September 2014 Issue of "The Galitzianer" Mailing Soon

I was so excited about starting to catch up on The Galitzianer schedule in July, but I was foiled on this issue by having to wait for some material I had no control over.  It's currently at the printer and will be mailed soon.  Ah, well, there's always the December issue.  And at least I haven't fallen further behind!

This issue of The G has interesting articles, as always.  Among them, the "Research Corner" discusses several newly discovered records from different parts of Galicia.  The "Preservationist's Corner" talks about ongoing efforts in Przemyśl to preserve and maintain what remains of Jewish heritage.  A doctoral student from Rzeszów University is searching for letters and other documents from Sanok that will help illustrate the community history of this shtetl.  A list of 39 religious schools that were closed, including 18 schools in Skała, gives the names of the teachers of those classes.  And a "Family Album" story includes documentation of a son who was left in Europe to recover from pinkeye while the rest of his family immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island; the young boy caught up to his family a few months later.

Members of Gesher Galicia receive The Galitzianer as a benefit of membership.  Gesher Galicia is a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews and Jewish life in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  A list of member benefits is available online.  Information on becoming a member can be found here.

I accept submissions for The Galitzianer from both members and nonmembers, and I enjoy reading every one.  Would you like to share research techniques you used to learn more about your relatives?  Have you been successful in obtaining Jewish community or notary records?  Perhaps you traveled recently to your ancestral Galician shtetl and would like to write about your experience.  Historical and recent pictures, lists, and book and movie reviews are also welcome.

If your submission is published, you will receive a copy of the issue even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.  If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  I accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the December 2014 issue is November 20.

What? A New Issue of "The Galitzianer" So Soon?

What's this, you say?  Another issue of The Galitzianer has gone to the printer already?  How could that be?  Could it be that Janice is catching up on her schedule again?

Yes!  I'm actually almost caught up!  The June 2014 issue of The G went to the printer last week and will be mailed this week.  That's pretty good when you consider that the March issue went out in June (one of these days I swear I'm going to be healthy again).

So I'm obviously excited that timeliness is re-entering my life.  This issue has some great articles, too.  Tony Kahane discusses upcoming legislation in Poland that will affect access to vital records.  The death record of a man in a specific house starts genealogist Israel Pickholtz on a search for how he might be connected to the family living there.  A woman contacted by a cousin via Facebook ended up taking a trip to Israel to meet cousins from a branch of the family that had been out of contact since World War II.  And we had permission to reprint a story by Robin Meltzer which publicly quashed, at least for a while, the age-old myth about names being changed at Ellis Island, this time in conjunction with the great Sid Caesar (may he rest in peace).

Members of Gesher Galicia receive The Galitzianer as a benefit of membership.  Gesher Galicia is a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews and Jewish life in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  Information on becoming a member is available here.

Articles for The Galitzianer are accepted from both members and nonmembers, and I love to read them all.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.  If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  I accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the September 2014 issue is August 20.

Journals, Journals, Journals!

Reading genealogical journals is a wonderful way to learn more about history, techniques, records, and family stories, all of which can help you advance their research.  I really enjoy being the editor of three journals.  It gives me incredible opportunities to read fascinating stories, and I learn something from every submission.  But it does keep me busy!

I was a little behind schedule (again!; I have to stop getting sick), and the most recent issues of all three journals ended up being published in less than a month.  While I'm catching up on the intended publishing schedule, I realized I hadn't told everyone about the articles in these issues.  So now I'm caught up on that also!

The March 2014 issue of The Galitzianer actually went out in late May (oops!).  In addition to the outpouring of information in the research column, the issue also includes articles about efforts to preserve Jewish history in Bolechów, how Jewish refugees from Galicia ended up being stateless after World War I, how someone learned his mother's original given name and then visited the site of his uncle's former hat shop in L'viv, and some of the revelations learned during twenty years of research into a family.  (I am catching up on The Galitzianer, and the June issue should be out in July.)

The May 2014 issue of ZichronNote went out the first week of June (pretty close!).  The president's column took a strong stand on an issue affecting almost all Jewish genealogical societies.  Other articles discuss a World War II refugee camp created in upstate New York, the discovery of a long-lost relative still living in Israel (just in time, as it turned out), genealogy resources available at the Portuguese Fraternal Society of America, and a report from the SFBAJGS treasurer on how the society spent its money in 2013.  (The August ZichronNote should definitely be out on time.)

The Spring 2014 issue of The Baobab Tree just barely squeaked in on schedule (hooray!), because summer didn't officially start until June 21.  The lead article is a stunning example of using traditional genealogical research, oral history, and DNA to piece together a family history reaching back to the 17th century.  The rest of the issue includes articles about newly freed slaves in Indiana enrolling in Freedmen's Schools, a personal retrospective on Black History Month, and a mystery photo taken during the fire after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the popular Genealogy 101 column's take on the federal census.  (I"m going to try to get the next Baobab out in July; keep your fingers crossed.)

The only bad thing about these great journals?  You have to become a member of each society to receive a subscription.  If these article descriptions have piqued your curiosity, visit Gesher Galicia (for The Galitzianer), the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (for ZichronNote), and the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (for The Baobab Tree) to join and get your copies today!

