Author Topic: Genealogist?  (Read 24025 times)

Offline Thingywingy

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I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #101 on: February 02, 2023, 06:41:53 AM »
Does anyone here have familiarity with Index search requests with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Genealogy Program? Before you even request records, you need to pay for an index search. I just submitted an index search and am wondering what their turnaround time is like. It seems that they were very backed up during Covid (up to about 9 months), but I am wondering (read:hoping) that they been catching up. Any recent experience?

https://genealogy.uscis.dhs.gov/#/

Also, A commenter from this 2017 thread https://www.italiangenealogy.com/forum/topic/40852) suggests that National Archives is quicker at processing naturalization records. Is that still the case? The National Archives says that All INS records are now overseen by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/naturalization). Does that mean that there is no longer any benefit of submitting to the national archives? There seems to be a downside in that the national archives was always limited to retrieving naturalization records.
I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

Offline imayid2

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #102 on: April 17, 2023, 12:35:49 PM »
Anyone know somebody that has this program? Looks super cool but it's crazy expensive.
https://jewisharchive.net/

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #103 on: May 06, 2023, 10:48:45 PM »
Any idea if there is a place to find records of immigration affidavits from WWII era? I specifically want to see the American affidavit filed on behalf of the Mattesdorfer Rov, Rav Shmuel Ehrenfeld zt"l.

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #104 on: May 06, 2023, 10:58:21 PM »
Any idea if there is a place to find records of immigration affidavits from WWII era? I specifically want to see the American affidavit filed on behalf of the Mattesdorfer Rov, Rav Shmuel Ehrenfeld zt"l.
Many are available through myheritage
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline imayid2

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #105 on: May 06, 2023, 11:00:02 PM »
Any idea if there is a place to find records of immigration affidavits from WWII era? I specifically want to see the American affidavit filed on behalf of the Mattesdorfer Rov, Rav Shmuel Ehrenfeld zt"l.
We got some through filing a request here
http://www.archives.gov/nyc/

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #106 on: May 06, 2023, 11:00:29 PM »
Many are available through myheritage
Thanks. Don't have an account, and don't want to be busy canceling trials now. Does anyone have an account who wouldn't mind checking this up for me?

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #107 on: May 06, 2023, 11:17:23 PM »
We got some through filing a request here
http://www.archives.gov/nyc/
Trying to sift through the online records. I'm finding a lot of interesting things, but not sure exactly how to find what I'm looking for...

Offline hvaces42

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #108 on: May 07, 2023, 09:35:40 AM »
Any idea if there is a place to find records of immigration affidavits from WWII era? I specifically want to see the American affidavit filed on behalf of the Mattesdorfer Rov, Rav Shmuel Ehrenfeld zt"l.
I believe he came in 1938 if that helps.
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Offline shmoe joe

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #109 on: May 07, 2023, 10:28:03 AM »
Dov Weber is probably the biggest genealogist in the Jewish world. Most books/ספרים use him. I used him and was very happy.
pm me for his contact info
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Offline YitzyS

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #110 on: May 07, 2023, 03:00:12 PM »
I am not looking to do a massive search or pay money. I'm just trying to see if I can find it cheaply. But thanks for the suggestion.

Offline biobook

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #111 on: May 07, 2023, 04:35:38 PM »
There's an application to emigrate from Austria for Samuel Ehrenfeld, and page 3 has handwritten "Affidavit ?" .  I have no idea what this means. You can see this for free.
https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-11000/austria-vienna-jewish-emigrant-applications-1938-1939

Ancestry has his Declaration of Intention for Citizenship, which has some details, but I don't see any records of affidavits mentioned.

Offline hvaces42

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #112 on: May 07, 2023, 04:55:16 PM »
There's an application to emigrate from Austria for Samuel Ehrenfeld, and page 3 has handwritten "Affidavit ?" .  I have no idea what this means. You can see this for free.
https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-11000/austria-vienna-jewish-emigrant-applications-1938-1939

Ancestry has his Declaration of Intention for Citizenship, which has some details, but I don't see any records of affidavits mentioned.
Wow. Never knew some of the information on here. We always thought Reb Akiva was 2 or 3 years older than Reb Simcha Bunim (The Ruv as I knew him).
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Offline YitzyS

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #113 on: May 07, 2023, 07:39:54 PM »
There's an application to emigrate from Austria for Samuel Ehrenfeld, and page 3 has handwritten "Affidavit ?" .  I have no idea what this means. You can see this for free.
https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-11000/austria-vienna-jewish-emigrant-applications-1938-1939

Ancestry has his Declaration of Intention for Citizenship, which has some details, but I don't see any records of affidavits mentioned.
Wow, thanks! Really interesting info.

