Prenumeraten & Rutners

Back in the day, when people wanted to publish Jewish scholarly books, they'd often need to get funding in advance in order to pay for printing costs.  To do this, they got people to "subscribe" to their book--basically those people would pre-pay for a copy of the book, and in exchange, their names would be published in the eventual release of the book.  These "prenumeraten lists" could contain your ancestors!

I was able to use "Sefer HaPrenumerantn," a kind of index to those listed in prenumeraten for about 800 books, to find references to books sponsored by people from Kolodne.  And look who's listed in one of those books.  (More information on how to use this book below.)

1840s Russian Empire Record Book - In Baltimore!

This past Sunday, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland had its annual Show & Tell program.  This is always a fun programs, where members bring in family heirlooms, documents, and photos, and they can tell the members the stories behind them.  There were some great presentations this year.  But one of them had me nearly jumping out of my chair (and people said my eyes got very wide).  One member, Joanne, brought in an old record book.  She was hoping that people could help to tell her what it is and why her husband would have had it.  And when I say it was old, I mean old.

Joanne's Record Book

The Zuboks of Radomyshl - My Relatives?

Thanks to Alex Krakovsky putting more and more Ukrainian records online (check out what he has here if you haven't yet), I've spent quite a bit of time going down many rabbit holes.  Some have paid off, some haven't, and some are still in progress.

These records have helped me to track my Zubkis family to areas across Podolia Guberniya and eastern Volhynia Guberniya, as they migrated to other towns from their 1795 location in Uman.  And some of the branches' surnames--proven to descend from my Zubkis family--morphed over the years to Zubko and Zubkov.  So I've been looking into any family name of the form Z*b*k* and Z*p*k*, and trying to see if they are connected to my family.  And that is how I ended up reconstructing the Zubok family of Radomyshl.

Avrum son of Yankel Zubok, Radomyshl, 1850 Revision List

The Missing (Now Found) Death of Shimon Tolchinsky

I'd narrowed down the potential death date of my great-great-great grandfather, Shimon Tolchinsky, based on when children began to be named for him.  But despite painstakingly going through all of the Nezhin vital records, I never found his death record (but there were some gaps in the years around his suspected death, so I assumed that he died during one of those gapped periods).  I was confident that he would have died before February 1894 and likely after December 1889.  But I had no clue where in that window he died.

Shimon Tolchinsky Death Record, Priluki, 1893

Immigration Documents - Please Comment on Proposed Fee Increase!

Do you have ancestors who immigrated in the 20th century?  Well, then you need to pay close attention to a change in fees that's being proposed.  And you need to voice your opposition to this price hike before it happens.

Anyone who naturalized between September 27, 1906 and March 31, 1956 has a C-File, and these can be a goldmine of genealogical information.  And even if your ancestor didn't naturalize, if you had ancestors in the US between 1940-1944, they had to register as aliens.  And if your family came after April 1, 1944 (as did my Holocaust survivor grandparents), your ancestors likely have A-Files.  And these files are about to get out of reach to genealogists and others.  And we need your help to stop this from happening.

One Page of My Great-Grandmother's A-File--These Things are Awesome!

Definitely Something to Speak Of/Shpikov--An Incredible 20th Century Document

I've found lots of Russian Empire documents on my Zubkis family.  I'd even found (thank you, Alex Krakovsky and his awesome wiki filled with Ukrainian documents) a 1903 family list from Kuna that updated what had happened in the extended family since the 1858 revision--at least as far as the Kuna administrators knew, since my family had left Kuna at least 30 years earlier.  But because they didn't know what had been happening in the family, some information was incorrect or dated.

But this new record, which seems to be a similar sort of early 20th century update to what had happened to the family since 1858, is awesome, since my family was actually living in the town in which the document was created, when it was created.

