Author Archives: Heather Dubnick

About Heather Dubnick

I'm a writer, editor, indexer, and researcher living in Beverly, Massachusetts.

A Family Tragedy Unearthed in Newspaper Archives

Last week, I decide to search for instances of the surname Dubnick in the available online newspaper archives at Newspapers.com. I was hoping to shed some light on the lives of my great grandfather Jacob Dubnick and great grandmother Rose … Continue reading

Posted in Brooklyn, Dubnick, family history, family trees, Finklestein, genealogy, Maine, newspaper archives | Comments Off on A Family Tragedy Unearthed in Newspaper Archives

For TBT: A Bunch of Roses

This week I was surprised to learn from my Great Aunt Edy that my maternal grandmother Ruth’s original name was Rose Marie, but that her mother decided to change it early in my grandmother’s life to Ruth Margaret. This struck … Continue reading

Posted in Aptekar, Citron, Dubnick, genealogy humor, Kates, Katz, name history, names, Zagon | Comments Off on For TBT: A Bunch of Roses

Circular Genealogy, or Self-Discovery Through Social Media

An amusing anecdote: A number of genealogy groups now have Facebook pages. In some of these groups, people post the surnames they are seeking and the locations where these families lived. My mother’s mother’s family is from Pueblo, Colorado—also my … Continue reading

Posted in Colorado, family history, family trees, genealogy humor | Comments Off on Circular Genealogy, or Self-Discovery Through Social Media

New Virtual Exhibit of Judaica from Moldova

Exciting news: I received an announcement this morning, on multiple JewishGen SIG lists, that a new virtual museum of Judaica is now available for viewing. The exhibit includes images of many fascinating and beautiful artifacts, as well as photographs of people, documents, newspaper … Continue reading

Posted in Kishinev, Moldova | Tagged | Comments Off on New Virtual Exhibit of Judaica from Moldova

A Long-Lost Cousin from Kishinev

My father’s mother’s parents, David and Esther Aptekar, were both born in Kishinev (Chisinau), Moldova, and both came to the United States, where they met, before World War I broke out. David Aptekar, my great grandfather, came to the United … Continue reading

Posted in Aptekar, Citron, family history, family trees, genealogy, Moldova | Comments Off on A Long-Lost Cousin from Kishinev

Finding Fera Citron, Part I

My paternal great grandmother Fera came to the United States under someone else’s name. Family lore has it that a cousin by the name of Ester had arranged passage and broke her leg the day before the trip, so Fera’s … Continue reading

Posted in Aptekar, Citron, family history, family trees | Tagged , | Comments Off on Finding Fera Citron, Part I

Great video about journey of Sephardic Jews from Spain to the Balkans

I just ran across this excellent video tracing the history of Sephardic Jews from the expulsion to the modern-day Balkans (in Spanish with English subtitles). To me, this is the most fascinating chapters in Jewish history, as I am have … Continue reading

Posted in family history, genealogy | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Great video about journey of Sephardic Jews from Spain to the Balkans

Genealogy: Earliest Encounters

My first encounter with genealogy when I was a child was, of course, likely in elementary school, where I’m sure I was asked at some point to construct a rudimentary family tree—a tree that was likely very simple and extended … Continue reading

Posted in family history, genealogy, literature, name etymology, name history, names | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Genealogy: Earliest Encounters

Welcome to the Little Oak: Roots and Branches Blog!

Welcome to my family history blog. I have been fascinated with family history and genealogy since I was a little girl, but for a long time the effort to trace family lines uprooted by migration and conflict seemed quixotic. Then, … Continue reading

Posted in family trees | 2 Comments