribed as Torah Scholars: M. J. Shapiro, Tzvi Hirsh Robinson, Lewis W. Klempner, Lazar W. Winner, and Solhom Kostrinsky- who also lived until age 97.

Some of the interesting monuments are for Moses Ehrlich and Henry J. Glickman, Max and Sarah Berger- who died on the same day, Samuel Woythaler- a German inscription, Joseph Aronstam- a poetic Hebrew inscription using the first letters of his name. Among the women there is Esther Hinda Pessin wife of Rabbi Solomon Pessin and Rachel Leah Michelman- long Hebrew inscriptions, a woman named Rosa who drowned in 1911, Frances Feldman Korobkin and Mollie Paroshink who lived to 103 and 105 respectively.

There are at least 5 tombstones for people with the following last names: Alpert, Aronson, Ascher, Auerbach, Becker, Berinstein, Berman, Bernson, Binsky, Black, Blatt, Bloom, Bresky, Brothers, Browdy, Brown, Burstein, Chesler, Cohen, Cohn, Connell, Cooley, Davidson, Davis, Diamond, Dietz, Dorenbaium, Epstein, Feinberg, Finkelstein, Fisher, Gelin, Gerstein, Ginsberg, Goldberg, Goldin, Goldsmith, Goldstein, Goldstick, Goodless, Goodman, Gorden, Gordon, Granstein, Green, Greenberg, Hare, Harris, Hertzmark, Hochberg, Hoffman, Hurwitz, Jacobs, Kanter, Kaplan, Karp, Katz, Kinsler, Klein, Kohn, Kramer, Kronick, Kushnet, Lazerus, Levin, Levine, Levinson, Lewis, Lieberman, Lundy, Meyer, Michelman, Miller, Mirkin, Naurison, Pomerantz, Pottern, Radding, Ratner, Resnick, Rice, Richmond, Riner, Robinson, Rosenberg, Rosenbloom, Rosenthal, Rosenwald, Rubin, Rubinstein, Rubinwitch, Rudman, Sagalyn, Sahpiro, Schaffer, Schwartz, Shapiro, Siegel, Silverman, Simcovitz, Sisiky- Sisitsky, Skolnick, Sladofsky, Smith, Solin, Stein, Steinberg, Terney, Tillman, Tober, Tollin, Tuber, Webber, Weinstein, Wiener, Wilson, Winer, Winniman, Witkin, Zandan, Zimmerman, Zundell, and Zwicker

2. Additional Declaration of Intention records from Kings County have been posted. This batch contains 1,600 records and images of documents filed during April- September 1911.

Some of the interesting occupations listed are: Abraham Blaustein and Moisi Rotenberg as "cooper"- which means they built wooden barrels, Alex Feistman- "wood turner", Ike Rubin- "longshoreman"- one who loads and unloads vessels in a port, Joseph Kovalevsky- "wood chopper", Samuel Yoselwitz- "piano teacher', Froim Drinshtein- "ortopath"?, Chaim Streussand- "cornice maker" ?, Israel Rivkin- "cork maker", Sam Moskowitz- "stableman", Pinchas Katcharin- "maker of life savers", Joseph Silverman- "jobber" which seems to be a term for a wholesaler, Jacob Kantor- "milkman", Mendel Kessel- "Rabbi", and Mendel Shenk- the only one listed as "retired".

3. Mr. Sam S. Clevenson of Albany, NY founded a weekly newspaper called "the Jewish World" in 1965. As of June 2004, Mr. Clevenson remains the editor. May G-D bless him until 120. This batch contains 2,100 records and images from the first issue September 23, 1965 until the end of the year, 1966, 1967, and 1969. These records include marriages, anniversaries, achievements, historic family photos, obituaries, and many of the records include pictures of people.

Jewish Data Times Issue 9 April 2 15, 004

2007-11-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com

Issue number 9 - April 15, 2004

1. "The Jew in Canada" completely posted.
2. "Who Who in American Jewry, 1938" added to database.
3. Special feature: An Article on early American Jewish History.

1. The entire book called "The Jew in Canada”, 1926 by Arthur Daniel Hart (1886- 1932) in now available at the site. This 576-page book details the History of the earliest Canadian Jews, and the story of every Synagogue, School, and Jewish Social group in Canada. The book contains hundreds of photographs, and in general is a goldmine of information. The book can be found in some Jewish Libraries, but not many. While the original book does not have an index, Jewish Data has compiled an index, so that the regular search engine retrieves names. The index has not been completed.There are two ways to search these records. 1. A name search, and it can be limited to these records by entering- A Jew in Canada – in the location field. 2. By page numbers. Pages 000e- 000i are the table of Contents where one can find names of Synagogues and Organizations and the page number. To view the pages, enter - The Jew in Canada- in the record location field on the member's search page, clear all other fields, press enter, and a list of pages will display. Click the camera icon to view the page. A tip on name searches: To search both the book and Jewish Cemetery images- just enter the word- Canada- in the record location field, and then enter the desired first/ last name in those fields.

2. An important book called "Who's Who in American Jewry", 1938 has been posted. This book contains more than 8,000 factual biographies of Jewish professionals and leaders. The book also includes hundreds of pictures. While the majority of the listings are US Jews, there are plenty of listings from other Countries. These records will be displayed as results of name searches alongside other records in the database. Here is a sample entry: Abelman, Max- public relations dir. Born Jassy, Rumania, Jan. 26, 1887, s. Abram and Ida Clara (Berkowitz) A; came to N.Y. City 1892. Ed; Prep. and De Wight Sch. of Accounting; Mechanics Inst. of N.Y.; Sch. of Philanthropy; N.Y.U.; took special courses. am. Inst. of Banking. In building constn 1905- 07; asst secy and asst trust officer Mfrs Trust Co. 1923- 32; public relations dir. and secy to pres. Nathan S. Jonas, Jewish Hosp. Brooklyn N.Y. Exec. dir. 1909-1923, asst secy since 1924, Fed. of Jewish Charities (an organizer Big Bro. and Big Sister Assn 1915); mem. exec. com. N.Y. City Conf. of Charities and Corrections 1920. Hon. secy United War Work campaign 1917- 18. Active in money-raising campaigns for civic and communal orgns; dir. concert in campaign to save Bklyn Acad. of Music 1935. Mem. advisory council Bklyn sect Boy Scouts of Am.;mem.; Young Men's Philanthropic League (hon.) Bklyn Chamber of Commerce, Bklyn Soc. of Etchers. Married Bessie d. Isaac Schwartz, Oct. 6, 1907, N.Y. City; child. Alan Nathan. Club; Unity. Synagogues; Wall St. (N.Y. City); Union Temple. Hobbies: music, golf, swimming. Home: 35 Tennis Court. Office: 555 Prospect Place, Bklyn, N.Y.

