JewishGen provides its databases, articles, and tools as a public service in support of personal genealogical research. This page explains the limits of what we can promise about the information you find here.
Accuracy of Records
Nearly everything you search on JewishGen is an index: a transcription of an original record, prepared by volunteers working from documents that are often handwritten, faded, or in unfamiliar scripts and languages. Despite careful checking, transcription errors occur. The original records themselves are not perfect either — the person reporting an event to a clerk may have misremembered, guessed, or had reasons to misstate a name, an age, or a place. Always treat an index entry as a signpost, and verify important facts against the original record whenever possible.
If You Don’t Find a Record
Failure to find a record does not mean the event did not happen or the person did not exist. Many records were destroyed, were never created, have not survived, or have not yet been indexed. An empty search result is a reason to try other spellings, other databases, and other sources — not a conclusion.
Not Legal Proof or Professional Advice
JewishGen’s databases and articles support personal research; they do not constitute certified legal proof of ancestry, and nothing on this site is legal advice. If you are pursuing a legal matter that depends on ancestry — such as a citizenship-by-descent application — you will need certified copies of the original records from the issuing authority.
Dated Content
Articles, research guides, and InfoFiles reflect their authors’ knowledge as of the date they were written. Archive holdings, access rules, fees, addresses, and websites change; where a guide and current reality disagree, reality wins. We welcome corrections and updates at the address below.
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Contact Us
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