Miriam Weiner (genealogist)

Miriam Weiner
Miriam Weiner
Born Los Angeles, California U.S.
Citizenship United States
Occupation Genealogist
Author
Lecturer
Years active 1986-present
Known for Routes to Roots
Notable work Jewish Roots in Poland
Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova
Website RoutesToRoots.com
RTRFoundation.org

Miriam Weiner (/ˈwiːnər/)[1] is a Jewish genealogist, author, and lecturer who specializes in the research of Jewish roots in Poland and the former Soviet Union.[2] Weiner is considered to be one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish genealogy through her work to open up archives[3][4] and is described as a trail-blazing, highly respected guide and leading authority on archival holdings and resources in pre-war Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine.[2][5][6]

Early life

Weiner was born in Los Angeles, California, to Edward and Helen Weiner.[7] She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa.[1][8]

In 1960, Weiner graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa.[9] She attended the University of Oklahoma and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.[1] In 1986, she received a B.A. in Historical Studies with a concentration in Modern Judaic History and Holocaust Studies from Empire State College, SUNY.[10]

Career

Early career

After attending college, Weiner moved to Southern California and worked for the Orange County Sheriff's Department in Santa Ana, California.[1] During this time, she also took courses in criminal justice at Orange Coast College.

From 1969 to 1971, she was country singer Bobbie Gentry's assistant and road manager. She got the job by answering an advertisement in the newspaper.[11][12]

Weiner worked as a paralegal for various attorneys in Beverly Hills, California. Weiner was then licensed as a private investigator by the State of California, which she said helped her later in her “next life” as a genealogist. Weiner moved to Northern California and lived on a horse ranch and worked as a real estate agent.[1] In 1984, Weiner moved to Albany, New York, where her mother was born and many family members still lived, while she finished her college degree.

Genealogy

Miriam Weiner makes photo copy of her grandmother's birth record located in the Priluki Town Hall, Ukraine, 1991

In 1985, with the recommendation of Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern, genealogist for the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, Weiner became the first Jewish genealogist to be certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists in Washington, D.C.[13] As part of the ongoing certification process, the Board for Certification of Genealogists has required intensive review and continuing education, resulting in separate renewals (every 5 years) of Weiner's genealogical work over 30+ years.[2]

From 1986 to 1988, Weiner was executive director of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in New York City, which was founded by Benjamin Meed.[1] Amongst her duties, Weiner helped develop the database of Holocaust survivors, now known as the Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Holocaust Survivors, that is now housed at the United States Holocaust Memorial.[6][14]

From 1987 to 1996, Weiner was a syndicated columnist, writing the column "Roots and Branches," which was published in more than 100 Jewish newspapers and periodicals, both domestically and internationally.[1]

In 1988, inspired by reconnecting with her extended maternal family from Albany at a funeral, Weiner expanded the research of her family's roots with a renewed focus on Eastern Europe. This was before the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, when it was virtually impossible to obtain access to archives for genealogical purposes in that part of the world. In 1989, as a result of the genealogy research and outreach from Weiner's syndicated column, "Roots and Branches," the Polish National Tourist Office (PNTO) extended an invitation for Weiner to visit Poland for the purpose of meeting with the head archivists and also to make plans for subsequent Jewish tour groups to visit their ancestral towns in Poland. Weiner found that the perception that Jewish documents were completely destroyed during World War II by the occupation of Nazi and Soviet governments was untrue. Weiner gained permission from the head archivist in Poland to create a town-by-town index to surviving Jewish and civil documents in archives throughout Poland. She did this with the official cooperation of the Polish State Archives.[15][16][17]