3. The 145-page hand written Journal that records Synagogue meetings of the Jewish Community of Hoosick Falls NY 1891- 1902 has been posted as mentioned in Issue 8. The Journal records their meetings and reading it provides us a picture of what life was like for Jews in a village more than a hundred years ago. Reading these pages one can see their efforts at maintaining a "Minyan", living according to the Torah in general, and how the members of a small Jewish Community cared for one another. Surely they were many similar Communities in this Country, but how many actually recorded and preserved their records? If Synagogues have similar Journals, it would be wonderful if they would also post them on the Internet. Anyone interested in American Jewish History will appreciate browsing through these pages. The written pages are easy to read online. In order to view these records, enter the words - Hoosick Falls- in the record location field at the member's main search page, clear all other fields, press enter, and it will retrieve a list of page numbers. Some of the most interesting pages are 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 15, 26, 30, 88, 113, and 115.The following names appear in the Journal very frequently: L. Baer, Joseph Borowsky, Myer Daniel, Isaac Daniel, Abraham Dinner, Ellis Ferber, Abram Goldman, Lewis Kobell, Rev. Dr. L. Lampert, Bernard Levin, David Levine, Joseph Levine, Jacob Lurie, Julius Lurie, Morris Lurie, Louis Markstone, Louis Pincus, Kalman Richless, Morris Richless, and Abe Rosenthal.The following Jewish people who lived in Hoosick Falls also filed Declaration of Intention documents that are in the database under the location - Rensselaer County-: Louis Berkman. Abraham Handelman, David Levine, Joseph Lewis, Hyman Miller, Moses Rabinowitz, Joseph Rokosky, Samuel Semelisky, and Joseph Shaulis. Joseph Lewis, who appears in the Journal as one of the donors for the Torah Scroll, signed his Declaration of Intention in Hebrew.Here is a more detailed article about these records.

A Viable Village Synagogue

Hoosick Falls, NY is a village located near Bennington Vermont, about 30 miles from Troy, NY and 45 miles from Albany, NY. One of the only signs that a Jewish community ever lived there is the Louis Miller Museum, a house donated by a Jewish family in 1981. Charles W. Filkins, the Director, assisted my research of the Jewish Community. I found no Jewish Synagogue or group listed in the Village’s Town directories until 1904, although there actually was an organized Jewish Community at least by 1891. In the 1860's Hoosick Falls had a population of about 1,000 people. During the next 40 years, the Village grew to a peak of 7,000 residents in 1890. The main force behind this growth was Mr. Walter A. Wood, who developed the best horse drawn harvesting equipment. He located his “Wood Mowing and Reaping Company” in the village, and employed between 3,000- 4,000 workers. Mr. Wood also owned much of the village, and the Jewish Congregation rented rooms from him to use as their Synagogue. There was a small Jewish Community of around 40 families and individuals in Hoosick Falls in the late 1880's, and in 1891 they formally got together to form a Congregation, which they named "Love Peace" (Ahavas Shalom). Fortunately, they recorded their meetings and preserved a Journal that records details of their meetings and provides us with a picture of their life. Several years ago someone donated the 1891- 1901 Journal to me, and it served as the main source for this article. The first action was to purchase a Sefer Torah, and a special collection was made. As the Congregation was not able to decide on a committee to purchase a Torah, President Morris Lurie stepped in. He offered to buy a Torah himself, and if the Congregation found it satisfactory, they may purchase it from him. The group ended up purchasing the Torah from Morris Lurie in 1891 for $65.00. A special Celebration was held to welcome the new Torah on Sunday, September 20, 1891. In August 1991 the Journal records amounts received from all members. The list includes 38 members who donated sums ranging from $0.25 to $7.15, raising a total of $102.75. It is interesting that in 1891, when the Congregation was founded with the Community member's donations, there were no official membership dues. On October 11, 1891 it is recorded that 16 members offered to pay $0.50 a month to the Synagogue. Gradually this became the standard, and in 1892 the Congregation declared a new rule that everyone "must be clear on the books" before the High Holidays, and if members were too far behind in paying dues they would be suspended from he Congregation. As a result of charging dues, the number of members fell from 38 to about 15. However, some of the non-members would offer donations from time to time. In the latter half of the 1890's it became increasingly difficult for some members to pay their dues. Several members were suspended, but they usually ended up coming back a few months later and managed to pay back dues, and be re-instated as members. The sum of $0.50 may sound like a small amount of money, but judging from prices recorded in the journal, it seems like every dollar amount listed in the Journal is more like x 100 in today's dollars, making $0.50 more like $50.00 The members of the Jewish community were mainly retailers or peddlers. It is probable that at least some Jews worked at Mr. Wood's factory, but from the records researched so far, only one by the name of Kalman Richless is listed as being employed there. Services At a meeting on October 11, 1891 - "A motion carried to have every member attend services at least once in 4 weeks on Saturdays. Said members to be notified failing to do so they are to be fined $0.50". Although they did not gather for daily services on a regular basis, they would do so when someone had a Yahrzeit and efforts were made to form a “Minayn”- a quorum of at least 10 Jewish male adults. An entry dated August 21, 1892 states: "By a motion made and carried that Brother Louis Markstone should keep the key from the Shool (sic) and in case somebody of strangers living out of this town mentioned above, or anyone else who does belong to the Congregation and living here wish to get a menion (sic) for carrying out their memorial day are obliged to pay for opening the Shool (sic) and getting a menion (sic) one dollar in cash- $0.50 of which should be paid to Dr. L. Lambert and the other $0.50 for the benefit of the Shool (sic).” Community responsibilityOn December 20, 1891 the members decided to open a Sunday school for the children, and Abe Rosenthal was elected as superintendent. This was a very young community and there were no deaths of elderly Jewish people recorded from 1891-1901. Nevertheless, the Congregation decided at a meeting in 1891 that in case a death occurs in any family, all members would assist them in covering the expense of the funeral. At a meeting on October 25, 1891- "A motion was made and seconded in case if it will be happened any death by any of the member's families to pay that member for help paying the funeral expenses to one dollar by each of our members and should be obliged to raise more money if it is necessary for that very purpose". It should be understood that this was before the safety nets we know of today such as Social Security existed. In January 1892, tragedy struck the community with two deaths within one week. On January 15, Linnie Markstone, the 7 and half-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Markstone died, and on January 18, Kalman Richless, a 27-year-old husband and father died of pleurisy after being ill for three days. A special meeting was held on January 24, 1892, and we read this moving entry: January 24, 1892."According to the law of the Congregation from 1st of November 1891- Mr. L. Markstone and Mrs. Kolman Richless are entitled to get of each member of the above Congregation to one dollar to help paying Funeral expenses of losts (sic) ... Mr. L. Markstone was willing to give offers for a present to the Congregation with which the Congregation with tears and sorrows thanked Mr. Markstone and hoped that he and family will escape all the troubles their life forever.-- The meeting closed with tears and sorrows for Mr. L. Markstone and widow Kolman Richless and with great hopes for their blessings from God in future in prospering in health and wealth". Both individuals were buried far way from Hoosick Falls, in the Jewish Cemeteries of Troy, and Albany NY The members got together $1.00 each for Mrs. Richless and presented $14.00, some of which had to be borrowed from the Treasury and collected from members later. While the records show that money was always tight, in March 1898, the group was finally able to deposit $25.00 in an interest bearing account at the Bank of Hoosick Falls. However, a few months later they tapped into their savings in order to help one of the members. At a meeting held June 5, 1898- "A motion was made and seconded that $10.00 should be withdrawn from the bank, and donated to Brother Lewis Kobell to help paying his doctor bills for his sick wife". Kosher meatThe records do not discuss this in detail, but it is pretty clear that the Congregation supplied Kosher meat to their members. They perhaps followed the model of nearby Troy, NY at the time, where the Chazzan (Cantor) doubled as the "Shochet"- one trained to slaughter according to Jewish Law. This is mentioned only in one entry dated July 29, 1900. At a meeting it was decided that "strangers" (non-members) must pay $0.50 per month to the Synagogue if they want to receive the benefit of Kosher meat. Synagogue meetings During the monthly and later bi-monthly meetings members would hopefully pay their monthly dues, address issues and cite the bills they're paying. One of the two main annual responsibilities was to secure a Chazzan for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Every year a committee of usually two members was appointed to hire a qualified individual for the price the Congregation agreed upon. At first the salary was around $25.00 for Shachris (the morning prayer) and a similar amount for the Chazzan for Musaph (the afternoon or additional prayer), and in the late 1890's they tried unsuccessfully to hire the Chazzan for closer to $15.00 It is evident that every dollar counted when we see discussion on whether the $15.00 is with or without expenses. In any case, they always succeeded in finding a Chazzan from Troy, Albany, or NY City. At first members were not charged for High Holiday tickets, but by 1898 it was decided to charge members $2.00 for married people. Tickets for "strangers" were always a bit higher than for members. This process was also carried out with sensitivity, as we see that in 1896 when the price for "outsiders" was set at $1.00 for singles, and $2.00 for married people, members L. Baer and Morris Richless served as a committee "to consider who is able to pay for seats or not". The highest price for tickets was reserved for the suspended members. It was decided in 1892 that they should be charged $5.00. However, viewing the records it does not appear that this was implemented. Another Committee was appointed to buy a Lulav (palm branch) and Esrog (a type of citrus) for the Congregation to celebrate the Holiday of Sukkos in September- October. The committee usually spent $3.00 - $4.00 for these Religious items. Compared to other expenses this was very costly, perhaps because the Esrog grows only in Israel and Italy, and shipping was complicated at the time. The Congregation often held a special collection to reach that amount. Another source of income was selling the "Aliyos" (being called to the Torah) to the highest bidder on the High Holidays- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These services brought in what they called "strangers", and it was decided at a meeting held September 18, 1892 "to have a security for the strangers and other people for their offerings if necessary" to make sure they wouldn't pledge money to the Synagogue and forget about it later. However, one honor was not auctioned. The Maftir Yonah (reading book of Jonah) in the afternoon Minchah prayer on Yom Kippur was chosen by a Congregation vote to receive this privilege. One of the ways they kept expenses low was by living within their means. One example is when they needed a new "Paroches" (Holy Ark hanging cover) in 1897, they made a special collection and raised $3.32. With this they purchased as follows: 6 ½ yards velvet @ $0.40= $2.60, 5 yards gild braid @$0.08= $0.40, 6 ½ yards cambric @$0.04= $0.26, rings- $0.06, Total= $3.32 Naturally they wove it themselves. Rabbis and ChazzansThe first Rabbi to serve the Congregation was Rev. Dr. L. Lampert, and there is little information available about him.. At first he was compensated with $0.50 per month, and in 1892 his salary doubled to $1.00, and a few years later to $2.00. In September 1897, Lampert is reported to be moving to Albany, NY. Abram Goldman, a local peddler and member, served as High Holiday Chazzan {be consistent in how you spell this} for the morning service for a few years. Other Rabbis and Chazzans mentioned were Rev. B. Berg, Rev. S. Alpert from NY City, Rev. Mr. Silverman from North Adams, MA, and Mr. Tauber from Albany, NY. The records also mention Rev. Udelson who came from Troy, NY to be Chazzan for a few High Holiday seasons. This may have been Ezekiel Edelston who operated a boot and shoe store in Troy, NY. He is listed in the Troy City Directory of 1894 as serving as the Rev. for the Sharah Tephilah Synagogue in Troy.

