Where are birth, death, & marriage data for Russian Jews pre-WW1? Not finding in Russian database
Hello, I am researching my grandmother's family. She escaped Russia at the age of 12 (about 1920 or 1921) after her mother was murdered. I am trying to find out if both parents died at that time, or if the father was already dead by then. There was a son born pre-1900 as well. I'm also trying to locate the village where US documents allege my grandma was from: Vohn, Russia. If that is the name, it no longer exists. She was young and illiterate, so it could be a different spelling altogether. She was in Poland 2 years before arriving in the US about 1923. Where can one find Jewish marriages and death data for the former Russian Empire, and villages that no longer exist? I have people's names but can't find anyone in the Russian databases the site offers. I'm a newbie and I am stumped. Thanks for any help!
Best Answer
-
I thought you might be interested in going to the FamilySearch Research Wiki to find information about how to do your Jewish Genealogical Research.
Sign into your FamilySearch account and then click Search, then Research Wiki which is at the bottom of the drop-down menu. Type: Jewish Genealogy into the search bar and your results will include many options including the article found through the following link. There are embedded links within this article that might be useful for you.
I wish you success in your continued research and hope this article is a good starting place for your continued efforts.
1
Answers
-
Oh, thank you! That's great! I recently found a link to a 4/3/22 webinar by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society that directly addresses the Russian Empire as it relates to Jewish births, deaths, marriages, etc. during that time. I will definitely be reading that wiki you provided and I thank you again.
0 -
Hey @CDBurk -- thanks to your help, pretty quickly I was able to solve the "Vohn" town search mystery! My cousin told me that Grandma told her she went to Poland after her mother was murdered, and she stayed there for 2 years before coming to NY at the age of 14. She or my Grandpapa told the census worker they were from Russia, and when asked for a town or City she answered and they wrote down "Vohn" -- which is in Poland:
Alternate names: Wohyń [Pol], Vohin [Yid], Vokhyn' [Rus], Wohyń Lubelski Region: Siedlce
That was found in JewishGen.org, which was a resource in the wiki. Yay!
Now I need to find the town where she lived in Russia where her mother was murdered. I will do that by trying to find records of her mother and father, and possibly her birth. I was able to get their names in familysearch.org. I'll see what I can find based upon the wiki Jewish resources, and then I have the 4/3/22 webinar to teach me more.
One mystery solved and eliminated from the search for the place where my g-grandmother was murdered. My grandma was hidden from the men who came; my cousin said our grandma heard everything. Can we even imagine what she felt then, and my grandma having to emerge from hiding to find the carnage...
1 -
It is so sad to think what one group of people has done to another because of political or religious disputes. It is so sad that instead of upholding the rights of others to disagree with our views, we find it necessary to force our views on others. Sadder still is the fact that leaders of countries do not use the lessons from history to change how they work with one another, and wars and rumors of wars continue to plague the human family. I am so glad you have found some of the information you were seeking...I hope you will have success as your research continues.
0