The Museum of Family History
HONORING AND PRESERVING THE MEMORY OF OUR ANCESTORS
FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS

*JANUARY 2006*


1.Script samples (errors) in the Ellis Island database: See some errors that have been made in the transcribing of names from the original ship manifests to the Ellis Island database.
2. Kielce society plot Cemetery Project unique surnames update. Now all three of the New York Kielce society plots have been databased.
3. Vilnius society plot Cemetery Project unique surnames--web page started for 7 of 18 plots.
(**Note: Help is needing in the photographing of the Vilnius plots in New Jersey, i.e. King Solomon, Mt. Moriah and North Arlington Cemeteries. Also United Hebrew and Baron Hirsch. Please contact the museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com if you can help.)
4. Antwerp Ship Manifest Script Samples (1903-1914): Upper Case Letters: See samples of upper  case letters as shown on the ship manifests for six different years. You will see that some were made by the same ship's officer over a three-year period. You will more importantly gain some insight as to the varied appearances of these letters, so that you might gain an insight into the different ways that a name can be transcribed incorrectly.
5. New links have been added to the Links page.
6. Two new photographs have been added to the "Jews in the Russian Army" exhibition.
7. "Postcards from Home": Many new family photographs have been added to the exhibition, too numerous to mention each and every one. Many have been given their own web page with  biographical information added. The Zambrow section of the exhibition has been greatly augmented, with more to come. You can now look for family photographs either by town or by surname.
8. Audio clips have been introduced for the first time to various exhibitions. Please see "Family Life During the Great Depression" et al.
9. More maps from the 1930s from different areas in Poland have been added to the Map Room.
10. Immigrant lists have been posted for two dozen towns in Poland (also Vilnius), i.e. surnames, years of immigration and birth are now online for those last residing in each of these towns before their emigration from Europe and arrival at Ellis Island.
11. Central web pages are now available for nearly three-dozen towns and cities in Poland (also Vilnius). From these pages, you will now be able to more easily access material both from within the museum and from external sources. On many of these pages you may see modern-day photographs of the towns themselves, and perhaps some older ones pre-war.
12. Photographs of Bialystok that were taken in 2005 are now on the main Bialystok page.
13. A Tykocin main web page has been added to the site, so now Tykocin researchers can have a central page to access all available Tykocin material, including some photographs of the Tykocin synagogue.
14. Postcards from Home-Zambrow: The Slowik Family web page.
15. Postcards from Home-Novy Dvor, Lithuania: Shlomo Zalman and Shraga Feivel Werner
16. The Antwerp ship manifest upper case letters page has been augmented by the addition of examples of letters from 1898.
17. Vaudeville: The Haberman Kiddies, Toronto, Canada.
18. Postcards from Home-Skaryszew: Rozenberg Gravesite Visit.
19. The Tykocin Immigrant List has been updated.
20. Postcards from Home-Radom: The Goldstein-Greene Family; Lodz: The Gitlin Family; Lowicz: The Milgrom Family; Kolno: Juszk Gerszk Burak and his Wife.
21. Modern-day photographs of Sniadowo have now been added to the Sniadowo main page.
22. The Society Gates-Wizna page has been updated.
23. A Guest Book has now been added to the site, and I would like to invite each of you to enter your public comments about my web site.
24. Postcards from Home-Krakow: Hochberg Brother; The Hochberg Men.
25. The Vilnius unique surnames list has been augmented, so now the list contains unique surnames to eleven of the sixteen extant Vilnius burial plots, one of the plots being a combined Vilnius/Sejny plot. This list will be final as is unless someone can go to one or more of the other five cemeteries located on Staten Island or in New Jersey, and digitally photograph the matzevot. Please contact the museum if you can help at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com .
26. Postcards from Home-Losice: The Lewin Family; The Losice Family; Nasielsk: Boyes Szejnbaum, Coachman, and Boyes and Cyrlja Szejnbaum; Ostroleka: The Izrael Family.
27. Landsmanshaftn: Zambrow-Testimonial/Memorial Meeting for Ben Miller.
28. Links: The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage (Poland)-English version.
29. Postcards from Home-Moscow: Feaga Frieda and Solomon Simon.
30. Updates to the Society Gates exhibition: Tykocin, Lomzyca, Ostroleka and Zambrow.
31. Links: Historic Sites of Jewish Warsaw.
32. Pultusk: More photographs of modern-day Pultusk have been added to the Pultusk main page.
33. Postcards from Home-Radom: Four more family photographs of the Rozenberg family.
34. Holocaust Memorials-Lodz: Two of the many memorials erected in various society plots in New York and New Jersey are now displayed in this virtual museum via the Cemetery Project. More web pages devoted to other such magnificent memorials will be added over time. There are two Lodz Young Men's Benevolent Society plots at New Montefiore Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York and both have Holocaust memorials. Photos of both monuments are displayed, along with alphabetical listings of  those whose names have been inscribed and memorialized in stone.
35. A few more town photographs from Jedwabne, taken in 1994, have been added to the Jedwabne main page.
36. Postcards from Home-Warszawa: Jakob Zylberberg (family originally from Ostrow Mazowiecka.)
37. Another town photo from 1995 has been added to the Pultusk main page.
38. Central web pages with recent photographs of the displays at Auschwitz (Oswiecim) and Treblinka are offered.
39. Postcards from Home-Mlawa, Warszawa, Nasielsk, Goworowo, Brzeziny and Lodz have been added.
40. The Society Gates exhibition has been expanded with the addition of a web page for Mlawa.