A few of the community leaders:
Morris Lurie: Morris Lurie served as the President of the Congregation during the entire period of 1891- 1901. He ran a business called P. Lurie-, which sold dry goods, fancy goods, millinery, etc. at 13 John St. An example of his leadership can be seen above when the Congregation needed a Torah scroll. A number of Jewish residents found employment at the Lurie store. Jacob Lurie served as a cashier, and Julius Lurie is listed as a clerk. Abram Goldman, who is listed as a peddler in the 1892 directory, is listed as a clerk at Lurie's in 1898. Ellis Kempner served as a clerk. Ellis Ferber is listed as a clerk in 1898, and by 1910 he is listed as a partner in the business. Around 1910, Morris Lurie moved to NY City, but retained ownership of the business. Louis Pincus: Louis Pincus served as the Vice President. He operated a store under his name that sold boots, shoes, and rubbers. There was also a Paul Pincus, who may have been the father of Louis. At least one of the members worked in his store. We find Samuel Litowich who was listed in the 1898 Village Directory as a salesman there. Louis Markstone: Louis Markstone served as the Treasurer and on many committees over the years. He owned a Shoes and Boots store. In the summer of 1896, Louis Markstone announced that he will be moving to Plattsburgh, NY and he presented some type of donation to the Congregation. The members decided "to keep his name in the books as long as the Congregation is in existence". What do these records teach us today, more than one hundred years later? I think scholars of American Jewish History will want to view these records themselves, but my observations are:The records show the dedication of a small, working-class group to organize a Synagogue as House of Divine worship and as a center for Jewish life.
1. They did not rely on several wealthy donors to sponsor the Organization.
2. The community conducted its own affairs to the point that they would accept the punishment of a fine or being suspended from the Congregation.
3. The community was well aware of every member's needs and they supported each other when a member needed help to pay for a funeral or medical bills.
4. The Synagogue was recognized as a center for Jewish life and the place that dealt with weddings, funerals, and Kosher meat.
5. It is a good idea for Synagogues and Jewish organizations to keep records and preserve them for future generations.

This article is focused on the specific time period 1891- 1901. The Synagogue continued until about 1932, and from around 1908 they held services on Shabbos only once a month. In the 1920's the Town declined in general, as Mr. Wood's products became obsolete due to the innovations of modern machinery

Jewish Data Times Issue 8 February 27, 2004

2007-11-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com

Issue number 8- February 27, 2004

1. New posting of upstate NY Synagogue records.
2. A book on Canadian Jewish History is being posted.

1. A 145-page hand written Journal that records Synagogue meetings of the Jewish Community of Hoosick Falls NY 1891- 1901 has been posted. Hoosick Falls is a Village located in Rensselaer County NY, near Bennington, Vermont, and about 45 miles from Albany, NY. A Jewish community of about 40 families formed in the late 1880's, and in 1891 they started a Synagogue called "Love Peace"- Ahavas Sholom.

The Journal records their meetings and reading it provides us a picture of what life was like for Jews in a village more than a hundred years ago. Reading these pages one can see their efforts at maintaining a "Minyan", living according to the Torah in general, and how the members of a small Jewish Community cared for one another. Surely they were many similar Communities in this Country, but how many actually recorded and preserved their records? If Synagogues have similar Journals, it would be wonderful if they would also post them on the Internet.

Anyone interested in American Jewish History will appreciate browsing through these pages. The written pages are easy to read online. In order to view these records, enter the words - Hoosick Falls- in the record location field at the member's main search page, and it will retrieve a list of page numbers.
Some of the most interesting pages are 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 15, 26, 30, 88, 113, and 115.

