The Genealogist Personality

In talking with my fellow genealogists, I realize that it takes a certain personality type to savor a week of research. Twelve hour days at a microfilm reader are unlikely to appeal to most people. Many of us bring a professional background such as finance, law or psychology that translates well into this pursuit. The common element is an inquisitive mind that enjoys the process of solving puzzles. One had better enjoy the process as there is often a lengthy period of research between discoveries. My financial background lends itself well to genealogy as I use spreadsheet analysis in my approach. I started building databases of information so I could recognize patterns that linked information. Before long I was using analysis tools to manipulate the spreadsheets to help them spill their secrets. In Utah I often do impromptu workshops for others on my approach and out of that taught a course on this topic at the international conference.

Other skill sets prove equally valuable. My friend Fran is a therapist and has an innate curiosity that serves her well in her search. Her questioning mind and gregarious nature help her unlock genealogical puzzles. I’ve learned to be more gregarious in my research as part of the process is connecting with others to gather information. Fran tells me she is contemplating using some of the database tools to which I’ve introduced her.

Before I left on my trip I obtained a missing piece to one of my longstanding puzzles. If you’ve read about my research in Dunilovichi, Belarus you know that I located a sister to my great-grandfather as well as my great-great grandfather’s tombstone (Pesach Mordechai). Both are residing in the Dunilovichi cemetery. My latest missing piece came in the mail in the form of tombstone pictures I had ordered from New York. The tombstones revealed that my great-grandfather has another sibling, a brother, buried in the United States.

The process of genealogy can often unfold over several years. In this case I was first tipped off by my father’s late cousin that my grandmother’s family name was originally Reichel. When my great-grandfather came to the US in 1904 he followed the lead of a Brooklyn relative who had changed his name to Rothchild. They had heard it was a prominent name and could help them do better in the Golden Medina. That piece of information unlocked the Ellis Island immigration records where the original name was necessary to find them. I later found the name change confirmed in the naturalization records where they have to state the name under which they immigrated.

Some years later I made a discovery in the Ellis Island records. In 1923 Awsaj Reichel, born in Dunilowicz, was going to his son Morris Rothchild. Aha! This must be the lynchpin that proved the transition from Reichel to Rothchild. Despite extensive searching I never was able to find a record of Awsaj after that date. By the 1930 census he was not listed with his son. Years went by as I continued to research Morris Rothchild and his family. A year ago I went to the International Jewish Genealogy Conference in Chicago. There I located the obituary for Morris Rothchild in a database that was available to attendees. I filed it away in my records and it was yet another year until it dawned on me that the obituary said where he was buried. Perhaps his father would be buried there as well. As it was a cemetery that had an on-line database, I plugged in the names and up popped Israel Rothchild who died in 1927. That would explain why he never showed up in the 1930 census. Before I left on my trip to Lithuania, I sent off to the cemetery for photos of the tombstones. Several months later I received them in the mail.

Genealogists form hypotheses and then collect data to test them. In this case, my hypothesis was that this was a sibling to my great-grandfather. He was the right age and based on the report of my father’s cousin, Awsaj’s son Morris was a cousin. Jewish tombstones always have the father’s name so that would either prove or disprove my theory. Upon ripping open the envelope, I was able to quickly confirm that Pesach Mordechai was clearly carved into the tombstone.

I turned my attention to the name Awsaj. The on-line database gave the name Israel. His tombstone spelled out his name in English as Osias. The Hebrew translated to Isaiah. But a new puzzle soon arose. One would expect to see this same name as the father on Morris Rothchild’s tombstone, but here the name translated to Joshua. In researching the two names I learned that they are derived from the same Hebrew root. They both literally mean “Jehovah saves”. One uses the full form of Jehovah, while the other uses a contracted form. Given the immigration record and the fact that he is buried in the family plot, I think I am safe to assume we are talking about the father of Morris.

Genealogy research unfolds, often over many years. It requires patience and an appreciation of the process. It is very much a process of pattern recognition. That means that we may have the information, but have not yet recognized the pattern. For this reason it is always valuable to review past research as old information may make sense as new information develops. Clues can be lurking in our data that a fresh set of eyes will recognize. As in life, it helps to develop a broad range of skills that build on our natural skill set, but sometimes go against type. Thus introverts learn to be gregarious and the gregarious learn to use databases.

A Discovery

Genealogy research is often painstaking and insights may arise over many years as more information becomes available. Often the answers lie in information we’ve already collected, but didn’t have the context to make sense of earlier. I’ve not departed for my trip yet, but information I’ve gleaned in my preparations has already unlocked some long standing puzzles. 

My story begins with a photo of the tombstone of my great-grandfather who is buried in New York. Jewish tombstones indicate both the name of the deceased as well as his or her father. I’ve gotten several different interpretations of his father’s name on the tombstone. While the second name is clearly Mordechai the first name appears to be Peish or Feish. My great-grandfather’s death certificate offered no guidance only noting his father’s name was “Max”, presumably an Americanized version of Mordechai provided by his grandson for a grandfather he never met. At this point I had only my great-grandfather’s tombstone and death certificate and thought I had hit a dead end. 

