Exploring the shaky leaves, discovering family, and sharing stories
One of the first mysteries I encountered when first starting my research into my family history has still not been solved. Maybe you can help by looking at the facts and sharing your thoughts, interpreting the incomplete documentation, or seeing if you find something I've missed.
The Yeruslavitz family migrated from Romania to Canada and to various locations throughout the United States.
Thanks to Ancestry.com DNA matches, artful sleuthing on FamilySearch, and a bit of luck, I've discovered dozens of "new" cousins, descendants of my third great grandparents, Wolf Steckler and Pearl.
Jewish headstones in cemeteries can provide a large number of clues for researchers of family history and genealogy. Here's an explanation of everything you might encounter.
Years ago I struggled with conflicting information about second great grandmother, Eliza Sturmwald Lustig, and the name of her mother. On Eliza's death certificate, her mother is listed as Charlotte Newmann. On her ma
The Berman family emigrated from Odessa, destined for the United States, at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Order marriage licenses and affidavits from New York City, not just marriage certificates using new online indexes.
Confirmed! My third great grandmother Feige Slawitz Berman had a sister, Chaia Sarah Slawitz Stein.
The headstone for my third great grandmother, Feige Berman, raised more questions than it answered. I'm still working on this three years later.
After several years, I've finally been able to put the pieces together and find my great grandmother.
The Neckameyer name was originally Nachamin, as I've discovered by reconsidering what I thought was an engraving mistake and with the help of new FamilySearch indices.
I met with a distant relative today and discovered more information about Fanny Hayes Yeruslavitz, my first cousin three times removed. New photos, too.
Calls, emails, and visits with descendants of Wolf Neckameyer have helped fill in more details about the family.
Beth El Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey is the home of Celia Neckameyer Walcoff and her husband George.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, Aaron (Al) Berman recorded home movies on 8mm film.
The new admixture analysis at FanilyTreeDNA offers customers a glimpse into geographic genetic history, but is there any use to this information?
This map shows the important locations -- residences and ports -- for my Landes ancestors through my second great grandfather.
All this week, ProQuest is offering free access to its extensive obituary and death notice database. Here's what I found.
The Brooklyn Public Library and Newspapers.com are working together to provide the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives online.
The Canadian Jewish Review, with a "society" section that was the social media of its day, published a death notice for my second great grandfather.
I received the death certificate for my great grandmother from New York City via VitalChek.
Using a "research tree" helps organize records pertaining to potential relatives when looking for missing pieces.
The Hirschenbein family, cousins of my mother's family, changed their name to Hirsch. With this new information, I can learn more.
Indexes to New York City births, marriages, and deaths are now available on Ancestry.com, as are the 1855 and 1875 New York state census records.
Recordings from the early 1950s show the Berman family having lots of fun around the piano.
The latest discovery involves departure and arrival information for my great grandfather, who traveled from Hamburg to New York on the ship Palatia in 1899.
Martin Landes and his family appears in the Canadian Census of 1921, but the listing doesn't solve a mystery.
I couldn't find Joseph (Ruben) Lustig while browsing a microfilm of synagogue records from Czecze (Cece), Hungary, but I did later find a potential cousin.
Ancestry.com announced the company will be investing $60 million in improving records from FamilySearch.org.
It looks like volunteers in Romania and over the world have helped me uncover information about my ancestors' marriage -- and information for thousands of others as well.
For more than fifty years, at least two generations of Landeses were involved with the pharmacy trade.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for increasing your family's interest in your research. But what stories have I been able to uncover so far?
Family members can now view the entire family tree online without creating an account on Ancestry.com or dealing with the company's incessant advertisements.
Babette Sturmwald is a newly discovered cousin. Her husband and one of her four daughters perished in the Holocaust.
A marriage certificate for Joseph Lustig and Sadie Isaacs proves a memory to be incorrect.
My FamilyTreeDNA mitochondrial DNA results are in. The test has identified my haplogroup subclade as K2a2a1.
Moses Landes married Bertha "Brauna" Yaruslavitz in Iași, Romania in 1875, and by the turn of the century the entire Landes family had immigrated to North America by way of England.
FamilyTreeDNA's Family Finder suggests I have two close matches and hundreds of distant relatives.
