Joel Weintraub
2019-02-28 19:11:31 UTC
X-No-archive: yes
Sherri Venditti who posted recently on her missing manifest page started to
work with the online 1897-1902 Ellis Island WPA cards and ran into some
confusing situations. I'll try to clear that up here without giving you too
much of a headache. See my recent post on JewishGen on the WPA
transcription program at Ellis Island and the two film series.
Now here's abbreviations I'll use in this post. Those 1897-1902 cards are
in a series of 115 films on NARA (National Archives & Records
Administration) series T519. I'll call those films "NARA rolls". They are
also online at FamilySearch.org (FS) but they are not in the same format,
thus I'll use the term "FS reels". Note: I have worked with only a few of
these online FS reels but think my experience may pertain to all of the FS
reels for T519. The reels/rolls show for that time period a card for each
immigrant arriving at Ellis Island, transcribed directly from the original
manifest. The WPA cards were transcribed in late 1930s to early 1940s.
You find the FS reels you want by the last name of the person you are
searching for. It's not a Soundex search as it is for the 1902 to 1943 part
of the WPA card films. The catalogue of these FS reels is at
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/341057 You need to register to
see the films. Use a fast browser to access this website page as this link
may freeze on you or produce garbled lines with slow browsers such as
Firefox.
I'll use a real example, searching for Weintraub cards on these FS reels.
Once you are on the website page shown previously, scroll down to the T519
reel descriptions. Click on the camera image on the right to open up images
on that reel. Weintraub should be in reel 112 but there is a mislink here,
and it is actually found at the reel 113 link.
Then your next step is to find where on the film is the start of your
surname's cards. The one reel containing Weintraub cards has over 18,000
images (that's not a typo). Where to start? But before I tell you that,
let's visualize how the cards are on the original NARA roll 112 (which I
have as well as all the other rolls in this series). The NARA rolls are only
5/8" wide. So how are the 18,000 plus cards packed on the roll? If you
look at the original NARA film, you will see two columns of cards running
along the film length. Cards are lined up horizontally to the right edge of
the film, run up the right side of the film, and at the film end, reverse
direction, and run upside down along the left side of the film. The cards
then are in alphabetical order by last name and then first name and age from
the beginning of the roll, around the end, and back to the beginning again.
Now you would think when this original NARA film was scanned and then
digitized to be put online by FS, that they would first scan one side of the
original film roll and then the other side. I don't think that happened but
instead I think they filmed both sides at once and then manipulated the
images so the online view of the film at FamilySearch is more like viewing a
microfiche (many rows and ten columns of images) rather than the original
NARA film format. That's why I'm using "reel" for FS and "roll" for NARA
to make that distinction.
So how are these images sequenced on the FS reel (microfiche format)? The
first Weintraub card on FS reel 112 is at image 16105 and it's Abe
Weintraub, a child. All the images at FS were given numbers so one can go
to a specific number with the search tools provided, and the numbers
increase by one as you move along each image in each row. I found 16105 by
jumping around the film. So one would expect that the next image, 16106,
which is to the right of 16105 (on the same row) should be an older Abe
Weintraub passenger or another Weintraub like Abraham in alphabetical or age
order. It's not. It's Gottfried Weisshaar! Then moving to the right comes
a Weintraub card image, then a Weisshaar card image, then a Weintraub card
image, and so on along the row.
If you look at the original NARA roll 112 for the same Abe Weintraub card
image, the Weintraub cards are running along the right side of the film,
going up the alphabet of first names. And directly opposite of this column
of cards on the roll are the upside down Weisshaar cards going down the
alphabet for first names. Somehow the online FS reel 112 has taken a
Weintraub card image, then the adjacent (but not on the same side of the
film) Weisshaar card image now turned the same way, then a Weintraub card
image, etc. along the rows of images.
If you follow this complicated sequence of cards and how it impacts the
sequence of names, then if Weintraub cards/images were at the end of the
original NARA roll, then made the turn, and continued upside down, we would
see on the FS reel (microfiche format) Weintraub cards going up the alphabet
for first names regularly interspersed with Weintraub cards going down the
alphabet as to first names. If you don't understand what is happening you
may abandon the whole search on this resource as too confusing to use. In
any case it's going to take patience to use the reel.
This also makes things difficult when you are trying to find the first card
for a surname among the thousands of images on the FS reel. My suggestion
is to arrive at a random card on the FS reel, look at the surname on the
card, and then look at the next card or two in the sequence and do it again
for some images a little way away, to determine where you are in the reel,
where you are in the sequence of each surname, and then decide whether you
will go towards the higher or lower image numbers to find your surname in
the sequence.
If you find a reel of the FS WPA 1897-1902 material that has a different
presentation of the information, please let me know.
Enjoy?
Joel Weintraub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get ready to Rock & Roll in Cleveland. Registration for the 39th IAJGS
International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (July 28 - August 2, 2019)
is now open. Additional information and the link to registration is at
www.iajgs2019.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Watch JewishGen's video -- click here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Planning to use Ancestry.com? Start by using the "Ancestry Search Box"
on the JewishGen homepage.
By doing this, any eventual subscription to Ancestry.com will result in
Jewishgen receiving a commission.
It's an easy way to help JewishGen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support JewishGen with a contribution to the JewishGen General Fund!
http://www.jewishgen.org/jewishgen-erosity/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sign up for the JGFFAlert!
http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/jgff-faq.html#q3.7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join our mailing list at http://lyris.jewishgen.org/ListManager if you
would like the convenience of receiving all soc.genealogy.jewish posts in
your mailbox, instead of having to search for them in the newsgroup, whose
content may not be consistently carried in its entirety by all providers.