When I began to prepare for my trip I posted a question on the Jewishgen Belarus Special Interest Group e-mail. Had anyone been to Dunilovichi or Glebokie? If so could they offer me any guidance? I heard from a number of people who had traveled there or in nearby regions. Some offered additional names that they were researching as well as travel tips. One of the most valuable contacts was with a woman who had traveled to Dunilovichi. When she returned she organized a fund raising campaign and arranged for the Jewish cemetery to be cleaned up and for the stones to be documented. That effort resulted in a list of the tombstones which were translated to the extent possible. I noted that of the 369 tombstones only two thirds were legible. The earliest burial was in 1761 and the last was in 1950. Presumably someone returned after the war and with his death the Jewish community of Dunilovichi ceased to exist, yet another story to explore. The first surname didn’t appear until 1887 and then a long period ensued until 1901 when surnames began to appear with some frequency. 

 In reviewing the spreadsheet, I first looked at surnames that might resemble my family name of Raichel. There were two Rayhels, possibly relatives, who had died in 1919 and 1936. I then decided to ignore the surnames and evaluate them for anything which might resemble Peish or Feish Mordechai. One name jumped out – Pesach Mordechay was the father of Eska Zinger who had died in 1938. Hmm, could this be my great-great grandfather? The name wasn’t Rayhel or Raichel, but something gave me pause. I knew of Singers from Dunilovichi. My parents had told me there was some sort of relationship to an Abraham and Sadie Singer, but were never sure to which one we were related. Some years back I had tracked down the grandson of the Singers who had been contemporaries of my grandparents. Could this be the linkage between our families? 

I did a search on the name Eska which confirmed that it was a female name. I now had a working hypothesis that Eska was born a Rayhel and married a Singer. My great-grandfather Schloime had died in 1932 so would have been a contemporary of Eska. Perhaps she was a sister. I then looked to see if there was a record of the death of Pesach Mordechay and found one in 1904 without a surname. It gave his father’s name as Moshe. So if my hypothesis proves correct I’ve identified my great-great grandfather (Pesach Mordechai), my great-great-great grandfather (Moshe), a sibling to my great-grandfather (Eska) as well as the linkage between the Singers and the Raichels.

I went back to my earlier research on the Singers who immigrated. Perhaps there was a clue that I missed in my research that might make sense in light of this new information. I had discovered the immigration record of Itze Singer from Dunilovichi. In faded writing by his name was recorded the name “Abraham”. He gave his father’s name as Benes Singer and immigrated in 1913 to his cousin Abraham Schwartz at 613 Rockaway. Suddenly I had an “Aha” moment. The name Schwartz hadn’t meant anything to me at the time as I assumed it was a relative from Dunilovichi whom I hadn’t yet encountered. But the address seemed familiar. I went back to my immigration database and confirmed that was the same address given for my great-grandfather when his son immigrated in 1911. Suddenly Abraham Schwartz clicked into focus. My great-grandfather’s oldest daughter had married an Abraham Schwartz. By marriage he would be a cousin to Abraham Singer even though he had never met him at this point in time. This was 1913 when a woman traveling alone was held as a “likely public charge” until a man vouched for her. Offering the name of a male cousin by marriage would have taken precedence over a female blood cousin if one wanted to enter the country smoothly. 

I also had an immigration record for a Schie Singer from Dunilovichi whose father was given as Pines Singer going to his uncle, Schloime Raichel, my great-grandfather. I never was able to trace him successfully after his immigration as I was unsure what the name Schie became once Americanized. I also found that Singer was about as challenging as Weinberg. There are a lot of them. But now I wondered if Benes, the father of Abraham Singer, was the same person as Pines, the father of Schie. I could imagine the names sounded very similar to the person recording the immigration information. The family tree was sprouting mental leaves linking the Dunilovichi graveyard to my New York immigrant relatives. If my great-grandfather was Abraham Singer’s uncle, then perhaps Eska Zinger was his mother, Benes (Pines) his father and Schie his brother. And one more trip back to the Dunilovichi cemetery to tie it all together. There was one more record of a Zinger. Drum roll !!!! Benjamin –Binush Zinger who died in 1934, son of Nachum. 

A little research confirms that Benes is the shortened version of Benjamin. And working my way backwards I do a search for tombstones for a Nachum and discover his death in 1921. How do I know this is the correct Nachum? It was the only Nachum in that time period and his father is listed as Benjamin. Among Ashkenazic Jews, children are frequently named for a grandparent who is deceased at the time of their birth. 

So what does it all look like when I put it together? The graveyard data is framed in bold lines and the other names are those who immigrated to the US. This is a very abridged version that just deals with the names I've mentioned. All conjecture at this stage, but a very strong working hypothesis woven out of naming patterns, immigration records and tombstones in a Belarus cemetery. While in Vilnius I will be reviewing the revision (censuses) lists in the archives. Hopefully I’ll find something that will confirm or disprove my theory. For now I’m very optimistic that I’m heading down the right road.