[Cz-L] Documents from Czernowitz

I received several e-mails asking about the documents I have from
Czernowitz. I am afraid that I cannot be of much help to those looking
for similar documents. What I have are part of my mother-in-law's papers
and originated a long time ago.

The birth certificate is in two forms: one in German, one in English.
The German certificate is a certified copy of the original in the Book
of Birth Certificates and has a stamp from the Jewish Birth Certificate
Department of Czernowitz and a date of November 14, 1913. This was about
two months before she arrived in New York, so it was apparently obtained
for the purpose of showing to the immigration officers. It has a tax
stamp for 1 Krone from the Austrian Empire affixed to it.

There is also an English translation of the birth certificate, typed and
dated September 7, 1939. It is signed and certified by Arthur M Bush,
Commissioner of Deeds for the County of New York.

I only have the English translation of the marriage certificate. I don't
know what happened to the German original, but the translation shows
that it was also obtained on November 14, 1913 in Czernowitz and that it
was a certified copy of the original in the Book of Jewish Marriages. It
was also stamped by the Jewish Birth Certificate Department and had the
same tax stamp and date. The translation also dates from September 7,
1939 by the same person.

I have no idea what happened to the Book of Birth Certificates or the
Book of Jewish Marriages in Czernowitz I only know that they existed in
1913 and perhaps they survive somewhere today. It is interesting that
there was such a thing as the Jewish Birth Certificate Department in
Czernowitz at that time.

Henry Chadwick
Received on 2006-01-10 11:52:31