Finding Jewish Ancestors in Poland: Difference between revisions

| link5=[[Finding Poland Jewish Ancestors]]

}}A guide to finding your Jewish Ancestors from Ukraine using Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation. {{Poland-sidebar}}

== Introduction to Routes to Roots Foundation ==

The Routes to Roots Foundation was created by Miriam Weiner, who is a genealogist specializing in the research of Jewish roots in Poland and the former Soviet Union. In her 30+ years of experience in Eastern European archives, she collected vast amounts of information and material. Much of her data was originally published in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Roots_in_Ukraine_and_Moldova Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova]'' and ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Roots_in_Poland Jewish Roots in Poland],'' but is now available online through the Routes to Roots Foundation website. The site includes many resources to help you research your Jewish roots including a town-by-town index/inventory of surviving Jewish records in archives, maps, surname and Holocaust list databases, informative articles, and much more!

==Find the Town==

See the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/admindist.shtml Administrative Districts and Divisions] article on Routes to Roots Administrative to learn more about jurisdictions in the Russian Empire and their modern-day equivalents.

[[File:Bialystok.png|left|thumb|585x585px|'''Bialystok, Poland''' Soviet-era Town Plan Map example from Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation. '''Source:''' Miriam Weiner Archives. To see the full version of the Bialystok_1 map click [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/gugk/Bialystok_1/ here.] To see the Bialystok_2 map click [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/gugk/Bialystok_2/ here.]]]

===Maps of your Ancestor's Town===

Miriam Weiner's website offers select '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/maps1.shtml historical maps of Poland]''', as well as a variety of '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/imagesearch.php historical images]''' from towns in Poland that may prove useful in your family history.<br><br>Maps will help you locate places where your ancestors lived and give you context for the records you are using. Maps can identify political boundaries, place names, geographical features, cemeteries, synagogues, etc. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes or finding communities that no longer exist.

== Surname Databases ==

Over her 30+ years of working in Eastern European archives, Miriam Weiner collected vast amounts of material that can be searched using the '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/newwebsite/lnintro.shtml Surname Databases.]''' There are two surname databases - the Standard Surname Database and the OCR Surname Database. You may also be able to use the surname databases to help narrow down a more specific location for where individuals lived who shared your ancestor's surname.  

===Standard Surname Database===

*Use the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/newwebsite/lnsearch.php Standard Surname Database] if you know your ancestor's given name, surname, or town name. This database is comprised of name lists from local historians and heads of Jewish communities, name lists from books, and name lists from various archives. Most collections in this database cannot be found online elsewhere.

**To search, enter a surname, given name, and/or town name into the search box. Collection results will then appear. The first column lists the collection type, while the second column contains the Collection Description (CD). The Collection Description includes information such as how the collection was acquired, references to Miriam Weiner's first visit to the town, photos (current and pre-World War I), links to other resources for the town, and/or document examples. The final column lists the number of records associated with the search term(s). Click on the blue hyperlinked number to view records, then click on the blue hyperlinked surname to see more details about the record.