Computer Aids Hunt for Jewish History
Question: I understand there is an international Jewish Genealogy Bulletin Board available for computer genealogists that can be used to exchange information about Jewish ancestors and obtain help translating Hebrew and Yiddish documents. How do I find it?
Answer: You need a computer and a modem (set modem parameters, 1200 or 2400 baud, to no parity, eight bits, one stop bit and no echo). The Jewish Genealogy Conference Bulletin Board’s number in Houston, Tex., is (713) 630-0553. Also check with local computer bulletin boards that may carry it.
Q: I’m searching for death records of Joel and Martha Hargrave who appear in the 1870 federal census of Walla Walla County, Wash., as an elderly couple. Do you have any suggestions?
A: The Municipal Clerk, P.O. Box 478, Walla Walla, Wash. 99362, has records of city-owned cemeteries dating from 1864 to 1947. These records include sale of burial plots and death and burial dates of individuals. The County Auditor’s office, 315 W. Main St., Walla Walla, Wash. 99362, has a probate index from 1860 that you should check.
Q: I found my ancestor, Mary (Polly) Stephens, in the 1850 Estill County, Ky., census where she had a 13-year-old daughter and twin grandchildren but no husband listed. I’ve been unable to determine her husband’s name because the 1840 census lists only the head of household, and there were several Stephens and Stevens households in Estill County at that time. How can I learn her husband’s name?
A: Since Polly’s daughter was born about 1837, you can assume her husband was still living in 1836-37, therefore check the probate records of Estill County, Ky., (which have been filmed by the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City and are available to its branches on interlibrary loan). Examine probate records of all Stephens/Stevens who died between 1836 and 1850. Also consult the marriage records of that county (available on microfilm from 1808 to 1876). A careful notation of all the families on the pages near your Polly in the 1850 Estill County, Ky., census may give you clues to her maiden name. Widowed daughters often went to live near their parents after the death of their husbands.
Q: My ancestors arrived in 1885 from Germany and I know the ship, date and port. When I wrote to the National Archives giving that information and asking for that ship’s complete passenger list, they said they couldn’t find the names. Can you help?
A: You failed to mention the port in which your ancestors landed, but assuming it was New York City, there are eight rolls of passenger lists of vessels arriving there in 1885. Since you know the exact date, you can purchase that particular roll of film for about $17 from Cashier, National Archives Trust Fund Board, Washington, D.C. 20408. The number is M237; rolls 483-491 are for 1885. Determine the exact roll number you need (they are compiled by dates).
Q: I have a Buckingham ancestor who settled in Baltimore, but I have hit a dead end. Do you have any ideas?
A: You forgot to include an important piece of information--dates! There are several Buckingham genealogies in the Library of Congress. Try Maryland State Archives Library, 350 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, Md. 21401, and Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St., Baltimore, Md. 21201; the latter will do brief queries for $9.50 plus a self-addressed, stamped envelope.