The Nicole Factor

Saturday, April 16, 2022

#ShabbatPesach: Puppies and the Afikomen

No wonder that the matzah looked like the Gates of Heaven or the two tablets given on Sinai when it was broken…it ended up giving an idea of how Reilly and Camille would consider even a piece of matzah.

Friday, April 15, 2022

Commentary: Chametz during Pesach? That’s exactly what bullying in any Jewish genealogical group is

(PS Much of this is what I posted in these groups in response to some inquiries, and some information that I thought could help others.)

Without going into any specific recent posts in some genealogy groups too much, and even though I’m certainly not a moderator of any of the groups, I would ask everyone to remember that we are all trying to find out about our family history. Not all of us had the privilege to know that we are Jewish from the beginning, and some of us are (if you will) the products of interrelationships—whether or not those relationships were consensual.

Also, it is Pesach: why especially during this time of year or some of us intend on committing sinat chinam and lashon hara against each other? Also, remember that—for example—the sons Moshe had a Midianite-Ethiopian mother, and that the son of Shelomit bat Divri had an Egyptian father.

Being similarly mixed-blooded to Gershon and Eliezer and ben Shelomit, I can tell you that I myself did not find out that I am Jewish until I was 18, and I have also been bullied for—quite frankly—being mostly Patrilineally Jewish (I know that my being mixed blooded frankly perturbs some people) and having different beliefs from the traditional beliefs (I am a Jewish Christian, which is really pissed off some people— my answer in short is “Oh well. Jesus was Jewish.”). In fact, I’ve had to block some people because of the sinat chinam and lashon hara; and the effects of their bullying in conjunction with the brick walls which I have faced have sometimes tempted me to give up genealogy—and even life—altogether.

One thing that I can say, nonetheless, is that if anyone is in a position similar to mine, know a couple of (summed-up) facts (among other facts):

Per Tanakh, God accepts both Patrilineal and Matrilineal Jews.
If you suspect that you may in fact be Jewish and have taken a DNA test before you have done any family-tree research, you would have to research your family tree to see if you are Jewish—including Crypto Jewish. Having a Jewish DNA match may indicate that you at least have some Jewish ancestry (though keep in mind as well that DNA reference panels don’t always have even-numbered groups—and that by itself can skew results) although certainly more research would have to be done (Also keep in mind that autosomal DNA is different than YDNA and mitochondrial DNA).
Bullies who are behaving as equivalents to the Spanish Inquisitionists will have to answer to God. Tricia Adams, that doesn’t make any less of at least of Jewish descent. Unlike some people, I would not dare to dismiss anyone just because of circumstances of birth, etc. which they cannot control—especially because ancestors of mine went through those kinds of circumstances (In fact, as I write this, I am more convinced that Great-Granddad Czarnecki‘s sibling who was born before his sister Regina was not conceived consensually. Conspicuously enough, he or she is never listed as a child of Great-Great-Granddad Czarnecki—not at all even being noted as of existing on the 1910 Census—although he or she is listed as one of Great-Great-Grandma Czarnecki’s children— listed as one of three children born I’m currently living in 1909 when Regina was born in March 1909 and deceased in June1910 when Great-Grandaunt Alice was born. On Great-Granduncle Stanley’s November 1911 birth certificate, he or she is either oddly mentioned again as one of five or not mentioned at all—assuming that another child seems to have been born in February 1911, since none of the children in any regard is listed as a twin or triplet. By the way, prematurity did occur in our family; so, it would be no surprise if Great-Great-Grandma was able to keep the purity laws regarding childbirth and any child was prematurely born).

In conclusion please don’t let anyone tell you that you are not something that you are just because they want to disingenuously gatekeep—and conversely, please do not disingenuously gatekeep. Remember that whether we are mixed blooded or fully blooded, etc., we were all strangers in Egypt.

#FluffyFriday: Two Puppies Ready For

Thursday, April 14, 2022

#ThrowbackThursday: Auntie Michelle‘s accidental photoshoot just before #NationalPetDay

And I was not happy that Auntie Michelle took so many photos. - Reilly

Thursday, April 7, 2022

#ThrowbackThursday: Brain Ball Time with Reilly

Monday, April 4, 2022

As Promised: The Not-Diverse and -Inclusive NYC Government

Background:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PS Look for a blog entry regarding emails and a request for just a quick look pertaining to records of any kind on a long-deceased relative (unless she’s still alive at about 137, which is doubtful)… <a href="https://t.co/Rnb8CekjXn">https://t.co/Rnb8CekjXn</a></p>— Nitzkiah b’ Avigdor Czarnecki ✡️✝️🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@Nickidewbear) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nickidewbear/status/1511100115326537747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The email chain, in reverse chronological order:

Family History (Records)

Apr 1 at 11:58 AM

30 attachments

Hello,

Unfortunately, as previously stated, we cannot perform a search for any of our vital records without an order for a search for these records first being placed.

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

From: nickidewbear@aol.com <nickidewbear@aol.com>
Sent: Friday, April 1, 2022 11:11 AM
To: Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: City of New York - Correspondence #1-1-6850954 Contact Form Submission

Hello, I am aware of all that, and that is precisely why I’m reaching out to the vital records department. If I could’ve found a record for myself, I would’ve told you.

On Friday, April 1, 2022, 08:24:52 AM EDT, Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov> wrote:

Hello,

The order for the record includes the search that we would be performing to see if any record exists, and the results of that search whether it be a certificate or an official Not Found letter. Unfortunately, we cannot perform a search for a vital record without an order for this search first being placed. If you do not wish to order a search to see if any such records exist, the sites previously provided will allow you to perform your own search.

