Eastern European Newspapers

Have you ever used newspapers as a resource for researching your Eastern European family?  I've been playing around with a site that allows you to do just that.  It predominantly covers Ukraine, but there is coverage for neighboring countries as well; the site contains periodicals in languages including Russian, Yiddish, Ukrainian, Polish, Belorussian and more.  Below are some examples of what I've found for my own family--and how you can potentially find articles about your relatives too.

1913 Advertisement for Performers for the Zubkis Theater in Gaysin

Lefands in 1822--More Females Found--but Russian Handwriting Help Needed!

The indefatigable Alex Krakovsky posted of an interesting record set that included--among other things--many family lists of both Jews and Christians in Chernigov Guberniya.  So of course I went Lefand hunting--and I had success (although it does have their name here as "Lefan").

Lefand Family List Entry, 1822

US Military Records via BIRLS - My Beta User Experience

Our friends at Reclaim the Records have done it again.  The latest record set that they've helped to make accessible to us is the Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) database, which includes people who served in the US military and received veterans' benefits in the twentieth century.  They've set up a user-friendly way for you to generate and send a fax (yes, a fax--but you don't need a fax machine) request for C-File (different than naturalization-related C-Files) records referenced in BIRLS.  I was a beta tester and have already received responses to many of my requests, so here are some of the things I learned about the system and about some relatives--as well as how you can do the same!

Application for my grandfather's first cousin to become a WAVE

Keser Torah / Kaiser Torah Congregation Pittsburgh Minutes

My Supkoff and Tolchin(sky) ancestors attended Keser Torah Congregation in Pittsburgh's Hill District for several decades.  I recently got copies of fragmentary minutes for the congregation from the University of Pittsburgh, which included minutes from various groups associated with Keser Torah from 1927-1939.  The records were written in Yiddish, and they were expertly translated by Géraldine Trom.

If you have ancestors who also attended Keser Torah--or if you just want some insight into the workings of an American synagogue in the 1920s and 1930s, the full translation is below.  Enjoy!

Excerpt from the Keser Torah Congregation Minutes

Alien Attack: Get Your Relatives' AR-2s!

Many people, especially women, who came to America in the first half of the twentieth century, never naturalized, for a variety of reasons.  If they were still alive and non-citizens in 1940 (or if they weren't sure if they were citizens), the Alien Registration Act of 1940 compelled them to register their status by filling out a form called the AR-2.  These forms have recently transferred custody from USCIS to NARA, which means you can get these without the ridiculously long wait associated with the USCIS Genealogy Program.  I recently ordered several and had a wonderfully pleasant experience (USCIS had set a very low bar) and found information--and people who had registered--that I hadn't expected.

Bessie Tolchin's AR-2

J-Roots Forums Are Back! An Incredible Russian Empire Resource

I've discussed J-Roots several times in the past, as it's a wonderful resource for those who are researching in the former Russian Empire (and somewhat in all of the former USSR).  This Ukraine-based service was set to read-only shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  A group of volunteers has been bringing it back up, starting with its forum feature.  So what are J-Roots' Forums and how can you use them?

Screenshot from J-Roots Forum Page

Yom HaShoah 2024

Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) starts this evening.  For the past seven years, I have listed the names of the family members I've found who were murdered in the Holocaust.  In 2020, I listed 454 relatives.  In 2021, I listed 515.  In 2022, I listed 642.  In 2023, I listed 916.  And this year I list 990.

Every year, this list grows as I find new branches of my family--and then find that multiple members of those branches were killed between 1941 & 1945.  This year I found 74 more people--and many other relatives whose fates are as yet unclear.

Publishing this yearly list is my one small way to make sure they are all remembered--all 990 of those currently on this list.

Front Row L-R: Yosef Wollich, Mendel Chechman, Devorah Chechman; Back Row L-R: Sara Fine Wollich, Moshe Wollich, Chaike Chechman.  All were murdered in the Holocaust