New Zealand, Archives New Zealand Probate Records, 1848-1991

Familysearch has just published a collection of probate records held by Archives New Zealand for the time period 1848-1991. The records come from various courts throughout New Zealand. The published collection has over 2.7 million images, however the images for probates issued during the past 50 years are not available for viewing.
The collection is very easy to use as it is name search able. Searching for the name Cohen, there were 158 different probates for that name. The record below is for Siegmund Cohen, whose will was probated in 1903 in the court of Wanganui. The index information (shown below) gives all the vital information.

 

The original record can be found by clicking on the "View the Document" linked located in the upper right corner. The wills are very easy to read and in the case of Siegmund Cohen give a lot of good family information. The record below is page one of the will which gives the name of his wife, Mathilda,  the names of their four sons,  Maurice, Louis, Edward and Leon, and their sons.

Page two of the will also provides the names of his two daughters, Clara and Lena. This collection may not have as many Jewish families as a European collection but it does give great help to those with ancestry in the Pacific.

Russian Jews in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF)

At this time of year in the United States, we celebrate two major holidays, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. The first honors all those who have served their country. The second holiday, Thanksgiving, gives us all a chance to pause and give thanks for all that we have. It is not surprising that to many of us, you can't have one without the other.
I am most thankful to those who have served, like my own father, who put his life on hold to serve as a proud member of the United States Marine Corps, without them we wouldn't have all the freedoms we enjoy.
A great example of others who have given of themselves through  their military service is the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Australia formed it's regular army in 1901, which was backed up by an all volunteer militia. When World War I broke out, the Australian government committed to send 20,000 troops to support the British Military. The regular army formed in 1901 was only allowed for home defense, so a new overseas force was formed. That overseas force is the Australian Imperial Force.

The first of the AIF ships left Australia in November of 1914 bound for Egypt to receive training. Upon arrival the Australian Forces were combined with the New Zealand forces to form the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Some of these troops were sent to defend the Suez Canal, however most were sent to the Gallipoli Front. Of these troops, over 1/3 paid the ultimate sacrifice before they were ordered to withdraw at the beginning of 1916. After their withdraw from Gallipoli, most of the troops serving in the Anzac's were then sent to the western front, where they fought for about 2 years. Over the course of the First World War, no country lost more men that did Australia. Over 300,000 troops served and almost 60,000 of them gave their lives. For them I am thankful. 
It wasn't just Australian and New Zealanders who fought in the AIF, there were troops from many countries. The fourth largest national group were the over 1,000 Russian servicemen who fought in the AIF. Of these, about 130 were Jewish. Elena Govor, has written a book about the Russians who served and also has a website where these servicemen are listed. That website, www.russiananzacs.narod.ru, is a great resource for anyone searching for those who served. The website also has information about her book.
The website includes a list of all Jewish servicemen who were from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The information about each serviceman is amazing. Clicking on the name Wolf Dorfman, gives the following;

The information with the red links, takes you to the original records held in other archives and libraries. The genealogical information is very complete and thanks to Elana for all her hard work. May we never forget the incredible service and sacrifices that our ancestors made for us. We should all give thanks to them.