Genealogy research often stops at a document nobody in the family can read. I help family historians turn those papers into names, dates, places and relationships they can use.
Documents that hold family history
- Family letters mention parents, siblings, children, towns, illnesses, weddings and deaths, often with the Hebrew names used in synagogue.
- Landsmanshaft and burial society minutes record members, deaths, burials and payments, with exact dates. Read what they can tell you.
- Yizkor books describe a town, its families and its people who were murdered in the Holocaust.
- Tombstones give the Hebrew name, the father’s name and the date of death in the Hebrew calendar.
- Photographs often carry a dedication and names on the back.
What makes genealogy translation different
In a family letter, names and places matter more than any other word. I transcribe them exactly as written, give the likely standard spelling, and point out when a name could be read more than one way. Hebrew dates are converted to the civil calendar, so you can match them to other records.
Send me the names, towns and dates you already know. That context often confirms a reading that would otherwise remain uncertain.
Before you send anything, read how to scan old family letters for translation.