Routes to Roots

In 1990, Weiner founded the company, Routes to Roots, which offered archival research services to individuals throughout the world.[18] Through Routes to Roots, Weiner organized customized tours to ancestral towns for individuals and groups interested in Poland and the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland.[19][20] Weiner undertook these tours of ancestral towns at a time when there was little to no technology, and difficulties specific to Jewish genealogy included the lack of surnames until the late 1700s, the fluidity of surnames due to immigration and language, and the destruction of documents during The Holocaust.[2] Through Routes to Roots, Weiner has conducted genealogical research in the archives of Poland and the former Soviet Union.[21]

Routes to Roots Foundation

In 1994, Weiner founded the Routes to Roots Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The Routes to Roots Foundation hosts a website which includes a town-by-town index and inventory of surviving Jewish and civil documents held at archives and institutions in Eastern Europe,[20] Israel and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The website includes articles by archivists, historians and scholars; maps; document examples; name lists for about a dozen towns; as well as other reference material. Much of this information now available online was originally published in two books by the Routes to Roots Foundation, although the books include additional detailed content and images. As part of the activities of the Routes to Roots Foundation, Weiner donated copies of the books to the individual archives in Poland, Ukraine, and Moldova in appreciation of their assistance and as a way to improve the discoverability of their holdings relating to Jewish genealogical sources. Weiner also donated copies of the books to Jewish genealogical organizations.

Jewish Roots in Poland

In 1997, in official cooperation with the Polish State Archives (Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych in Warsaw, Poland), Weiner authored and published the book, Jewish Roots in Poland.[22][23] The book includes archival holdings of the Polish State Archives, the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, local town hall documents throughout Poland, Holocaust documents found in the archives of the death camps located in Auschwitz near Krakow and Majdanek near Lublin. The book also features document examples, maps, antique postcards depicting towns and daily life, and modern-day photographs.[24] There are individual town listings for localities with more than 10,000 Jews in 1939.[25]

Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova

In 1999, in official cooperation with the Ukraine State Archives (Ukraïnskyi derzhavnyi arkhiv) and the Moldova National Archives (Arhivă Naţională a Republicii Moldova), Weiner authored and published Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova. The book includes archival holdings of the Ukraine State Archives and its branch archives throughout the country and the Moldova National Archives in Chișinău as well as local town hall documents throughout Ukraine and Moldova.[26] The book also features document examples, maps, antique postcards depicting towns and daily life, and modern-day photographs. There are individual town listings for localities throughout both countries.[27][28]

Belarus and Lithuania

The Routes to Roots Foundation website also includes articles by archivists and historians, maps and archive data from Belarus and Lithuania, presented in a similar format as Weiner’s two books. Originally envisioned as a third book in the Jewish Roots series, this information is only found in this online format.

Archive Database

In 2002, an online Archive Database containing detailed information about archives listed in Weiner’s books on Poland, Ukraine, and Moldova was published on the Routes to Roots Foundation website. The Archive Database was then supplemented with similar data from Belarus, Lithuania, and selected archives in Romania. The database continues to be updated by Weiner.[29]

Additional work

Weiner was a former Advisory Board Member of the American Red Cross organization, Holocaust and War Victims Tracing and Information Center. Weiner lectures and gives workshops and has presented her research at Jewish genealogy organizations and events, both domestically and internationally.[2][8]

Legacy

Weiner has been described as the Indiana Jones of prewar Polish Jewish genealogy.[15][30] Weiner has discovered previously unknown archival holdings and then had this information translated and made available to the public via her books and website; in so doing, she has been described as “The genealogist who lifted the archival iron curtain.”[2][31]

Weiner was responsible for changing the perception that there were no Jewish ancestral documents available after The Holocaust.[32] Because of her early travels to Eastern Europe, beginning in Poland in 1989 and Ukraine in 1990, and the time she spent in working in the archives there, Weiner was able to debunk the myth that existed at that time, an assumption that all Jewish documents were destroyed during the Holocaust. With her column “Roots and Branches” and along with her lecture schedule, she made this discovery available and accessible to Jews throughout the world. In addition to finding that documents had survived, Weiner organized the information, pre-internet, so that it was easier for genealogists researching their families to find information about archives, museums, and libraries with family documents.[15] The original data in the archives needed to be translated, coded by document type and manually entered into an organized format. The result was the Archive Database created by Weiner, which then became available to the public in her two books and via the Routes to Roots Foundation website.