December 2013 Issue of "The Galitzianer" at the Printer

Due to delays with last-minute additions to the December issue of The Galitzianer, it isn't actually going to come out in December.  So what's a few days between friends and genealogists?  But it's at the printer now and should be mailed out to members of Gesher Galicia early next week.  The electronic edition has already been sent.

And just what is in this issue?  I ended up with two sets of complementary articles.  The first theme is censuses.  Jonathan Shea, founder of the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, allowed us to reprint his article "Austrian Census Returns 1869–1890, with an Emphasis on Galicia", which discusses an 1853 meeting in Brussels that led to censuses being conducted in many European countries, and specifics of historic censuses in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Following that are an article about the Tarnopol 1910 Jewish census, which was probably an extract of information from a general census, and a list of the surnames from the census.

The second set of articles relates to online records offered by Jewish Records Indexing-Poland (JRI-Poland).  Mark Jacobson of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County talks about updates to JRI-Poland indices and links to online images.  Coincidentally, someone confirmed a family story that his very English-sounding surname was the original Jewish family name by finding an image of his grandfather's 1877 Galician birth record through the JRI-Poland site.

In addition, this issue has an article about a survivor of the Janowska concentration camp in Lwów, by a history professor working on a Holocaust research project focused on that camp, and the first appearance of a new column about preserving Jewish material heritage in Eastern Europe.

Members of Gesher Galicia receive The Galitzianer as a benefit of membership.  Gesher Galicia is a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews and Jewish life in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  Information on becoming a member is available here.

Articles for The Galitzianer are accepted from both members and nonmembers.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.  If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  I accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the March 2014 issue is February 15.

The Galitzianer March Issue

The March issue of The Galitzianer is being printed and distributed this week.  I keep getting closer and closer to an on-time delivery.  I am really optimistic about June!

The star of this issue is an article about Jewish education in the city of Kraków over several centuries.  Other articles discuss Galician family lineages that include capitalists and rabbis; a recent visit to Ivano-Frankivsk, formerly known as Stanislawów, the birthplace of the author; and reflections on the possible roles and responsibilities Jewish researchers who visit their ancestral shtetlach might encounter.  There is also quite a bit of information about the new, totally redesigned Gesher Galicia Web site.

The Galitzianer is a quarterly journal that is sent to members of Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews and Jewish life in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  Articles are accepted from both members and nonmembers.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures relevant to these matters, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.

I'm looking for regular book and movie reviewers for The Galitzianer.  If you are interested and have some experience in writing, send me some writing samples and we can discuss.

If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  We accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the June 2013 issue is May 15.

Another Issue of The Galitzianer

Whew!  I'm finally back on schedule . . . well, mostly.  I finished this issue of The Galitzianer on time, and it's ready for the printer, but it has to wait to go out until some administrative paperwork has been taken care of.  That's a huge improvement, though, and I think the March issue will actually come out in March!

So what's in this issue?  There's somewhat of a "black gold" theme going on.  The main article (a translation of a French article) discusses the history of oil exploration in Galicia, which had the first oil refinery in the world.  A short article about Neudorf and a review of a book about East Galicia and Bukovina also discuss the oil industry in Galicia and how it affected residents.  Then a memoir by one of the co-authors of Our Bodies, Ourselves, who is a Holocaust survivor born in Przemyślany, relates her life journey.  And almost 30,000 names from 269 Viennese families have been entered into Geni.com.

The Galitzianer is sent to members of Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews and Jewish life in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  Articles are accepted from both members and nonmembers.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures relevant to these matters, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.

If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  We accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the March 2013 issue is February 15.

Genealogy Journal Issues Published

My timing is a little off, but all I have to say is that it wasn't all my fault!  The latest issues of the two journals for which I am the editor have gone out, one a little late and one somewhat more.

The November issue of ZichronNote is just now going out to members of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society.  I'm very proud to be publishing an article about graphic artist Arthur Szyk, written by the official genealogist of the Arthur Szyk Society.  Other articles are a discussion of the "widow's portion" of inheritances, a review of the book Bread to Eat and Clothes to Wear, and information about a new series of translated yizkor books being printed by JewishGen.org.

Three articles in the September issue of The Galitzianer, which was sent to members of Gesher Galicia in early November (yes, really!), focus on the Holocaust:  a memoir of the events in the city of Stanisławów, the part the airfield in Krosno played during World War II, and tracking down what actually happened to a convicted Nazi criminal.  A more scholarly article looks at how Beth Din records can not only shed light on the daily activities of a town but can also help researchers reconstruct family relationships.  In the final article a woman retraces the life of her great-great-aunt in Poland.

You can receive ZichronNote and The Galitzianer if you join the respective organizations.  Each journal is published quarterly.  I try to publish interesting articles that help broaden our knowledge of the places and times in which our ancestors lived.