*FEBRUARY 2006*

1. Postcards from Home-Mlawa, Warszawa, Nasielsk, Goworowo, Brzeziny and Lodz have been added.
2. The Society Gates exhibition has been expanded with the addition of a web page for Mlawa.
3. A list of nearly 3,000 people (Jews and non-Jews alike) who last resided in Mlawa before emigrating and traveling to Ellis Island through 1924, is now available to be viewed online. This can be accessed through the Immigrant Lists link on the Site Map.
4. The web pages for The Photographic Studios of Europe have begun to be installed. Access for these pages can be found on the main town pages for Lomza, Warszawa and Vilnius (which in turn can be accessed through the Site Map's Life in Eastern Europe: Search by Town link.) An entry page will soon be established for this exhibition that will provide links to all pages for this exhibition, whether connected to a main town page or not.
5. A Calendar of Events page has been created for the expressed purpose of announcing world and national events of special interest to the Jewish People. Note the Fifth Conference of Jewish Film Festivals on 4 to 7 May 2006 in Toronto, Canada.
6. Postcards from Home: From Skaryszew, Wysokie Mazowieckie.
7. Links: Bremen Passenger Lists 1920-1934.
8. Cemetery Project (Unique Surnames Lists): Mielec--The unique surnames from the Mielec plot at Mokom Sholom Cemetery have been added to the Mielec master list.
9. View of Old Pultusk 1850: Two postcards of Pultusk have been added and are accessible via the Pultusk main page www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/lee-pultusk.htm .
10. Postcards from Home: Drohobycz, Ukraine: The Einsiedler Family, and the Gymnasium; Rutki, Poland: The Rajter-Serwetarz Family.
11. Map Room: Two maps have been added, displaying the town names and topographical detail of the area in Poland from Rozan-Goworowo-Dlugosiodlo-Czerwin.
12. Cemetery Project (Unique Surnames Lists):  New lists have been started for the towns of Sierpc, Nasielsk, Zdunska Wola and also for Congregation Nachlas Israel.
13. A Cemetery Directory page has now been included within the Cemetery Project. Information will be added and amended over time. Don't forget to visit the Cemetery Project's Maps page that displays eighty-five maps of the overall grounds to more than three dozen cemeteries located in various states with the nation.
14. A separate links section has been added to the main page of the Cemetery Project. It provides links to the New York State Cemetery Law Manual, a list of not-for-profit cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Department of State, New York Department of State Division of Cemeteries FAQs (frequently-asked questions) and also a table that explains the various ICD codes (International Classification of Diseases) that have been often used to codify the causes of death on death certificates.
15. The exhibition Holocaust Memorials has now gone online, and will be added to as time permits. At present, web pages have been set up for the two Lodz and one Kosow Lacki memorials at New Montefiore Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York, for the Goniondz-Trestine monument at Beth El Cemetery in New Jersey and for an Ostropol monument at Beth David in Elmont, New York. Memorials from Eastern Europe will be featured in the near future.
16. Postcards from Home: Odessa, Lodz and Siedlce family photographs have been added.
17. Postcards from Home: Wysokie Mazowieckie, Lomza, Dzialoszyce, Raciaz and Brzesc Kujawski.
18. Cemetery Project: Maps--An overall grounds map of Eternal Light Memorial Gardens, located in South Florida in Boynton Beach, has been added.
19. Postcards from Home: Bialystok-The Koval Family.
20. Society Gates: Rajgrod and Radzilow.
21. Links: Jewish Museums--Holocaust Memorial, Budapest, Hungary; Women and the Holocaust; Israel Museums Guide.
22. A Museum of Family History bonus for those of you who bother to check the Updates page.
Listen to and see a Japanese acting troupe perform and sing the song "Tradition" from "Fiddler on the Roof" (done completely in Japanese.) Turn on your speakers, click on the "Fiddler on the Roof" link above and voila. It might take a minute or two to load. Enjoy!
23. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List--New lists have been created for the towns of Grodno in Belarus, and the following Polish towns: Lubraniec, Janow Lubelski, Uniejow, Opoczno, Ozorkow, Zolynia and Kleczew. The lists for Narew, Mogilev and the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance have been updated.
24. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List--New lists have been created for the towns of Piatra Neamt in Romania, along with Baranow, Brzozow, Hrubieszow, Kolbuszowa, Kutno, Pilica, Tarnow, Ustrzyki Dolne and Wislica, all towns in today's Poland.
25. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List--More lists for you to peruse, all towns in today's Poland: Baligrod, Chodorow, Chrzanow, Dzikow Stary/Tarnobrzeg, Krasnik, Krzeszow, Majdan Krolewski, Przeworsk, Radomysl Wielki, Ranizow, Sokolow Malopolski/Lezajsk and Tyczyn.
26. Postcards from Home: Starodub, Russia--The Pevzner Family.
27. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List--Polish towns: Belchatow, Debica, Glogow, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Kalisz, Konskie, Miedzyrizec Podlaski, Rymanow, Sandomierz, Sedziszow, Zgierz, Zmigrod, and a list from a shared Dabie/Klodawa plot. Also, there is now a list for Falticeni in Romania and Grodno in Belarus.
28. Holocaust Memorials: Memorials from Kosow Lacki, Ostropol and Goniondz-Trestine have been added to the exhibition.
29. Postcards from Home: Rypin, Poland--The Nitecki Wedding.
30. Updates for Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List: Chodorow, Dabie/Klodawa, Dzikow Stary/Tarnobrzeg, Hrubieszow, Krasnik, Krzeszow, Przeworsk, Radomysl Wielki, Sanok, Sokolow Podlaski/Lezajsk and Tyczyn. A new list has been created for Lezajsk.
31. Town photographs from today's Czestochowa have been added to the main Czestochowa page.
32. Postcards from Home: Czestochowa--The Unveiling for Felicja Engel.
33. A link has been added on the main Czestochowa page to a report on the April 2004 exhibition in Czestochowa.
34. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List: A new list for the town of Rzeszow has been created.
35. Postcards from Home: Ufa, Russia--The Maron Family
36. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List: A new list for the town of Sieniawa has been added.
37. Links: A link has been added to the Montreal City Directories from 1842 to 1950.
38. Cemetery Project: Unique Surnames List: New lists have been added for the Polish towns of Dabie, Bychawa, Gorlice/Rudnik and Sokolow Podlaski.