The following names appear in the Journal very frequently: L. Baer, Joseph Borowsky, Myer Daniel, Isaac Daniel, Abraham Dinner, Ellis Ferber, Abram Goldman, Lewis Kobell, Rev. Dr. L. Lampert, Bernard Levin, David Levine, Joseph Levine, Jacob Lurie, Julius Lurie, Morris Lurie, Louis Markstone, Louis Pincus, Kalman Richless, Morris Richless, and Abe Rosenthal.

The following Jewish people who lived in Hoosick Falls also filed Declaration of Intention documents that are in the database under the location - Rensselaer County:
Louis Berkman. Abraham Handelman, David Levine, Joseph Lewis, Hyman Miller, Moses Rabinowitz, Joseph Rokosky, Samuel Semelisky, and Joseph Shaulis. Joseph Lewis, who appears in the Journal as one of the donors for the Torah Scroll, signed his Declaration of Intention in Hebrew.

A more detailed article about the Hoosick Falls records is being prepared.

2. A special book on Canadian Jewish History is being posted. The name of the book is "The Jew in Canada”, 1926 by Arthur Daniel Hart (1886- 1932). This 576-page book details the History of the earliest Canadian Jews, and the story of every Synagogue, School, and Jewish Social group in Canada. The book contains hundreds of photographs, and in general is a goldmine of information. The book can be found in some Jewish Libraries, but not many. This posting is the first 123 pages of the book. While the original book does not have an index, Jewish Data has compiled an index, so that the regular search engine retrieves names.

There are two ways to search these records. 1. A name search, and it can be limited to these records by entering- A Jew in Canada – in the location field. 2. By page numbers. To view the pages, enter - The Jew in Canada- in the record location field on the member's search page, press enter, and a list of pages will display. Click the camera icon to view the page. Pages 000e- 000i are the table of Contents. A tip on name searches: To search both the book and Jewish Cemetery images- just enter the word- Canada- in the record location field, and then enter the desired first/ last name in those fields. The remainder of the book is being processed and will be posted G-D willing soon.

If you would like to receive back Issues, please let us know.

Jewish Data Times Issue 7 February 16, 2004

2007-11-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted atwww.jewishdata.com

Issue number 7- February 16, 2004
1. New documents from Boston, MA posted.
2. New Leonard L. Rosenthal archive posted.

1. New Declaration of Intention Documents from Boston.
A new batch of more than 1,800 new Declaration of Intention records and images from the Boston area has been posted.
In the early 1900's there were two places for Boston area immigrants to apply for Citizenship, the Circuit Court, or the District Court. Previous postings were all from the Circuit Court 1906- 1910, and some of this batch are from the District Court beginning in September 1906.

To mention a few of the records that stand out: Hyman Greenfeld is listed as a "clergyman", Albert Epstein is listed as a "designer", and there are several musicians, for example -Samuel Sorokin, Samuel Harris, and Max Radonsky. There are a few teenagers listed, such as Louis Orenberg- "newsboy", and Abraham Pollack- "elevator boy".

The are at least several documents of the following families in this batch: Abramovitz, Alpert, Berman, Bloom, Brown, Cohen, Epstein, Feldman, Fine, Finkelstein, Fogel, Freedman, Friedland, Gilman, Ginsburg, Glassman, Glisserman, Gold, Goldberg, Golden, Goldfarb, Goldman, Goldstein, Goodman. Gordon, Green, Greenberg, Gross, Herman, Hyman, Kahan, Kaplan, Katz, Klein, Levin, Levine, Levy, Miller, Nissenbaum, Pollack, Rosenthal, Schwartz, Shapiro, Shuman, Silverman, Sugarman, Swartz, Toib, Weiner, Weinstein, Weiss, and Yaffe.

2. The Leonard L. Rosenthal archive has been posted . This collection was compiled by the late Leonard L. Rosenthal (1910- 1992). Mr. Leonard Rosenthal conducted extensive research on his family roots. There are many old photographs, some from the 1880's, which Jewish Data has indexed. Information on the following extended families from Troy- Albany NY, and Springfield MA may be found in these records: Aginsky, Coplon, Dorenbaum, Friedman, and Rosenthal.

In addition to the valuable family information, these records also provide a good picture of what life was like a century ago for a middle-class Jewish immigrant family living in upstate NY. The businesses of Samuel Harris Rosenthal and his son Jacob C. Rosenthal are well documented. The preliminary index covers only the main names that appear in these records. The plan is to have these records fully searchable by clicking to the next page as one would view pages of a book, and this will be announced when it is ready. Meanwhile, much of the archive is searchable, and searches can be narrowed by entering "Rosenthal" in the "record location" field on the member's search page.

Special thanks to the Rosenthal family for submitting these records to Jewish Data, with permission to make them available to the public. Until recently there was only one original of this archive, and now it can be viewed from almost anywhere in the world at the website. Individuals who would like to see their Jewish family archive posted at the website, where it can be indexed together with many thousands of other records, and made accessible to a multitude of interested people- are invited to contact Jewish Data at info@jewishdata.com

Jewish Data Times Issue 6 February 2004

2007-11-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com

Issue number 6- February 4, 2004

1. New records from Saratoga County, NY.
2. New records from Kings County, NY
3. Growth rate.

1. New Declaration of Intention filed by Jewish immigrants who lived in Saratoga County have been posted recently. There are 128 of these records and images.
Most of these Jews lived in Saratoga Springs, and some lived in surrounding areas such as Eze Laizer Katzel, who is listed as a farmer living in the Town of Providence.

These records include an unusual high number of Rabbis for such a small group. Perhaps several Rabbi's served the Community for brief periods. The following individuals are listed as Rabbis: Moris Sofer, Joseph Shultz, and Morris Abelson. Morris Shub Shapiro is listed as having been born in Jerusalem and employed as a teacher. To view these records enter "Saratoga County" in the Record location field at the Member's search page. Another option is to simply type "Saratoga" and then the search engine will also retrieve Cemetery records from the Saratoga Springs Jewish Cemetery.

2. The latest posting of Declaration of Intention records from Kings County were filed by Jewish immigrants during the end of 1909 and the first quarter of 1910. This batch includes 1,250 records and images. Here are some of the records that stand out. Israel Littman is listed as a "Rabbi", Samuel Feldman as a "minister", Joseph Sandelman and Israel Max Rubin are listed as "Hebrew school teacher". Bernard Greenberg- "wax figure maker", Reuben Kazimersky- "teacher of music" , Joseph Gottlieb- "sexton", Jacob Schaya Halpern- "guard", Harry Gladstein- "umbrella handle maker", Benni Posner- "human hair dealer", Lazer Goldstein- "fish peddler", and Harry Rosenblum- "herring dealer". Some of the immigrants could not sign their names in English, so they signed in Hebrew instead, as can be seen in the Declaration documents of Morris Zeiman and Morris David Felt. To view these records enter "Kings County" in the Record location field at the Member's search page.

3. New records are posted at the website at the average rate of between 100-200 records every day of the week.

Jewish Data Times Issue 5 January 2004

2007-11-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com

Issue number 5- January 13, 2004

1. New records from Kings County, NY
2. New records from a large Montreal Jewish Cemetery
3. New records from the Jewish World, Albany NY
4. New records from U.S. Circuit Court District of MA, Suffolk County.

1. New Declaration of Intention Document records and images from Kings County have been added recently, and this brings the total so far to more than 4,000 records and images from 1906-1910. The Jewish immigrants list their occupation in the documents along with their detailed personal information. Here are some of the interesting occupations: Israel Haft, Abraham Gold, and Michael Kreisel are listed as "Hebrew teacher". Zemel Sherman is listed as "Rabbi", Schulim Greenspan as "Clergyman", Hirsh Leib Levy and Berl Reiter are listed as "Minister".

