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Jewish Genealogy Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Using This Outline
Jewish Search Strategies
Step 1. Identify What You Know About Your Family
Step 2. Decide What You Want To Learn
Step 3. Select A Record To Search
Step 4. Use The Internet
Step 5. Find And Search The Record
Step 6. Use The Information
Finding Jewish Records In The Family History Library Catalog
Subject Search
Locality Search Or Place Search
Keyword Search
Archives And Libraries
Yivo Institute
Leo Baeck Institute
Holocaust Memorial Museums
Other Libraries And Archives
Historical And Genealogical Societies
Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
Biography
Individual Biographies
Compiled Biographies
Jewish Biographies
Business Records And Commerce
Cemeteries
Records At The Family History Library
Funeral Home Records
Census
Census Indexes
Searching Census Records
Census Records At The Family History Library
Chronology
Church Records
Finding Church Records
Civil Registration
General Historical Background
Information Recorded In Civil Registers
Births
Marriages
Deaths
Locating Civil Registration Records
Records At The Family History Library
Obtaining Civil Registration Records Not At The Family History Library
Concentration Camps
Court Records
Directories
Divorce Records
Emigration And Immigration
Encyclopedias And Dictionaries
Gazetteers
General Gazetteers
Country-specific Gazetteers
Jewish Gazetteers
Genealogy
Major Collections And Databases
Family Histories
Genealogical Collections
Genealogical Indexes
Research Coordination
Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)
Inquisition
Jewish History
Local Histories
Jewish Records
An Austrian Example
Locating Jewish Records
Language And Languages
Hebrew Alphabet
Language Aids
Maps
Using Maps
Finding The Specific Place On The Map
Finding Maps And Atlases
Military Records
Austrian Military Records
Minorities
Names, Personal
Surnames
Sephardic Surnames
Ashkenazic Surnames
Given Names
Other Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
Appendix A - Glossary
A biography is a history of a person’s life. In a biography you may find the individual’s birth, marriage, and death information and the names of his or her parents, spouse, children, or other family members. Biographies can include descriptions of family traditions, places where he or she has lived, military service, and activities within the community; stories; photographs; and clues about an ancestor’s place of origin. Use this information carefully because there may be inaccuracies.
Biographies are divided into two types: individual and compiled. In addition to general biographies, which often include Jews, there are also Jewish specific biographies.
Thousands of biographies have been written about specific people; copies may be at local historical societies and libraries. Public libraries have lists of published biographies for many countries. If there is research outline for the country or state where your ancestor lived, see the “Biography” section of the outline.
The Family History Library has acquired some individual biographies. These are listed in the Surname Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the individual’s name. Also contact other family members for unpublished life histories they may know of.
Compiled biographies, sometimes called biographical encyclopedias or dictionaries, contain biographical sketches that have been collected and published. These are generally collected according to a particular theme, such as prominent individuals in a particular country, state, or county. One example is:
Konopczyski, Wadysaw. Polski Sownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Dictionary). Kraków: Polska Akademia Nauk 1935–1974. (FHL book 943.8 D36p; film 1044531–1044549).
Other compiled biographies are for specific professions (such as: The Courts and Lawyers of New Jersey, 1661–1912) or other themes.
Jewish specific biographies include biographies of prominent or well-known Jewish citizens of a particular country. Others feature biographies of specific groups of people such as:
Spira, Roman. Rabbis and Jewish Scholars in Poland in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. [S.l.]: R. Spira, 1985. (FHL book 943.8 F2sr.)
Examples of biographical collections of Jews compiled by location include:
The Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry: Biographies. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999. (FHL book 947 D36e.)
Jewish Biographical Archive/Jüdisches biographisches Archiv on 781 microfiche. New York City: K.G. SAUR Verlag, 1994–1996. (FHL microfiche 6137099–6137108, 6142109–6142116, and 6144954–6144980.)
Levi, John Simon. The Forefathers: A Dictionary of the Jews of Australia, 1788–1830. Sydney: The Australian Historical Society, 1976. (FHL book 994 D3lj.)
Wininger, Salomon. Grosse jüdische National- Biographie: mit mehr als 8000 Lebensbeschreibungen namhafter jüdischer Männer und Frauen aller Zeiten und Länder; ein Nachschlagewerk für das jüdische Volk und dessen Freunde (The Great Jewish National Biography: with more than 8000 Biographies of Prominent Jewish Men and Women of All Ages and for All Countries: a Reference Work for the Jewish People and their Friends). Zug, Switzerland: Inter Documentation AG, 1975 (FHL film 1608860–01 and 1608864; fiche 6041316 [83 fiche].)
Many major libraries, including the Family History Library, have excellent collections and indexes of national and regional compiled biographies. These libraries can help you locate additional biographical sources listed in published bibliographies. To find biographies at the Family History Library, check the Family History Library Catalog.
You can also find biographical information in local histories and encyclopedias and dictionaries. See “History” and “Encyclopedias and Dictionaries” in this outline and in outlines for other countries and states you are researching.
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BIOGRAPHY
Individual Biographies
Compiled Biographies
Jewish Biographies
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/21/2001]