Finding out if a surname is Jewish

Cindy asked

My maiden name is Martz and I have been trying to find out if that name is Jewish. Could you help me with that please?

OLIVE TREE ANSWER: Dear Cindy. I don't suggest trying to determine if a name is Jewish without actually tracing the family back in time. In other words, follow established genealogy research methods by starting with yourself and continuing back through each generation.

Along the way, at some point you should find evidence of Jewish background IF it exists! For instance in a census you may find a notation that the family is Jewish. Or you may find it in a marriage, death or birth record.

Just start searching and see what turns up!

Finding a Jewish ancestor

Dan's Question:

My wife’s great grandfather’s last years and his death are somewhat of a mystery. I hope you can assist. He was Louis Rubenstein.
While I have some specific dates about him in Chicago, here’s the jist.
He lived with his wife Henrietta Pearlstein in Chicago, raising four children.
She died in childbirth with the last child, he placed a couple into an orphanage in Cleveland, and tried raising the older two. He retrieved the two in the orphanage “with his new wife” around 1882. And, that’s the last we heard of him.

The family believes that he and his new wife moved to New York City and died in a Jewish home for the elderly there around 1920, or so.I’d like your advice in one major area now: find his re-marriage and new wife’s info; and also where/when did he die.

I’m eager to access the various Homes-for-the-elderly’s resident records, around 1920. How can I do this, and what recommendation do you have??

Olive Tree Answer:
Dear Dan - Unfortunately, there are no readily available records of Homes for the Elderly. There being no Medicare, no Social Security, no federal programs for the elderly, official documents are not to be found. Additionally, there were few assisted-living facilities: most folks simply moved in with their children.

You will have to rely upon traditional research avenues to find Louis and his new family.

The Illinois State archives has pre-1900 marriages online. If he married in Illinois you can obtain the marriage information. You will have to spend some time there, as the Search function is precise: no soundex, no miracode.

Likewise the information for the death of Henrietta may be found there (if she died in Illinois, it is possible that they moved after April 1880 census).

Have you looked at City Directories for Chicago and Cleveland? There must have been a reason for him to have chosen a Cleveland orphanage. Both Footnote,com and
Ancestry.com have City Directories.

Follow the known children. Obtain their census, marriage, death records. When you find a birthdate for Maurice, you will (presumably) have an approximate date for Henrietta's death. I use the census records on
Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online. You may find other sites that have the census records you need.

Louis and his new wife may be living with one of those children; and if his new wife was younger than he, they could have more children. And the data collected on those kids will supply a maiden name for the second wife.

It will be quite a challenge to find the correct Louis Rubenstein in 1920 NYC census if you do not have additional information at hand. Can I assume you have consulted Jewish Gen for help with Jewish genealogy records such as Senior Homes?

Finding the shtetl where an ancestor came from

MR asked

I am trying to locate the shtetl my grandmother, Fannie (Fanny) Cohen Yudien (Yudin) came from.

Fannie was born February 12,1893 and according to family information, she came to the U.S. when she was about 5 years old from Russia/Poland. Her father's name was Morris and her mother's name is unknown. Her stepmother's name was Jennie (Chainie/Shayne/Jenney) Meyerson.

According to (April 22) 1910 US Federal Census Records (for Morris F. Cohen): Fannie (they have her listed as Frances, but I think the census taker must have confused her with my grandfather's stepchildren because "Fannie" is listed as only 6, (but my grandmother was born in 1893) and I know this Census was taken after my grandfather's second marriage to Jenny (it says, "M2" indicating second marriage, married for "0" years) and "Fannie" not "Frances" was about 17 years old. The 6 year old must have been Jennie's child from her first marriage. [I saw her in 1920 Census Report as Fanny Meyerson]). They listed Fannie (my grandmother) as coming in 1899 from Russia, "Pol" (Poland?) was crossed out. Evidently Morris re-married some time between 1909-10.

According to 1920 US Federal Census Records (for Morris Cohen): Her father, Morris Cohen, came from Russia in 1895. (If Fannie arrived in 1899, did she come with her mother a few years after her father emigrated?)

According to the 1930 US Federal Census (for Sam and Fannie Yudien): Fannie was born in Poland. Because of the discrepancy of point of origin--Russia or Poland, I assume the shtetl was near the Polish/Russian border of the time (late 1800's).

According to my grandfather, Sam Yudien's, Petition For Naturalization in 1918, Fannie was born in "Ustalenky, Russia" (is this a shetl or a region/province?). I assume that this location was written phonetically because I can't find this location. On JewishGen.org, in searching for shtetls, I found similar names (at least similar to my American ear!): Ust'Tsilenskiy Rayon (region of Republic of Komki, Russia, 825.8 miles from Moskow) and Ustye-Zelenoye (in the Ukraine). I used a text-to-speech reader, Expressivo online to listen to the pronunciation. However, neither of these locations are near the Polish border.

So, my questions: 1. How do I find the real shetl and how do I find a family that has a very common last name (Cohen) in the Russian Empire?