I still didn't find what I was looking for. I'm seeking a specific piece of info - A relative of mine asked me to help confirm a family legend that their ancestor, a man by the name of Avraham Dovid Popowitz, signed the affidavit to bring the Mattesdorfer Rov to America.

Offline hvaces42

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #114 on: May 07, 2023, 09:12:25 PM »
Wow, thanks! Really interesting info.

I still didn't find what I was looking for. I'm seeking a specific piece of info - A relative of mine asked me to help confirm a family legend that their ancestor, a man by the name of Avraham Dovid Popowitz, signed the affidavit to bring the Mattesdorfer Rov to America.
I can ask one of the grandchildren if he knows.
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Offline biobook

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #115 on: May 07, 2023, 10:21:56 PM »
Wow, thanks! Really interesting info.

I still didn't find what I was looking for. I'm seeking a specific piece of info - A relative of mine asked me to help confirm a family legend that their ancestor, a man by the name of Avraham Dovid Popowitz, signed the affidavit to bring the Mattesdorfer Rov to America.
Those kinds of documents are sometimes found here https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy/historical-records-series-available-from-the-genealogy-program but you have to ask them to search for you, and I've heard it can take months to get an answer, which is often No.  I think there's a charge, too.

I found the ships manifest when he came over, and in the space where it asks for the name of the person you're going to, it says "CONGREGATION YESHIVATH 1897 PROSPECT PL. BROOKLYN, N.Y."  Do you know what was there in 1938?  Maybe it was Chaim Berlin, as mentioned in the article below.  Was AD Popowitz affiliated with them?

from The American Israelite, Sept 29, 1938

Noted Austrian Rabbi Here In Exile

Rabbi Samuel Ehrenfeld, head of the famous Yeshivas Chasam Sofer in Mattesburg in the Burgenland province of Austria, has arrived in exile.  He came to New York at the invitation of the Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva and Congregation in Brooklyn.  Rabbi Ehrenfeld declined to discuss the circumstances under which he left.

The town of Mattesburg, which originally had 110 Jewish families, had but 20 when he left about six weeks ago, he said.  It was strictly Orthodox. The yeshiva, founded by Rabbi Ehrenfeld's great-great-grandfather, attracted students from many parts of Europe.  The rabbi, 46, is here with his wife and seven children.


Offline biobook

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #116 on: May 07, 2023, 10:35:18 PM »
An article in the Brooklyn Eagle says he came "to assume charge of a Brooklyn temple, the Congregation Jeswatch in Prospect Place."
And the New York Journal says he "arrived to become head of the Talmudical Academy and Congregation, Prospect Pl. and Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn."
So I would guess the affidavits would be coming from someone affiliated with that institution, whatever it's called.  But it's just a guess.

Offline biobook

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #117 on: May 31, 2023, 06:36:15 PM »
Where does one go for records from 19th century Odessa (current Ukraine, at the time Russian Empire)?
I'll assume that you're not in Odessa and wanting to know which building to walk into.

There have been several incredibly dedicated people in Belarus and Ukraine who have been scanning the old vital records for posting online.  These are sent to JewishGen, and volunteers there transcribe them into an English database for searching.  Here's the section to search specifically in Ukraine:
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Ukraine/

Not only are there errors that creep in due to transcription, but people back then weren't so concerned about spelling, so the same person might be found under different spellings. You need a flexible mindset to get the most out of the database.  Start with "phonetically", and then do another search with "sounds like" etc. 

My family is all from small shtetls, where many of the records were destroyed by fires, floods and wars, so I don't have experience searching in larger cities where there might be more records available.

It can be useful to check the Family Finder on that page to see other people who are searching for the same family name in the same locale. 

If you think some family members may have lived elsewhere, you can use the general search:
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/all/

Offline biobook

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #118 on: June 05, 2023, 09:28:24 AM »
@ExGingi If nothing comes up in your first search at the link above, go back in a few months and search again.  They're adding lots of new records this summer.

https://thejewishnews.com/2023/05/04/jewishgen-preserving-jewish-history-in-ukraine/

Offline incendia

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Re: Genealogist?
« Reply #119 on: November 28, 2023, 10:54:45 PM »