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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Additional Snipishok births completed
The following birth records have been translated by a volunteer:
Births: 1895, 1899
We are in need of additional funds in order fund paid translations of additional records for Snipishok. Only a few researchers
have expressed an interest in this town, yet it is only 1 mile from Vilna! If you have beenb jsearching in Vilna and
have not found your family yet, please consider supporting the translation of records for the immediate suburbs of Vilna [Snipishok,
Novygorod and Antokol].
Vilna Translations continue coming in
Over the last month I have received translations of the following Vilna city vital records from our volunteers:
Deaths 1878
Marriages 1859, 1860, 1866, 1876 - 1878
As with all translations performed by volunteers, these will be proofed and sent out to qualified donors as further receipts
warrant. Please support the Vilna Vital Records Translation Project.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Vilna Births 1866 - 1873
I have heard from the translator the first of these records [2 or 3 years worth] will be available in several weeks.
Once these are completed, additional birth records for 1874 - 1881 will be sent for translation.
First Translations Completed for Snipishok [Snipiskes]
Snipishok is one of the three towns adjacent to Vilna for which there are separate metrical register books. There are
few researchers actively searching in this town, at least as indicated by the JewishGen FamilyFinder. Raising the necessary
funds has therefore been difficult and much remains to be done. In order to prevent these records from languishing untranslated
for much longer, I began to translate some of the birth records. The births for 1894 have been completed and will be sent
to Snipishok researchers. Additional birth records for Snipishok will be translated, in an attempt to assist generating
some interest.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Translation of 1878 Vilna Death Records Received
The last of the 1878 Vilna city death records were received today. These were indexed by a volunteer. As with all translations
from volunteers, they will be proofed, and ultimately sent out to qualified contributors as additional funds are received.
Records sent for translation - Kudirkos Naumiestis
More records for Kudirkos Naumiestis were located on two films I previously did not have access to. These were sent out
to a translator today.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
VRT Distribution - Mikaliskis
The following translations were distributed today:
Births: 1866 - 1872
Deaths: 1866 -1872
Marriages: 1866-1872, 1874, 1886
Monday, March 31, 2008
Second set of Mikailiskis records sent for translation
Another set of records for Mikailiskis is now in the hands of a translator. The translations are expected back in 4 to
6 weeks. There are additional records available for translation, but additional funding is required.
Merkine Vital Records Translations distributed
Yesterday, the following translations were distributed to qualified donors for Merkine:
Births: 1856, 1860, 1863 - 1867, 1869, 1872 - 1875, 1877
These are the full translations which follows the distribution earlier this year of the entire index for Merkine births.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Schuchin Vital Records Translations distributed
The first set of translations for the town of Schuchin, Lida uyezd, Vilna gubernia were distributed to qualified donors
today. The file contains the following records:
Births: 1896 - 1914 [contiguous]
Monday, February 18, 2008
Translations of Schuchin births coming in
Translations of the birth records for Schuchin, Lida uyezd, Vilna gubernia started arriving last week. I expect the deliveries
will be completed by the end of this week at which time they will be distributed to qualified donors. I had expected these
to arrive later in March however, it turns out this particular record set is not very large.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Birth Records for Schuchin, Lida uyezd sent for translation
The first records [all filmed births] for the town of Schuchin, Lida uyezd, Vilna gubernia have been sent to a translator.
Work should commence immediately and I expect to receive the first translations in late March 2008.
Novygorod Record distribution - Set 2
The second set of vital records for Novygorod [Vilna uyezd, Vilna gubernia] have been distributed to donors. This
set contained the following records:
Births: 1854, 1862 - 1867, 1870, 1871, 1876, 1877
Additional funding is required for Novygorod before additional records can be sent for translation, as the account balance
is under $100.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Second round of Novygorod records beginning to come in
The second set of Novygorod vital record translations began coming in yesterday. Additional translations are expected
to come in over the next few weeks. Once they are all received, the translations will be distributed to qualified donors.
