More "name changes at Ellis Island"

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Dear Cousins,

Whenever an acquaintance tells a cute & fanciful story about how the ancestors got
their names changed at Ellis Island, I always refer them to the The Myth of Name-Changes at Ellis Island & Why Can't I Find My Uncle Shlomo at Ellis Island? "American Names / Declaring Independence, by Marian L. Smith, INS Historian

But I was just reading my notes on naming practices in eastern Europe, and found the following, written by Roger Lustig on Feb 2007 on the discussion group. It answers at least some questions about the difference between an old country name and a new one in America."Northern European Jews a) for the most part didn't have
hereditary surnames until about 200 years ago; b) often had them written in Hebrew
or Cyrillic characters until they emigrated. So the first time the name got written
down in Roman characters, that transliteration (by whomever--perhaps a clerk) might
have stuck."

I presume that Roger meant by "clerk", not a functionary at Ellis Island, but a person who transliterated the name for the manifest, in the old country.

Best, Steve Orlen

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Relevant Pages

  • JGSGW, Alexandria, VA, April 18 Ellis Island program
    ... What It Was Like to Arrive in America Through Ellis Island ... Barry Nove has been a member of the Jewish Genealogy ... Society of New York and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Dayton. ...
    (soc.genealogy.jewish)
  • Re: Constructed Family Names
    ... the myth of name changes "at ellis island" has been discussed at length on jewishgen. ... you can also try to obtain the naturalization certificate which may also have some useful clues. ... names that seem to have been constructed by immigration officials. ... on Jewish Genealogy ...
    (soc.genealogy.jewish)
  • Re: Ellis Island Manifests unreadable or missing
    ... There were plenty of other entry points -- from Canada on the North, all along the Atlantic Seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico. ... I've never been able to find my great-grandmother, Leah Lachowitzsky and grandmother, Malkah Lachowitzsky in the Ellis Island manifests. ... on Jewish Genealogy ...
    (soc.genealogy.jewish)
  • Museum of Family History Update for October 2009
    ... First, for Shabbat and for ten other Jewish holidays, a simple explanation of each day is presented. ... Secondly, personal stories from the United States and pre-war Europe have been interspersed among these explanations, making the exhibition even interesting and moving. ... --Castle Garden and Ellis Island: Ports of Immigration: For those of you who wish to learn more about the history of Castle Garden, as well as Ellis Island, this is your chance. ... If you read through each of the exhibition's pages, you will learn more about Castle Garden including its interesting history (P. T. Barnum brought Jenny Lind to America to perform at Castle Garden in 1850, before Castle Garden became an immigration station). ...
    (soc.genealogy.jewish)