Sherri Venditti who posted recently on her missing manifest page started to
work with the online 1897-1902 Ellis Island WPA cards and ran into some
confusing situations. I'll try to clear that up here without giving you too
much of a headache. See my recent post on JewishGen on the WPA
transcription program at Ellis Island and the two film series.
Now here's abbreviations I'll use in this post. Those 1897-1902 cards are
in a series of 115 films on NARA (National Archives & Records
Administration) series T519. I'll call those films "NARA rolls". They are
also online at FamilySearch.org (FS) but they are not in the same format,
thus I'll use the term "FS reels". Note: I have worked with only a few of
these online FS reels but think my experience may pertain to all of the FS
reels for T519. The reels/rolls show for that time period a card for each
immigrant arriving at Ellis Island, transcribed directly from the original
manifest. The WPA cards were transcribed in late 1930s to early 1940s.
You find the FS reels you want by the last name of the person you are
searching for. It's not a Soundex search as it is for the 1902 to 1943 part
of the WPA card films. The catalogue of these FS reels is at
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/341057 You need to register to
see the films. Use a fast browser to access this website page as this link
may freeze on you or produce garbled lines with slow browsers such as
Firefox.
I'll use a real example, searching for Weintraub cards on these FS reels.
Once you are on the website page shown previously, scroll down to the T519
reel descriptions. Click on the camera image on the right to open up images
on that reel. Weintraub should be in reel 112 but there is a mislink here,
and it is actually found at the reel 113 link.
Then your next step is to find where on the film is the start of your
surname's cards. The one reel containing Weintraub cards has over 18,000
images (that's not a typo). Where to start? But before I tell you that,
let's visualize how the cards are on the original NARA roll 112 (which I
have as well as all the other rolls in this series). The NARA rolls are only
5/8" wide. So how are the 18,000 plus cards packed on the roll? If you
look at the original NARA film, you will see two columns of cards running
along the film length. Cards are lined up horizontally to the right edge of
the film, run up the right side of the film, and at the film end, reverse
direction, and run upside down along the left side of the film. The cards
then are in alphabetical order by last name and then first name and age from
the beginning of the roll, around the end, and back to the beginning again.
Now you would think when this original NARA film was scanned and then
digitized to be put online by FS, that they would first scan one side of the
original film roll and then the other side. I don't think that happened but
instead I think they filmed both sides at once and then manipulated the
images so the online view of the film at FamilySearch is more like viewing a
microfiche (many rows and ten columns of images) rather than the original
NARA film format. That's why I'm using "reel" for FS and "roll" for NARA
to make that distinction.
So how are these images sequenced on the FS reel (microfiche format)? The
first Weintraub card on FS reel 112 is at image 16105 and it's Abe
Weintraub, a child. All the images at FS were given numbers so one can go
to a specific number with the search tools provided, and the numbers
increase by one as you move along each image in each row. I found 16105 by
jumping around the film. So one would expect that the next image, 16106,
which is to the right of 16105 (on the same row) should be an older Abe
Weintraub passenger or another Weintraub like Abraham in alphabetical or age
order. It's not. It's Gottfried Weisshaar! Then moving to the right comes
a Weintraub card image, then a Weisshaar card image, then a Weintraub card
image, and so on along the row.
If you look at the original NARA roll 112 for the same Abe Weintraub card
image, the Weintraub cards are running along the right side of the film,
going up the alphabet of first names. And directly opposite of this column
of cards on the roll are the upside down Weisshaar cards going down the
alphabet for first names. Somehow the online FS reel 112 has taken a
Weintraub card image, then the adjacent (but not on the same side of the
film) Weisshaar card image now turned the same way, then a Weintraub card
image, etc. along the rows of images.
If you follow this complicated sequence of cards and how it impacts the
sequence of names, then if Weintraub cards/images were at the end of the
original NARA roll, then made the turn, and continued upside down, we would
see on the FS reel (microfiche format) Weintraub cards going up the alphabet
for first names regularly interspersed with Weintraub cards going down the
alphabet as to first names. If you don't understand what is happening you
may abandon the whole search on this resource as too confusing to use. In
any case it's going to take patience to use the reel.
This also makes things difficult when you are trying to find the first card
for a surname among the thousands of images on the FS reel. My suggestion
is to arrive at a random card on the FS reel, look at the surname on the
card, and then look at the next card or two in the sequence and do it again
for some images a little way away, to determine where you are in the reel,
where you are in the sequence of each surname, and then decide whether you
will go towards the higher or lower image numbers to find your surname in
the sequence.
If you find a reel of the FS WPA 1897-1902 material that has a different
presentation of the information, please let me know.
Enjoy?
Joel Weintraub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get ready to Rock & Roll in Cleveland. Registration for the 39th IAJGS
International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (July 28 - August 2, 2019)
is now open. Additional information and the link to registration is at
www.iajgs2019.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Watch JewishGen's video -- click here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Planning to use Ancestry.com? Start by using the "Ancestry Search Box"
on the JewishGen homepage.
By doing this, any eventual subscription to Ancestry.com will result in
Jewishgen receiving a commission.
It's an easy way to help JewishGen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support JewishGen with a contribution to the JewishGen General Fund!
http://www.jewishgen.org/jewishgen-erosity/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sign up for the JGFFAlert!
http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/jgff-faq.html#q3.7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join our mailing list at http://lyris.jewishgen.org/ListManager if you
would like the convenience of receiving all soc.genealogy.jewish posts in
your mailbox, instead of having to search for them in the newsgroup, whose
content may not be consistently carried in its entirety by all providers.