The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get

Once you get behind on your schedule, it just gets harder and harder to catch up.  I thought I was making headway with the schedule of The Galitzianer, but then a column was late, and people I needed feedback from were at the IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (in Paris!! and I wasn't there), and some of my co-volunteers were busy with their real lives, and thus things have slipped again.  So the June 2012 issue of The G should be mailed this week to Gesher Galicia members.  Articles in this issue include a transcription of birth records records from Nowy Zmigrod, Poland; memories of being in Lwów during World War II; the discovery of tombstones and human remains in Rohatyn, Ukraine; and an Australian woman's family history research trip through Galicia.

The Galitzianer is sent to members of Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  If you join you receive a subscription to the journal and help fund research projects, and you help support something you enjoy.

Articles are accepted from both members and nonmembers.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to Galician Jewish genealogical research:  articles about recent trips to Galicia, reports on your own research, historical and recent pictures relevant to these matters, etc.  Electronic submissions are preferred, though not required.

If you wish to submit material for consideration, please contact me at janicemsj@gmail.com.  We accept submissions year-round, but the deadline for the September 2012 issue is August 31.

New Issue of "The Galitzianer"

A tombstone in
Brody Cemetery

The March 2012 (!) issue of The Galitzianer is at the printer (yes, it's one of those things I have been behind on) and will be mailed next week.  Articles in this issue include a list of vital records registers that have been transferred to Warsaw and which we hope will be available soon; a summary of an article about autosomal DNA matches that looks at different degrees of cousins; reminiscences from two writers about relatives from Galicia; town research for Bolechów and Brody; and a poem about researching Galician ancestors.

The Galitzianer is available only to members of Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  If you join you receive a subscription to the journal and help fund research projects, and you help support something you enjoy.

December 2011 Issue of The Galitzianer

The December issue of The Galitzianer is at the printer and will be mailed out soon.  (We've recently changed the publishing schedule for The G.  It will now appear in March, June, September, and December.)  Articles in this issue include memories of a 1942 trip to Bolechow by an ethnic German born there who went back to see how things had changed; how the new All Galicia Database has already helped someone answer questions about her ancestors; a detailed update on Galician maps and records that have been examined in archives; and the discoveries someone made on an extended research trip in Europe.

The Galitzianer is available only to members of Gesher Galicia, a nonprofit organization focused on researching Jews in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.  If you join you get a subscription to the journal and help fund research projects, and you help support a hobby you enjoy.  One of the recent research aids that has been published is the All Galicia Database.

Recently Published Genealogy Journal Issues

The August issues of the two genealogy journals for which I am the editor, The Galitzianer (the quarterly journal focused on Jewish research in the former Austrian province of Galicia, published by Gesher Galicia) and ZichronNote (the newsletter of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society), recently were published.

The articles in the August issue of The Galitzianer are a list of 1938 Ropczyce, Poland, industrial permits; a report on Jewish vital records that have been preserved in Warsaw; a memoir written by a man born in 1886 in eastern Galicia; analysis of an early 20th century photograph; and two reports about recent visits to Europe, one to Dąbrowa Tarnówska and one to the L'viv area.

In the August issue of ZichronNote you will find an article that brings a different perspective to the question of Napoleon's (yes, that Napoleon) views on the Jewish people; a woman's search for her great-grandfather's missing artwork, which was hidden in many places in and around Warsaw at the outbreak of World War II; and a review of an online gazetteer of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Both The Galitzianer and ZichronNote are available only to members of the respective organizations. If you join either (or both) you get a subscription to the journal and help fund research projects, and you help support a hobby you enjoy.

Two Genealogy Journal Issues Off to the Printers

I edit two genealogy journals.  I have been the editor of The Galitzianer, the quarterly newsletter focused on Jewish research in the former Austrian province of Galicia, since November 2009, when Ed Goldstein, the former editor, stepped down after nine years.  It is published by Gesher Galicia.  I recently took on the job of editing ZichronNote, the newsletter of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society.  Beth Galleto had been the editor for ten years.  Just my luck, they both have the same publication schedule -- February, May, August, November.  But they cover different material, and I get to work with very nice people who have interesting stories to tell, so it's a lot of fun.

The articles in the February issue of The Galitzianer are the second half of a list of 1938 Dębica, Poland, industrial permits; a review of a memoir of the town of Boryslaw, Ukraine; a reunion between a hidden child and the Polish family who helped her and her family; remembering the life of a Holocaust survivor; the methods used to search for a survivor in order to reconnect her with the family who sheltered her; a good application of DNA tests to complement traditional research; and a family gathering of several branches, reunited through research originally begun to claim an inheritance.

In the February issue of ZichronNote (my first issue) you will find the revival of an orchestra to commemorate family members lost in the Holocaust; transcribing thousands of burial records in order to help other researchers find information; twenty genealogy resolutions for the year; and the importance of translating words correctly.

Both journals have a short note about the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which occurred on March 25, 1911.  I knew about the Triangle Fire previously, but it has become more important to me because of research I did on one young woman who survived the fire by jumping out of a window but who died three days later due to her injuries.  I will write more about her on the anniversary of the fire.

Both The Galitzianer and ZichronNote are available only to members of the respective organizations. If you join either (or both) you get a subscription to the journal and help fund research projects, and you help support a hobby you enjoy.