Introduction
From generation, to generation, to generation.
Honoring the Jewish tradition of remembrance, the Documenting Old Maine Jewry project seeks to tell the story, not just of those individuals, but of the singular community they shaped. Our goal is to collect short histories of the many people and organizations that have contributed, over time, to the lives of Maine Jews.
People Documenting Old Maine Jewry (DOMJ), now in its third year, maintains records on over 20,000 Jewish Mainers . The questions unavoidably arise: Who is a Jew? And who is a Mainer? On the former, the project takes no position. On the latter, we have used a broad definition to include not only those who were born, grew up, or lived here, but also those who are buried here.
Organizations DOMJ is also building a community-based history around the religious and secular institutions that were the lifeblood of the Jewish community – as well as the source of quite regular souris (headaches). The project is creating 'family trees' of those often-interconnected local institutions: some 180 Jewish service organizations, 94 Jewish religious bodies, 18 Chevra Kaddisha and cemeteries, 15 Jewish camps, and 240 businesses crucial to the economic survival of Maine Jews.
Places The database has information on Maine Jews from over 90 cities and towns . Currently, the larger Jewish communities are in Auburn-Lewiston, Augusta, Biddeford-Saco, Bangor, Portland, and Rockland. Users can seek information in a particular town or city or can select a wider area to search on the state map index . Each option allows users to find organizations and people either in these key cities/towns or in any county.
Sources The DOMJ methodology is basically a jigsaw approach. We take whatever community, municipal, and cemetery records we have and merge them into a common database. As a result, we face problems of duplication and incompleteness. To minimize those problems, we try to name-match only when we have at least two factual sources for a given name. Ultimately, we feel it is better to have duplicate records than inaccurate information linking two unrelated people with the same names; Jews do love to repeat certain family names. In the name of historic accuracy, we ask families to supplement/correct their information using the on-line edit function on their page, or by emailing correct information to dopj@mindspring.com.
For security reasons, complete access to the database is available only on request. A full index of all burials , however, is publicly available.
Volunteers The DOMJ is largely a volunteer effort; we always welcome more help. Volunteers interested in photographing older Jewish headstones, collecting information on a particular town or organization, transferring data from print to electronic records, or upgrading software should email to dopj@mindspring.com.
Finances Financial contributions supplement the volunteer effort by supporting data collection and outreach. DOMJ is under the financial supervision of Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine(JCA), a 501(c)3 organization. Donations are welcome using the Tzedakah box below or by sending a gift (marked DOMJ) to the JCA, 57 Ashmont St., Portland, Maine 04103. Major donors can select a range of contributions to honor their own Maine immigrant family or to inspire and inform the next generation of Maine Jews.
Heart and Soul The core of the project is the addition of new information by Maine Jews, whether online through the website, by email, or by old-fashioned mail. We encourage all registered users to supplement or correct existing information on individuals using the edit function on each person's page. Historical documents, oral accounts, photographs of community activities, and print articles can be emailed to dopj@mindspring.com. To get a mailing address, please email describing the materials you would like to share.
Recent additions to the database include
- May 2009
- Hebrew School Spelling Award Ceremony (Bangor) 1947
- Community Center Seder (Bangor) 1947 c
- Recollection of Rita Weisberg (Portland) as presented at Temple Beth El November 2004
- Temple Beth El 1954 Newsletter (Portland)
- Jewish Community Center Bulletins for 1946, 1948, and 1954(Portland)
- Girl Scouts at Jewish Community Center (Portland) 1945(Portland)
- additional information on the Weisberg, Turitz, Lewis, Goldberg, and Dion families
- April 2009
- Recollection of Solomon Crasnick (Portland) by his daughter Elaine Kahaner
- Recollection of Phil and Bertha Rudek (Portland) by their daughter Cynthia Rudek Pedlikin
- Shenson & Jolovitz grocery store (Waterville), circa 1915
- baseball team at the Jewish Community Center (Portland), 1963
- sport team at the Jewish Community Center (Portland), circa 1960
- additional information on the Winner, Fineberg and Rudek families
- March 2009
- Cutlers ,(Old Town) 1900c and 1965c
- Ben Sklar Store ,(Old Town) , 1965c
- Goldsmith Furniture ,(Old Town) , 1965c
- H M Goldsmith Store ,(Old Town) , 1965c
- Goldsmith Furniture ,(Old Town) , 1965c
- Penobscot Shoe and Old Town Shoe , (Old Town) , 1965c
- H M Goldsmith Store, (Old Town), 1965c
- Goldsmith Furniture ,(Old Town) , 1965c
- Temple Israel - Exterior and Interior ,(Old Town) , 1955c
- Three CDC end of camp photos ,(Sebago Lake) , circa 1952, 1953, 1954
- February 2009
- Completed entry of all 4,150 alphabetic records for the Mt Sinai cemetery (Portland).
- January 2009
- 1950 Jewish Youth (Portland) , 1950c
- Jewish Community Center (Portland) Jewish Community Center group photo , 1947c
- additional burial records from Mt Sinai cemetery (Portland)
Last Updated : 10 May 2009