FAQ - Radautz Jewish Births Database

1857 - 1929

 

What kind of information can be found in these records?

Birth records are rich sources of information and over the period of time covered, records became increasingly detailed. Commonly found: Child name; father's name; mother's given name and maiden name, and whether the birth as recorded as legitimate. (It was quite common that Jewish marriages were not registered with civil authorities, thus the Jewish birth records are often marked as illegitimate.) Our transcriber (Martina Hauster) has added date of death, if known from other sources, and has coordinated the presentation of this database with index book records.

Question 2: What do the original records look like?

This example is one of the earliest, from 1857 (click on images for an enlarged view):

Here is an example from 1892.

Here is an example from 1928.

Question 3: I found a record for a family member. Is it possible to get a copy of the original handwritten record?

Yes! Simply click on the final link displayed on the Results page to "Order" a digital copy of the record. This link will generate an email to send to us with all the relevant information needed to fill your request. Alternatively, you can send an email to the address shown on the Search page, and request the record of interest; but you must then include the requested information (Register Image, Register Volume, Register Page, Register Entry Number, Child and Parent Surnames, and Date of Birth). There is no charge, and requests will be filled in the order received, as time permits.

Question 4. I couldn't find Uncle Moishe in the database? Why?

Try again! He's in there or he wasn't born in the Radautz district during the indicated time period. Try searching by Given Name only. Try searching on only a few letters at the beginning of the surname, or try a few letters at the end of the surname - using the "Contains" option. Think about alternate spellings and use those in your search. If the name included an accented character (including characters with umlauts), your search should NOT include that character; use other letter sequences not containing the character. "Schächter" nearly always appears as "Schaechter" in the database. A Soundex search for "Schachter" will also locate all "Schächter" entries.

Question 5. I can't read [German, Romanian]. How can I get my family record translated?

We are unable to provide translations, and many will note the difficulty of even being able to read the very old style handwritten records, but here are two possibilities.

1) Join the Czernowitz-L discussion group and post your question to its members. Someone may volunteer to assist. Though focused on the Czernowitz region, members also discussion history/genealogy of the Jewish communities throughout Bukovina.

2) Post on the JewishGen Viewmate service. This is often a very successful option.