Donations of genealogical and archival material

Weiner has donated collected materials and organized research to various archives, institutions and organizations. The items include books, maps, town brochures, video cassettes, archive inventories, and document copies.[33]

Partnership agreements

In 2009, the Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc. and The Generations Network, Inc. aka Ancestry.com entered into a partnership agreement that granted Ancestry.com a semi-exclusive right and limited license to display the Archive Database and 1,200 images on the Ancestry.com website.[44]

In April 2012, Weiner entered into a partnership with the Center for Jewish History in New York City, donating data from the Routes to Roots Foundation Eastern European Archival Database and Image Database for integration into the Center for Jewish History's online catalog.[43] Weiner also became the Senior Advisor for Genealogy Services for the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History.[34]

In 2016, Weiner entered into partnerships with two JewishGen Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for Belarus and Bessarabia which involved the donation of research materials so it is available on each group's website.[35][36][37]

Also in 2016, Weiner entered into an agreement with the Library of Congress where she donated 95 volumes of telephone books for cities, towns and villages in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. After the Library of Congress acquires digital rights from each country, the materials will be scanned and will be made available in a keyword searchable format on their website.

Additionally, in 2016, Weiner entered into a license agreement with JRI-Poland where Weiner and the Routes to Roots Foundation will contribute extensive archive data, articles, name lists, and other reference material to be processed by JRI-Poland and placed on its website.

Personal life

Since 1986, Weiner has been based out of Secaucus, New Jersey.[15] She also has an apartment in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, in southern Ukraine,[45] which she uses as a base to conduct research.[46][47]

Weiner's family comes from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova.[1][48] Her surname, Weiner, was originally Vinokur.

