The Complete Visual Guide to Jewish Headstones
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.
Death
Catching up with the Sturmwalds
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 Slawitz family: Feige Slawitz Berman and Chaia Sarah Slawitz Stein
Confirmed! My third great grandmother Feige Slawitz Berman had a sister, Chaia Sarah Slawitz Stein.
Revisiting Feige Berman, my third great grandmother
The headstone for my third great grandmother, Feige Berman, raised more questions than it answered. I'm still working on this three years later.
Anna, my great grandmother, finally found.
After several years, I've finally been able to put the pieces together and find my great grandmother.
Another name change discovered: Nachamin/Neckameyer
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.
Celia Neckameyer Walcoff found, but without her sister Anna
Beth El Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey is the home of Celia Neckameyer Walcoff and her husband George.
Death certificate for my great grandmother: VitalChek orders
I received the death certificate for my great grandmother from New York City via VitalChek.
Ancestry.com adds 14 million New York records to database
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.
Updated spellings after new information
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.
My fourth great grandfather, Israel Loew Sturmwald, and his descendants
Working together with a distant potential cousin, I'm finding more clues about the Sturmwald branch of my family.
Rabbi Ezriel Yosef Yehuda in Russia
The recently reset and repointed headstone for Feige Berman provides a clue about her father from Russia.
Adventures in Brooklyn: streets and cemeteries
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.
Meeting my second great grandparents, Moses and Bertha
I visited the grave sites of my relatives throughout New York, from Queens to Long Island, asking questions and documenting with photographs.
My grandmother's baby sister, Sophie Kerstman
Isadore and Anna Kerstman gave birth to a daughter, Sophie, who died at the age of 19 days.
Bertha Jereslawitz Landes's death certificate
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.
Is this the real Joseph Lustig?
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.
Eliza Sturmwald Lustig's death certificate
With every new document I receive, there are more questions, and Eliza's death certificate is no exception.
Death records: Joseph and Moses Landes
The death certificates for my great grandfather and second great grandfather fill in holes in my tree.