JEWISH GENEALOGY
RESEARCH
Pete Tanner
Suncoast Genealogy Services
About Me
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Born & raised here in Clearwater
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Bar Mitzvah & Confirmation right here at TBI
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Married 3.5 years – met my wife here at TBI
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One 2 year old daughter & baby on the way
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Researching my genealogy on a regular basis since 2006
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Board Member – Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay
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Member – Association of Professional Genealogists
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Bachelor’s Degree from UF and Master’s Degree from USF in
Information Systems
Work as a Computer Programmer for the City of Clearwater
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Do You Know Your Ancestors?
Jankel
Born around 1780
in NE Poland
He was my 7x
Great-Grandfather
What Is Genealogy?
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Genealogy is the study of your unique family
history. It is a personal record of your ancestors when they were born and where they lived, who
their children were and who they married, and
where you belong in your extended family tree.
It’s not just about dead ancestors!
It’s also about your current living relatives
Jewish Genealogy
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We are not just a religion, but also an ethnicity
Your “Jewishness” is passed to you from your mother
(Matrilineal)
Determination of Kohanim or Leviim descent comes
from your father (Patrilineal)
Proof of Jewish status to become an Israeli citizen
Jewish Genealogy Myths

Our last name was changed at Ellis Island
Jewish Genealogy Myths

Our last name was changed at Ellis Island
 Ellis
Island officials did not change names
 Checked medical health (turned away if too sick)
 Made sure immigrants could take care of themselves
 However – Names were changed before and after
arrival at Ellis Island
Jewish Genealogy Myths

All the records from Europe were destroyed in
WWI and WWII
Jewish Genealogy Myths

All the records from Europe were destroyed in
WWI and WWII
 Some
records may have been destroyed in bombings
 However, most survived
 Nazis wanted to preserve synagogue records so they
could identify the Jews
 Depending on where your relatives lived, there could
be a large number of records available
Jewish Genealogy Myths

The towns that my family were originally from no
longer exist
Jewish Genealogy Myths

The towns that my family were originally from no
longer exist
 The
towns are probably still there
 However, there may not be any Jews living there
anymore
 In many cases, the current residents of the town
remember the Jews that once lived there
Jewish Genealogy Myths

No one in my family knows anything about our past
Jewish Genealogy Myths

No one in my family knows anything about our past
 Have
you asked anyone?
 Many Jewish families don’t like to talk about the past,
but they may know more than you think
 Learning a small amount of information may be enough
to get you started
 Reach out to distant relatives if necessary
Where Did I Start?

7th Grade Project – “My Family Tree”
 Interview
family members
 Take good notes
 Write a report about my family

Who Did I Interview?
 Two
parents
 Four grandparents
 One great-grandparent
What Did I Learn?

Family from England, Russia, Poland
 Only

learned one town name – “Stanslav”
Almost all settled in New York City
 Lower


East Side, Brooklyn, Bronx
One family settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Some family lines – no info at all
What Did I Learn?

Family Stories:
 Great-Grandmother
who died early – no one knew her
name
 3x
Great-Grandfather who went to Israel (Palestine)
and died there
 Paternal
line suspected to be Cohanim
Fifteen Years Later (2006)
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Found my report in the back of my closet
Decided to revisit my research
Discovered many, many more resources via the
Internet
Started building my tree once again online
Have been addicted to it since
My Current Family Tree
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Sixty-Five direct descendants
Eight generations
Exact town where each family line originated
Contains over 1,800 people
 Brothers,
Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
 Includes anyone who shares a common ancestor with me
 Hundreds of relatives alive today
 Living relatives in England, South Africa, Israel,
Australia, New Zealand, Brazil
How Do You Get Started?

Be a good detective
 Learn
how to search the various online resources
 If a record you are seeking isn’t available online, see if
you can find it offline
 Talk to other people who are researching common
surnames or towns

Don’t give up
 Everyone
will hit a brick wall – don’t let it discourage
you
 If a record isn’t available now, it may become
available in the future
Ancestry.com
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Most popular genealogy website
Contains the greatest amount of records
 US
& State Census Records
 Immigration Records
 Military Records
 Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
 Naturalization Records
 Newspaper Articles
 Message Boards
 Other Users’ Family Trees
Census Records
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US Federal Census – Taken every 10 years
 1940
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
is latest year currently available
State Censuses – Varies depending on state
Gives a snapshot of a family at that point in time
Most include name, address, age, place of birth,
occupation
Some include years married, year of immigration,
naturalization status
Example – Tannenbaum Family In 1920
Immigration Records
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Information about the immigrant at the time of their
arrival to the US
Information varies depending on year of arrival
Most include name, age, occupation, nationality,
place of birth
May list family members from their last place of
residence
May list who they are coming to live with in the US
Example – Sylvia Bloomberg Arrival
Naturalization Records

Usually consist of two separate forms
 Declaration
of Intention (First Papers)
 Petition for Naturalization (After 5 year residency
requirement)

Contain a wealth of genealogical data
 Name,
DOB, Place of Birth, Arrival Date, Port of
Arrival, Spouse’s Name/Age/Birthplace, Children’s
Names/Ages/Birthplaces, Current Residence, Witness
Information

