Last year, Ancestry.com partnered with two large Jewish societies, Jewish Gen and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, to create the largest collection of Jewish records available anywhere online. It included such important collections as Schindler’s list; the online worldwide Jewish burial registry; displaced persons and refugee cards; immigration records; photographs; census records and more. 

Most recently, we have partnered with another large Jewish historical society, the American Jewish Genealogical Society (AJHS), to put six more important collections online—including “orphan” asylum records for two Hebrew schools in New York. Tens of thousands of Jewish children were sent to these schools while their parents, who had often come to New York as a result of persecution, tried to eek out a living and adjust to life in a new country.

Evan Kingsley, executive director of AJHS, said:

“We believe the value in our extraordinary holdings lies not only in what we have but in how we make it accessible. Ancestry.com provides a new and important online access point that makes AJHS’s archives that much more valuable. The more our collections are used, the better we’re fulfilling our mission. . . . I reflect the sentiments of the Board and archives staff of the American Jewish Historical Society when I say we’re delighted by this partnership and we’re thrilled with the access it provides.”

We have also partnered with the Routes to Roots Foundation—an internationally known firm that specializes in Jewish research—to make available a collection of inventories for Jewish records available in archives and courthouses in five different Eastern European countries.

We are honored to bring you this new content, which we hope will aid you in your discovery to search out your Jewish roots.

Here is a brief run-down of the new collections we’ve added to our site.

Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum Records, 1878-1969 (AJHS)
It was common for Jewish parents trying to get back on their feet to send a child to an orphan asylum, which was really more like a boarding school. 

These records, for orphan asylums in Brooklyn, contain records of admittance and discharge into the school. They provide names and ages of those admitted; the date they were admitted; whether they were an “orphan,” “half-orphan” (had one living parent), or had both parents living; plus the date of their discharge, and to whom they were discharged. Some include the names and addresses of the parents, along with their occupations. 

See photos and learn more about what it was like to be in a Jewish orphan asylum. 

View records. 

New York Hebrew Orphan Asylum Records, 1860-1934 (AJHS)
These records are similar to those from the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum, but cover another institution in New York.

View records. 

Selected Naturalization Records, New York City, 1816-1845 (AJHS)
This collection contains declarations of intent to naturalize for individuals in New York county. Jewish names were extracted from a larger collection of New York records. The declarations include names, ages, birthplaces, nationality, place of emigration, occupation and place of intended settlement.

View records. 

Industrial Removal Office Records, 1899–1922 (AJHS)
The Industrial Removal Office attempted to relocate impoverished Jews from the Lower East Side, New York, to towns and cities across the United States. This includes administrative and financial records, statistical records, immigrants’ placement and removal records, Jewish life conditions surveys, and correspondence. You may find records written in either English or Yiddish.

View records. 

Selected Insolvent Debtor’s Cases, 1787–1861 (AJHS)
This database consists of approximately 2,000 cases brought before the Supreme Court of New York for the city and county of New York. The bulk of the documents consist of Insolvent Assignments, which—like modern bankruptcy notes, involve a discharge of the debtor’s debts and an assignment of his assets to be sold or managed for the benefit of his creditors. The documents sometimes contain a reference to a legal notice published in a newspaper or schedule of creditors. A small number contain an inventory of the debtor’s assets. 

View records. 

Selected Mayor’s Court Cases, New York, 1674–1860 (AJHS)
This collection includes 6,000 handwritten pleadings and other court papers filed in civil lawsuits in the Mayor’s Court of the city of New York. The papers include summons, complaints, affidavits, and jury lists for court cases filed in New York.

View records. 

Miriam Weiner Eastern European Archive Database (Routes to Roots Foundation)
Jewish family history enthusiast Miriam Weiner traveled over Eastern Europe for more than ten years to gather the information for this database. She visited archives and civil registration offices in Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine, making lists of all the important records they had relating to Jewish history. You can consult this comprehensive inventory to see what records are available for your Jewish ancestors in their towns of origin. 

View the database. 

Also, read more about Miriam’s journey creating this database in the latest edition of Ancestry magazine.