Burial Registry

Due to the diligent work of Dr. Szpek, a database of vital details from Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery in Bialystok, present-day Poland was started in 2007. Initially, as a means to organize the biblical texts recorded in inscriptions for academic research, however, it has also become a way for family to connect with ancestors. The original database eventually grew from 1200 to about 1800 entries, with about 1200 surnames and an additional 600 with other data. The current registry preserves nearly 2600 surnames with related data (given name, father’s name, most often date of death); and an additional 900 entries without surnames but recording given name, father’s name and related data. That’s over 3500 valuable entries. The registry will be rechecked and updated each summer until restoration is complete.

An exciting update to share is that the database is migrating to JewishGen.org‘s Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) thanks to the efforts of BCRF volunteer, Ken Asher Arbit and JOWBR’s Nolan Altman. Twice a year additions and corrections to the JOWBR database will occur as restoration continues. The JOWBR database will include additional fields of information not currently accessible in the original database as well as a photograph. The original database can still be accessed from on Dr. Szpek’s website: www.jewishepitaphs.org/bagnowka-jewish-cemetery-bur…/

Additional Acknowledgments: Photographs 2006-10, by Dr. Tomek Wisniewski with inscriptions translated by Dr. Szpek (2006-09) and Sara Mages (2010). Photographs 2007-Present by Frank Idzikowski and Heidi M. Szpek.

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