Shpikov 1902 Family List, Zubkis Family (Page 1)

RootsTech 2020--Win A 4-Day Pass to RootsTech

I'm excited to announce that I'll be back at RootsTech this winter--both as a speaker and an Ambassador!  I'll be giving two classes--one on dealing with Russian Empire records when you don't speak Russian and another on Jewish genealogy.  Why RootsTech?  The conference gives a great overview of that here.

As an Ambassador, I am able to give away a free 4-day RootsTech pass to a lucky reader, which has a $299 value!  (If you already registered and you win, you can get a refund.)

Someday I've found it, the Bessarabian Connection

I've been trying for years to link together my Supkoff family to two other families in Pittsburgh's Jewish community--the Soupcoffs and the Zoupcoffs.  My grandfather had been told that they were related but didn't know how.  So I've researched the Soupcoffs and Zoupcoffs extensively.  Earlier this year, I discovered via both documentation and DNA that the Soupcoffs are related to my Supkoff family, as I wrote about here.

In researching the Soupcoffs, I found many individuals with colorful pasts.  One of those was Dr. Jacob Soupcoff, who later legally changed his name to Jacob Lorenz.  And in that legal name change petition, he made an interesting assertion.

From Jacob Soupcoff/Lorenz Name Change Petition

Drawing Incorrect Conclusions

Naming patterns can sometimes be helpful in genealogy.  But sometimes, the way that names are recorded can lead researchers to incorrect conclusions.  Take the marriage record of my fourth cousin twice removed, where her name was recorded as Helen Rifke Jager.

Marriage of Helen Rifke Jager and Jankel Herskovics, Talaborfalva, Hungary (today's Tereblya, Ukraine), November 1941

Upcoming Talks - MD, DC Area, NY--And Online!

I'll be giving several more talks before the end of 2019, and I'd love if some blog readers attend!  I have upcoming talks in the Baltimore and DC areas, one in Westchester County (NY), and one that is an online webinar that you can watch from the comfort of your own home (and I won't be offended if you're in pajamas; I may be as well).

Me speaking in Toronto a few years ago

Two Boxes of History

My grandmother's first cousin Helen died a few weeks ago.  Helen and her siblings were the only first cousins side that my grandmother knew growing up, since all of the others grew up in what was then Czechoslovakia or Romania, while my grandmother was born in Pennsylvania.  One of Helen's brothers had given me some (very poor) photostats of some family documents in the early 1990s, but I'd never seen the originals.  Both of Helen's brothers died years ago.

I'd asked Helen a year or so ago if she had any family documents or photos, but she said that she didn't.  She did share some stories of growing up and of some relatives that she remembered.  Well, it turns out Helen had documents and photos.  Lots of them.

Helen's niece (on Helen's husband's side) has been going through her house.  As she found Rutner-related documents and information, she added them to a box.  And then she had to start adding them to a second box.  It turns out that Helen had many documents and photos.  Here's what Helen's niece Elizabeth has given me so far:

Photos and Documents from Helen

Three New (To Me) Ancestors

I always smile when I hear people say that their family tree is "done."  Perhaps they have exhausted some major online resources.  But it's likely that they're not aware of some obscure site that has information and that they haven't looked in every archive or repository that has information about their family.  There's almost surely at least one more nugget out there waiting to be found.

I've been researching my family for 30 years, and I still find more information.  And the latest was three new direct ancestors!

Zyubkis Family, 1806, Uman

Russian WWI Records

Our ancestors and other relatives fought for the countries in which they lived.  As some of those military records come online and are more accessible, we can sometimes learn more about our family members who served.  Some of my family members fought for the Russian Empire in prior wars--and I didn't realize that until I found some of their military records online.

Meir Zubkis WWI Record,
Russian State Military Historical Archive, Fund No. 16196, Particular record keeping on the collection and registration of information about those who left after death or behind wounds, as well as missing military ranks, acting against enemy armies (1914 - 1918); Inventory №1, Nominal li

Ashkenazic Shared DNA Survey - September 2019 Update

An updated version of this post is here.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed data about shared DNA in people with Ashkenazic ancestry!  I have 5537 data points to analyze, and that should help the entire genetic genealogy community  (I'm still collecting data--you can find out more about the project and how to contribute here).

