Jewish Business Records and Commerce

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Records of businesses usually list names, addresses, company owners and shareholders, and financial information. Life insurance, pension (for some railroad companies in the U.S.), bank, and under-taker records may include biographical information.

For some vocations, trades, or businesses there are occupational records or commercial directories that may be helpful in compiling a family history. See "Directories" and "Occupations" in this outline for further details.

Business and commerce records are often kept by the company or may be in archives or libraries in the area where the company is located. The Internet also contains searchable databases of business records.

One example is the New York Emigrant Savings Bank. It served immigrants mostly from Ireland who settled in New York City. The bank records span the years 1850-1883. The original collection contained 58 volumes that were donated to the New York Public Library. This database has information on many Jewish emigrants including name, place of birth, residence, occupation, names of relatives, and immigration information. You can find this database at Ancestry $

The Family History Library has some business-related records. Because of their limited value, these type of records should be searched after other sources such as civil and vital records, Jewish records, and obituaries have been searched.