Jewish genealogy traceable Resources abound to study Maine lines

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Many of us think of Jewish genealogy as a process that’s full of obstacles, and of course that’s true in many respects. From name changes to the dissolution and reforming of countries to the killing of one-third of the world’s Jewish population during the Holocaust, tracing Jewish ancestors can be a challenge.

Getting started in tracing Jewish lines involves the same steps as working on any other lines.

Write down what you know; gather certificates for births, marriages and deaths; visit cemeteries to find death dates you don’t know; obtain obituaries from microfilms of newspapers at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library in Orono or at other libraries.

Remember that some material is easily available on the Internet. The Maine State Archives Web site at www.state.me.us/sos/arc will take you to the database where you can check Maine marriage dates for 1892-1966 and 1976-1996, and Maine death dates 1960-1996.

City directories will tell you where people lived. Jews have lived in Bangor for more than a century, for example.

Census records for 1850-1920 list every person in the household. Maine censuses are on microfilm at Fogler and at the Maine State Library in Augusta. Other census microfilms can be borrowed for a small fee through the Family History Centers at Mormon churches such as the one at Grandview Avenue and Essex Street.

Listed below are some of the many books on Jewish genealogy available in Maine libraries. There are more. Check the URSUS Web site at http://130.111.64.3 to find books on specific topics and which libraries have them.

. “Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism,” Alexander Stille, 1991, Fogler Library and MSL.

. “Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors,” Krasner-Khait, Barbara, 2001, Fogler Library.

. “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Genealogy, 1991, MSL.

. “Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy,” Dan Rottenberg, 1977, Bangor Public Library, MSL.

. “From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Personal History,” Arthur Kurzweil, 1980, MSL.

. “Germanic Genealogy: A Guide to Worldwide Sources and Migration Patterns,” 1997, MSL.

. “How and Where to Research Your Ethnic-American Cultural Heritage: Jewish Americans,” Robert D. Reed, Fogler Library.

. “Jewish Encyclopedia,” several volumes, University of Southern Maine, Portland.

. “Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories,” Miriam Weiner, 1997, Fogler Library.

. “Jews in Liepaja, Latvia, 1941-45: A Memorial Book,” Edward Anders, 2001, Maine State Library.

. “My Sixteen: A Self-help Guide to Finding Your Sixteen Great-Great Grandparents,” Robert W. Marlin, 1996, MSL. Includes references to Margolin family.

. “Portland’s Jewish Cemeteries,” William Jordan, 1984, no site listed.

. “Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the Boston Area,” Warren Blatt, 1996.

. “Sourcebook for Jewish Genealogies and Family Histories,” David S. Zubatsky, 1996, Bangor Public Library. Maine State Library has the 1984 edition, “Jewish Genealogy: A Sourcebook of Family Histories and Genealogies.”

. “A Student’s Guide to Jewish American Genealogy,” Jay Schleifer, 1996, Bangor Public Library, children’s room.

. “Where She Came From: A Daughter’s Search for Her Mother’s History,” Helen Epstein, 1997, Bangor Public Library, Fogler Library, UMaine at Machias.

Of the books listed above, I looked at Dan Rottenberg’s “Finding Our Fathers” at Bangor Public Library. It lists lots of resources, including archives in this country.

A specific example of a Jewish genealogy, with many references listed, is Jordan Alpert’s “The Alperts and Cohens of Bangor, Maine,” available at Bangor Public Library and in special collections at Fogler Library.

I was fascinated by the story of these two branches of the Alperowitz family and their origins in Lithuania.

The Ellis Island Web site at www.ellisislandrecords.org has a “passenger search” database for looking up those who came in through that port between 1892 and 1924. Pick a surname and it will list everyone by that name, plus the age and, where known, the country or town of origin.

The Mormon Web site, maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at www.familysearch.org lets users easily search millions of records.

This is only a start. We’ll share information on other resources for Jewish research later on.

Are you of Italian descent? You might want to check out the Italian Heritage Club, which will hold its monthly meeting and dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bangor Armory on Main Street. For more information, call 394-4903 or check www.italianheritageclub.org.

The Washington Council Genealogical Society will meet noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Calais Free Library in Calais. For information, call Frances Raye at 853-6630, or Valdine Atwood at 255-4432.

The Hancock County Genealogical Society will hold a “search and share” meeting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Riverview Room at Ellsworth Public Library.

The family reunion for the June 2002 Acadian Festival in Madawaska will be the Martins. A meeting about that reunion will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Madawaska Safety Complex.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or e-mail familyti@bangordailynews.net.