This iteration looks at how shared DNA will differ depending on how much (documented) Ashkenazi DNA each individual has.

There are four tables below:

• Table 1 looks at all 5337 data points, regardless of Ashkenazic percentage
• Table 2 looks at those data points where both individuals are documented to be 100% Ashkenazic
• Table 3 looks at those data points where one individual is documented to be 100% Ashkenazic and the other 50% Ashkenazic
• Table 4 looks at those data points where both individuals are documented to be 50% Ashkenazic 
• Table 5 looks at those data points where one individual is documented to be 100% Ashkenazic and the other 25% Ashkenazic
• Table 6 looks at those data points where one individual is documented to be 50% Ashkenazic and the other 25% Ashkenazic

Buchenwald Records - Some With Photos

When I was in DC at the FGS Conference last week, I was able to spend a few hours in the Holocaust Museum.  I printed out hundreds of pages (literally) of documents that I discovered, and I'm finally having a chance to actually read some of what I found.

My fourth cousin twice removed, Yitzchak/Izsak Rutner, was killed in Buchenwald.  But before that point, the Nazis collected information on him--including the only known photo of him.

Inmate Personal Card - Izsak Ruttner

Town Finding Aid Created for Novohrad-Volynskyi District Revision Lists on Krakovsky Website

At the recent IAJGS conference, I spoke to Ellen Shindelman Kowitt.  Ellen mentioned an incredible project she is undertaking, which led to her obtaining images of records not just for her towns of interest but for many towns in the area.  As a result of this conversation, I'm pleased to have Ellen as a guest blogger today where she talks about the towns covered by these records and how you can find records for your own family's towns, if you're fortunate enough to have had family from this area.  While most of the records are Jewish-focused, there are a reasonable number of records for non-Jews who lived in these towns as well! Without further ado, here's Ellen!


Town Finding Aid Created for Novohrad-Volynskyi District Revision Lists on Krakovsky Website
By guest blogger Ellen Shindelman Kowitt, genealogysleuth@comcast.net

If you’re interested in Russian-Era Revision Lists circa 1816-1868 for the city of Novohrad-Volynskyi, Ukraine and nearby towns, this article directs you to the exact pages that records for your town are found within nine Revision List books that have been digitized and are available on Alex
Krakovsky’s website (https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Єврейське_містечко#Новоград-Волинський_повіт).  Not all of the pages in these books include Jewish surnames, but the index identifies exactly where the pages with Jews within each town are located. These are not surname indices – just a finding aid to where within over 9000 digitized pages, you can browse Russian-language records for the following 13 towns:

Baranivka - @243 pages in 7 books
Berezdiv - @253 pages in 8 books
Horodnytsia - @843 pages in 7 books
Korets - @938 pages in 8 books
Krasnostav – @365+ pages in 8 books
Liubar – @918 pages in 8 books
Myropil - @267 pages in 7 books
Nova Chortoryia - @59 pages in 5 books
Novohrad-Volynskyi City -@890 pages in 7 books
Ostropil - @341 pages in 6 books
Polonne - @816 pages in 8 books
Rohachiv - @172 pages in 7 books
Romaniv - @89 pages in 7 books

Towns Covered in Revision Lists

Upcoming Week: FGS & JGSMD

The next week will be a busy but fun one.  I'm speaking three times during the FGS Conference in Washington, DC--a great location.  If you'll be there, come say hi!  I start off on Wednesday morning with an introduction to Jewish genealogy.  If you're not sure how to start researching your Jewish ancestry, this is the talk for you!

