The World's Only Jewish Christening

Harry Zitelman, my grandfather's first cousin, was born in Frederick, Maryland in 1913.  His parents were Morris (Moshe) and  Rebecca Zitelman, both of who were immigrants from near what is now Lutsk, Ukraine.

102 years ago this week, the infant Harry's bris (circumcision ceremony) made the local Frederick newspaper.  And it's clear from the article that Jewish rituals were not well-understood in Frederick!

The (Frederick, Maryland) News; October 27, 1913

International Tracing Service Came Through! Paul Diamond's Displaced Persons Records

Over a year ago, I contacted the International Tracing Service (ITS) to see if they had information on my grandfather during or after WWII.  I had forgotten that I even submitted the request--and was pleasantly surprised to get multiple documents from them, tracing my grandfather's life after WWII finished until he left Europe for America.  My grandmother's account of those years can be seen here.

Pejsach Diment Alien Registration, December 13, 1945

Adolph Rutner, Documents Galore

Adolph Rutner was the brother of my great grandmother, Esther Rutner Joshowitz and her only blood relative (besides her children) with her in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.  When Adolph came to America, he brought along many documents from Europe--and his son Emile gave me copies of them back in the early 1990s.

Adolph was born Abraham Rutner in what is now Dulovo, Transcarpathia, Ukraine--part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire when he was born in 1894.

By 1914, he was living in Budapest, and he had to apply for official permission to live there.

Abraham Rutner Temporary License; Budapest; 1914

I'm Going Sanshuck Tracking....

Many researchers have to take family names and figure out from an Americanized version, what the name had been in Europe.  However, this is an example of having to go the other way--and how changing up traditional search techniques can help solve a problem.

Sanshuck is a very uncommon name.  It is also the maiden name of my great-great grandmother, Zlata Tzipra Sanshuck Supkoff.  Based on the metrical records I have from her hometown of Krasnoye, Ukraine (near Vinnitsa), it appears that all of Krasnoye's Sanshucks are descended from one person, Yisrael Sanshuck.

I found ship manifests for two Sanshuck brothers from Krasnoye:

Itzko Schinzuk Ship Manifest; Liverpool->Maine; March 1911

Finding Eastern European Records - Collection of Posts

Finding records from Eastern Europe can be challenging--but it isn't impossible.  This series of blog posts covers some strategies to help you locate where records may exist.  Do you have other ideas that weren't covered?  Please mention them in this post's comments!

Finding Eastern European Records, Part 1 (LDS Microfilms)

 

 

 

 

Sonia Diamond Holocaust Reparations Application

After surviving the Holocaust and coming to America, my grandmother Sonia Diamond applied for reparations from the German government.  My father tells me that my grandparents did get reparations--and they turned the money around straight to charity.  The following is the content of her 1950 application.

Finding Eastern European Records, Part 7 - Other Sources for Documents (and Beyond the Records)

I've often been asked how I find so many documents from various parts of Eastern Europe--many of which have appeared in blog posts.  This is the seventh in what will be a series of posts describing how to find Eastern European records for your own ancestors; the entire series can be seen here.

This post will concentrate on places to find not only documents beyond those already discussed, but also information about the towns or cities in which you family lived to be able to get a better understanding of their lives in Europe.  If you know of additional sources, please leave them in the comments!

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum located in Jerusalem, is also a resource to learn about those who were killed and the towns in which they lived.  Yad Vashem's searchable database of Pages of Testimony can give insight into your relatives, and potentially help you locate more distant relatives who survived to fill out the pages.  They also have significant repositories of photographs, documents, and other information here.

Yad Vashem Page of Testimony for Dovid Eizik Eizikovic, my great grandfather's first cousin