*MARCH 2006*

1. More modern-day photos of the town of Pultusk have been added to the Pultusk main page.
2. Cemetery Project-Unique Surname Lists: A unique surnames list has been added for Pinsk, Belarus and Czernowitz, Ukraine.
3. Postcards from Home-Vilnius, Lithuania: Yenta and Gershon Radovsky.
4. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey: Individual web pages have been added for memorials erected in various New York-New Jersey metro area cemeteries. The following is a list of the memorial town associations, and where and in what town they are located: Hrubieszow in New Montefiore Cemetery, Sokolow Podlaski and Pilica in Wellwood Cemetery, Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in Beth Moses Cemetery, all in Pinelawn; Tykocin and Izbica Lubelski in Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Orla in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Narew in Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, and Plonsk, and Bocki, Czestochowa and Turiysk in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York. Pages  also have been created for a Tomaszow Mazowiecki memorial erected in Beth El Cemetery in Westwood,  New Jersey and for a Czyzew memorial in Beth Abraham in New Jersey.
5. Postcards from Home-Zabludow: Ten family photographs from the Gladsztein and Cymerman families are now available for viewing.
6. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey: Kielce, Sochaczew, Sniadowo, Ostropol, Tolstoye, Eishishok, Burshtyn, Pinsk, Baranavichy, Brzeziny and Zamosc memorials are now on display.
7. A link has been added to the Links page for the DNA Shoah Project.
8. Postcards from Home-Bielsk Podlaski: Photographs from the Chrabolowski family.
9. Sixteen photographs taken at the Rosenberg orphanage in pre-war Lodz are now available for viewing, and is accessible via the main Lodz page.
10. The Yiddish World: Sheet music cover for the song "Das Lebedige Yisoimele" from the play
"Blind Love"--words by Boris Thomashevsky, music by Perlmutter and Wohl.
11. Cemetery Project-Unique Surname lists have been started for Odessa and Kiev, two cities in the Ukraine.
12. Postcards from Home-Warszawa: Dziunia Feiga and Mosze Kagan (born in Stanislawow and Berdichev, respectively).
13. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey: Sernick (now Serniki Pervyye) and Wichevke (now Vitchevka) in the Ukraine; Antopol, Belarus and Deblin, Poland.
14. Postcards from Home-Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine: The Bruck Family.
15. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey: Shershevo and Pruzany, Ukraine.
16. Postcards from Home-Hungary: The first family photographs taken in pre-war Hungary are now online.
17. A new main page has been created for Zabludow, Poland and photos taken in Zabludow in 1991 and 1992 have been added.
18. Postcards from Home-Zabludow: Family photographs from the Gladsztein family of Zabludow have been put online; Elizabethgrad, Ukraine: Philip and Anna Workoff; Chotin, Bessarabia: The Ruchman Family.
19. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey:
For Ukranian towns: Barysh, Drogobych/Boryslav, Dunayevtsy, Khotin, Kuzmin, Lyubar, Magerov, Melnitsa, Mostiska, Otynya, Pomoryany, Sasov, Sokolovka, Rava Russkaya, Yavorov and Zolochev.
For Belarusian towns: Globoke, Korelichi and Pukhovichi, Belarus.
For Polish towns: Jozefow, Konstantynow, Miechow, Opatow, Polaniec, Szczebreszyn and Zawalow.
For the Moldavian town: Soroki, Moldava.
For the Greek town: Ioannina, and one erected by the Bnai Zion Chapters. All of these memorials have been erected at several Pinelawn cemeteries on Long Island, New York.
20. Cemetery Maps: A page featuring the overall grounds maps to Montreal, Canada cemeteries (Back River Memorial Gardens, Baron deHirsch, and Shaar Hashomayim) has now been added. If you have any such maps for any cemetery in Canada, other than the ones already published, please send them to the museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com.