The most common occupation of these Jewish immigrants during this time period was "tailor", but there are many others such as carpenter, painter, builder, plumber, machinist, and so many more. Following are some of the records that stand out: Benjamin Posner- "instrument maker", Morris Atlas- "Flower maker", Philip Feigenbaum- "egg Candler", Max Cohen- "nickel plater", Morris Alterman- "wagon builder", Solomon Rosenthal- "badge maker", Heyman Solomon Sacks- "waist cutter", Maer Slutsky- “very stable”, Israel Horowitz- "soda water maker", Harry Israel- 'brewer", Abraham Rabinovitz- "messenger", Simon Appel- "gold chaser", Harry Levy- "signalman", Hyman Silberman- "operator on waists", Abe Geller- "harness maker", Harry Silberman- "suspender maker", Jules Levy- "gun powder agent". Samuel Goldfarb- "teacher of languages", Nathan Kreps- "wood turner", Louis Becker- "truckman".

There are at least five documents of these families: Abramovitz, Abrahamson, Altman, Berger, Berkowitz, Berman, Bernstein, Block, Cohen, Epstein, Finkelstein, Frankel, Friedman, Goldberg, Goldstein, Goodman, Gordon, Greenberg, Gross, Grossman, Halpern, Hoffman, Jacobson, Kaplan, Katz, Katsman, Kaufman, Klein, Kramer, Levin, Levine, Levy, Marcus, Margolis, Mauer, Miller, Moskowitz, Rabinovitz, Rosen, Rosenberg, Rosenthal, Rubin, Sacks, Schneider, Schulman, Schwartz, Shapiro, Siegel, Silberman, Silverman, Simon, Slutsky, Smith, Stein, Weinberg, Weinstein, Weiss, and Wolf. To limit your search to these records, enter “Kings County” in the location field on the member’s search page.

2. There are a number of large Jewish Cemeteries in Montreal, and so far portions have been photographed and indexed. The newest records are from a significant portion of the Baron De Hirsch Cemetery, on Savane St.

To date, more than 20,000 records and images are posted. The oldest tombstone is that of a young woman named Hilda Joseph who died in 1828. The oldest monuments are located at the Shearit Israel- Spanish and Portuguese Jews Cemetery.

Here are some of the early Montreal families (before 1900) of which there are at least several tombstones: Albert, Aronson, Ascher, Benjamin, Bercovich, Blumenthal, Brodsky, David, De Sola, Friedman, Goldberg, Goldstein, Hart, Hyman, Isaacs, Jacobs, Joseph, Kellert, Lazarus, Levine, Levy, Michaels, Morris, Moss, Rothschild, Saxe, Silverman, Silverstone, Vineberg, Workman and Youngheart. To limit your search to these records, enter “Montreal” in the location field on the member’s search page.

3. New records have been posted from the Albany NY- Jewish World weekly newspaper. These records are images of Births, Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings, Anniversaries, and obituaries from 1979- 1980. So far more than 3,000 records and images from the Jewish World have been posted. To limit your search to these records, enter “Jewish World” in the location field on the member’s search page.

4. Another 1,000 Declaration of Intention Document records and images have been posted from the U.S. Circuit Court District of MA, Suffolk County. So far more than 4,000 of these records between 1906- 1910 have been posted. For more details on these records, see Issue 4. To limit your search to these records, enter “Circuit Court” in the location field on the member’s search page.

Jewish Data Times Issue 4 December 2003

2007-11-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com
Issue number 4- December 18, 2003

1. New Declaration of Intention records from Onondaga County NY
2. New Declaration of Intention records from Boston MA
3. New Cemetery records from Saratoga Springs, NY

1. More than 2,000 records and images have been posted from Onondaga County, NY 1906- 1930. The Onondaga County clerk's office was unable to locate the records for later years. These records contain detailed information about Jewish immigrants who filed for US Citizenship. . Most of these applicants lived in the City of Syracuse. A large number of these Jews list their occupation as tailors or junk dealers. The following people are listed as "Rabbi": Isaac Majeir Berenson, Anshel Laizer Freedman, Hersh Weitzman, and Samuel Yelow. Wolf Paperman is listed as a "cantor (minister) " and Abraham Lavine as a "sexton". Isador Abramowitz, Moicha Shapiro, and Abraham Steinberg are listed as "Hebrew teacher".

There are some occupation listings which are not commonly heard of today.
Here are some examples: Samuel Isak Block- "traveling salesman". Max Katz- "wagon maker". Benjamin Pliskin- "bicycle repair man". Isaac Shapiro- "huckster". Simcha Wexler- "lather". Joe Isaacs-" wire worker". Morrie Lifchitz (Lifshitz)- "cigar maker". Morris Galinsky- "junk peddler". Simon Reuben Finkle- "news agent". Herbert Nymen- "splicer's helper". Louis Rothman- "drayman". Abe Epstein- "ticket seller". Reuben Alderman- "collector". Saddie Kahn- "indexes-maker". Hyman Kalmanovsky- "clothing examiner."

There are at least 5 documents of the following families: Abramson, Agronin, Bernstein, Besdin, Block, Bronstein, Cohen, Epstein, Feinberg, Fisher, Freedman, Friedman, Glazier, Glinsky, Gold, Goldberg, Goldsmith, Goldstein, Gordon, Gorelick, Govenda, Greenberg, Hayman, Hodes, Hurwitz, Isaacs, Kahn, Kalmanovitz, Kaplan, Katz, Lavine, Levine, Meltzer, Menter, Miller, Rabinovitch (with various spellings), Rosen, Rosenbllom, Rosenthal, Rubinstein, Rubinson, Sarkin, Shapiro, Share, Siegel, Spevak, Steinberg, Ullman, Wallace, Weiner, Weinstein, Weisberg, and Wolfson.To view any of these records enter "Onondaga" in the location field on the member's search page.

2. Declaration of Intentions from the Circuit Court District of MA have been posted. This first batch is more than 2,000 records and images from Jewish immigrants who settled in the Boston area and filed for Citizenship in the years 1906- 1909. The following people have their occupation listed as "Hebrew teacher": Morris Kaplan, Samuel Heller, Menasse Litvock, Solomon Katfes, Abraham Moses Lapidus and Philip Wilner. Moses Namyot is listed as "Rabbi", Louis Silberstein as "clergyman", and Raphael Minsky as "cantor in a synagogue".

While many of these Jewish immigrants are listed as "tailor" or "junk dealer", there are many other listings which portray life in the busy city of Boston. The records show how Jewish immigrants adapted to life in this Country. There are many listings related to shoe production such as "shoemaker", "shoe stitcher", "shoe fitter","shoe laster", "shoe operator", "shoe business", "shoe clerk", "shoe cutter" and "shoe worker".