Awards

Works and publications

Selected syndicated columns

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Blumenthal, Ralph (16 May 1998). "Woman Helps Jews Trace Eastern European Roots". The New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taplin, Cari (17 December 2015). "Miriam Weiner, CG Emeritus". BCG SpringBoard. Board for Certification of Genealogists.
  3. ↑ Mokotoff, Gary (8 November 2015). "BCG Gives Miriam Weiner Certified Genealogist Emeritus Status". Nu? What's New? (Vol. 16 No. 43). Avotaynu, Inc.
  4. ↑ Fibel, Joseph (22 February 2017). "Tribute To Genealogist". The Jewish Week.
  5. ↑ Storozynski, Alex (5 November 2000). "Digging in the Dust: An Internet query leads one man on a startling journey through his family's past". New York Daily News.
  6. 1 2 Berenbaum, Michael (Forward) (1999). Weiner, Miriam; Ukrainian State Archives (in cooperation with); Moldovan National Archives (in cooperation with), eds. Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories (PDF). Secaucus, NJ: Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation. pp. ix–x. ISBN 978-0-96-565081-6. OCLC 607423469.
  7. ↑ "Helen Rabkin mentioned in the record of Edward Alec Weiner and Helen Rabkin". FamilySearch. 9 August 1941.
  8. 1 2 Adams, Damon (18 October 1988). "It's All Relatives Jewish Genealogist Makes It Her Business To Search For Family Roots.". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  9. ↑ Roundup: 1960. Des Moines, IA: Theodore Roosevelt High School (Des Moines). 1960. p. 43.
  10. ↑ Deutsch-Sinderbrand, Nancy J. (Fall 1988). "Profiles: Miriam Weiner". DOROT. New York, NY: Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. 10 (1): 9–10.
  11. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy (28 September 2016). "Nobody’s bumpkin: Unmasking Mississippi Delta chanteuse Bobbie Gentry". Festival Peak.
  12. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy (21 November 2016). "Ode to Bobbie G: The music and mystery of a Mississippi Delta queen". Press Pass Blog.
  13. ↑ "Miriam Weiner, No. 293". Board for Certification of Genealogists. 18 September 1985.
  14. ↑ Mokotoff, Gary (29 October 2006). "Benjamin Meed Dies". Nu? What's New? (Vol. 7 No. 17). Avotaynu, Inc.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Sullivan, Alfred (6 October 2000). "Uncovering the Jewish Past: Local woman pioneers records research in Eastern Europe". Secaucus Reporter.
  16. ↑ Sumner, Esther Yu (September 2009). "A 20-year Adventure". Ancestry Magazine (Vol. 27, No. 5). Ancestry.com. p. 46. ISSN 1075-475X.
  17. ↑ Skowronek, Jerzy (June 1996). Acknowledgements: Professor Jerzy Skowronek (PDF) (in English and Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Polish State Archives. pp. x–xi. ISBN 978-0-96-565080-9. OCLC 38756480.
  18. ↑ Nuss-Galles, Sara (16 September 1993). "Genealogist searches the roots and branches of Jewish families in former Soviet Union". Metro-West Jewish News. Whippany, NJ.
  19. ↑ Wade, Betsy (12 September 1999). "Practical Traveler; Trips to Explore The Family Tree". The New York Times.
  20. 1 2 Leiter, Robert (8 June 2000). "Business Stems From A Peek Into History". The Jewish Exponent (Vol. 207, No. 23). Philadelphia, PA. ISSN 0021-6437. (subscription required)
  21. ↑ Wahrman, Miryam (4 February 2000). "Routes to Roots: New Guide Offers Resources for Research in Ukraine and Moldova". Jewish Standard. Teaneck, NJ. pp. 31, 35.
  22. ↑ Weiner, Miriam; Polish State Archives (in cooperation with) (1997). Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories. Secaucus, NJ: Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation. ISBN 978-0-96-565080-9. OCLC 38756480.
  23. ↑ Leiter, Robert (5 March 1998). "Routes to Roots: New book covers Holocaust, genealogy, travel and more". The Jewish Exponent (Vol. 203, No. 10). Philadelphia, PA. p. 13. ISSN 0021-6437. (subscription required)
  24. ↑ Gladstone, Bill (1998). "Weiner’s Jewish Roots in Poland a ground-breaking inventory". BillGladstone.ca.
  25. ↑ Luebking, Sandra Hargreaves (January 1999). "Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories". Ancestry Magazine (Vol. 27, No. 5). Ancestry.com. p. 13. ISSN 1075-475X.
  26. ↑ Gladstone, Bill (1998). "Weiner’s Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova". BillGladstone.ca.
  27. ↑ Krill, A (8 October 1999). "Ukraine opens its archives and a new book is born" (Press release). BRAMA.
