Project number: [JOWBR, ROM-00791]

Sziget Burial Records Database

Description of Original Source Data

The Sziget Burial Records database contains the names, years of death, burial locations, and other information for about 3,400 persons interred in the Old Jewish Cemetery (Cimitirul Evreiesc) in Sighetu Marmatei, Romania, formerly Maramarossziget, Hungary. According to Louis Schonfeld, who provided me with a copy of the hand-written list, the record was created after World War II by transcribing inscriptions on gravestones. The original document is reportedly in the possession of the Sighet Jewish Community Center.

The total number of burials in the cemetery, which includes burials from the latter part of the 18th century to the 1980's, probably exceeds 4,000. The list only contains information from those headstones with legible or partially legible inscriptions.

The cemetery is on Str. Szilagy Istvan within walking distance of the central area of the town. According to Andrew Tabak, who visited the site about 10 years ago, as well as more recent reports, access is by appointment only. Visitors have to report to the Jewish Community Centre Jewish Community Center (Comunitatea Evreilor din Sighet), Str. Basarabia 8, to pay a fee (100 Lei or about $3.00 at the time Andrew was there.) The phone number of the Community Center is (262) 311.652. A caretaker who lives across the street from the main entrance has to unlock the gate to the cemetery, which is surrounded by a high concrete wall. The Ohel Kohanim, a structure near the side gate, is built into the cemetery wall and has a window that allows Kohanim to pray at the graves without going into the cemetery.

Description and Organization of Original Data

The burial records are handwritten in Hebrew and year of death is entered according to the Hebrew calendar. The identification numbers in Columns 6 and 7 are in Arabic numerals. There are some additional notations of Hungarian names and Gregorian calendar birth and/or death dates. Except for the given name, the entries are in Hebrew cursive. The original records include seven columns of information as follows:

Col. 1: Cemetery section (Roman numeral)
Col. 2: Row number (Arabic numeral)
Col. 3: Gravesite number (Arabic numeral)
Col. 4: Year of death (Hebrew calendar)
Col. 5: Hebrew given name of deceased (patronym), husband’s name, surname, and other information (e.g. Gregorian birth and death dates, place of residence, etc.)
Col. 6: Entry number based on burial location
Col. 7: Number of entry among names beginning with this letter of Hebrew alphabet based on burial location

The records are organized alphabetically by the Hebrew given name that appears on the headstone. Only about a third of the entries include surnames. As noted above, each entry has two identification numbers, both of which are based on the location of the gravesite in the cemetery. The entries in Column 6 are numbered from 1 to approximately 4,000 beginning with the burial in Section I, Row I, Gravesite 1 and ending with burials in Section V, Row 5. In general, the lower numbers are assigned to the oldest burials. The numbering system is somewhat confusing, however, because some of the oldest burials appear to be in Section III, not Section I. Some members of two of the leading families in Sziget’s Orthodox community are buried in ohelim--one for the Kahan family in Section III and one for the Teitelbaums in Section I. The number in Column 7 represents the location of the burial with respect to all names beginning with a given letter of the alphabet.

Description of Spreadsheet Entries

Because these records were not created at the time the burial occurred but are based on the information provided on headstones, there are no entries in many of the fields. In most cases, for example, only Hebrew names are listed and no surnames are given. With few exceptions, only the Hebrew dates of death are provided. The following list describes the information included in each column:

Col. 1: Registration #--Number based on burial location
Col. 2: Alpha #--Number of entry among names beginning with this letter of Hebrew alphabet based on burial location
Col. 3: Section--Cemetery section (Roman numeral)
Col. 4: Row--Row number (Arabic numeral)
Col. 5: Plot--Gravesite number (Arabic numeral)
Col. 6: Surname—Surname or maiden name of deceased if listed.
Col. 7: Given Name— First name of deceased if given
Col. 8: DOB—Gregorian calendar date of birth if given
Col. 9: DOD—Gregorian calendar date of death if given
Col. 10: Hebrew DOD—Hebrew calendar year of death
Col. 11: Hebrew Name—Hebrew given name
Col. 12: Spouse—Surname and first name of spouse if given
Col. 13: Father’s Name—Father’s Hebrew name (based on patronym)
Col. 14: Mother’s Name—Mother’s Hebrew name if given
Col. 15: Comments—place of residence, if deceased was a child, etc.

Other Information

The Jewish Theological Seminary has in its possession a copy of the Pinkas maintained by the Sziget Chevra Kadisha covering the years 1884-1921. This record, which is reportedly available from the University Microfilm Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan, appears to be different from the records in this file.

Vivian Kahn <vkahn@kmort.com>