Here are some examples of listings you may not have heard of recently as occupations: David Abramowitz- "labeler of liquor bottles", Barnet Plotkin- "laster", Herriss Hudovitch- "expressman", Max Kaplan- "rag peddler", Philip Teverowsky- "rag picker", Samuel Mark- "rag sorter", Wolf Rotman- "ragman", Louis Abraham Zander- "vamper on shoes", Samuel Rosenfeld- "sailor", Barney Berson- "seaman", Andrew Rosenthal- "mariner", Abraham Joselowiz- "coffee packer", Samuel Feinstein- "tea mixer", Jacob Goldwasser- "egg candler", Samuel Gelt- "egg canner", Barnet Weiner- "egg lighter", Joseph Shaine- "teamster", Abraham Trachtenberg- "vest maker", Morris Maselsky- "ropeworker", Abraham Strikowsky- "crockery peddler", George Kaplan- "gents furnisher", Israel Cherry- "lunch room proprietor", Lewis Cohen- "dealer in metals", Samuel Saul Levine- "elevator man", and Samuel Oxman- "ice cream maker". If anyone knows what the following listings mean, please let us know: Julius Finkelstein- "cooper", Jack Goldberg- "weltman".

There are at least 5 documents of the following families: Cohen, Dubinsky, Epstein, Feldman, Freedman, Friedman, Ginsberg, Gold, Goldberg, Goldstein, Goodman, Gordon, Green, Greenberg, Hurwitz, Kaplan, Katz, Levin, Levine, Miller, Nathanson, Pollack, Rosenthal, Rubin, Shapiro, Sherman, Weiner, Weinstein, and Yaffe. To view any of these records enter "Circuit" in the location field on the member's search page.

3. More than 400 records and images have been posted from the only Jewish Cemetery in Saratoga Springs NY on Weibel Ave. The oldest tombstone is that of Hiam Garcia who died in 1907. Joseph Williams (1843- 1929) was according to his monument "Founder of this cemetery and the old Synagogue". Simon Steloff (1848- 1924) was according to the Hebrew inscription "one of the first Jewish settlers in Saratoga". Moses Stein "1873- 1952" is listed as "Gabai of the Synagogue" in his Hebrew inscription, and Joseph Schultz (1882- 1972) is listed as a Shochet, Mohel, Melamed (teacher), and Bal Kriah (Torah reader).

There is a monument for a young man by the name of Moshe Silverman who was murdered in 1919. This monument is inscribed as having been donated by Mrs. D. Serotta. There are a few tombstones marked as "unknown". These are for a few Saratoga Springs Spa Jewish visitors of the years, who died there, were not claimed by anyone, and even their names were not known.

There are at least 5 monuments for the following family names: Cohen, Fallick, Finkel, Gold, Gross, Kobel, Lavine, Lehman, Schultz, Siegel, Steloff, Stein, Stein, Zelikosky, and Zuckerman. To view these records enter "Saratoga" in the location field on the member's search page. The Saratoga JCC and Sharei Tephilah Synagogue are next to the Cemetery, and they have a nice pictorial display on the Saratoga Springs Jewish Community History.

Jewish Data Times Issue 3 November 14, 2003

2007-11-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.comIssue Number 3 November 14, 20031. What does Arthur Kurzweil say about www.jewishdata.com?
2. "Valuable Documents"- a special feature about Declaration of Intention Documents.
3. New records from Oneida County, NY.

1. Arthur Kurzweil, one of the greatest authorities on Jewish Genealogy, and author of several very popular books on the subject, wrote this review:

"Jewishdata.com is an ambitious project that will surely delight many researchers. And, at the rate at which it is growing, it becomes a more valuable source for genealogists by the day. I also predict that Jewishdata.com will come to be known as a role model for other similar efforts. I am quite impressed with this groundbreaking web site. Check it out!"

2. "Valuable Documents"

In Genealogy research, one of the overlooked items is finding Declaration of Intention documents, which are very helpful in providing important information about ancestors.

What is a Declaration of Intention?
A document filed for the purpose of an immigrant declaring their intention to reside in the USA and become a loyal Citizen. In doing so, they renounce their ties to their Country of origin which they are a subject of. This declaration documents was the first step in achieving Citizen status.

What information should one expect to learn from this document?
It depends on the year the document was filed. There were a few stages and changes in the information fields requested in the document.
The first stage was 1790- 1900: the documents include only:

Name

Age

Birthplace

Residence

Date

From where emigrated

Signature

Until 1900, in some Counties, the “Residence” field stated only the person’s City and County. After 1900, typically the person’s address was also written.

The second stage is about September 1906, when the Document was changed to include much more information.

Name__________________ Aged______ Occupation______________

do declare on oath that my personal description is: Color________ Complexion_______

Height_____ feet _____ inches

Color of hair__________ Color of eyes_______ Other distinctive marks________________
I was born in______________ on the ______day of _______ anno domino_______

I emigrated to the Untied States of America from______________

On the vessel______________ My last foreign residence was___________

It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, State or sovereignty, and particularly to ______________

I arrived at the Port of_____________ in the State of ___ on or about the _____day of______

I am not an anarchist; I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy; and it is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States of America and to permanently reside therein; so help me GOD Signature______________

Subscribed before me this_____ day of_______ anno domino______ __________clerk of the_____
Court by_____ clerk Seal

The third stage is 1917, when the following fields were added: I am______married; the name of my wife/husband is________ she/he was born at________.

The final stage took place 1927-1929 The forms were typed instead of being hand written. These forms included a few more details about the spouses birthday, the couple's marriage, and their children: We were married on_________ at_________. She or he was born at________ on __________.
I have________children, and the name, date and place of birth and place of residence of each of said children is as follows__________________________________________________________________

In about 1930 new fields were added for: Race______ Nationality_________. Jewish people were typically written in as “Hebrew” in the “Race” field. In the 1940’s it seems like officials became a little lax in filling in the “race” field, and often left in blank or just wrote “white” for Jewish people. Sometimes, Jews from Germany in the mid 1930’s are listed as “Stateless” in the “Nationality” field.

Accuracy

When a person came to file this document, he or she was interviewed and asked all the questions on the form. The interviewer filled out the form, and the applicant signed the document. This explains why sometimes the name at the top of the document is spelled differently than the signature at the bottom. The interviewer wrote they name as it sounded, even if it wasn't they way the applicant spelled their own name. There was also confusion with the places of birth. The applicant would say, “I was born in Kiev”, and the interviewer would write it as they heard it, and may write “Kief”. Aside from these occasional errors, these documents are unique for their degree of authenticity. Here you have a document with family information signed by your family member in good health and under oath. That has an advantage over a Census document written by some Census taker asking questions to family members, or their neighbors. Even death certificates are filled in by family members, but obviously not by the deceased themselves.

Where are these records located?

Generally they are kept as County records. Contact the County Clerk’s office to find out where they are. Some Clerks will tell you that you can search an online index, or to send them a written request along with a fee for searching, and then one can order a copy for a $10.00 -$15.00 per document. One of the difficulties in ordering this way is how to locate the correct document when searching for a common Jewish name like “Jacob Cohen”. Someone may order a copy only to find out they have the wrong one. It can also take a few weeks to receive the copy.

www.jewishdata.com has the largest online collection of these documents. They have collected thousands of Declarations filed by Jewish people from the following NY Counties, so far: Albany, Fulton, Kings County 1907-1909, Montgomery, Oneida, Onondaga, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Ulster, and Warren. In the member’s section, first and last name searches will display results listing the records found and the County they are from. Clicking on the icon will load the image. This may take a few seconds, because the images are large files and are of high resolution. Users can even print a copy of the image or download it, for their personal use.

