Professional genealogist and map expert Brian J. Lenius, co-founder of the East European Genealogical Society (EEGS) will speak at the 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.

Brian is the author of “The Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia,” and he has been instrumental in working on Gesher Galicia’s Cadastral Map and Landowner Records project, which is committed to expanding the availability of land records and maps as adjuncts to vital records’ research.

At the conference he will speak on “The Lviv Archive Research Experience,” and the cadastral maps and landowner records found in Ukrainian and Polish archives.

These extremely detailed maps reveal individual houses, yards, barns, roads, fields, synagogues, cemeteries and more. Although they are considered technical resources, they provide rich detail for a genealogist or family historian who wishes to know more and trace their ancestors.

18th Century-Boryslav Book of Landowners

The land records can provide the size and/or values (for taxes) of properties that an individual owned. This also adds to the history of the family. Some land record books were used for a period of years and when land parcels were sold, the name of the original landowner and his house number were stroked out (but still legible) and the new owner’s information written in.

Along with vital records – or as a substitute if those records do not exist -  maps can be a very powerful research tool.  With a house number and location, the researcher can see the routes his or her ancestors walked or rode by horse and wagon from home to fields, to school, synagogue, and learn about the family’s neighbors.

Bukaczowce Jewish Market Square - 1848

Brian will also staff a table at the Market Square event on the conference’s first day, and display various Austrian Empire property maps and records which were created during three historical periods, 1785-88, 1819-1820, and 1817-1860s.

If your interest is piqued…we encourage you to attend his lectures on Monday and Tuesday where he will present the different types of maps and landowner records held by Ukrainian (and some Polish) archives and explain how to analyze the information gleaned from them.

Close-Up Jewish Buildings

Brian’s expert knowledge will help researchers learn how to use these resources to uncover rich family details.

(Conference attendees are encouraged to bring their own maps to share with other researchers.)

There will be other map-related talks, dealing with digital and Internet resources, map interpretation, and more throughout the conference week.