  28. ↑ Brawarsky, Sandee (24 September 1999). "Our Back Pages: `Jewish Roots' documents life in Ukraine and Moldova.". The Jewish Week. 212 (18). New York, NY. p. 47. ISSN 0745-5356.
  29. ↑ Mokotoff, Gary (21 April 2002). "Eastern European Archival Database Launched". Nu? What's New? (Vol. 3 No. 7). Avotaynu, Inc.
  30. ↑ Rosenbaum, Thane (20 February 1998). "An Ambitious Book Helps Jews Navigate the Complexities of Going Home". The Forward. p. 11.
  31. ↑ Lipman, Steve (28 June 1991). "The genealogist who lifted the archival iron curtain". The Jewish Week. p. 2.
  32. ↑ Weiner, Miriam (11 October 1990). "The Greenbergs Find Ancestral Town Intact". The Jewish Advocate. Boston, MA. p. 13. ISSN 1077-2995. (subscription required)
  33. ↑ Lipman, Steve (17 February 2017). "A Roots Journeyer Packs It In". The Jewish Week.
  34. 1 2 "Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc.". Ackman & Ziff Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History, Center for Jewish History. April 2012.
  35. 1 2 "New Partnership". Bessarabia SIG. JewishGen.
  36. 1 2 "New Partnership: The Routes to Roots Foundation and Bessarabia SIG. New Partnership with Miriam Weiner & The Routes to Roots Foundation" (PDF). Bessarabia SIG. 2016.
  37. 1 2 Holden, Nancy (3 April 2016). "Partnership with Miriam Weiner". Belarus SIG. JewishGen.
  38. ↑ Mokotoff, Gary (25 December 2016). "Miriam Weiner Donates Eastern European Telephone Directory Collection to Library of Congress". Nu? What's New? (Vol. 17 No. 51). Avotaynu, Inc.
  39. ↑ "SLCL Encore -- Routes to Roots". St. Louis County Library.
  40. ↑ Jaffe, Art; Jaffe, Sylvia (October 2001). "JGS Library Is Catalogued" (PDF). Generations. Jewish Genealogical Society of St. Louis. 7 (9): 9–10.
  41. ↑ "The Miriam Weiner Genealogy Collection". Yeshiva University. 1996.
  42. ↑ Shure, Daniel (16 September 1996). "Jewish Genealogist Miriam Weiner Donates Sephardic Book Collection to Yeshiva University Library". Yeshiva University (Press release).
  43. 1 2 "The Miriam Weiner Genealogy Collection". YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. 2006.
  44. ↑ "Miriam Weiner Eastern European Archival Database". Ancestry.com.
  45. ↑ Shapiro, Beth (1 April 2008). "Tracing History: Genealogy Vacations Open Doors to the Past". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix (Vol. 60, No. 31). Phoenix, AZ. pp. 45–49. ISSN 1070-5848.(subscription required)
  46. ↑ Pash, Barbara (12 August 1994). "New Routes To Your Roots: Jews can now explore archival treasures long denied". Baltimore Jewish Times (Vol. 218, No. 7). Baltimore, MD. p. 50. ISSN 0005-450X. (subscription required)
  47. ↑ Lipman, Steve (28 May 1993). "Living Jewish: She Returns to Family Roots to Research Other's Past". The Jewish Week.
  48. ↑ Wright, E. Assata (30 March 2008). "Former P.I. hunts down history, heritage Secaucus-based genealogist helps Americans find ancestors". Hudson Reporter.
  49. ↑ "1988 Writing Contest Award Presented to Miriam Weiner and Ancestry Newsletter for 'General Writing' Commendation Award for excellence in writing on the subject of genealogy Special Interest Writing". Council of Genealogy Columnists. 18 May 1988.
  50. ↑ "The Lidman Prize Competition, Writing Award for "A Window Into the Past" in Outlook (Honorable Mention)". The Lidman Prize Competition. 1990.
  51. ↑ "Award of Excellence, First Place in Category #3: newspaper columns of ethnic interest". Council of Genealogical Columnists. June 1991.
  52. ↑ "Distinguished Work in Genealogy & History: Award of Merit". Federation of Genealogical Societies. 1991.
  53. ↑ "1991 Award for Achievement". National Genealogical Society. 1991.
  54. ↑ "IAJGS Achievement Awards 1999: Outstanding Contribution via Print Award: Miriam Weiner". IAJGS. 12 August 1999.
  55. ↑ "1999 Finalist of the National Jewish Book Award, Reference". Jewish Book Council. 1999.
  56. ↑ "Neographics Best of Category". Neographics. 2000.
  57. ↑ "AJL Research and Special Libraries Division Reference Award". Association of Jewish Libraries. June 2000.
  58. ↑ "IAJGS Achievement Awards 2000: Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via Print: Miriam Weiner for her book Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova". IAJGS. 13 July 2000.
  59. ↑ "IAJGS Achievement Awards 2003: IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award: Miriam Weiner". IAJGS. 24 July 2003.
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