*APRIL 2006*

1. Holocaust Memorials in New York :
For Ukranian towns: Budanov, Chervonograd, Chortkov, Chudnov, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Kunev, Lokachi, Maydan Stary, Medzhibozh, Narayev, Nemirov, Novaya Ushitsa, Novyy Yarychiv, Novyye Strelishcha, Podgaitsy, Rotchev, Rovno, Sambor, Ternopil, Turiysk, Volochisk, Volodymyr-Volyns'kyy, Zbarazh and Zinkow.
For Polish towns: Bachnia/Wisnicz/Brigel, Izbica Lubelski, Kolo, Lask, Lipno, Ostrow Lubelski, Przemysl, Sokolow Malopolski/Lezajsk, Tarnow and Tyczyn.
For Belarus towns: Disna, Kobrin, Lyakhovichi, Stolin.
For Lithuanian towns: Dieveniskes, Marijampole, Moletai, Seirijai, Ziezmariai.
For Moldavan town: Brichany.
2. Cemetery Maps-Canada : Kehal Israel Memorial Park, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC.
3. Postcards from Home :
    --Berdichev, Ukraine: The Bleiser Family.
    --Plock, Poland (also Warszawa and Radom): The Bergazin Family.
4. Links :A link to the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois has been added.
5. Holocaust Memorials in New Jersey :
For Polish towns: Bialobrzegi, Pabianice, Skierniewice and Zawiercie.
For Ukranian towns: Brailov, Gusyatin and Ustilug.
Also one for the "Association of Yugoslav Jews in the U.S.A."
6. Cemetery Project-Unique Surnames Lists: The list for Brzeziny is now complete, and the for Vilnius has been updated. Also a list has been created for the single Kock, Poland plot in New Jersey.
7. Cemetery Maps-Los Angeles: A map has been added for Mount Sinai Cemetery located in Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills.
8. Postcards from Home :
--David-Gorodok, Belarus: Miriam Schwartzman.
--Grozovo, Belarus: The Tzvik Family.
--Dubno, Ukraine: Yehezkel and Sonya German.
--Kuniv, Ukraine: The German Family.
--Simferopel, Ukraine: The Kosoglad Family.
--Tuchin, Ukraine: The German Family.
--Gyor, Hungary: The Fleischner Family.
--Krasnosielc, Poland: The Wedding of Joe and Gussie Bandrymer.
--Serock, Poland: Gussie Bandrymer and her Children.
9. Cemetery Maps-Canada : Eternal Gardens, and Temple Emanuel, Montreal area.
10. Map Room-Poland: Regional maps from Poland in the 1920s-40s have been added for the areas surrounding the towns/cities of Makow Mazowiecki, Narew, Klodawa, Zdunska-Wola, Lask, Wyszogrod, Biala and Szczuczyn. Also, the map room has now been divided into four separate pages according to latitude, i.e. from north to south. By doing this, the amount of time needed to download these map images has been greatly reduced.
11. Photographic Studios of Europe: Vilnius :The Chonovitz Studio-information has been received about the history of photographer I. Chonovitz and his studio, and this information has been added to the web page.
12. Holocaust Memorials in New York and New Jersey :
For Belarus towns: Hlusk (Glussk), Lenin/Lakhva and Skidel.
For Greek towns: Rhodes.
For Lithuanian town: Eisiskes.
For Polish towns: Bedzin/Sosnowiec, Biala Podlaska/Konstantynow/Wisznic, Chmielnik, Drobin, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Grybow, Kaluszyn, Kock, Kolbuszowa, Lukow, Piotrkov Trybunalski, Rypin, Skarzysko-Kamienna, Szydlowiec (2), Tyszowce, Wodzislaw, and Zdunska Wola.
For Ukranian towns: Gvardeyskove, Mizoch, Nadvirna, Polonnoye and Vinkovtsky.
13. Cemetery Maps-New York and New Jersey: Passaic Junction Cemetery, Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
14. Cemetery Project-Unique Surnames Lists: Czernowitz and Bocki. The list for Makow Mazowiecki has been modified.
15. Postcards from Home :
--Szczuczyn, Poland-Michel Ajminski.
--Simnas, Lithuania-Taube Mankunsky; Mary Ceselski.
--L'viv, Ukraine-Maurycy and Sigmund Honig.
--Istanbul, Turkey-Maria Nouri Gabai.
--Merano, Italy-The Gabai and Honig Families.
16. New Exhibitions: Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe.
17.Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey: :
--East Side Social Center of Patterson, New Jersey.
--The Piskiel Family.
--The Dachowitz Family.
--The Pessach Notte Family.
Inscription translations updated:
--Skidel, Belarus
--Moletai, Lithuania
--Khotin, Ukraine
--Kuzmin, Ukraine
--Vinkovtsky, Ukraine
18. Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe :
--Staraya Ushitsa, Ukraine.
19. Links : A link has been added to the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in South Florida. The center will be moving from its current location in North Miami Beach, Florida to one in Hollywood, Florida, probably in June.


*MAY-JUN 2006*

1. Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe :
--Lithuania: Plunge, Simnas, Vilnius (updated).
2. New Exhibition  : "Windows in Time: A Summer's Journey to Europe and the Middle East."
3. Postcards from Home:
--Piatra Neamt, Romania: The Rosner Family.
--Volkovysk, Belarus: Ruchel Kravitz Beckenstein and her Daughters.
--Paris, France: Melman Bar Mitzvah in Wartime Paris
--Paris, France: Jean-Etienne and Claude Fallek
--Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary: The Ehrenwerth Family; Emil and Hugo Wellisch; Regine Kestler and her Children
4. Exhibitions: The exhibition directories have been revamped. Please visit the Site Map page and click on the Exhibitions link at the top of the page. You will be directed to the Exhibition page which in turn allows you to visit either the Current or Permanent Exhibitions index, where you can choose which exhibition you would like to visit.
5. Links:
--The American Battle Monument Committee


*JUL 2006*


Where do I begin?
I have revamped many of the museum's web pages, especially those where the contrast between the print and the background might have been poor, so hopefully now these pages will be more pleasing to the eye. The areas of the Museum most affected are the Postcards from Home and main town pages, though I have added more material and created new areas of concentration within the walls of my virtual museum. Please note that the page names to the main town pages, i.e. the thirty or so pages that serve as an index for all material inside and outside of the museum that would be of interested to those interested in that particular town, has been changed. It is best to search for your main town page using the "Main Town Page List" under the "Indices" heading on the Site Map page.

The exhibitions have been a bit reorganized too, as well as the Site Map page itself. It is always best to search the Site Map page to find what material you are looking for.