This will exhaust our funds and put a temporary hold on translations for Novygorod. Additional funds received for this town
will be credited as of the date received. Additional Novygorod records will go into the translation queue once an additional
$500 is received.
1879 Vilna death index received
I forgot to post this, but the completed 1879 Vilna death index was completed on January 5th. Our volunteer has
now begun translating the 1878 Vilna death records.
Monday, December 31, 2007
1879 Vilna death index completion
In a few days time, I expect to receive the completed 1879 Vilna death index. This index will contain over 1000
deaths which occurred that year.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Early Vilna Vital Records
Background
Vilna City researchers - Have you found your surname in the 1858 Revision List? If you have, you might wonder how much
further back in time you will find records for your family. You might also be interested in finding information from primary
records [vital records] rather than secondary sources such as additional revision lists. Or, if you have still not found your
family in the 1858 RL, you might wonder whether there is a chance you will still find pertinent information among the Vilna
vital records.
As you might know from the VRT website, http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeol99x/litvaksigvitalrecordstranslationproject , we have already translated all Vilna vital records for the years 1861 -1865 as well as indexed births for the years 1854
- 1859, 1882 - 1897 ands deaths for the years 1879 - 1900. This is quite impressive as only the 1861 - 1865 records were translated
with funds from the project. Funds have enabled the translation of 4.6% of the entire record set, and the current balance
will allow the translation of births for the years 1866 - 1881, bringing the total funded translations to just over 11 per
cent, based on the estimate of 250,000 Vilna vital records. By contrast, volunteers have enabled the translation or indexing
of an additional 42,000 records, amounting to another 17% of the record total. In all, over the past 3.5 years, we have translated
or indexed almost 22% of the Vilna vital records. Once the currently funded births are completed, the total will be 28% if
no other translations are donated. At this time, it is not expected the volunteer effort will be sustained at the
pace experienced over the last few years. This is due to the reliance on one main volunteer who will most surely
have had enough by the spring of next year when he completes the birth records for the year 1900.
Vilna City vital records update
The VRT project has recently added the 1837 and 1838 births to the list of records we have indexed. A volunteer diligently
sat with these especially hard to decipher records and produced this index. The 1837 births are the earliest vital records
known to have survived to this day.
I am pleased to announce the completion of an "Early Vilna Vital Records Surname Index". This index
includes the surnames from the 1837, 1838, and 1854 - 1859 births. The index will be sent out this weekend to contributors
to the Vilna vital records, Vilna County vital records, as well as the surrounding towns of Novygorod, Antokol and Snipishok.
The index will also be sent out to members of the JewishVilna discussion group. If there is widespread interest beyond these
areas, I will make the file available to a larger audience.
Place Names among the Vital Records Surnames
While the subject of surnames derived from place names is discussed every so often, I feel it is interesting to note
some of the place names mentioned in the Vilna vital records, for oftentimes these names refer to places in areas other than
Vilna gubernia. A quick glance at the index reveals the following place names:
KEYDAN, MIKHALISHOK, MIR, MUSNIK, OLSHANER, ORANSKIY, OSHMYANSKY, PUMPYAN, RUDAMIN (RUDEMINER), SHIRVINT, SHKLOVER, SMARGON,
SNIPISHKER, STOKLISHOK, SVIRSKIJ, VILKOMIR, VILKOVISKIJ, VOLOZHINSKY
Famous surnames and those sought by some of our researchers
The following surnames are listed as they pertain to either prominent Vilna families or were recognized as surnames
of some of our Vilna researchers [based on memory only; there are many more names in the index - please check it out!].
