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Finding Jewish Ancestors in Belarus (view source)
Revision as of 10:31, 5 October 2021
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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. | 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. | ||
===Miriam Weiner's Surname | ===Miriam Weiner's Surname Databases=== | ||
Over her 30+ years of working in Eastern European archives, Miriam Weiner collected vast amounts of material | 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. | ||
*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. | |||
* Use the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/newwebsite/ocrsearch.php OCR Surname Database] (optical character recognition) to search for 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. | |||
[[File:Screen Shot 2021-09-30 at 5.20.45 PM.png|none|thumb|500x500px|Example of documents you may find through the Standard Surname Database, Miriam Weiner Archives, https://www.rtrfoundation.org ]] | |||
==== OCR Surname Database ==== | |||
* Use the [https://www.rtrfoundation.org/newwebsite/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. | |||
===Maps of your Ancestor's Town=== | ===Maps of your Ancestor's Town=== | ||
Miriam Weiner's website offers select '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/maps4.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.<br><br> | Miriam Weiner's website offers select '''[https://www.rtrfoundation.org/maps4.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.<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. | ||
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. | |||
==Find Records for your Town== | ==Find Records for your Town== | ||