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What's the ultimate goal of all this information-collecting? I thought might be helpful to post a sketch of the overall plan.
I'm investigating four branches of my family, the ancestors of my four grandparents. These include the Chaplins, Liebermans, Tarens/Cohens and Niverts. Right now I am actively working on the Liebermans and Niverts. I'd also like to help out with the Nussenbaum branch, my stepmother's family, but time constraints and available memory cells limit me to focusing on two branches at a time.
So what's the plan? How do I know when I'm "finished" with any one branch of the family and ready to move on? Well, based on what I know right now, here is a summary of my goals:
(1) For each ancestor, I'd like to locate:
* if s/he was an immigrant: shipping manifest
* if s/he was naturalized, petitions and declarations of intent
* if his/her passage was funded via steamship banks, those records
* if s/he was born in the US, birth records
* 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records
* marriage record
* World War I and II draft cards for men of eligible ages
* any military records
* social security application
* will
* obituary
* gravestone photo and cemetery records
* social security death record
* photos
* descendents
Since the Lieberman and Chaplins were based in Philadelphia, and the Tarens and Niverts in Scranton, there is a good deal of cross-checking that can be done because family members lived together, signed each others' naturalization petitions, etcetera, which is very helpful in the research. By the time we have collected all the information on the list above, I believe that we will know the original names of those who Americanized their first and surnames. This will be helpful for step 2.
(2a) There is a Jewish genealogy course offered in my area this coming spring (2010). Prior to step 2b, I expect to have taken this course, and this will help quite a bit in deciding how to proceed.
(2b) Research the lives of the generations who were in the "old country", whether the Ukraine, Russia or Hungary. In fact for the Hungarian ancestors, the Niverts, I've already started this process by hiring a genealogist who specializes in Hungarian Jewish research. That's because for this branch of my family, the Niverts, we already knew the names and dates necessary to start this process.
(3) The final step, for all four branches of my family, is to write up the genealogy in book form and publish it, with all the information we've collected, portraits, pictures, articles, etcetera. It doesn't mean that we are "finished" (I guess no genealogy is ever finished), but that we have gathered a sizable amount of information and want to ensure it doesn't get lost. I believe that printed information has a much longer lifespan than digital data, and I want to make sure that our family history if available for the next generation when they grow up and start asking questions.
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