TWO New WWII-Related Databases

Last week I wrote about a "hidden" database on Ancestry along with tips to search it, since it didn't have a typical Ancestry search page.  Well, it turns out that it wasn't hidden, it just wasn't ready for release, but Vera discovered it too soon!  And there are actually two new databases, and Vera and I only wrote about one of them.

So what are these databases and what could you find?

My Grandparents Coming to America!

New WWII Database--And A Cousin Who Survived!

Last week, Vera Miller posted about a new database, "Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947" which is on Ancestry but not easily searchable.  (Vera often posts about data sets to trace family from Ukraine and Russia; if you're not already following her blog, you should!).  Despite Ancestry setting up this data set in a way that doesn't allow you to search that database directly, I figured out a creative query workaround; I'll detail that below.  But first, here's one thing I found on a relative of mine to give you an idea of the kinds of discoveries you could make:

Lasar Rutner Survived!

Duplicate Birth Records - Different Names, Different Information, Same Person

Eastern Europe has had multiple border changes, including in the 20th century.  And that can impact how records on your ancestors were recorded.  It can also mean that vital records you find aren't original and could have information that differs from that on the original.

When my Rutner family was first recorded living in what's now Kolodne, Ukraine, they weren't anywhere near an international border.  They were in the middle of Hungary, in the province/megye of Máramaros.  But then World War I happened, and Kolodne ended up in the newly-created Czechoslovakia, right on the border with Romania.  Close cousins who used to just live a few villages away now lived in another country.  One branch of the Rutners lived in what was had been Pálosremete, Hungary, but which became (and still is) Remeţi, Romania.

I had some vital records from Remeţi, which I always thought were a bit odd.  Although they were recording births from the late 1800s & early 1900s, when the town was solidly part of Hungary, they were recorded in Romanian.  One such birth record registered the birth of an Iloni Ruttner, a second cousin four times removed, and I added Iloni to my tree.

Birth Record of Iloni Rutner, Remeţi, 1902

IAJGS 2019 - Four Talks and a SIG Meeting

We're three weeks out from IAJGS2019, which will be held in Cleveland this year (quite a difference from last year in Warsaw!)  I'll be pretty busy while there, presenting four separate times plus leading a SIG meeting.  And if you're trying to figure out how to find your family in the numerous Russian Empire records that are coming online or how to use DNA to find your family, hopefully I'll see you at one of my talks!  Here are some of the details of my presentations:

Presenting at OGS a Few Years Ago

Connecting the Farkas Line, Maybe

I recently wrote about how a DNA connection to my cousin John's mother helped us to find the connection--but that the large shared segments on the X chromosome implied that there had to be another connection.  Well, I have a new theory that might trace my Farkas line further back.  But it's still very much a theory.

Ita Farkas, Death Record, 1914

Concentration Camp Death Certificates

Did you know that in the 1950s, death certificates were issued for many (not all, by any means) of those who were killed in concentration camps?  I have found several for my relatives.  And many are searchable.

Death Certificate for Salamon Fuchs; Buchenwald; 1945

When Theories Are Wrong

Sometimes naming patterns can suggest a relationship, and you can theorize how someone is connected into your family.  But sometimes those assumptions are wrong.

More than two years ago, I wrote about Ukraine's Books of Sorrow, in which various districts of Ukraine attempted to list those killed during World War II.  (If you didn't read that post and you have relatives from what is now Ukraine, it's worth checking out the post.)  In that post, I mentioned that there was a Smil-Mozesh Ruttner (born August 14, 1928) from the town of Tyachiv who was listed as having been killed in the war.  Since my great-great grandfather Shmuel Moshe Rutner had died in nearby Kolodne in the previous month, I theorized that this Smil-Mozesh was the child of one of my great grandmother's brothers--possibly one who I hadn't yet discovered.

Visualizing your Tree - With Expected Autosomal & X DNA Shared

I've mentioned the very cool Exploring Family Trees tool before, which allows you to upload a Gedcom file and quickly visualize your family tree.  I just uploaded a new Gedcom file and noticed that some useful features have been added, which can help you understand how much DNA you may have inherited from a particular ancestor.