2. How do I locate the ship Fannie/Morris arrived on? I have gone into the immigration/ships listings found on Ancestry.com, but there are so many Morris Cohen's, and I couldn't find anything that would match the criteria for Fannie (or Fannie) Cohen. (as an additional note, besides Meyer and Clara (born in U.S.), my grandmother had a full brother, Charlie Cohen, probably born in Russia also).

Olive Tree Answer:

The last sentence was the most important. No matter how impartial we strive to be, it is a fact that it is far easier to trace men than women.

I suggest you follow the brother Charles. Or whatever his original first name was. You may want to read my post "Finding an Ancestor Who Disappears

Find the 1900 census for the Morris Cohen family. This may be crucial as Morris' first wife may be there. If she is, then you can work on the assumption that she died in NY, and look for her death information. I use the census records on
Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online.

You should also look for Morris' second marriage license. Occasionally, people did fill in their actual birthplaces.

Did Morris or Charles apply for naturalizations? Footnote.com has Naturalization Records online. Also see NaturalizationRecords.com website for free Naturalization Records and other citizenship papers

And do not assume a birthplace of Russia or Poland or anything in between until you have exhausted all other avenues of research. Reigns and realms and borders changed; names of countries changed; people supplied whatever answer to the census-taker they thought expedient.

Finding out if Balamonte is a Jewish name

Peter's Question:

My dad is Jacob Baiamonte who was born in Palermo, Sicily. My grandmother contends we are Jewish but my father says she
nuts...because we are all Catholics.

I have been DNA tested by FamilyTreeDna (Dr. Bennett Greenspan) in response to my grandmother's allegations...and the results show that grandma was correct...because I have all the genetic markers of the Cohanin and Jewish people.

My question: Where do I go from here? None of the names of my family are typically Jewish names and we have deep roots in Italy. I have the family records back to the late 1600's and all the name are Italian and Catholic. How can I have someone go into the archives of the Cathedral in Palermo and dig farther back...and also check the tax and notary records. I don't know any genealogists there.

Ask Olive Answer Hello Peter - That's an interesting bit of family lore. There are quite a large number of Jewish families in Italy who have been required by circumstances to outwardly adopt other religions.

As you have family records "back to the 1600s" you should be able to find evidence of this, if it exists: adult baptisms, or civil registrations for births and marriages. If your information indicates Catholic records all the way back, then your quest for your Jewish origins will be a difficult one. Many records were destroyed during World War II; those few Jewish records which survived are now held in Israel.

The JewishGen organization has many resources which might help you, including the Jewish Family Finder. There you will be able to search by surname and by location.

The LDS has films of civil registrations for the Palermo area from 1820 to 1908 for births, marriages and deaths; some years are indexed.

How to Obtain Complete Details from an index-only database

M. R. asked

I am trying to figure out if the birth record that I found on ancestry.com and listed below could be my great uncle's (Morris Yudin/Judin) or one of his brother's (Sam/Shamer, Abraham/Abram, Israel/Yrael) because the year is approximately right. (according to Morris's marriage certificate he was born in 1877) I believe the family was originally from Sharkovshchina (the American pronunciation of the family's original home was "Sharkoytzin" according to my uncle), part of the former Empire of Russia in the late 19th C., but present day in Belarus. I just found out that the father's name for the above men was Yehuda Leib Judin/Yudin (Lewis/Louis in English) and the mother's maiden name was Malka (Mollie) Shapiro (I don't know the Russian equivalent of Shapiro).

I would like to know:

1. Would a child born in one location have a birth registered in a location about 115 miles away at that time?

2. more information about that particular index entry, ie child's first name, parents name's, etc.

3. What is "Yehuda"?? the first name, the patronym or something else? On naturalization records/marriage records the father's name was only listed as Leib, but family just told me about the "yehuda" part, although there was an illegible word on a ship manifest before the word, Leib (you commented on this in a June 3 response, Tips on reading handwriting in old documents)

Thank you again for your help.
Jewish Gem

Belarus: Mogilev Male Birth Index, 1862-1893
about Yudin
Last Name: Yudin
Father: Leiba
Birth Year: 1879
Index: 248

Olive Tree Answer: Hello again! As always you have written a very concise and easy to follow query, so I thank you! I have left your query intact but am only going to answer questions #1 & #2 today.

Re #1 - The short answer is "yes". Anything is possible. The couple may have taken their newborn child to visit family and then decided to register the birth. There could be any number of reasons why a child's birth might be registered some distance from its home.

Re #2 - Whenever you find a database, whether it is online or in a book or on microfilm, always read the Source Information. Sometimes this is in the preface or at the end of the database. You have to look around for it but somewhere there should be an explanation of what the database contains, and how you can obtain full details if it is an index.

In this case if you go to Ancestry.com and use their Card Catalogue to get to the specific search page for Belarus: Mogilev Male Birth Index, 1862-1893 you will find your answer. Under the search box, there is a paragraph titled Source Information, then a paragraph titled About Belarus: Mogilev Male Birth Index, 1862-1893 and lastly this statement

Where to go from here:
For more information about this database, please visit the JewishGen website:
Mogilev Birth Index for Boys, 1864-1894

There is a clickable link to the website and a very complete explanation of how to obtain the full birth record. Please keep us informed as to how your search is progressing!

