Michigan: Jewish Cemetery Index

Are you looking for family members who may have been buried in a Jewish cemetery in Michigan? This resource may help your quest.

The Irwin I. Cohn Michigan Jewish Cemetery Index provides burial information for more than 64,000 Jews who died between the mid-1800’s and 1999.

While many cemeteries were very helpful in allowing access to their records, old, damaged, incomplete or missing records made the task of compiling a complete index impossible. As a result, the database does not contain every name.

This database is considered a “first stop” for researchers. If you can’t find a specific individual, he or she may have been buried in another Jewish cemetery in the state.

Here’s a screenshot of what a search retrieves:

The index is a work in progress and information is added as received.

Since your ancestor might have been buried at a different cemetery, there is a list of cemeteries at the site. There are 36 cemeteries, each with a link. Contact them for more information.

For more information, visit the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registration site.

For information on individuals who may have died more recently than 1999, visit the Detroit Jewish News obituaries.

Matilda Brandwine is the founder and honorary chair of this effort. Thanks to her incredible insight, she began researching Jewish residents buried in Detroit metropolitan cemeteries.

She and her volunteers gathered names, walked through cemeteries, recorded names from deteriorating headstones. The goal was that no one would be forgotten. Genealogists from around the world, with links to Detroit, are happy that this inspiration has provided a searchable database accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

For more Michigan assistance, contact the Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan here.

New York: Jewish cemetery seminar, Nov. 16

“From Here to Eternity: Jewish Cemetery Research, Preservation and Restoration” is an all-day seminar presented by the Lucille Gudis Memorial Fund of the New York Jewish Genealogical Society.

The seminar will be held from 9am-4.45pm, Sunday, November 16 at the UJA-Federation located at 130 East 59th Street, New York City. There is a registration fee for the event, which includes a kosher buffet lunch.

The fee, including a kosher buffet lunch, for members is $30; others, $36. the seminar, which includes the cost of a kosher buffet lunch. The registration form is here. Only advanced registration received by November 10 will be accepted; there will be no registration at the door.

The schedule includes the following presentations:

The JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR): Joyce Field, JewishGen vice president (data acquisition).

How to Catalog Jewish Cemeteries for the JOWBR: Ada Green, JGSNY Cemetery Project chair.

Do Stones Speak? Interpreting Jewish Monuments: Visiting Jewish Cemeteries: Jewishdata.com founder Rabbi Abraham Laber.

Cemetery Preservation and Restoration Panel: Chaim Bruder, Heritage Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries; Steve Lasky, founder, Museum of Family History; Norman Weinberg, executive coordinator, Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project.

For the first three sessions and lunch, advance paid registration is required. The panel discussion, which begins at 2.30pm, is open for all JGS members as the regular monthly JGS meeting.

New York: Jewish cemetery seminar, Nov. 16

“From Here to Eternity: Jewish Cemetery Research, Preservation and Restoration” is an all-day seminar presented by the Lucille Gudis Memorial Fund of the New York Jewish Genealogical Society.

The seminar will be held from 9am-4.45pm, Sunday, November 16 at the UJA-Federation located at 130 East 59th Street, New York City. There is a registration fee for the event, which includes a kosher buffet lunch.

The fee, including a kosher buffet lunch, for members is $30; others, $36. the seminar, which includes the cost of a kosher buffet lunch. The registration form is here. Only advanced registration received by November 10 will be accepted; there will be no registration at the door.

The schedule includes the following presentations:

The JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR): Joyce Field, JewishGen vice president (data acquisition).

How to Catalog Jewish Cemeteries for the JOWBR: Ada Green, JGSNY Cemetery Project chair.

Do Stones Speak? Interpreting Jewish Monuments: Visiting Jewish Cemeteries: Jewishdata.com founder Rabbi Abraham Laber.

Cemetery Preservation and Restoration Panel: Chaim Bruder, Heritage Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries; Steve Lasky, founder, Museum of Family History; Norman Weinberg, executive coordinator, Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project.

For the first three sessions and lunch, advance paid registration is required. The panel discussion, which begins at 2.30pm, is open for all JGS members as the regular monthly JGS meeting.

Ukraine: The Czernowitz Cemetery

The old Jewish cemetery – Czernowitz (today Cernivtsi)
The town is located at 48°17’N; 25°56’E.
Originally in Austro-Hungary, Bukovina, then Romania, it is today in Ukraine.
Researchers interested in the Czernowitz-Sadagora area will find in the Czernowitz-L Discussion Group website a diverse and extensive collection of material concerning the Jewish community, as well as a wealth of information on the cemetery, including historic and contemporary photographs along with images of burial register pages.

In fact, researchers considering a collaborative project for their shtetl will also find excellent ideas that may be adapted.

Recently, the group participated in a Cemetery Clean-up Project.

Here are links to some of the material on this project:

– A PowerPoint presentation of the 2008 Work Camp Cemetery Clean-up Project. Photos by Joanna Liss; PowerPoint by Hardy Breier.

– Report and photos from Christian Herrmann and Mimi Taylor on the 2008 International Work Camp Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– Photographs from the sucessful 2008 Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– The 2008 Czernowitz Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– The Burial Register Transcription project: A chronological description of activities by Bruce Reisch, along with images of the various burial registers connected with the first project.

– Photographs of the Czernowitz cemetery by Cornel Fleming (2004)

– Czernowitz cemetery restoration project

– The Mortuary (Leichenhalle or Zeremonienhalle) Restoration Project of Helmut Kusdat

– The Czernowitz cemetery map from Mimi Taylor Bruce Reisch’s cross referenced map of the new areas compared to the old parcels at the cemetery.

– May 2006 Reunion photos of the memorial service at the Czernowitz cemetery, from Rita and Gidi Shilo.

There is much more to explore on the Czernowitz site http://czernowitz.ehpes.com/.

Ukraine: The Czernowitz Cemetery

The old Jewish cemetery – Czernowitz (today Cernivtsi)
The town is located at 48°17’N; 25°56’E.
Originally in Austro-Hungary, Bukovina, then Romania, it is today in Ukraine.
Researchers interested in the Czernowitz-Sadagora area will find in the Czernowitz-L Discussion Group website a diverse and extensive collection of material concerning the Jewish community, as well as a wealth of information on the cemetery, including historic and contemporary photographs along with images of burial register pages.

In fact, researchers considering a collaborative project for their shtetl will also find excellent ideas that may be adapted.

Recently, the group participated in a Cemetery Clean-up Project.

Here are links to some of the material on this project:

– A PowerPoint presentation of the 2008 Work Camp Cemetery Clean-up Project. Photos by Joanna Liss; PowerPoint by Hardy Breier.

– Report and photos from Christian Herrmann and Mimi Taylor on the 2008 International Work Camp Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– Photographs from the sucessful 2008 Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– The 2008 Czernowitz Cemetery Clean-up Project.

– The Burial Register Transcription project: A chronological description of activities by Bruce Reisch, along with images of the various burial registers connected with the first project.

– Photographs of the Czernowitz cemetery by Cornel Fleming (2004)

– Czernowitz cemetery restoration project

– The Mortuary (Leichenhalle or Zeremonienhalle) Restoration Project of Helmut Kusdat

– The Czernowitz cemetery map from Mimi Taylor Bruce Reisch’s cross referenced map of the new areas compared to the old parcels at the cemetery.

– May 2006 Reunion photos of the memorial service at the Czernowitz cemetery, from Rita and Gidi Shilo.

There is much more to explore on the Czernowitz site http://czernowitz.ehpes.com/.