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

From: nickidewbear@aol.com <nickidewbear@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 6:57 PM
To: Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: City of New York - Correspondence #1-1-6850954 Contact Form Submission

Hello. As I have stated, I cannot place an order if I don’t even know if New York City has any records on Rochla (Rachel) Andrelewitz other than her Ellis Island manifest. As I have also stated , I am a person with disabilities and all the way in Maryland. I can’t just drive up to New York City; and I have exhaustively searched for records on her for years—including through Steve Morse, Ancestry, etc.

I wish that I could say that I am surprised that a city that apparently prides itself on diversity and inclusivity would be unwilling to help a person with disabilities. I am, however, I’m surprised that such a city would be unwilling to even check to see whether they have any kind of records on the aforementioned person—the same city to which she immigrated almost 115 years ago should be all the more willing to help her distant relative whom cannot drive up to New York City for herself to see if any records about her of any type exist. As it is, apparently so-called diverse and -inclusive New York City has not changed much in regards to the way it treats people with disabilities or is transparent about genealogical records even 115 years later.

Please correct my impression if I am wrong by simply providing information as to whether you have any kind of records on Rochla (Rachel) Andrelewitz—as aforementioned, her last known address was at 210 Lynch St., Apartment 3, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. She was born in about 1885 with one of her parents listed as “Gitla Andrelewitz”; at Ellis Island. She arrived in New York in 1907. She lived with her aunt Sarah (née Katz) Goldberg Dennison and her cousin George Goldberg as of September 1907.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 12:11:11 PM EDT, Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov> wrote:

Hello,

Unfortunately, in order for us to help you with the search, you have to order this on our website and pay and we will help with the searches. If not you can use all these websites for alternative searches,www.ancestryinstitution.com, www.stevemorse.org, www.germangenealogygroup.com, I believe they are free websites and some you need to create a log in.

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

From: nickidewbear@aol.com <nickidewbear@aol.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 10:19 PM
To: Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: City of New York - Correspondence #1-1-6850954 Contact Form Submission

How can I place an order if I don’t even know if New York City has any records on Rochla (Rachel) Andrelewitz? Besides, I am a person with disabilities and all the way in Maryland. I can’t just drive up to New York City. Also, as I said, I have exhaustively search for records on her for years; and all I’ve been able to find is at her last known address was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her aunt Sarah Dennison and her first cousin George Goldberg in September 1907.

On Monday, March 28, 2022, 09:05:43 AM EDT, Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov> wrote:

Hello,

Unfortunately there is not much else we can do aside from pointing you in the directions to perform your own search. If you would like to make an appointment to come in person, someone will be able to assist you in how to use these sites to attempt to locate any record, but for us to perform a search an order first has to be placed.

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

From: nickidewbear@aol.com <nickidewbear@aol.com>
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2022 10:09 PM
To: Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: City of New York - Correspondence #1-1-6850954 Contact Form Submission

The thing is that I’ve tried all of that, and I have not been able to find any information whatsoever. Also, due to my current financial situation, I am not able to afford extra searches for records.

On Friday, March 25, 2022, 07:24:19 AM EDT, Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov> wrote:

Hello,

For our vital records, if you would like to place an order for searches of these records you may do so through our website at the following link: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/records/historical-records/order.page

Order - Records - New York City

Order Vital Records. Visit Historical Vital Records of NYC to search, browse, download or purchase certified copies of over 9 million birth, death and marriage records. Vital Records include birth records, death records, and marriage licenses and certificates. We provide certified copies of records via email or the USPS.

www1.nyc.gov

If you would like to perform your own search, many of our vital records are currently digitized and available to view on our Historical Vital Records site at the link below. The Search tab on that site also has links to other sites that contain searchable databases of our indexes of vital records.

I would also suggest looking at census records, they are available to search online and might provide some information that you are looking for: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/New_York_Census

New York Census - FamilySearch Wiki

Starting in 1790, federal population schedules were taken every 10 years in the United States. Click here for more information about federal census records. New York State was the 11th state to join the Union on July 26, 1788. It was included in all of the federal censuses.

www.familysearch.org

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

From: nickidewbear@aol.com <nickidewbear@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2022 4:13 PM
To: Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: City of New York - Correspondence #1-1-6850954 Contact Form Submission

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forward suspect email to phish@cyber.nyc.gov as an attachment (Click the More button, then forward as attachment).

Hello. As I stated, I am looking for any record pertaining to Rochla (Rachel) Andrelewitz in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her last known address was at 210 Lynch St., Apartment 3, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. She was born in about 1885 with one of her parents listed as “Gitla Andrelewitz”; at Ellis Island. She arrived in New York in 1907.

She lived with her aunt Sarah (née Katz) Goldberg Dennison and her cousin George Goldberg as of September 1907.

Do you have any record—including marriage records and birth records with Rochla listed as the mother—pertaining to Rochla?

On Thursday, March 24, 2022, 07:44:10 AM EDT, Family History (Records) <familyhistory@records.nyc.gov> wrote:

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to us! We carry NYC birth records through 1909, death records through 1948, and marriage records through 1949. Are you looking for one of these records?

Sincerely,

The Municipal Archives Staff

Visit our Historical Vital Records site

Visit our Digital Collections

Visit our Archival Collection Guides

Check out our Blog!

name: Nicole Czarnecki

email: nickidewbear@aol.com

comment: I am looking for any record pertaining to Rochla (Rachel) Andrelewitz. Her last known address was at 210 Lynch St., Apartment 3, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. She was born in about 1885 with one of her parents listed as “Gitla Andrelewitz” at Ellis Island. She arrived in New York in 1907.

This e-mail, including any attachments, may be confidential, privileged or otherwise legally protected. It is intended only for the addressee. If you received this e-mail in error or from someone who was not authorized to send it to you, do not disseminate, copy or otherwise use this e-mail or its attachments. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.