Jewish Records in the Family History Library Catalog

This database, "Jewish Records in the Family History Library Catalog", is an inventory of the microfilms, microfiche and books in the LDS Family History Library Catalog™ (FHLC) which are specifically Jewish genealogical sources.  It is a valuable finding aid for persons researching their Jewish ancestry, but is not intended to be a replacement for the FHLC.  The complete FHLC can be consulted at http://www.familysearch.org.

The purpose of this database is to familiarize you with the materials available for research at the LDS Family History Library, and to maximize your ability to use the resources in the FHLC for researching your Jewish ancestry.  Even though an extensive search of Jewish key words was used to find most of the Jewish materials in the FHLC, there is no guarantee that this database covers all the records that are specifically Jewish.

It is also very important to note that this database does not list all records at the FHLC which are useful for Jewish genealogical research.  Many valuable genealogical sources include Jewish people along with the rest of the general population — these would include such sources as census, vital records, naturalization, court records, passenger lists, etc.  You must use the FHLC to find these "general" records.  A few general population records were included in the database for reference and help in doing your research — for example, the Hamburg Passenger List microfilms and the Holland-America Line microfiche are included for reference purposes.

This database includes extracts of Jewish-specific entries catalogued through February 1, 2001.

It is recommended that you read the instructions and database description before you begin using this database.

You can search for any word or word combination in a catalog entry, using the following search syntax:

• OR
  
• NOT, AND NOT, BUT NOT, WITHOUT
  
• AND, WITH, (space)
  
• IS, HAS, HAVE, HAVING
  
• LIKE (5)
  
• NEAR (8), WITHIN nnn [WORD[S] OF]
  
• THEN, '...', "...", [...]
  
• (grouping)
  

For example:

Vilna or Vilnius	(entries with EITHER name included)
Tax and Odessa	(entries with BOTH words included)
Like Lomza	(entries containing the 5 most similar words to Lomza)
Like Lomza but not Lomza	(as above but not entries containing Lomza itself)
Hungary near Census	(entries with Hungary and Census within 8 words of each other)
Budapest within 4 words of Census	(entries with Budapest and Census within 4 words of each other)
New Mexico	(entries containing BOTH words, in any order)
New then Mexico	(entries containing those CONSECUTIVE words)
(Ships or Police) and Hamburg	(entries containing one of these words plus Hamburg)

This database was presented as a gift by The Genealogical Society of Utah to the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) during the 20th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 9, 2000.

The material for this database was compiled by Nancy Goodstein.

Special thanks must be given to: Richard E. Turley, Jr., Managing Director of the Family and Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and David Rencher, Director of the Library Division, for their support in preparing this work.  The following people assisted with the database and were instrumental in its completion: Jean Ellzey, Paul Gentry, Jim Kurocik, Stella McMahan, Kahlile Mehr, Teri Parks, Mark Pierce, Daniel Schlyter, Charles Smith, Stephen Young, and the entire collection/development team in the Family History Library.

This database is the property of the IAJGS.  It may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of IAJGS.

For more information about this database, please read the instructions and database description.