Descendants of Avraham Rutner, my 5th great grandfather

A Tulchin Boy, Who Befriended Presidents, Governors and More!

I've been trying to track Samuel Soupcoff and his family for years.  My grandfather had told me that the Pittsburgh Soupcoffs were related to his Pittsburgh Supkoffs, but he didn't know how.  The Soupcoffs had come to America earlier than my Supkoffs, and I was trying to find the Soupcoff town of origin.  But in most cases, they simply stated "Russia," although one of Samuel's brothers, in his name change application, said that he had been born in Bessarabia--and in other places he stated Germany.  And Samuel's father went back to visit family and said he had been in "Podolian," which would be the Podolia Guberniya where my Supkoff (then Zubkis) family was living.  But I wanted to narrow it down to a specific town to see its proximity to my family.

Because Samuel was famous, I thought that perhaps there would be more recorded about his origins.  But he either claimed he was born in Russia or Pennsylvania.  I looked in many (many) places.  Since he lived in Salt Lake City for much of his adult life, I spoke to local experts at the Family History Library, but they couldn't think of resources beyond those I'd already checked.

• Back in 2015, I wrote this post which shows that Samuel was a world-renowned mining engineer.
• In March 2016, I wrote about how Samuel's passport application had a letter of reference from the governor of Utah and and that his obituary mentioned his being a personal friend of President Hoover.  Samuel's passport application had a scrawled place of birth, and I had thought that perhaps I had identified his place of birth.

Nothing in the US gave his place of birth except for that one passport application, which was pretty much illegible.  It seemed like the Soupcoffs, despite being covered in news stories across America, didn't want their Russian Empire origins to be found.

Well, I found him.  And whatever was scrawled on that passport application was a lie.

Samuel Soupcoff Birth, 1884

A Branch that Survived!

About five weeks ago, I sent snail mail letters to some of my family's ancestral towns in Ukraine.  I tailored each for the specific town but generally asked if they had any records or photos on my family (thanks to Google Translate).  I didn't know if I'd hear anything back, but if I didn't, I'd just be out postage.

One of those letters has already come through in a big way.

Some of the letters sent to Ukraine; the one to Kolodne is the bottom one

Yom Hashoah 2019

Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) starts this evening.  For the past three years, I have listed the names of the family members I've found who were murdered in the Holocaust.  In 2018, I listed 259 relatives.  In 2019, I am listing 367.

Every year, this list grows as I find new branches of my family--and then find that multiple members of those branches were killed somewhere between 1941 & 1945.  This year I found over 100 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 367 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

Genealogy & the Power of Vaccines

I live in Baltimore, one of the places where measles (considered eradicated from the United States) has hit.  While the majority of the people I know are vaccinated and vaccinate their children, there are those who think that measles and the like are innocuous childhood diseases.  As a genealogist, I've seen how many children died before we had vaccinations.  And as an aunt to a niece who ended up in the ICU because of a vaccine-preventable disease, I've seen what the lack of herd immunity is doing.

Jewish Deaths, Volovets District, 1892

Supcoff/Soupcoff - DNA Proof

I've been trying for years to connect the Soupcoff family who ended up in Pittsburgh with my Supkoff family, who also ended up in Pittsburgh.  My grandfather had been told that they were some kind of cousins, but he didn't know how.  I've extensively researched both lines but never found that link, although it did appear that both lines had originally been Zubkis.  Recently, with records that Alex Krakovsky has been putting online, I found references to various Zubkis families.  In September, I wrote about a document I found enumerating a Zubko family in Gaysin in 1850, adjacent to the town of Kuna where my Zubkis family lived.  I was pretty sure that the Gershko who headed this household was the brother of my 4th great grandfather.