I have added the following sections to the museum and hope that these areas will be well-developed in the future: "Education and Research Center," "Family History Theatre," "Yiddish World,"  and a section on the "Holocaust." Of course, as the name of my virtual museum indicates, this is a family history museum, so much of what is new relates to family life in both Europe and elsewhere in the world. I suggest you read the introduction to these new areas to better familiarize yourself with what I hope to accomplish over time.

I will continue to list updates below according to its location within the museum. I hope that I have contributed at least a little to your appreciation of Jewish history and have aided you in any family research that you may be undertaking.

POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
Belarus:
Ashmyany: Mary Gurvich
Borisov: Baila Gitta Feitlin; Siimon Feitlin
Gol'shany: The Lemelman Family
Lithuania:
Novy Dvor: Shlomo Werner and Shraga Feivel Werner
Simnas: The Mankunsky-Myers Family; Taube Mankunsky
Poland:
Kolno: The Gabelman Family
Ostrow Mazowiecka: Shmuel Rubin and his Friends
Radzilow: The Grubavitz and Sztabinski Families
Sejny: The Kowalski and Kominowski Families
Suwalki: Faigle Bornsztejn and her Daughter; The Dragucki Family
Tykocin: The Kabat-Olstein Family Portrait
Ulanow: Ita and Raphael Graff
Zambrow: The Zedeck Family
Ukraine:
Czernowitz: Czernowitz Family Photos

THE HOLOCAUST:
A web page has been created with many links to Holocaust-related websites.
Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe:
Photographs of memorials have been added for the following locations in Europe:
-Belarus: Ivenets
-Hungary: Eger, Gyongos, Gyor, Kiskomarom and Nagykanizsa
-Lithuania: Kaunas, Panieriai (Ponar), Plunge and Vilnius
-Poland: Lodz
Note-There might be others that have been added since the last update. It's best to check for yourselves.
Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey:
The names inscribed on the Kobrin, Belarus memorial have been translated and are ready to be viewed.

CEMETERY PROJECT:
-A page has been created to help you in your searching on the Mt. Zion Cemetery (New York) database.
-A question and answer page has been created for the Cemetery Project, listing many of the questions that have been asked of me over the past year.
-A list has been created for all the cemeteries that existed in the New York City and Long Island areas, per the 1915 Brooklyn Eagle Almanac. This lists names, addresses, number of  burials done in 1913 and the total number of burials to that point.
-A full map has been added for Mt. Sinai Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California. A map of  their cemetery in Simi Valley will be added soon.
-Many examples of double errors (i.e. given names and surnames) have been added to the "Searching the Cemetery Databases" page. The list of surname and double name errors will be updated from time to time so that you can get as full an opportunity to study such discrepancies as possible. Last Update: 11 July 2006.
-A map of the overall grounds of Mt. Richmond Cemetery and Silver Lake Cemetery in Staten Island, New York.
-Cemetery Gravestone Photography: Please note that the fee per gravestone photo for both Mts. Zion and Judah Cemeteries in Queens County, New York has been increased from ten to fifteen dollars.
-Unique Surnames List: The Vilnius (i.e. Vilnius-Sejny) list has been updated, now including the unique surnames from the Mt. Carmel Vilnius-Sejny plot.

THE YIDDISH WORLD:
-Photo from Minsk (prob.) of the "Yiddish Society:  Lovers of Art and Theatre."
-Origins of Yiddish Theatre: Dem Purim Shpiele, Miskolc, Hungary.
-What's in a Name?- Many Jews in the entertainment industry changed their Jewish names to ones that they thought would be acceptable to Hollywood and the general public. Here you can try to match up their Jewish names with their more commonly known names. Answers are provided!

LIVING IN AMERICA:
-Memories of my Family: "Zayde" by Elaine Rosenberg Miller.

EDUCATION & RESEARCH CENTER:
-A list of synagogues located in New York City and Long Island during the years of 1910 and 1915.
-A list of cemeteries located in New York City and Long Island in 1915 that includes cemetery name, address, area (acres), numbers of interments in the year 1913, and the total number of interments.

TOWN PAGES:
-Tykocin: Three links to external web sites with photos and information on the history of Tykocin has been added.

LINKS:
-Links have been added for a searchable database (in Magyar) for Jewish burials in Hungary, along with a link to a Magyar-English online dictionary.


*AUG 2006*


IMPORTANT NOTES:

"This website is optimized for Microsoft  Internet Explorer with a resolution of 800x600 or higher and a medium text size. Use of browsers such as Mozilla Firefox or Opera may create viewing problems, e.g. colors and fonts that are different than what was intended. This may result in poor text-background contrast. Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer." This advisory has now been added to the bottom of the main page, above the Hit Counter.


Cemetery Project:

--Cemetery Directory:
A new searchable cemetery database has been created, this time for Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Lindenhurst, Suffolk County, New York.

--Maps:
A map of the grounds at Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Simi Valley, California has now been added.


Education and Research Center:

--Records: Examples and explanations are given of the various records used by genealogists to obtain information on their family's ancestors. Most of the records/forms discussed are those that have been used in New York City/State over the past hundred years. The records include birth, marriage and death records, census reports, social security, voter registration, World War I and II draft registration cards, as well as immigration and naturalization records. This is a work in progress, so just visit the pages that have active links and check this Updates page periodically.


FROM THE PALE TO THE GOLDEN LAND--DESTINATION ELLIS ISLAND:

--Zamosc, Poland--A list of immigrants who last resided in Zamosc, Poland before immigrating to the United States through Ellis Island.


THE HOLOCAUST:

Directory of Concentration Camps:
--A listing of concentration camps with links to their own websites, along with addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. The website links have been verified, but the other information may have changed since the initial list was created. Hopefully, this information will be verified over time.

