Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The PJN project went online in April 2007 and is the most extensive online archive of English Language Jewish newspapers in the USA. The project had been funded primarily by Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh UJF, but due to the recent economic challeges new sources of money are needed for the project to continue. 

Although primarily focused on the Pittsburgh area Jewish community there is a wealth of information on many Jewish topics and  institutions of higher learning as well as genealogists throughout the world are us.ing it heavily. Currently more than 160,000 images have been digitized:

• The Jewish Criterion - complete from 1895 to 1962 
• The Jewish Chronicle - complete from 1962 to May 1980
• The American Jewish Outlook (1946 only)

Plans had included adding the Jewish Chronicle through at least 1989 and the AJO thru 1962 as well as other website improvements.

You can get further information on the project, how to contribute, and how to search from this link: Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project 

Jewish Genealogical Resources in the Rauh Jewish Archives

Open House, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, 1-3 pm

Location: Library, 6^th floor, Senator John Heinz History Center,1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Program:  Learn to trace your family in Western Pennsylvania and beyond by using resources of the Rauh Jewish Archives. Archivists and a professional genealogist will answer questions and provide instruction in the use of archival and on-line resources and the preservation of family documents.

The program is free with History Center admission.

Refreshments provided. Dietary laws observed.

RSVP to Theresa Rhea at terea@hswp.org or 412-454-6409

Naturalization Papers Online

Now available online from Ancestry.com: Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1537, 437 rolls); Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives, Washington, D.C,   see http://tiny.cc/Ilsku

You need a personal paid subscription to Ancestry or check with your local library.