Zubka Family, 1850, Gaysin

Upcoming Talks - Boston & Chicago Areas

If you're interested in DNA, I'll be speaking in both Boston (Newton Center) and Chicago (Northbrook) in the next 2 months.

Me speaking in Toronto a few years ago

Now THAT'S a Large Segment

My parents recently took 23AndMe tests (thanks to them for humoring me yet again).  My mom's came back in record time, while my father's is still processing nearly a week after my mother's finished.  Looking at my mother's matches, there was one that looked really interesting:

My mother's shared DNA with Natalie

The Name-Changing, Town-Moving Zibkis/Zubkis/Zubko/Zubkov/Soupcoffs!

Many people talk about surname changes that happened after their ancestors emigrated to America (not at Ellis Island!).  But most assume that the family name was relatively stable in Europe and that the town from which their ancestors emigrated from was the family town for generations.  While that might be true, sometimes it's not.  As an example, let's look at my 5th great uncle Hirsh Zubkis and some of his descendants.

The first mention I have of Hirsch is in 1811, when he was a 15-year-old living with his father and brothers (no women were mentioned in this revision list) in Uman.

Zibkis Family, 1811, Uman

DNA From Which Parent?

Some of the DNA companies will tell you which side a match is from if one or both of your parents have tested with that same platform.  I'd tested with 23AndMe back in 2013, but both of my parents only just tested.  My mother's results came in today, but we're still waiting for my father's.

But since only my mother is in the system at this point, 23AndMe is looking at all of my matches and trying to predict through which parent we are connected.  Well, this might work really well if you're not from an endogamous population, but if you are, it isn't so helpful.

My closest matches on 23AndMe.  Check out the prediction between each relationship--all on the mother's side!

A DNA Connection--Or Rather, Connection_s_!

Back in November 2018, I was going through my 23AndMe results.  Because I'm 100% Jewish, endogamy causes me to have a ton of predicted close matches, so I was concentrated on those with open sharing, so that I could look at the size of our largest shared segment as well as those where known relatives who have tested also shared a large total amount of DNA.  One of the people I messaged was MC.

Message Sent to MC in November 2018

Hungarian Vital Records from MACSE, for English Speakers

MACSE is the Hungarian Society for Family Research.  If you have family who lived in Hungary, it's a great (and growing) resource for finding records on your family.  MACSE has been indexing thousands of Hungarian vital (and other) records which are not indexed anywhere else.  While some limited searching can be done for free, you can join MACSE for $30 a year to get access to everything that they have indexed.  If you have Hungarian ancestry, this is one of the best deals around.  But it takes a bit of experimenting for English speakers to figure out how to best leverage what it has.

Marriage of Pepi Ruttner (my grandmother's second cousin) to Gyula Neuman; August 1945

Holocaust Deaths - Registered Post-War

Many of those killed in the Holocaust did not have their deaths registered at that time.  However, in many cases, their deaths were officially registered post-war by surviving family members or friends.

Death of Nachman & Perl Feintuch

My Great-Great Uncle's Marriage

My great grandmother had a brother named Mendel Fuchs.  Until I got civil vital records from his hometown of Dulovo (then Dulfalva), I didn't even know he existed.  Since that time, I discovered that he was born in 1900 and that he was murdered in Dachau in November 1944--and was even issued a death certificate.

But I didn't know what happened in between, although I did know from Dachau records that he'd been deported from Khust.  However, since many Jews were taken from their villages to Khust before final deportation, I wasn't sure where he lived as an adult.  But now I have some records from Khust, and guess who I found!

Mendel Fuchs Marriage, 1934

Hungarian Civil Records on FamilySearch

FamilySearch has been adding more and more transcriptions (and books) for towns in what was the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary.  Even if you don't have family in areas directly covered by FamilySearch's holdings, you may still find relatives, including those who moved to Budapest from quite a distance away.  (These records cover people of all religions.)

