What is JRI-Poland ?
What is JRI-Poland ?
A: Jewish Records Indexing - Poland (JRI-Poland) has launched a series of groundbreaking projects to develop a comprehensive, Internet-searchable database of indices to the 19th century Jewish vital records of Poland. It is estimated that there are between seven and nine million vital records reflecting the significant life events of the Jews who lived in the hundreds of Polish cities, towns, and villages during the 19th century. The goal of JRI-Poland is to help researchers to locate clues and aid their research by "casting a wide net" into the records the Jews of Poland. A search of the JRI-Poland database is only a FIRST STEP to obtaining additional family information. It is not intended to replace a search of the actual vital records, but to serve as a finding aid to help focus a researcher on areas in which his ancestors might have lived in 19th century Poland. JRI-Poland was launched in early 1995 and now includes several projects
including the Shtetl CO-OP Initiative and the Polish State Archives Project. These
activities involve the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and contributors and have yielded
hundreds of thousands of indices of vital records. Q: What geographic area is included in JRI-Poland ? A: All current and former territories of Poland are included in the mission of Jewish Records Indexing - Poland. The degree to which any given town or area is covered depends upon: (1) the existence of readily available records for that area; and, (2) whether volunteers have already worked to transcribe the records for the JRI-Poland Project.
Q: Who is involved in JRI-Poland ? A: Inspired by an idea from Stanley Diamond, Montreal, Canada, and founded in 1995 by Steven A. Zedeck of Nashua, New Hampshire USA and Michael Tobias of Glasgow, Scotland, Jewish Records Indexing - Poland has become a model for state-of-the-art Jewish genealogical vital record indexing. Stanley Diamond became Project Coordinator in 1997, Steven A. Zedeck serves as JRI-Poland WebMaster and Michael Tobias is the Database Manager. Today, JRI-Poland, Inc. is a registered not-for-profit organization, directed by an international board of directors from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. There are several hundred JRI-Poland volunteers around the world… working together to build this ever-growing resource! The majority of the indices in JRI-Poland come from two sources. The first is the indexing of the LDS microfilmed records, comprising about 2,000 films from more than 500 towns and villages. The microfilms may be viewed at LDS Family History Centers around the world. The second, launched in early 1998, is the JRI-Poland / Polish State Archives Project. While the LDS films contain approximately two million records, there are an estimated additional five to seven million late 19th century records that were not filmed. Only records more than 100 years old are available for this indexing project. Q: What is the JRI-Poland agreement with the Polish State Archives? A: An historic agreement -- signed in 1997 -- was announced in July 1998 at the Summer Seminar on Jewish Genealogy held in Los Angeles. When completed, the Polish State Archives Project will add approximately five to seven million entries to the database. These are indices of records NOT filmed by the LDS. While most of these indices are from the latter part of the 19th century, in some cases, the indexing may also cover registers from years in the earlier period that were missed or not available during the LDS microfilming project in Poland. |