Review: "Genealogy at a Glance: Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors," by Janette Silverman

The Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore has published another in its series of "Genealogy at a Glance" laminated research guides - this time for Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors by Janette Silverman.

This "Genealogy at a Glance" booklet has four laminated pages on one 11" x 17" paper (folded). It is designed to give the user the basic elements of genealogy research in the allotted space. They provide an overview of the facts a researcher needs to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with research in the subject.

The description of the Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors  booklet includes:

Although the term Ashkenaz originally referred to a place now in Germany, it is broadly used these days to refer to all European Jews. This guide is intended as an aid to researchers who are searching for Ashkenazic Jewish ancestors from Eastern Europe who immigrated to the United States primarily between 1880 and 1924.

Researchers face many difficulties when trying to identify their Ashkenazic ancestors. Since the majority of Ashkenazic immigrants likely changed either their given name or their surname after arriving in the United States, locating them in record sources—for example, in immigration records—is particularly challenging. Pinpointing an Ashkenazic ancestor’s hometown is likewise a challenge, since over time some Eastern European countries ceased to exist, had lands ceded to other countries or encountered border changes, or had town names that were known by different names in different languages. In addition, Jewish immigrants were often inconsistent when recording their ages or dates of birth, in part because of the difference between the Jewish lunar calendar and the Julian and Gregorian solar calendars.

This guide first tackles the various difficulties you’ll face when researching your Ashkenazic Jewish ancestors and then offers concrete advice on how to overcome these difficulties. In just four, laminated pages, you’ll find everything you need to know to get your research started—the most helpful databases and reference works, as well as the major record sources, repositories, and online resources. Identifying Ashkenazic immigrants is challenging, but with this Genealogy at a Glance guide at your side, the task will become much easier.

The booklet has these sections:

• Contents

• Quick Facts

• Who Are Jews?

• Finding Jewish Ancestors

• Why Identifying Ashkenazic Immigrants is So Difficult

• Names

• Places

• Disappearing Ancestors

• Dates

• Record Sources

• Major Repositories

• Online Resources

This booklet is designed primarily for the person who has little experience and understanding of Eastern European and/or Jewish genealogy, and provides an overview of the basics of finding Eastern European Jewish ancestors.

For someone like me that teaches and talks about genealogy a bit, it is invaluable because I can pull it out and provide some guidance to my student or colleague interested in the subject.

The beauty of these "Genealogy at a Glance" booklets is that they are very light and portable in a briefcase or laptop case. They are fixtures in my research case.

This four-page laminated booklet costs $9.95,  plus postage and handling. You can order it through the Genealogical Store, or use the link for the  Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors  booklet and click on the "Add to Cart" link.  I recommend buying these at seminars and conferences where they are offered in order to avoid the shipping costs.

I have reviewed several similar works in recent years:

*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: Court Records
*  Genealogy at a Glance: Old Southwest Genealogy Research

*  Genealogy at a Glance: Cherokee Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance:  Civil War Genealogy Research
*  Review:  Genealogy at a Glance: Polish Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy At a Glance: Finding Female Ancestors
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance: "How-To" Series (French-Canadian, Scottish and Irish),
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance: German Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: English Genealogy Research 
*  Review - Genealogy at a Glance: French Genealogy Research,
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: Immigration Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance - American Cemetery Research,
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance - U.S. Federal Census Records,
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance - Pennsylvania Genealogy Research.

*  Book Review:  Genealogy at a Glance - Family History Library Research

*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: North Carolina Genealogy Research

*  Review: "Genealogy at a Glance: Genetic Genealogy Basics" by Angie Bush

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Disclosure: Genealogical.com contacted me recently and asked me to provide a review of this booklet. They mailed me a review copy for my personal use as remuneration for this review.

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Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2020.

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