Holocaust Links:
--DNA Shoah Project

Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe:
--Belarus: Dvorets, Kurenets, Minsk and Narach (formerly Kubylnik).
--Lithuania: more photographs of the Paneriai, Vilnius and Kaunas memorials.
--Poland: Boguszyce, Chorzele, Lukow, Sejny, Suwalki and Warszawa memorial photos.
--Ukraine: New Kiev (Babi Yar), Kovel and L'viv memorial photos.

Holocaust Memorials of Western Europe (new feature):
--Berlin, Germany: The memorial in the former Jewish quarter on Oranienburgstrasse.

Holocaust Memorials of New York-New Jersey:
--Yiddish Theatrical Alliance.


HOW WE WORKED (new feature):
How did our families back in Europe make a living and what kind of work did they do during their early years in the country of their immigration? Seeing photos of how they made a living and seeing where they worked can produce a rich imagery and may give us glimpses into the history of our ancestors. Please send photos of your family members who lived either in Europe, the United States, or other countries throughout the world, in their work environment. The limitation is that the photos need to be from the "early days," i.e. before World War II began. Photos can be sent to: postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com. Thanks.
--Life in Eastern Europe:
     Bocki, Poland: The Four Seamstresses; A Fireman's Identity Card
     Lodz, Poland: The Silberstein Beauty and Barber Shop
     Zambrow, Poland: The Apple Orchard
--Living in America:
     New York, New York (the Lower East Side):
          --Lower East Side Sweatshop, cir 1910
          --Lower East Side Hat Factory, cir 1910-20


LINKS:
--Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902)
--Missouri State Archives Birth and Death Database (pre-1910)
--Missouri State Archives Death Database (1910-1955)
--Steven Spielberg's Jewish Film Archive


PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS:

--Coney Island Notebook: The Early Days and How We Got There 
(The museum welcomes your family stories and photos from Coney Island, pre-1950.)
The Coney Island that many of us New Yorkers have known and grown to love in our youth is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most famous seaside attractions. An island less than five miles long and half a mile wide, it has drawn millions upon millions of visitors seeking rest and relaxation for as long as anyone of us can remember. Who can ever forget Steeplechase Park, the Cyclone roller coaster, the Wonder Wheel and the Parachute Jump? Of course, Coney Island did not start out this way…

--It Was the Best of Times...
(The museum welcomes your recollections of the 1939 New York World's Fair.)
Flora Ness proudly took her Oath of Allegiance in February 1939 and became a U.S. citizen. Later that year she went with her family to the New York's World's Fair, whose theme was "Building the World of Tomorrow." The World's Fair souvenir matchbook read "Dawn of a New Day." Little did she realize that in September of that year, the Germans would invade Poland, the country of her birth, and that two years later, she would lose the remainder of her family who stayed behind in Jedwabne, Poland to the terrible pogrom that befell it...


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Belarus: Grodno and Minsk.
--Moldova: The first family photos on this site from Moldova--Kishinev (now called Chişinău.)
--Poland: Drohiczyn nad Bugiem, Hrubieszow (see new Lublin page)  family photos from the 1930s, Lublin, Ostrow Mazowiecka, Warszawa, Zambrow, and Zamosc.
--Ukraine: Dnipropetrovs'k, Kiev/Kyyiv (also see new Zamosc page), Mikulince, Odessa (including a nursery school group photo from 1934), Orikhiv, Zablotow and Zolochev.


SYNAGOGUES OF THE WORLD (new feature):
--The Synagogues of Europe: Kazimierz-Dolny, Sniadowo, Zambrow, Poland; Minkowitz, Ukraine.
(Send to the museum any old or new photos of synagogues located in Europe, either of synagogues that exist today or those of the past that no longer stand. The photos may be ones that you have taken or those that are in your personal collection. Indicate the name and location of the synagogue and the date the photo was taken, assuming you have this information. Please indicate whether you own these photos and that I have permission to use them on this website. Also, recollections of those who once lived in Europe and attended such synagogues are welcome. Thank you.)


Town Index:
--Pultusk: A link to Pultusk's own town website has been added.
--Zamosc: A new town page for the town of Zamosc, Poland has been added.


THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Recollections:
     --"A Visit with Bashevis" by Elaine Rosenberg Miller


*SEP 2006*


NOTES:
This website should now be compatible with browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, e.g. Mozilla Firefox and the Netscape. For optimal viewing though, it is still suggested that you visit this site by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (and a medium text size).


CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Surname-given name lists have been put online for the two Vilnius- and two Warszawa-associated society burial plots located in East Haven and New Haven, Connecticut.

--Unique Surnames Lists for New York-New Jersey: More names have been added to the lists for society plots associated with both Ciechanow, Nasielsk, Plock and Stoczek in today's Poland. The Czernowitz page has been updated.

--Connecticut-Massachusetts-Rhode Island Burial Database: Thanks to Rabbi Edward Cohen, the museum's cemetery database has now been increased by over 87,000 to more than 170,000 names. The names of the cemeteries in these three states that he has visited and databased can be found on its own page. Visit the Site Map page under "Cemetery Project." Please note that there are no gravestone photographs here, but he has databased the names of the deceased, the dates of birth and death, the names of the deceased's father and spouse. You must contact the museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com if you need information on a burial in these three states. Please enter into the Subject line "CT-MA-RI lookup."

