One of the more durable myths of Jewish genealogy is the notion that names were commonly changed at Ellis Island or — the Canadianized version — at Pier 22 in Halifax. Despite what Great Aunt Minnie once told you, surnames rarely underwent transformation at Ellis Island or Pier 22. Immigration officers at both sites usually…
Tag: genealogy
Don’t wait to interview elderly relatives
by •
“(A) knowledge of one’s grandfathers is an excellent introduction to history.” — Maurice Samuels It is a truism of family history research that you can visit libraries and archives any time you like, either now or next year, but you should not delay interviewing elderly relatives about your family history, as they may not be…
Library & Archives Canada preserves our history
by •
As Canadians, much of the documents behind our history is preserved at the National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada). As Jewish Canadians, we may also turn to this indispensable Ottawa-based institution to gain access to numerous collections of special relevance to our community. WWI Papers: Did any of your ancestors or relatives…
Photos capture ‘the Way We Were’
by •
A photograph, the old saying goes, is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, however, a photograph’s worth cannot be measured in words. By capturing an ephemeral moment in exquisite detail, a photograph can be far more articulate than language. Irreplaceable images of our culture from days past can be infinitely instructive as to how we lived.…
Rabbinic ancestry? Prove it first
by •
Arthur Kurzweil, the pioneering American Jewish genealogist, tells a remarkable story about how a passing remark from his mother’s cousin, Maurice, led him to a significant family discovery. Maurice recalled being told after playing a childhood prank, “That’s no way to behave, especially since you are an ‘ainicle’ of the Stropkover Rebbe.” Learning that the…
Of Berliners, Oppenheimers and Rothschilds
by •
From about 1840 to roughly 1900, one sort of Jewish immigrant was so familiar in North American cities that he was caricatured in novels, newspapers articles and comic strips. According to the stereotype, he was a prosperous merchant, garbed in bowler hat, business suit, and thick moustache. He manufactured or traded in pianos, fine watches,…
The remarkable Russian Consular Records
by •
One night in November 1933, a convoy of US Army trucks pulled up in front of a locked and deserted Russian government compound in Washington DC to undertake a mission that was both hushed and rushed. Obeying official orders from higher up, a platoon of American soldiers broke into the premises and began removing boxes…
Old news is new again
by •
At some point in their lives, nearly everyone in our modern world gets into the newspaper, even if only for a birth, marriage or death announcement. That’s why the newly-emerging searchable electronic archives of publications like the New York Times, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail constitute a giant leap forward for genealogists,…
A search for six of the Six Million
by •
Sometimes when author Daniel Mendelsohn was a boy, elderly relatives would cry at the sight of him, so great was his resemblance to his great-uncle Shmiel Jaeger. From some handwriting on the back of a photograph, Mendelsohn knew that Shmiel and his wife Ester and their daughters Lorka, Frydka, Ruchele and Bronia had been “killed…
A worthy guide to rabbinic genealogical research
by •
Israeli genealogist Chaim Freedman gained much expertise in rabbinic genealogy by compiling the family tree of the legendary Vilna Gaon, which was published as Eliyahu’s Branches in 1997 on the 200th anniversary of the great sage’s death. In his new treatise, Beit Rabbanan: Sources of Rabbinical Genealogy, he attempts to impart some of his knowledge to…
