Program Description:

Have you been confused by your ancestors’ vital records?  Many birth records show the person as illegitimate, missing a surname, having a hyphenated surname, not matching their parents or siblings, or having married via a “ritual Marriage.”  Janette Silverman explains some of the punitive family laws in the old Austrian Empire that led to these curiosities, how Jewish communities worked to circumvent these laws, how this is reflected in vital records, and the insight we can gain about the lives of our Galician ancestors. You may be able to apply the lessons learned to help solve confusing surnames in records of other countries as well.

Bio:
Dr. Janette Silverman is a professional genealogist, who heads a team of specialists in Eastern European and Jewish genealogy at AncestryProGenealogists® at Ancestry.com. She began genealogy research 40 years ago that later turned her hobby into a doctoral thesis. Silverman is a former chair of the Phoenix JGS and of an IAJGS conference as well as being a JewishGen volunteer.  She has published widely and is a sought-after speaker.