3. We have posted 800 new records and images form Oneida County, NY 1906-1949. The majority of these Jewish immigrants lived in Utica, NY.
There are an unusual high percentage of Jewish tailors among the immigrants.
Hersh Rossansky and Samuel Lazarus Somburg are listed as Rabbis.Several documents note that the applicant is also known by another name. Some immigrants probably wanted to “Americanize” or simply shorten their names.
Simon Small’s document notes that his name was changed in Court from- Simon Smolensky. Sam Shlep is listed to also be known as Sam Lender, Morris Rutsiwitsky, also known as Morris Russ, and Ovsei Kostelianetz is also called Joshna Kastel.
One of the interesting documents tells a little about Holocaust refugees.
In a few lines it describes Szaja Sheiman, also known as Shai Szejmowicz, who was born in Olita, Lithuania in 1880. He married his wife Dwojra in Suwalki, Poland in 1919.

After living in Konigsberg Germany for some time, he established residence back in Olita. Somehow he escaped Europe and reached Japan, probably close to or during the Second World War. In 1941 he departed Yokohoma, Japan and arrived in Seattle WA in April. His journey continued as we see that a few months later, in December 1941, he filed his Declaration in Oneida County, NY. As he listed his two children and their residence, there is Jacob, who is listed as been born in Konigsberg Germany in 1920 and living in "Unknown Germany" in December 1941. Shai Sheiman’s tombstone in Utica is also in the database. From it we learn that he was a Cohen, and his year of birth is engraved as 1890, not 1880.
As mentioned earlier in “Valuable Documents”, documents from the 1930’s and on required listing the applicant’s “Race”, and Jews were usually listed as “Hebrew”. In the 1940’s this was not strictly practiced, as evident in a document filed by an obvious Holocaust survivor named Chaim Lewkowicz from Poland, who arrived in this Country in 1949. In his personal description, the field “other distinctive marks” is filled with “tattoo left arm #116291”, yet in “Race” he is listed as “White”.

In these records there are at least three documents for the following family names: Berkowitz, Block, Bloom, Brooks, Cohen, Gersten, Glazer, Glovinsky, Goldberg, Grossman, Hoffman, Klein, Levine, Lewkowicz, Schechter, Schwartz, Sitrin (Cytryn), Shapiro, Speiller, Stone,Weinstein, and Weiss. To limit a search to these records, enter “Oneida” in the location field.

Jewish Data Times Issue 2 November 2003

2007-11-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at www.jewishdata.com Issue Number 2 November 2003

1. New records from Jewish Cemeteries in Springfield, MA.
2. New records from Jewish Cemeteries in Syracuse, NY
3. Declaration of Intention documents from Ulster County, NY
.4. New records from the Jewish Cemeteries in Utica, NY
5. Records from the Jewish World Newspaper from Albany, NY.

1. More than 3,000 records and images from the Jewish Cemeteries inSpringfield MA, have been posted. All eligible tombstones from the followingCemeteries have been photographed and indexed: Bnei Israel Anshai Sfard,Kesser Israel, and City of Homes Ass'n are all located on Wilbraham Ave.The oldest tombstone is that of Hanna Goldberg, 1909. In the center of theCemetery there is an Ohel structure for Rabbi Solomon A. Pessin who died in1919. Some of the interesting Hebrew inscriptions are for Abraham Barowsky, H.Kallin, Solomon Kaplinsky , Shmuel Rosoff, and Leon ZupnickOne Yiddish inscription describes a woman by the name of Chiyena RachelChaitowsky as "A woman who fed hungry people all the days of her life".Some of the family names of which there are at least five tombstones are: Albert, Alpert, Applebaum, Ascher, Askinas, Axler, Baidack, Bardach, Becker, Bilsky, Blacher, Blake, Brooslin, Chase, Chernick, Cooper, Cutler, Dinerstein, Fieldman, Geller, Grant,Grodsky, Hettinger, Izenstein, Kalman, Kaye, Kimball, Kirshner, Kobrosky, Krevalin, Kurnitsky, Kuzon, Lapidus, Lavene, Leider, Lepovetsky, Mackler, Plotkin, Pomerantz, Rispler, Robinovitz, Rosoff, Schaffer, Schogel, Selwitz, Sisitsky, Skeeber, Skerker, Smith, Stambovsky, Steinberg, and Tillman. To narrow your search to these records enter "Springfield MA" in the location field.

2. Approximately 5,400 records and images have been posted fromSyracuse NY's Jewish Cemeteries. The cemeteries are- Congregation AnsheiSfard, Ahavas Achim, Chevra Shas, and Workman's Circle, all located atJamesville Ave. on steep hills. The oldest tombstone in these cemeteries isthat of Joseph Schultz, 1901. Rabbi Mattahias Tsimon, a famous Syracuse leader who died in 1918 is interred in the Chevra Shas section. Other Rabbis nearby are Rabbi Tzvi Some of the family names of which there are at least several tombstones are:Alpern, Agronin, Axenfeld, Bernstein, Bronstein, Brown, Burman, Cantor,Cohen, Elstein, Epstein, Feinberg, Finn, Flesher, Fram, Frank, Franklin,Glinsky, Gilbert, Greenhouse, Hurwitz, Kahn, Kalatsky, Katz, Kleiman,Levine, Meltzer, Rose, Rosenfeld, Ross, Rubenstein, Savatsky, Siegel,Schwartz, Spevak, Tecler, Tomkin, Wallace, and Weisberg. To narrow yoursearch to these records enter "Syracuse" in the location field.

3. Declaration of Intention documents filed by Jewish people in UlsterCounty, NY between 1906-1941 have been photographed, indexed, and postedThere are more than 500 of these records and images.Most of these Jewish immigrants lived in Kingston, NY. However many of themwere farmers and lived in Accord, Ellenville, Greenfield, Highland,Kerhonkson, Spring Glen, Saugerties, and Woodstock. The Jews who lived inKingston are generally listed as "tailor", "peddler", "merchant", or"shoemaker". Jacob Kaplovitz and Reuben Hochstein are listed as Rabbis, andSamuel Miller is listed as a "Hebrew instructor". To narrow your search tothese records enter "Ulster" in the location field.

4. About 5,600 records and images from the Jewish Cemeteries in Utica NY have been posted. These Cemeteries, all located on Woods Road are:Jonathan's Lodge, House of Jacob, House of Israel, Tzvi Jacob, and Beth El.Many of the tombstones are in poor shape, especially the flat ones.The oldest tombstone is that of Nathan Conrad, 1901. There is an Ohel structure for Rabbi Binyamin Moshe Loew 1851- 1914, and his son MordechaiEliyahu who predeceased his father 1887- 1911. Another Rabbi is Julius H.Brody 1861- 1934.Some of the family names for which there at least five tombstones are:Abelove, Abelson, Alexander, Alpert, Arlen, Assinovsky, Bartnick, Benjamin,Berkowitz, Bloom, Boff, Brill, Brooks, Brown, Buff, Coleman, Cominsky,Crade, Damsky, Davis, Demsky, Dresher, Dumain, Finer, Fink, Freeman,Friedlander, Galinsky, Gennis, Gersten, Glovinsky, Goldbas, Grinboum, Koff,Kopel, Kowalsky, Krohn, Lipsie, Lyons, Markson, Marmelstein, Mettelman,Mittleman, Movsh, Namiad, Nathan, Nelson, Nusbaum, Perlman, Philipson,Pleeter, Pollicove, Ribyat, Rizika, Rothstein, Rudolph, Samuels, Savett,Schlosberg, Shulman, Sitrin, Slakter, Smith, Solomon, Snyder, Starker,Starman, Speiler, Sonne, Stone, Sugarman, Sumberg, Supiro, Tapper, Taylor,Trapanick, Tumposky, Vyner, Weiser, Wilcove, Wineburg, Woldenberg, andWolfe. To narrow your search to these records enter "Utica" in the location field.