--Society Gates:
   --Lithuania: Eisiskes
   --Poland: Augustow, Chelm, Drohiczyn, Goniadz/Trestine, Gostynin, Jasionowka, Kielce, Kleszczele, Knyszyn, Kock, Kosow Lacki, Krosno/Jedlicze, Krasnosielc, Krynki, Kuznica, Lask, Lubien Kujawski, Michalowo, Mielnica, Nur, Orla, Ostrow Lubelski, Ostrow Wielkopolski, Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, Ozarow, Piatnica, Pultusk (amended), Siedlce, Sokolka, Sosnowiec, Stoczek, Suchowola, Suraz, Sztabin, Trzcianne, Turobin, Warka, Zabludow and Zyrardow.
   --Ukraine: Zablotow.


EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Records: Social Security Death Index.


THE HOLOCAUST:
An index page has been added to this permanent exhibition, accessible through either the Site Map page or the Exhibition link on the main Holocaust exhibition page.
--Concentration Camps: Dachau (Germany) and Terezin (Czech Republic).

--Directory of Concentration Camp Memorial Sites, including website links and contact information.

--Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe:
    --Belarus: Dolhinov, Druya, Horodok, Krasne, Kurenets, Slonim, Smorgon, Volozhin and   Vishnevo.
    --Lithuania: Birzai and Lozdzieje (Lazdijai).
    --Poland: Losice.

--Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey:
   --Poland: Zuromin.

--Our Jewish Voice:
--"Lamentations" by David Pinski, one of the most prominent of all Yiddish playwrights, told the world of the plight that had befallen the Jews of Europe as early as the summer of 1943.


HOW WE WORKED:
--Kurenets, Belarus: The Pharmacist.
--Lida, Belarus: The Pottery Shop; The Water Carriers.
--Vileyka, Belarus: Sarah the Baker.
--Montreal, Canada: The Licensed Wine and Spirit Store.
--Colchester, Connecticut: Plowing the Fields.
--Mielnica, Poland: The Tailor Shop.
--Rutki, Poland: The Sewing Project.


LANDSMANSHAFTN IN ISRAEL:
--Zambrow, Poland: Committee on Zambrowe in Israel.
--Zambrow, Poland: Zembrower Society Meeting.


LIFE IN EASTERN EUROPE:
--The Kishinev Pogroms


LINKS:
--Judaica Foundation-Center for Jewish Culture (Krakow, Poland)
--Lomza Virtual Jewish Cemeteries--Help identify those who are buried in the "New" Lomza Cemetery by translating gravestone inscriptions. You can post your comments too.


LIVING IN AMERICA:
--Memories of my Family: "Kaddish de Rabbanan" by Marjorie Stamm Rosenfeld.


POSTCARDS FROM  HOME:
--Belarus: Brest.
--Lithuania: Lozdzieje (Lazdijai).
--Poland: Gdansk (Danzig), Sosnowiec, Warszawa and Zambrow.


STORIES FROM OUR ANCESTRAL HOMES:
--Krakow: Life in the Krakow Ghetto


TOWN INDICES:
--Eisiskes (Eisheshok), Lithuania.
--Łask and Sejny, Poland.


THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Our Jewish Voice (found in the Holocaust section of the museum):
    --"Lamentations" by David Pinski, one of the most prominent of all Yiddish playwrights, told the world of the plight that had befallen the Jews of Europe as early as the summer of 1943.

--Yiddish Theatre links-a web page has been added containing links to many Yiddish theatres and performing troupes from around the word.


*OCT 2006*


NOTES:
This website should now be compatible with browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, e.g. Mozilla Firefox and the Netscape. For optimal viewing though, it is still suggested that you visit this site by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (and a medium text size).


CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Cemetery Maps:
  --Cleveland, Ohio: Mayfield Cemetery, Cleveland Heights and Mt. Olive Cemetery in Solon.
--Society Gates:
  --Bielsk Podlaski, Bransk, Ciechanow, Grybow, Makow Mazowiecki, Narew, Piatnica, Pinczow, Przasnysz, Radom, Rozan, Tomaszow Lubelski, Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Wegrow, Wysokie Mazowieckie, Wyszkow and Zamosc, Poland.
  --Vilnius, Lithuania.
--Unique Surnames Lists:
New: Bedzin-Warszawa, Poland and Ilintsy, Ukraine.


EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:
--Immigration: Script Samples--Towns of Last Residence.
--Health and Immigration: Trachoma.


FROM THE PALE TO THE GOLDEN LAND:
--Immigrant Lists: A list of more than 46,000 immigrants who last resided in Warszawa, Poland (or Russia, depending on the year) has been added. There are many pages to this list, arranged alphabetically according to surname and lists the immigrant's surname, giving the immigrant's name and their year of birth and immigration. This list takes into account many of the various spellings of the Warszawa city name.


THE HOLOCAUST:
--The Concentration Camps: Majdanek (Poland).

--Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe:
   --Photos of the memorials at the former Jewish cemetery at Slonim, Belarus have been added, as well as several of the memorials that have been erected in Rumbula Forest, located near Riga, Latvia.
  --Photos of the memorial in Kupiskis, Lithuania have been added.
  --A photo of the memorial in Zolochiv, Ukraine (dedicated in early Sep 2006) has been added.
  --Photos of the memorial in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Poland are now online.

--Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey:
  --Poland: Wegrow.


HOW WE WORKED:
--Photographs of Adolph Kopekin in front of both his watchmaker and jewelry shops in Vienna, Austria and Chicago, Illinois are displayed.


LINKS:
--Tracing the Tribe-Schelly Talalay Dardashti's Jewish genealogy blog site.


LIVING IN AMERICA:
--The Synagogues of the Lower East Side: Photographs of six extant synagogues on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with short descriptions, addresses and website URLs.


