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Nu?
What's New? Gary Mokotoff, Editor Volume 14, Number 20 | May 19, 2013 Every
government puts value on preserving its history. That is why we have
national archives. Genealogy preserves history; the history of a
family. It cannot be done without access to records, just as historians
cannot preserve a nation's history without access to records. It is a
greater good than the right to privacy. It is a greater good than the
risk of identity theft.
Past issues of Nu? What's New? are
archived at http://www.avotaynu.com/nu.htm
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PBS To Air
“Genealogy Roadshow”
 The
Public Broadcasting System (PBS) will add a new series,
“Genealogy Roadshow,” to its Fall lineup. Four
programs are scheduled to air Mondays, September 23–October
14, 9–10 pm Eastern Time from Nashville, Austin, Detroit and
San Francisco. Experts in genealogy, history and DNA testing will use information provided by participants such as family heirlooms, letters, pictures, historical documents and other clues to hunt down information. These experts will enlist the help of local historians to add color and context to the investigations, ensuring every artifact and every name becomes a clue in solving the mystery. Participants have not yet been chosen, so residents of Austin, Detroit, Nashville and San Francisco are invited to submit their personal stories that need solving. “Genealogy Roadshow” is not a new concept. It has been on Irish television for some time. Additional information, including how to participate, can be found at http://www.pbs.org/about/news/archive/2013/genealogy-roadshow-natl. European Holocaust Research Infrastructure Adds New Tool A new tool for researchers is now available on the website of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure. It is called “EHRI National Reports.” It provides for 47 countries an historical overview of the Holocaust period and a description of what archives in the country have Holocaust-related material. Finally, there are published works cited that provide information about the Holocaust period. A description of the project is at http://www.ehri-project.eu/drupal/national-reports-on-website. JewishGen Memorial Plaque Project  JewishGen
wants to grow its Memorial Plaque Project. This is a database primarily
of plaques placed on a memorial board on synagogue walls. Also known as
“yahrzeit plaques,” they exist to memorialize
relatives, usually parents or siblings. On the anniversary of the
person’s death (yahrzeit), the plaque is illuminated by two
small lights on each side. The name is read to the congregation at the
Sabbath service before the yahrzeit (reckoned by the Hebrew calendar).
These plaques are of genealogical value because they usually include
the name of the deceased, date of death reckoned by both the secular
and Jewish calendars and the person’s religious name, which
includes the name of the person’s father (above example:
Chaim ben [son of] Meir.).If you would like to submit files and or photos for a pre-conference Memorial Plaque Project update, the schedule is as follows: • May 15 – June 2. Accepting all files and emails. • June 3 – June 19. Black-out period. Do not send any photos or files. Emails will not be answered. • June 20 – June 23 Final chance to submit photos and files for pre-conference update. Information on how to submit data can be found at http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Memorial/Submit.htm. The database is at http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Memorial. Book: Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents  Roger
Minert, a professional genealogist who focuses on German research, has
updated his book, Deciphering Handwriting in German
Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Historical
Manuscripts. The book includes a short history of
handwriting styles in Germany; detailed separate methodologies for
deciphering German, Latin, and French vital records; a computerized
alphabet for old German characters; and the application of the reverse
alphabetical index in the deciphering process. Other features of this revised and expanded Second Edition are: • In-depth examinations of the Fraktur, Gothic, and Latin alphabets • Extensive techniques for analyzing texts • 44 new documents from many subject areas • Nearly 200 sample texts from genuine historical documents • A new computer font more closely resembling the handwriting of original documents • Lists of genealogical terms in German, Latin, and French (both alphabetical and reverse alphabetical) The book can be ordered from Family Roots Publishing for $27.44 plus shipping. The site is http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/store/product_view.php?id=2490. MyHeritage Introduces “Record Detective” MyHeritage has added a feature to their record search capability called “Record Detective.” As described by them, when you identify a record of interest in their collection of historical records, Record Detective will provide a summary of additional records in their collection about the person, or about people related to that person. This can be either a bane or a blessing in your research. For the more advanced researcher, the feature would be a disadvantage, because it will make the person aware of records s/he already knows of. For example, locating a person in the 1940 U.S. census might produce a result showing that the person was also found in the 1930 and 1920 censuses. The reaction of the advanced researcher might be that the records are known, yet it might be new information to the beginner. Information about the feature can be found at http://tinyurl.com/RecordDetectiveX. Site Provides Pictorial History of Vilna Ghetto A new website, http://reVILNA.org, provides a history of the Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania) ghetto from its creation in September 1941 to its liquidation in September 1943. A map identifies more than two hundred points of historical significance, includes hundreds of photographs, and includes narratives on such subjects as Judenrat, Life in the Ghetto, Resistance, Art & Culture, and Health & Education. One of the participants in the project is YIVO Institute. Findmypast.com Offers Access to Its Military Records at No Charge In honor of U.S. Memorial Day, Findmypast.com is providing access to its 26 million U.S. and international military records at no charge from Thursday, May 23 to Monday, May 27. Access to the records requires registration. Normally the company provides records on a paid subscription basis or pay-as-you-go. FamilySearch Additions for the Week  Recent
additions to FamilySearch, both indexes and browseable images, can be
found at https://familysearch.org/node/2179.
This site provides direct links to the individual collections. They
include records from Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Italy, Peru, South
Africa, Spain and the U.S. states of Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois
New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Few have relevance to Jewish
family history research, but it takes only a few moments to browse the
list to see if there is an item of interest.Note that at the website announced collections may not be complete for the dates specified and will be added at some later date. Also note that counts shown are the number added, not the total number available in the collection.
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| Nu?
What's New?
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by Avotaynu, Inc. Copyright 2013, Avotaynu, Inc. All rights reserved To change an e-mail address, send a request to nuwhatsnew@earthlink.net To subscribe to AVOTAYNU, The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, go to http://www.avotaynu.com/journal.htm To order books from our catalog, go to http://www.avotaynu.com/catalog.htm To contact us by postal mail, write: Avotaynu, Inc.; 155 N. Washington Ave.; Bergenfield, NJ 07621 Telephone (U.S.) : 201-387-7200 |
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