Russian Assumptions, Jewish Solutions (Podcast Ep: 201)

Hittin' The Bricks with Kathleen: a Genealogy Podcast 

In 2018, Kathleen Brandt was a founding member of the  Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Kansas City (JGS-GKC). Then, the pandemic hit, and the organization did not withhold its membership. What a lost to the community. 

However this tragedy did not stop our yearn for uncovering our Jewish Ancestors. So, when Roni Kaufman called in to share her family I was excited to stumble upon the fact that they were Russian Jewish. I dusted off the archival papers and refreshed using earlier blog posts, and updated links.  Here, I'm sharing the full show notes of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen, S:2; Ep201, entitled Russian Assumptions, Jewish Solutions.   Be sure to listen, and share your thoughts and feedback.

E201 On this first episode of Season 2, Roni Kaufman joins Kathleen for a session that sorts out four Samuels, the Salvation Army, and why assumptions are the arch enemies of genealogy heros.

Research Sites/ Repositories

Jewish South Bronx

My #1 mantra on where to begin: "Before going national, start local." The Kaufman project took us to the Bronx, NY Jewish community.  

Bronx, NY, and New York State

• Bronx Jewish Synagogues: http://www.bronxsynagogues.org/ic/bronxsyn/survey.html
• Jewish Genealogy Society of NY: https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main
• NY – NARA: New York National Archives may hold naturalization records. https://www.archives.gov/nyc

One of the things I quickly learned through Kaufman research is posted trees meshed 3-4 Samuel Kaufman's as one person. To begin, unscrambling trees was vital. This was done by pulling as many vital records as possible in order to identify parents, siblings and children. This also gives the research a glimpse at community practices. 

• NYC Dept of Vital Records: https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search

National Jewish Resources

A community near you may have a local Jewish Genealogy Society.

• National Jewish Gen: https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/jgform.php
• Familysearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bsubject%3Ajewish
• Familysearch Wiki: Russia Jewish Records https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russia_Jewish_Records
• fold3.com: may have the naturalization records of parents or holder siblings born in Russia. This database is most often free through your library card.
• USCIS. For naturalization records after Sep 1906; some ship manifests https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-639.pdf

Other Resources 

• Research Orthodox Church in America (OCA) https://blog.a3genealogy.com/2012/06/research-orthodox-church-in-america-oca.html
• 7 Steps to Begin Jewish Genealogical Research
• https://blog.a3genealogy.com/2018/01/7-steps-to-begin-your-jewish-research.html

And be sure to follow the a3Genealogy blog for a full blog post on this topic and follow us on 
Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen.