Our Towns: Do we have your records?
Keep in mind that JewishGen uses the "modern" name for towns. This is something our ancestors did not do! Names may have changed but location did not. Borders may have changed along with country rule. However coordinates did not.
Geographic Names and (USBGN) Numbers
Each town and small place has an identification number. This number is used by JewishGen and Belarus SIG to find records for your town. SIG Projects are built around Districts and Towns. These Districts and Towns are listed to be consistent with “The JewishGen Communities Database” for the time period around 1900 and before WWI. District projects also include smaller communities nearby which have geographic identification in the USBGN. They are searchable in the “The JewishGen Gazetteer”.
SIG Projects and District Towns
Do we have records for your town or shtetl?
The BRI is our current working list of records available for translation. The Belarus SIG has established this inventory from available records (many of which have been microfilmed by the LDS). This inventory is an ongoing process. Background research into possible inclusion in the B•R•I (BELARUS RECORDS INVENTORY) comes from archived documents found in many sources.
In order to bring these records to you, each SIG Project has a Coordinator. Coordinators will answer your questions and will know what records are being translated and currently ready for viewing.
- Borisov: Larry Fagin
- Brest: Jenni Buch
- Disna: Ralph Salinger
- Gomel: Paul Zoglin
- Iqumen: Carola Murray Seegert
- Kobrin: Diane Baer
- Lida and Oshmiany: Judy Baston
- Novogrudok: Robinn Magid
- Mozyr: Gayle Justman
- Pinsk: Debra Wolraich
- Rechitsa: Philip Minkin
- Slonim: Steven Rosenberg
- Sventsyany: Rhoda Miller
- Vilejka: Steve Cohen
Finding the names of towns with less than 100 Jewish residents
Some shtetlach had very few Jewish residents. Sometimes a leasehold, mill, cretchma or estate started out with only one family.