ASS (ASH), AYZHENSHTAT, BARAN, BERKMAN, BROYDA, DAYKHES, DROZNIK, ELYASHBERG, EYLENBOYGIN, FRUKHT, FRUKHT [changed in
1862 to LANDE], GALPERIN, GLOBUS, GORDON, JOELS, KAGAN, KATSENELENBOGEN, KATSERGINSKIJ, KHAYET, KINKULKIN, KLYACHKO, KREMER,
KOTLOVICH, KOVARSKIJ, LENTSNER, LURIYA, MAYZEL, NOAR, OGUZ, PLUDERMAKHER, RAGOLER, RIVKES, RUBINSHTEYN, SAKGEYM, SELETSNIK,
SHABAD, SHER, SHESKIN, STRASHUN, TRAKHTENBERG, TROTSKIJ, TUNKIL, VAYNER, VINIK, YOELS, ZAKGEJM, ZALKIND, ZHIZHMOR
Donating to the VRT Project
Donations can be made to the VRT project online via the SIG website. The site may be accessed at www.litvaksig.org or www.jewishgen.org/litvak . A standard donation may also be made via mail. Please mail your check to:
LitvakSIG, Inc.,
C/O Eden Joachim
1204 Hillside Terrace
Pomona, NY 10970.
Please indicate the funds are specifically for the VRT project and specify which town's vital records you are contributing.
Your email address is also required to enable us to send you the translations. Donations made to the VRT project are
tax-deductible as allowed by law. LitvakSIG is a 501c(3) corporation.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Merkine Records Indexed
The Merkine vital records are out for translation, but in the meantime, a volunteer has come forward and transcribed
the indexes of births, deaths and marriages as follows:
Births: 1889 - 1893, 1895 - 1914
Deaths: 1877, 1883 - 1887, 1889 - 1894, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1903 - 1905, 1908, 1910 - 1912, 1914
Marriages: 1881, 1884 - 1890, 1892 - 1914
These indexes have been sent to all qualified donors to the Merkine VRT project.
Novygorod Record distribution - Set 1
The first set of vital records for Novygorod [Vilna uyezd, Vilna gubernia] have been distributed to donors. This set
contained the following records:
Births: 1855 - 1860
Deaths: 1854 - 1860
Marriages: 1854 - 1860, 1864
The translator working on these records will continue with this town for the time being, so additional translations will
be available early next year. It is expected additional funding will be required after this next set is translated. More on
this in the near future.
Vilna County Records Distribution - 4th Okrug births
The 4th okrug birth records were received this week and distributed. These records proved to be very interesting. There
are many references to a 5th and 6th okrug [court district], which are never mentioned in the LDS Family History Library Catalog.
The towns mentioned include many which are actually in Belarus and beyond.
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The Vital Records Indexing Project grew out of the newly gained access to the Lithuanian Archives
in the late 1990s. The Archives and the Family History Library [FHL or Mormons] came to an agreement which allowed
the filming of the metrical register books. These books cover the 19th Century and include 20th Century
records through 1915.
LitvakSIG came to agreement with the Archives and the FHL which provides LitvakSIG with digital images
[TIF files] of the vital records in exchange for translations we produce.
The Records
The images
contain records for 100 towns which were in Vilna and Kovno gubernias, with a few towns from Suwalki gubernia as well. Prior
to conversion to digital format, the records were contained on 225 microfilms. There are approximately 200,000 unique images
and with an average of 4 records per page, there are approximately 800,000 records in total. This estimate is after subtracting
20% of the films to account for the approximate number of duplicate pages, register book cover pages, etc. The list of towns
represented was developed by FHL and JewishGen and posted to the JewishGen web site. Updates to this list have been required
and LitvakSIG maintains the current version of this information – more on that later.
The Translations
The images provided to LitvakSIG are organized by the microfilm they came from, rather
than the town the records cover. LitvakSIG received the films as digital images and began translating various films. It was
immediately apparent this was not an efficient way to proceed, since records for many towns exist on a single film [sometimes
over 10 towns per film]. We have taken the 200,000 images and have reordered the images by town. We are now better able to
coordinate the translations on a town by town basis.
The Translators
The beginning of the translation effort saw a few volunteer translators come forth, although
the primary need is for paid translators. The project is of such a large scope it is necessary to employ paid translators.
Some of the translations submitted by volunteers are of good quality, whereas others had to be scrapped. We are currently
reformatting and correcting some of the early work to save that which is useable.
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