Finding Jewish Ancestors in Belarus: Difference between revisions

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== Introduction to Routes to Roots Foundation ==

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!  

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.

[[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 ===

'''[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.]'''