Immigration records newly available online point to more information about my second great grandparents' arrival in North America.
Talking to a cousin provided some clarity around my second great grandmother's maiden name -- Kashowitz, not Rashowitz or Rochaurtz. I've also standardized the spelling of another popular surname throughout the tree.
Working together with a distant potential cousin, I'm finding more clues about the Sturmwald branch of my family.
The recently reset and repointed headstone for Feige Berman provides a clue about her father from Russia.
Reviewing documentation I received months ago helped me make a new connection. Pay attention to the small details.
Searching for one set of potential cousins revealed more blood relatives, descended from my second great grandparents, Shloma Lepianski and Rochel Shai Lepianski.
These photographs of the Kerstman family are courtesy of Joel Landes and Shari Berman Landes.
These photographs of the Landes family are courtesy of Joel Landes and Shari Berman Landes.
These photographs of the Herman family are courtesy of Shari Berman Landes.
These photographs of the Klein family are courtesy of Shari Berman Landes.
These photographs of the Berman family were provided by Shari Berman Landes and Joel Landes.
These photographs are courtesy of Joel Landes, Paul Landes and Shari Berman Landes.
These photographs came to be from Naomi Paltiel Lowi via Bob Paltiel. Can you help identify these women?
A visit to Brooklyn and other stops in New York allowed me to visit more relatives and document grave sites for my family tree -- and a surprise.
The online application Geni allows family historians to collaborate with strangers on shared tree branches and might provide clues for further research.
FamilyTreeDNA reveals my membership in haplogroup G2c through testing Y chromosome DNA.
The naturalization documents for Pearl Landes answer a question about her children.
I visited the grave sites of my relatives throughout New York, from Queens to Long Island, asking questions and documenting with photographs.
The results of my AncestryDNA test pointed to a surprising component of my genetics, but where can I go from here?
Isadore and Anna Kerstman gave birth to a daughter, Sophie, who died at the age of 19 days.
The birth record I attributed to a mystery "Track" Landes is probably attributable to Irwin Landes. Bad indexing led to a bad assumption.
Fannie Landes first married Albert Paltiel, then married Adolph Goldenberg after Albert died. The two marriage certificates expand the family tree but don't definitively answer questions about Fannie's mother, Bertha.
Celia Neckameyer is a newly-discovered relative, if census records are to be believed. Here is some information about her family.
The latest of three death certificates I've received in the mail is the least conclusive, yet I am inclined to consider some of the facts accurate enough to include this death certificate for Bertha Landes.
Just like I had difficulty reconciling Eliza Strumwald Lustig's death certificates with the facts I considered to be true, I now have the same concerns about this death certificate for Joseph Lustig.
Just days ago I had little information about my great grandmother. Now, I know about her entire family in Lithuania.
With every new document I receive, there are more questions, and Eliza's death certificate is no exception.
With Anna's naturalization documents from the National Archives, I'm a step closer to uncovering her family's past in Lithuania.
I spoke with my great aunt (or grand aunt -- the terminology can be confusing -- my mother's mother's sister) over the phone a few days ago, and by asking a few specific questions I was able to correct some errors and fill some holes in the family tree.
Another family's own research provides stories about my relaitves and starting points for my own research.
Ancestry.com now offers autosomal DNA testing for geogenealogy and finding relatives.
The death certificates for my great grandfather and second great grandfather fill in holes in my tree.
When I began my research, I didn't know my maternal grandfather's mother's name. Now I know more about her family.
Personal stories from my close relatives leave many questions about my maternal grandmother's family.
On Fold3, I discovered naturalization papers for my second great grandfather which otherwise would need to have been ordered from the National Archives.
The story of my family history research continues with three records I received from the New York City Department or Records.
The marriage certificate of Samuel Berman and Anna Neckameyer gave me the name of Anna's parents: Wolf Neckameyer and Rebecca Rochaurtz. By the time Wolf is living in the United States with his daughter Anna (and possibl
Using tools on Fold3, I discovered Samuel Berman's (my great grandfather's) naturalization papers. Samuel declared his intention to become a citizen in 1912, and in 1916 completed his Petition for Naturalization, was inf
My family history research continues with the first records received from the New York City Department of Records.