5. We have began posting announcements published in the Albany Jewish Worldweekly newspaper. The paper started in 1965 and we are posting them as wereceive them from the Jewish World, and the first batch of about 1,000records posted are from 1989-1990. The records posted are births, Bar- BatMitzvahs, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, and obituaries. To narrowyour search to these records enter "Jewish World" in the location field.

Jewish Data Times Issue 1 September 2003

2007-11-06T07:33:00.001-08:00

Jewish Data Times – Focused on records and images posted at www.jewisdata.com
Issue Number 1 September 2003

1. New records from the Jewish Cemeteries in Kingston, NY.
2. New records from the Jewish Cemetery in Gloversville, NY.
3. Declaration of Intention documents from Fulton County, NY.
4. A few tips on how to search the database.

1. Approximately 2,600 records and images derived from the Kingston, NY Jewish Cemetery have been posted. This includes sections from the following Congregations: Agudas Achim, Ahavath Israel, Emmanuel, and the Workman's Circle. To visit this cemetery it is required to drive through sections of a non-Jewish Cemetery at 75 Montropose St.

The earliest tombstone is that of a young girl named Hanah Silverstein who died in 1886. The first adult to be interred there is a woman called Hulda Harris who died in 1897 at the "age of 34 years and 16 days". The first person who lived to a ripe age was Abraham Goodman who died in 1907 at the age of seventy years old. These numbers suggest that the Jewish community began with young people in the 1890's. Many of the tombstones in this cemetery are flat instead of standing, and the severe winter weather has taken a toll on many of the monuments. Some of the monuments are only 20 years old, but they are worn out and difficult to read.

Many of the monuments in this Cemetery are in English only, and very few are in Hebrew only.
There are some monuments state where the person was born, such as Solomon Appel (died in 1910) inscribed as having been born in Posen, Germany.

Some of the early Jewish families who are interred in the cemetery are Ellis, Friedman, Moda, Rice, and Silverstein.
To view any of the records mentioned here, enter the name in the search field, and then enter "Kingston" in the record location field.

2. We have completed posting the approximately 1,800 records and images derived from the Knesseth Israel Cemetery in Gloversville, NY. The Cemetery is located at the end of Clyde St. and it has two entrance gates.
We observed a strange custom practiced by visitors to this cemetery. A number of them leave coins on the tombstones.

The oldest tombstones are that of a young infant girl named Annie Steidle who died in 1886, and a woman named Jetta Lesser Lebenheim who died the same year, "aged 52". The first man buried there was Adolph Ruben in 1887.

Some of the early Gloversville families were Barnett, Bleecker, Feldman, Frank, Galinsky, Lebenheim, Pozefsky, Robb, Rosenberg, Sack, Sally, and Zuckerwar. It seems like their spiritual leader was Rev. Abraham Zuckerwar who lived until 1937.
The following records enhance information on the Jewish Community of Gloversville.

3. Approximately 400 records and images from the Declarations of Intention documents filed by Jewish people from Fulton County, NY have been posted. Almost all of them lived in the city of Gloversville.

The majority of them were born in either Warsaw (Russia at the time), or Wilno (a.k.a. Vilna). These Jews came to this Country and settled in Gloversville to be part of their booming glove industry. Their occupation is stated as a "glove cutter" "glove maker", "glove worker", or "salesman".

To name a few of them: Louis Siegel, Sam Glick, Pinchas Winerman, Abram Kletzky, Leepo Zalkind, Jacob Kaplan, Joe Gordon, Harry Block, and one woman- Ida Swirsky. Several of the Jewish people are listed as barbers, and Joe Chazen and Sam Cohen are listed as butchers. Of course some of them had other occupations such as Wolf Edelman- "Junk dealer", or Joseph Kalbfeld- "watches and diamonds".
Some of them were not so comfortable with English, such as Elias Schwartz, a "leather worker", born in Austria, who signs his name in Hebrew. Matching the documents to the cemetery records, it is quite clear that many of the Jewish families who came to work in the glove industry did not remain in Gloversville for the rest of their lives. We plan to post more of these records in the future.

4. Tips:
A. When searching for a name, you can limit your search by entering the city name in the "record location" field. This applies only to cemetery records, because their respective Counties identify documents.

B. Sometimes names are spelled differently on the same document. For example Morie Nagle from Fulton County, NY is listed as above, but he signs his name as "Morie Nagel". Therefore, if you don't find the name you're looking for, try entering fewer letters in the last name field, for example "Nag".

Jewish Data Times Issue 24 11/03/2007

2007-11-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Jewish Data Times Issue 24 11/04/07

Focused on records posted at www.jewishdata.com

1. New records posted from Pennsylvania
2. More than 20,000 images posted from Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn , NY.
3. Records posted from Bayside Jewish Cemetery in Ozone Park, NY.
4. Images from Israel are indexed.

1. The Jewish Cemetery on Shoemaker Rd. in Dalton, PA has been posted. The database includes more than 4,000 images ranging from the years 1916- 2006. These are the first records posted from Pennsylvania

2. An addition of a record batch from Washington cemetery on McDonald Ave. in Brooklyn, brings the total of more than 20,000 images from there. This worn out Jewish cemetery was founded in 1867, and we are glad to make these old images available to the public.

3. Another location from Ozone Park, NY has been added to the database. It is called the Bayside Jewish cemetery. So far, more than 5,000 images are posted from this location and we expect to receive more.

4. The 12,000 records and images recently posted from Mt. of Olives, Har Menuchos, both in Jerusalem, and Tiberias Israel, all in Hebrew- have been carefully indexed into English and are easily searchable. All of the images from Israel are flat, and mostly large monuments. Some of the monuments record the person's city and country of origin. For example, a Mt. of Olives monument for Avraham Eliezer Lippman from 1895, states that he came from Warsaw. A search, for example for the name Goldstein, will now display records from Israel alongside records from NJ, NY, MA, PA, Canada, and Germany.

5. If your membership has lapsed, you are invited to check the site again and you will probably be pleasantly surprised to find more records that interest you.

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One of the oldest records at www.jewishdata.com

2007-10-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Among the oldest records in the database are hundreds of images from Worms, Germany- the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe. They have survived countless pogroms, expolusions, and the Holocaust. Miracously, the Hebrew letters engraved more than 700 years ago, are relatively easy to read. This image, for example tells about Alexander son of Yosef, who was murdered (in Hebrew- "al kidush Hashem"- for the sanctification of G-D's name) in the year 1244.

Many more images from this location and so many others are posted at www.jewishdata.com

New records from Israel posted at www.jewishdata.com

2007-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thousands of records from three Jewish cemeteries in Israel have been posted at the site. They are from 1. Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem. 2. Har Menuchos, Jerusalem. 3. Tiberias.

You will notice that the monuments are large and flat. While the monuments are mostly in Hebrew only, they have been indexed into English.
Notice in the image on the right, that it states that Lippman came from Warsaw, Poland.