Census- household information; neighbors who may be related;
Naturalization - Place of origin, date & ship of arrival
Ship arrivals - Place of departure; possible other relatives on both
sides.
Military records: although partial, give a good way to trace lost family.
Confirmation of information, unlike Census, Ship-arrivals.
Local governments: City & State: Genealogical Records for the NY
Metro Area. State Genealogical society have State information & will
allow seminars & special entries.
Latter Day Saints a.k.a. Mormons: IGI - Database of recorded
research;
Cemeteries: Letter forwarding; Relative buried nearby; Burial
Associations.
Records from Eastern Europe (Churches/Townships, LDS)
Two main ways by mail without paying a lot:
LDS : Microfilm collection of records. LDS Catalog.
Writing directly to church/township. The smaller the easier. A visit to
LDS will clear much of the questions. Also consult Where Once We
Walked.
Electronic databases (SSA, LDS, REIPP, WWW, CLA)
You don't need to have a computer.
Social Security Administration has many services including:
Finding SS-5; Letter Forwarding; Sometimes records available with SS-5.
LDS: Has SSDI on computer. It's also available on line & can be
purchased for home use.
Phone directories & research companies: For a fee/purchase. Good to
locate relatives.
Internet: Many WWW resources, including the SSDI; Small database
for Poland such as Jewish Record Indexing - Poland (formally REIPP); Small database for US such as CLA; Many
other databases for towns; states and censuses. Available for fee or free.
III. Family hiSTORY: How to reconstruct the lives of our ancestors?
Photos & Archival
What's in a picture? Satisfaction; Look & learn from the photo &
deduce information.
Archiving:
3 Main factors of deterioration, in order of ease to prevent:
Humidity: Attics & basements are the worst. 50% Humidity & 68F are
ideal with no cyclic changes.
Air Pollution: Gasses (sometime called Odor) from Paints, inks,
varnishes, cosmetics etc., are all gasses interacting with the chemicals on
the photograph. Near sea: air born salts. They also encourages
microorganisms. Chemical: Seen in fading of image and in stains. Usually
photos from pre-1850 will have chemical imbalance.
Physical: Poorly storage or framing. Tears; insects, rodents who love
the cellulose. Prevention: good housekeeping practices plus a preservation
materials. Light Impression Catalogue.
Conservation techniques include: Electronic restoration, Chemical
Restoration, Airbrush and Copying. Copying is the only cheap and
non-destructive method. Second generation photos can be clear if done
with scanning.
Artifacts
More complicated to preserve & less information/attachment than
photograph. Caring for your Collectibles; Light Impression; Gaylord
Brothers.
In Short: Light/Heat; Oxygenation; Rust and physical abuse can all
deteriorate. If you have a large or important artifact, consult a preservation
specialist. Look into marks, names and tags. Photograph the item in B/W
and archive the photo.
Stories & Interviews Stories always have a grain of truth in them.
Interview 101: Always ask for permission (to interview; to tape; to
look at; to copy). Write every detail. Cite the source and method (phone,
letter, date etc.). Photos help the memory during an interview. Follow up
with a summery (computer, write up) and ask for corrections. Voices in
your blood.
Stories: There is always a grain of truth: Famous relatives could be
related but in obscure and trivial way ("he once saw me..."); Place names
should be considered un-stable; Verify all facts in a story;
Skeleton-in-the-closets: a.k.a. Shuskies have their own lives. Be critical of
disappearing people--usually there's a skeleton if they vanish.
Other published sources (Newspapers, Minutes, Census Scanning etc.)
Complement the picture; good if you write a book or article about a
branch/family.
Census "Scanning": Also for ship-arrival logs, and European censuses
a.k.a. Resident Registrations;
Minutes: Burial Societies, Synagogues - YIVO & Others (Genealogical
Sources in the NY Metro Area).
Newspapers: Obituaries; Name indices - NY Times Name Index; Local
Newspapers indices (example).
Local History.
Getting into completing the picture; maybe writing a book; also useful
for "house genealogy" (discussed later).
Local History include: Newspapers; Local Historical Society; Police
Census; City/State Census (consult appropriate genealogical societies &
Historical societies); House/Land registration records.
Don't look just for names! Also events, trends, ads and tone of voice
in reports. Establishments, Famous people connected with locale etc.
National and World History.
Becomes very useful if writing a book and/or a family newsletter.
National/World events are important in the reconstruction of ancestors (or
anyone's) lives. Including "Standard" Historical events (Napoleon took
Europe & installed the Napolenic code that required last names, for
example); Wars & Famines; Inventions (Diesel engnies=>immigration
cost).
When reconstructing peoples lives, take pains to be non-critical,
so to see how they lived and what affected their lives.
Tidbits:
What's in a name?
Names often tell us about original ancestor; town or trait. It's a
great supplement for family research.
The origins of names is complex. Take a few examples: MARCUS comes
from the Roman god associated with Mars. However, often used as the
Latin version of Mordeccai, Motel etc. TZIPKOWICZ is a women's
name: Of Tzipira. In pre-literal world the men were studying and women
were conducting the family's public affairs. Family became known by their
Matron's name. BAUM, APPLEBAUM etc., in pre-literal era, there were
no house numbers but house-signs. Often a tree or a specific tree was the
sign. The family living in that house was known by its signs. Families
changed names as they changed houses.
Recommended reading:Dictionary of Jewish Names and their History, Kaganoff, 1977.
Samples & books will be presented & discussed. Informational sheets will be
distributed to participants.