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Belarus: Novogrudok (Navahrudak).
--Germany: Munich.
--Lithuania: Kalvarija.
--Poland: Krasnosielc, Warszawa and Zambrow.
--Ukraine: Proskurov.


STORIES FROM OUR ANCESTRAL HOMES:
--Our Family...The story of the families of Sol and Toby Rubinstein, whose families lived in such Polish towns as Lapy, Jedwabne, Sokoly, and Yenki. This story is a very good one and paints a picture of Jewish life of Poland from the beginning of the twentieth century to the aftermath and devastation felt once the Second World War ended.
--My Autobiography, by Sam Grabsky...Really a very interesting story about how Sam met his future wife in Warszawa, went to America to establish himself, only to have to return back to Poland (then Russia) in order to enter the Russian Army. There he managed to walk away from the Russian Army and return to America once again to work and prepare for the future.


TOWN INDEXES:
--Czestochowa, Poland: A short video made by Yossi Landau during his Oct 2006 trip to Czestochowa.


THE YIDDISH WORLD:
--Lives in the Yiddish Theatre: David Pinski (one of the world's foremost Yiddish playwrights and novelists.)
--Yiddish Film Festival in Buenos Aires to be held 2 to 8 Nov 2006.


THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR TOWNS:
--So many of the young men and women who once grew up in our ancestral towns and cities emigrated, yet too many remained behind and perished in the Holocaust. This exhibition provides the opportunity to identify some of the youth of Eastern Europe. The first town of which portraits of their young people are displayed is Lozdzieje (Lazdijai), Lithuania.


*NOV 2006*

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Society Gates:
     --Names previously not listed for the Independent Makower Young Men's Benevolent Association on the Makow Mazowiecki page have been added.

--Cemetery Maps:
     --New grounds maps have been created by Mt. Judah Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. These two maps will be included on the upcoming Mt. Judah Cemetery website. This is a vast improvement over the old maps that were, to a large part, not very helpful. Each gate post has now been stenciled to allow for the easier identification of the society plot.

--Questions and Answers:
     --"Why have so many baby and children gravestones sunken into the ground?"

--Unique Surnames Lists:
       --New lists have been started for Khomsk, Belarus and Bilgoraj, Poland (i.e. for New York/New Jersey cemeteries.)


CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
--A Photographer's Life: A Family Story Told.


THE HOLOCAUST:
Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe:
--Ukraine: Kremenets, Lanivtsi and Teofipol.

Holocaust Memorials of New York and New Jersey:
--Antipole, Belarus: more translations have been added for the memorial inscriptions.

Holocaust-Related Links:
--Budapest Holocaust Memorial Center.


LINKS:
A separate section for searchable cemetery databases, both domestic and foreign, has been added. Certainly if you have knowledge of other such databases, please contact the museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com with the URL (website address), cemetery name and town.

--New York City Division of Corporations: Search their database for information on various businesses, not-for-profit corporations, etc. You might want to use this database for the names of various landsmanshaftn societies, or perhaps a family business that might have incorporated.
--Foundation for Jewish Cemeteries in Hungary.
--Generations of the Shoah International.
--Jewish Cemetery Database Project (Germany).


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Telekhany, Belarus.


EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:

Collection Resources:
--Map Room: A topographical map of Krakow and vicinity, mostly north and east of Krakow--as far north as Skala and Slomniki, and as far east as Klimontow, Proszowice and Zabierzow. This is a full map, unlike all the rest that are half-maps. As it is over 8 MB in size, it might take a while to download the map, unless of course you have a reasonably fast computer.
     Also please note that ranges of latitude and longitude are now given for each photo, i.e. all but the Krakow photo are half-maps. Thus, consecutive maps will have the same coordinate ranges that apply to the two maps together.

Genealogy and Family History:
Records:
--"Old Law" Naturalization Records: U. S. District Court, Eastern District, New York City.

Research Groups:
In order to facilitate research, the Museum will, over time, publish web pages that will allow researchers of certain regional special interest groups to find material that interests them in an easier fashion. The two such lists are for the Gesher Galicia group and the Bialystok area group.
 

*DEC 2006*

CEMETERY PROJECT:
--Searching the Cemetery Databases: While the Mt. Judah Cemetery searchable database is not yet online (it should be any day now), I thought I would publish my comments and suggestions now for those of who would like to learn a bit more about the cemetery and the database ahead of time.


CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
Many exhibitions are being constructed concurrently, so please continue to visit this page for updates.


THE HOLOCAUST:
--Samples of registration cards for the those held at Buchenwald, as well as one questionnaire used in the post-war interrogation of Buchenwald inmates, most likely used to determine whether to release or detain them. This will be online soon.
--Holocaust Memorials of Eastern Europe: Krasnosielc, Poland, including photos of the Krasnosielc synagogue and the memorial plaques on its outer wall.


LINKS:
Jewish Refugees in Tashkent (USHMM database).


MAP ROOM OF EASTERN EUROPE:
--Poland: Topographical maps from pre-war Poland, including the area south of Warszawa; also Gostynin/Gabin, Tluszcz, Losice, and Minsk Mazowiecki/Kaluszyn.


POSTCARDS FROM HOME:
--Vilnius, Lithuania: The Tenengoltz Family.
--Rzeszow, Poland: The Gruner Family.

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER:

Genealogy and Family History:

Records:
--"Old Law" Naturalization Records: "In the Matter of Jacob Cohen on his Naturalization," Supreme Court, First Judicial Court, New York, New York, 1903-5.

Research Groups:
In order to facilitate research, the Museum will, over time, publish web pages that will allow researchers of certain regional special interest groups to find material that interests them in an easier fashion. The two such lists are for the Gesher Galicia group and the Bialystok area group.