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Seeking Roots

www.ellisislandrecords.org offers
a treasure trove of immigrant history.

MICHAEL J. JORDAN

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

New York
is virtually genealogy for dum-
mies." In a nation of immi-
grants where more than 35 per-
cent of the population — or
100 million Americans — has at least
one relative who passed through Ellis
Island, officials at the historic entry
point to New York have unveiled a
new Web site that will enable even the
least tech-savvy to mine a motherlode
of information on
their family's roots.
"This marks an
immigrant's first foot-
step in America, and
provides information
leading back to Europe
and forward into
America," said Peg
Zitko, spokeswoman
for the Statue of
Liberty-Ellis Island
Foundation, Inc.
Some immigrants,
she said, "were very
specific about which street they lived
on in Kiev and which street they were
going to in Cleveland."
The treasure trove of data, accessible
at vvww.ellisislandrecords.org, is being
gobbled up by a public that reportedly
ranks "family history research" attiong
its favorite interests.
As soon as it opened at 6 p.m., April
17, the Web site averaged 27,000 hits
per second, and recorded 26 million
hits in its first 54 hours, Zitko said.
So much interest overwhelmed the
system, and only one in seven would-
be genealogists was able to access the
site, she said.
The bottleneck eased somewhat this
week as additional database servers
quadrupled the site's memory.

1

Massive Data

The site promises to revolutionize the
field of genealogy with the staggering
depth of and access to information that
it offers. Experienced researchers also

are happy to save hours formerly spent
scrolling tediously through microfilm.
"Our ancestors are for the most part
forgotten, but doing this brings a part of
them back," said Adam Bronstein, who
serves on the executive council of the New
York-based Jewish Genealogical Society
Bronstein was impressed with the
site in the brief time he gained access,
but said he would have preferred an
"advanced search function" to do a
more detailed search.
Zitko noted that the database "was
designed to be user-friendly, not some-
thing complicated."
The Web site con-
rains records of the
17 million immi-
grants — and 5 mil-
lion other travelers
and crew members —
who passed through
mifagiAtmwarli ,
Ellis Island between
1892 and 1924.
Online records will
display details in as
many as 11 "fields"
— an immigrant's
given name; surname;
ethnicity; town and country of last resi-
dence; Clare of arrival; age on arrival;
gender; marital status; ship number;
port of departure; and line number on
the ship's manifest.
In some cases, information may
include the immigrant's occupation
and mother tongue.
Perhaps most remarkably, the foun-
dation has scanned 3 million pages of
manifests and photos of 800 ships that
docked at Ellis Island — some 85 per-
cent of the total.
For a fee. the foundation will pro-
vide an image of the precise page that
lists one's ancestor, and of the ship
they traveled on.
Crucial to the project were the 5.6 mil-
lion hours logged by 12,000 volunteers
from the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints. The Mormons, as they
are known, are renowned for their keen
interest in genealogy and their involve-
ment in documenting Americans' roots.
"Theirs was a significant gift, and it

really cannot be underestimated,"
Zitko said. "They saved the founda-
tion millions of dollars."

From the pages of the Jewish News for
this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

How It Works

1991

Visitors to the site are asked to enter a
relative's name, and the search begins.
In some cases, however, this can be
tricky. Names in Cyrillic, for example,
might have numerous possible phonet-
ic spellings in English.
A name like Moskovic might also be
spelled Moskovich, Moskovitch,
Moscovic, Moscovich or Moscovitch.
Users, therefore, are advised to try
several variations.
They also are warned not to believe
one of the great myths of U.S. immi-
gration history: that many names were
Americanized and simplified at Ellis
Island. If names were changed, it hap-
pened in the old country or after the
immigrant's arrival in America — not
at the point of entry, Bronstein said.
"The names were written out on the
tickets where they were purchased,
with the original information, and the
ship's clerk would transcribe it,"
Bronstein said. "You'll never see a
manifest that was adulterated. It's just
like at the Division of Motor Vehicles;
a clerk would never change a name
just to make it easier to pronounce."
The database itself is not fool-proof.
Zitko conceded that some records may
be missing, handwritten records may
have been misinterpreted, and humans
may have erred when entering infor-
mation into the database.
"There's no way to guarantee you'll
find your family's records here," she
said. "But we can guarantee an inter-
esting search experience. It's about the
adventure of the search."
For those Americans determined to
pencil in the family tree, Zitko,
Bronstein and others offer a further
caution: the Web site is not a panacea
that will unearth the entire tree with a
simple click of a mouse.
While a significant launching point,
the Ellis Island site is only the first step.
Old-fashioned leg work still will be
needed to fill in other gaps — from
microfilm of U.S. censuses or naturaliza-
tion documents or records at the nation-
al archives or county clerk's office.
And, of course, primary sources
shouldn't be overlooked.
"This site is great," Bronstein said, "but
you can't replace going to bubbie and
zayde and hearing the real-life stories." ❑

Survivor Saul Raimi of Southfield
was one of the speakers at
the West Bloomfield Holocaust
Memorial Center during a sympo-
sium on the Holocaust.
Iman Elkasam, an Israeli Arab
woman, is the most popular radio
broadcaster in the Arab world,
according to an Egyptian poll.

1981

A public square honoring the late
American labor leader George
Meany was dedicated in the
Jerusalem suburb of Ramot.
Detroit pianists Helen Kerwin
and Mary Siciliano premiered a
piano duet by Julius Chajes at
Marygrove College.

1971

Robert N. Canvasser was re-elected
president of Temple Beth El.
Detroit philanthropist and
humanitarian Ben Kramer was
honored on the occasion of his
85th birthday

1961

Swastikas and Jewish slogans were
smeared on the outer walls of the
home of Eugene Blumberg, an
attorney in Amityville, N.Y.
Detroiter Albert G. Salter was
appointed to the executive staff at
Detroit-based W.B. Doner Co., an
advertising agency.
Dr. Maxwell Hoffman of
Highland Park was elected presi-
dent of the American Chiropody
Association-Tri County Division.

1951

Rabbi Moses Lehrman of
Congregation B'nai Moshe was
slated to be a speaker on the radio
program "The Eternal Light."
Detroiter Mrs. Morse Saulson
was elected president of the Detroit
Chapter of Hadassah.
Rovner Progressive Farein
planned an indoor picnic with pro-
ceeds to go to charity.

—Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant

5/11
2001

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