Death of Chajem Ruttner

Divorces in the Shtetl - Reasons

Last week I wrote about the number of divorces in the town of Nezhin in the Russian Empire--and how it was so much more than I'd expected.  As a certified (certifiable?) geek, I ran the numbers.

But first, I did note why people were divorcing.  And there were some interesting reasons.

Nezhin Divorce:  He was unable to earn a living

Divorces in the Shtetl - Frequency

Recently, I've been involved in several conversations about the divorce rate in America's Jewish community.  Many people say that there was essentially no such thing as divorce in Eastern Europe and that this is purely a function of American society; they imagine shtetl life to have been some sort of utopia.

Before you read further, guess what percentage of marriages in Europe ended in divorce.  And see how close your guess is to reality.

Because the vital records for Nezhin's Jewish community are largely intact from the late 1850s through the Russian Revolution, I decided to look at the ratio of divorces to marriages each year in that town.  (You can browse through these record books online yourself; information on what is available with links can be found here.)

What I learned about that is below; I also took note of the reasons for the various divorces, which are interesting enough to merit their own future post (so stay tuned).

Nezhin Divorce:  Because he was blind

Philadelphia Bank Passage Order Books

A great resource on JewishGen--one that applies to immigrants of all religions, not just those who were Jewish--are the Philadelphia Bank Passage Order Books.  Relatives already in the United States could save up money to bring over relatives or friends still in Europe and arrange for their passage through various immigrant banks.

A combined effort between the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia indexed surviving books, and they can be invaluable for finding your relatives.  Even if your immediate family did not end up in Philadelphia, you may find that other family members did.  In fact, I recently found some of my own relatives that way:

Chaje Zupkiss Bank Passage Order, 1895

mtDNA Success!!

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed down the direct maternal line.  mtDNA mutates very infrequently, so people (especially people from closed communities like Ashkenazim) tend to have dozens--or hundreds--of exact mtDNA matches, and those matches may be from common ancestors hundreds or more years back.  Some people dismiss mtDNA as being of much genealogical use.  But sometimes it can help you find another branch of your family, and it's just done that for me.  (And as I was in the middle of writing this, Roberta Estes posted about her own recent mtDNA success.)

Back in the summer of 2016, I wrote about how my mother had only one exact mitochondrial match, a man named Michael.  At the time, I noticed that while Michael was an exact match, they both had over 200 matches with one mutation's difference from both of them.  (Two-and-a-half years later, Michael is still my mother's only exact match, and they have over 380 matches with one mutation.)  In 2016, I recognized the name of one of those 200 distance-one matches and asked her how many exact matches she had.  It turned out that every one of those distance-one matches was an exact match to her mtDNA.  So I hypothesized that Michael and my mother were descended from one woman who relatively recently had a mutation that differentiated her mtDNA from the mtDNA shared by those 200+ people

My mother's mtDNA matches in 2016

RootsTech for Jewish Genealogists

It's almost that time of year--RootsTech is coming!  And while Utah isn't the first place one would think of for Jewish genealogy, there's so much that RootsTech offers the Jewish genealogist.

(Note:  If you're coming or thinking about coming, keep reading to learn about a dinner for Jewish genealogists.)

Just a tiny portion of the HUGE exhibit hall

Zubkis Family to 1755; Another Bit of Evidence

A few years ago I found what looked like my Zubkis family living in Uman in 1811.  This fall, I found another piece of evidence demonstrating that the 1811 family was, indeed, my great-great-great-great-great (yes, 5 greats) grandfather, listed with his five sons in Uman (the census was of males only).  If I could prove that this family was actually mine, then I would have traced the Zubkis family back to 1755, the approximate year of birth for my presumed 5th great grandfather.

And now I have another piece of evidence still that points to this being my family.  And this, like many recent successes, has been due to having Alex Krakovsky's wiki with scans from Ukrainian archives being consistently added.

1903 Kuna Households List, Zubkis Family #29 (males)