The Houston Jewish Herald-Voice Index to Vitals and Family Events, 1908-2007

Since September 1908, Houston, Texas, has had a weekly newspaper which covers Jewish events in the Houston area and much of Texas. It has been published under several different names during this period, but has been the Jewish Herald-Voice for many years.

Volunteers from the Greater Houston Jewish Genealogical Society have been transcribing life-cycle event information from the microfilm of the Jewish Herald-Voice newspaper (and digital images on CD of those microfilms). The project began in 2001 and an index was created from the beginning of the newspapaper in 1908 through 2007.

These events are being transcribed from two separate databases: "Individual Events" and "Couples Events".

Individual Events: This database is an index of individual events, including births, deaths, unveilings, brisses, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays, etc. This database currently covers 45,283 events in the 1908-2006 time frame.

Included in each entry (where available and applicable) are the date of publication, volume and number, page and column of the item, the event date, location of the event, full name of the principal individual, their parents, maiden surname, age and related families' last name.

Couples Events: This database is an index of couples events, including engagements, marriages, and anniversaries. This database currently covers 16,292 events in the 1901-2007 time frame.

Included in each entry (where available and applicable) are the date of publication, volume and number, page and column of the item, the event date, location of the event, full names of the principal man and woman, their parents, related families, and anniversary year.

The names of the principal individual(s), maiden surname and related family surnames are searchable in this database. The names are exactly as they appear in a specific news item, and in some cases may be spelled slightly differently in other articles involving the same people. It is therefore suggested that the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex option be used when searching.

For some items the event date was not included, but a day of the week is referenced instead. In those cases, we have made our best estimate of the actual date from the calendar.

For many years, the paper had headings for various Texas cities. If the event occurred elsewhere, the city where it occurred is listed under "Place of Event" with the city reporting it under Texas News-City. In more recent years, this database heading is used to designate the local Texas city involved, when an event occurred out of state. A notation is made when a photo is included with the article.

The Jewish Herald-Voice is published weekly. Microfilm reels are available at the JHV offices, at the Texas History Room of the Houston Public Library, and at the Center For American History of the University of Texas in Austin.

Copies of articles can be obtained for $5 each by contacting the Greater Houston Jewish Genealogical Society, attention: Mr. Max Heffler, 9319 Woodmeadow Dr., Houston, TX 77025. It is suggested that before ordering a copy, Mr. Heffler be emailed at [email protected] to be sure that the article contains more than is in this database index.