Example – Irving Schechtman Naturalization
JewishGen.org
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Premier website serving the Jewish Genealogy
community
Non-Profit – mostly staffed by volunteers
Relies on donations to operate
Full of resources, including tutorials for beginners
Offers online interactive courses on various Jewish
Genealogy topics
Overview Video – This Is JewishGen
JewishGen.org
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Country-specific databases
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Ex: Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, UK, Latvia, Lithuania
Holocaust database
Family Finder – towns & surnames currently being researched
by other site users
Town Finder – 6,000+ Jewish communities, mostly in Europe
ViewMate – Allows you to post photographs & documents
online and request help from other users
Burial Registry (JOWBR) – contains around 2 million records of
Jewish burials throughout the world
Tombstone Inscriptions
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Tombstones are important to Genealogy, but even
more important in Jewish Genealogy
Hebrew name listed – important when looking for
records from Europe
Father’s name listed – may be your only reference
to the father of an ancestor
Many Jewish cemeteries will photograph a
tombstone for you (sometimes at a small cost)
Tombstone Inscriptions
Fischel Son of Yitzchak
Maite Daugher of Israel
Special Interest Groups
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Websites and mailing lists centered on one specific
area of interest
Most are centered on a geographic region
Users often communicate and help each other with
research
Great resource to help with specific questions
Many SIGs raise money for projects
 Obtaining
records
 Translating records
 Photographing Jewish cemetery tombstones
Newspapers/Obituaries

Families often posted life events in the newspaper
 Births,
Marriages, Deaths, Anniversaries
 Visits from out of town relatives
 Articles written about relatives
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Many websites provide newspaper archive access
(most for a fee)
Many newspapers also available overseas
Newspapers/Obituaries
My 3rd Great Grandmother – Leah Cohen (nee Rybicki)
Obituary printed in the Jewish Chronicle of England
Died on 10 Jul 1923 in Manchester England
Prior to discovering this, I knew nothing of her seven other children
Newspapers/Obituaries
My 2nd Great Grand Aunt – Fanny Cohen (nee Brown)
Printed in the Auckland (NZ) Star in April of 1897
Newspapers/Obituaries
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Obituary records can be a great source of current
information about your relatives
Recent obituaries may list the name and city of
residence of your living relatives
That information can then be used to track your
relatives down
I often use Facebook to find relatives and make
contact with them
Family Stories



Great-Grandmother who died early – no one knew
her name
3x Great-Grandfather who went to Israel
(Palestine) and died there
Paternal line suspected to be Cohanim
Mystery Great Grandmother

First I found her in the 1930 Census
 Learned

Next I pulled their NYC Marriage Record
 Learned

her birth city and exact arrival date
Next I found her Immigration Record
 Learned

her maiden name, parents names
Next I found her Naturalization Record
 Learned

her first name, age, date of arrival
who she listed as family in the US
Finally I pulled her NYC Death Record
 Learned
death date, how she died, place of burial
Mystery Great Grandmother
3x Great Grandfather Died In Israel
Printed in the Jewish Chronicle of England on 7 Feb 1908
Paternal Line Cohanim
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The Cohen line has been passed from father to son
without interruption for 3,300 years
Until recently, there was no way to prove you were
a Cohen
Now, scientists have identified a set of genetic
markers that all are shared by all Cohanim
These markers are called the Cohen Modal
Haplotype
Only men can be tested for the markers
Paternal Line Cohanim
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In June of this year, I had my Y-DNA tested
A few weeks later, I received my results, which
included the following
My grandfather was not just making things up!
My DNA says I am definitely a Cohen!
Genealogical DNA Testing
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Besides providing Cohen matches, DNA testing has
other uses for Jewish people
DNA Shoah Project – Collects genetic material from
Holocaust survivors and their immediate
descendants in hopes of reuniting relatives
displaced during the Shaoah
DNA surname & geographical projects track the
DNA of people with specific surnames or from
specific areas in Europe
Genealogical DNA Testing

Three basic types of DNA tests for genealogy
 Y-DNA:
Passed from father to son
 Looks
at your direct paternal line
 Can only be taken by males (only males have a Y)
 mtDNA:
Passed from mother to all her children
 Looks
at your direct maternal line
 Can be taken by anyone
 Autosomal
 Looks
DNA: Present in all of us
at all your non-sex DNA (22 pairs)
 Can estimate your ethnicity
 Can match you with possible cousins who share DNA
Genealogical DNA Testing
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I have taken a Y-DNA test and an Autosomal DNA
test
 Y-DNA
test confirmed Cohen heritage and provided
matches to other males with matching Y-DNA
 Autosomal DNA test provided an ethnicity breakdown
and matches to both male and female “cousins” who
share my autosomal DNA
 More About Autosomal DNA
My Ethnicity
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My ethnicity breakdown:

European Jewish


Persian/Turkish/Caucasus


Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic
Finnish/Volga-Ural


Iran, Turkey, Armenia
Central European
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
Poland, Ukraine, Romania
Russia, Finland
Uncertain

Alien (according to my wife)
My Cousin Matches
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Matches could go back hundreds and even
thousands of years
Degree of cousin relationship is predicted by the
amount of DNA shared with others
I currently have around 4,800 cousin matches!
I concentrate on close matches with shared surnames
Was able to confirm a connection to a distant cousin
who I found via research
Third Party DNA Sites
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Take your DNA “Raw Data” and upload it to other
sites
GedMatch.com – compare your results with people
who have tested with other companies
 More

results = more possible cousin matches
Promethease.com – provides a report on your
genetic attributes
 Propensity
to diseases, eye color, hair type & color,
reaction to medications, etc.
In Conclusion…
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There are many, many sources of genealogy
information – I have only gone over a small
percentage of what is out there
Try not to get too overwhelmed!
Ask for help (internet message boards, Jewish
Genealogical Society, your local library)
Like most hobbies, it can get costly, but you
determine how much money you want to spend
In Conclusion…
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I provide research services through my company,
Suncoast Genealogy Services
Feel free to visit my website to learn more about
the services I provide
http://www.suncoastgenealogy.com
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You will also find a copy of this presentation
If you would like to use my services, I will donate
10% of my fees to the Yachad and Lyla chapters
of Hadassah