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Finding Jewish Ancestors in Belarus (view source)
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}} | }}'''<span style="color:red">A guide to finding your Jewish Ancestors from Belarus using Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation website.</span> ''' | ||
== Introduction to Routes to Roots Foundation == | == Introduction to Routes to Roots Foundation == | ||
[[File:Miriam with Torah in Minsk.png|alt=|left|thumb|496x496px|'''Miriam Weiner (left) in Minsk Historical Archives with Torah,''' 1995. '''Photo Credit:''' Vitaly Chumak. ]] | |||
[[File:Pinsk Sign.png|thumb|629x629px|'''Welcome to Pinsk, Belarus, 1995. Photo Credit:''' Miriam Weiner. ]] | |||
The Routes to Roots Foundation was created by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Weiner_(genealogist) 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! | The Routes to Roots Foundation was created by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Weiner_(genealogist) 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! | ||
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Some ways to determine your ancestor's pre-immigration origins is to interview elderly relatives. Also search records that might give clues about your ancestor's birthplace which include ''Ship Arrival Records'' (aka Passenger Manifests), especially if your immigrant ancestor arrived after July 1907 (when the manifest was expanded from one page to two pages of information); if your ancestor came before July 1907 AND they departed from the port of Hamburg, then search the ''Hamburg Ship Arrivals'' which often include town of origin. Other sources for ancestral town names are: ''World War I Draft Registrations, World War II Draft Registrations'', and ''Social Security Applications''; among the citizenship documents, search the ''Declaration of Intention'' and the ''Petition for Naturalization'', both of which often include town of origin, arrival data (date of arrival, name of ship, port of departure, names of relatives, and sometimes, a photo). Secondary sources for locating ancestral town names are marriage records, obituaries, and other documents such as cemetery records. In Jewish cemeteries, the burial plots are often named after a town of origin and people tend to be buried in these specific plots. '''Note''', keep in mind that usually a husband and wife are buried in the same burial plot, but often only one of them originally came from that town. | Some ways to determine your ancestor's pre-immigration origins is to interview elderly relatives. Also search records that might give clues about your ancestor's birthplace which include ''Ship Arrival Records'' (aka Passenger Manifests), especially if your immigrant ancestor arrived after July 1907 (when the manifest was expanded from one page to two pages of information); if your ancestor came before July 1907 AND they departed from the port of Hamburg, then search the ''Hamburg Ship Arrivals'' which often include town of origin. Other sources for ancestral town names are: ''World War I Draft Registrations, World War II Draft Registrations'', and ''Social Security Applications''; among the citizenship documents, search the ''Declaration of Intention'' and the ''Petition for Naturalization'', both of which often include town of origin, arrival data (date of arrival, name of ship, port of departure, names of relatives, and sometimes, a photo). Secondary sources for locating ancestral town names are marriage records, obituaries, and other documents such as cemetery records. In Jewish cemeteries, the burial plots are often named after a town of origin and people tend to be buried in these specific plots. '''Note''', keep in mind that usually a husband and wife are buried in the same burial plot, but often only one of them originally came from that town. | ||
See the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/admindist.shtml Administrative Districts and Divisions] article on Routes to Roots | See the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/admindist.shtml Administrative Districts and Divisions] article on Routes to Roots to learn more about jurisdictions in the Russian Empire and their modern-day equivalents. | ||
[[File:Pinsk 1 Map.png|alt=|left|thumb|500x500px|'''Pinsk, Belarus,''' 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 Pinsk-1 map click [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/gugk/Pinsk_1/ here.] To see the Pinsk-2 map click [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/gugk/Pinsk_2/ here.] ]] | |||
=== Maps of your Ancestor's Town === | === Maps of your Ancestor's Town === | ||
Miriam Weiner's website offers select '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/tiled.shtml historical maps of Belarus]''', as well as a variety of '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/imagesearch.php historical images]''' from towns in Belarus that may prove useful in your family history. | Miriam Weiner's website offers select '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/tiled.shtml historical maps of Belarus]''', as well as a variety of '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/imagesearch.php historical images]''' from towns in Belarus that may prove useful in your family history. | ||
'''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/soviet.shtml Soviet-era Town Plan Maps]''' are also available. This collection consists of street maps of individual towns and cities within the current borders of Belarus. Many of the town maps consist of 1-6 separate maps. The maps are in color and about half of them include a "legend" – primarily an alphabetical listing of street names. The maps are in the Russian language (Cyrillic alphabet). This map collection includes | '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/soviet.shtml Soviet-era Town Plan Maps]''' are also available. This collection consists of street maps of individual towns and cities within the current borders of Belarus. Many of the town maps consist of 1-6 separate maps. The maps are in color and about half of them include a "legend" – primarily an alphabetical listing of street names. The maps are in the Russian language (Cyrillic alphabet). This map collection includes 60 maps for 25 towns in present-day Belarus.<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 locating tiny villages that don't often appear on most maps. For help locating these tiny villages, see the '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/maps.shtml Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) maps.]''' | ||
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[[File:Belarus Census Records, Surname Example.png|alt=|left|thumb|573x573px|'''Standard Surname Search Result,''' [https://www.rtrfoundation.org rtrfoundation.org].]] | [[File:Belarus Census Records, Surname Example.png|alt=|left|thumb|573x573px|'''Standard Surname Search Result,''' [https://www.rtrfoundation.org rtrfoundation.org].]] | ||
[[File:Belarus 9 | [[File:Belarus 9 docs 2.png|alt=|none|thumb|1025x1025px|'''Examples of various Jewish documents from Belarus.''' Click on the image to enlarge it. '''Source:''' Miriam Weiner Archives.]] | ||
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=== OCR Surname Database === | === OCR Surname Database === | ||
* Use the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org | * Use the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/ocrsearch.php OCR Surname Database] (optical character recognition) to search for your ancestor's surname. This database is comprised of information from business directories, address calendars, telephone books, typed name lists, and name lists from books and from archives. | ||
**To search, type in the surname, and you'll find an automatic translation of the surname into Cyrillic appear in the second search box. Repeat the search twice - once using the Latin Letter search, and again using the Cyrillic Letter search. Searches may yield different results. Once search results appear, you may want to use Google Translate to help you navigate search results. If using the Chrome browser, right-click anywhere on the page and select '''Translate to English'''. Keep in mind if you are looking at a telephone directory, the original directories have been donated to the U.S. Library of Congress. View the original by selecting the '''Get Page Scan''' button. | **To search, type in the surname, and you'll find an automatic translation of the surname into Cyrillic appear in the second search box. Repeat the search twice - once using the Latin Letter search, and again using the Cyrillic Letter search. Searches may yield different results. Once search results appear, you may want to use Google Translate to help you navigate search results. If using the Chrome browser, right-click anywhere on the page and select '''Translate to English'''. Keep in mind if you are looking at a telephone directory, the original directories have been donated to the U.S. Library of Congress. View the original by selecting the '''Get Page Scan''' button. | ||
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<div style="text-align: center;"> | <div style="text-align: center;"> | ||
'''Image Sources:''' Unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by Miriam Weiner.<div>[[Category:Belarus]] | '''Image Sources:''' Unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by Miriam Weiner.<div> | ||
[[Category:Belarus]] | |||
[[Category:Routes to Roots Foundation]] | |||
[[Category:Jewish Records]] | |||