Looking for Jewish Records

Marcia asked:

I've been following the interesting questions and have one of my own. I've been trying to find marriage information about my paternal grandparents. Hit the brick wall. I've contacted, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, looked at the indexed records to no avail. I have found them on a number of US Census records and think they were married in 1887 in Philadelphia, PA. Pretty sure about the place. I was hoping the marriage license would give some other information about them. They came over single at the time around 1882-1884 from Hungary. We feel fairly certain they arrived at the port of Philadelphia, PA. Grandfather's name on his naturalization cert reads: Mores Schlessinger. Later the spelling on all other documents is Morris W. Schlesinger. Grandmother's name is Rose Braun or Rosa Braun. She may have also used her middle name of Rachel. They were probably married in a Philadelphia synagogue. Thank you for any help or steering me in the right direction.

OliveTree Answer: Hi Marcia. I'm afraid I am not very familiar with Jewish records and this is when I wish I had Guest Responders standing by!

I do have an idea though which I hope will help you. You say that you found Morris' Naturalization Certificate. I found his Petition to naturalize online on Footnote.com but not his actual certificate. He petitioned in Pennsylvania in September 1895 but before 1906, the declaration of intent generally contains more genealogically useful information than the petition. Petitions before 1906 usually show only a name, former allegiance, and date of naturalization. The declaration may include the alien's exact date of immigration into the United States. Have you found his actual declaration?

I would also look for Synagogues in the area where you know Morris lived. Check for any records of his children's births as well as his marriage. Have you been to JewishGen website? If not you should go as you may find some help there. There is a Hungary database as well as many other genealogy records and help.

Finding Russian Jewish immigration in Naturalization Records

On Jan. 3/09 Irene asked : (Jewish) Grandpa Harry STONE
b. Russia Feb 1887 (WWI draft card, Orchard St)
d. Jan 1945 Manhattan (d cert, W 21st St)
m. Oct 1915 (m cert, civil, he living E 12th St)

4 kids Alice, Lillie, Harry, Wm (1920, 1930 censuses LES) - only censuses found him on. Conflicting arrival dates on censuses (1901, 1905 I think) www.ellisisland.org has 1 (Jewish) Harry STONE, Russian bricklayer, ~ 1905 how to be sure?

MY ANSWER: Hi Irene. You've asked some good questions and given me lots of details so that I can try to help you. You'll notice your query is edited, as I wanted to begin with one question. So let's start with the census. I had a look and in the 1930 census, Harry's immigration year is given as 1895, in 1920 it is 1901. Immigration years are one of the most MIS-remembered years of all, so you can't completely believe what is on the census. Always search a year or two on either side of years given.

In any case, a very important clue in these census records is the information on citizenship and naturalization. In 1920 Harry says he has his first papers (PA) and that he received them in 1915. In 1930 he is naturalized. This means that between 1915 and 1930 there should be naturalization papers for him.

Footnote.com has Naturalization Records from NARA so I had a look on your behalf. Bingo!

Harry's Naturalization Petition of June 1922 is online, as is his Oath of Allegiance. He gives his date of birth (Feb. 12, 1887), place of birth (looks like Grodno, Russia), his wife's name, date and place of birth, his three children's names, dates and locations of birth and his arrival year and name of ship.

He sailed from Liverpool to New York in January 1898 arriving February 1898 on board what looks like Nicholas II. You can see for yourself by either subscribing to Footnote or simply purchasing this specific document. IT's very reasonable to buy one document and you could get both his naturalization paper and his oath of allegiance.

The source information for Harry's Naturalization Petition is Naturalization New York Southern Petitions for Naturalization of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944. This link will take you directly to the search engine for these documents and you can type in Harry's name to see his records.

Before 1906, the declaration of intent generally contains more genealogically useful information than the petition. Petitions before 1906 usually show only a name, former
allegiance, and date of naturalization. This is an interesting example, because in your case, Harry's Petition shows quite a bit of information. You may want to think about a couple of things though -- if Harry is accurate regarding the year he arrived, he was only 9 years old. That means he likely came with family - parents or an aunt or uncle or someone older.

I say "if Harry was accurate..." because before 1906, an immigrant's arrival record did not have to be verified. (after 1906 officials had to locate the actual passenger record before the individual could naturalize). Because Harry's did not need verification, there is the chance he is wrong. But I would use what he says as clues to help you find that ships' passenger list.

I also would think about his name. Harry Stone is not a Russian name. So - try to find out what Russian or Jewish first name might convert to Harry. You mentioned in your email query that family lore states his surname was perhaps originally Sagendorf. I'd hunt under that name too.

JewishGen has resourcess for Grodno which might be helpful to you.

Hopefully my findings have left you some good clues to look in other resources. Good luck! I enjoyed the challenge.