Assuming you are related to Paul A. Wechler… The New York census’ for 1915, 1920, and 1930 has Yetta’s birth year as 1907. Her 1930 marriage record has it “estimated” as 1908, so it is possible her original birth certificate was lost after she entered the US or, more likely, never existed. This might explain why you couldn’t find it.
The confusion over her birth year might also stem from at least the 1930 census where it says she immigrated in 1907, but was born in 1908. [Reminds me of the joke about the public servant who got off work at 4:00, but was home by 3:45!] Anyway, the Ellis Island registry (NARA) should at least confirm her true birthday IF it was stated correctly at the time because entry was still allowed in those years without paper proof. A ship’s manifest was often the only verification. That, and the likelihood Yetta made the trip as an infant in her mother’s arms. I hope this helps. JB On Jan 25, 2026, at 7:49 PM, chr <[email protected]> wrote: Greetings all, I was curious if someone might be able to offer any advice as I begin to look for my paternal grandmother's birth certificate for the second time. In 2005 I went to Chernivtsi with my father and cousin to look for records with a researcher. Although we found several records that we wanted, the one we wanted the most eluded us. We knew my grandmother (born Yetta Dorf) often changed the year of her birth to make it appear she was younger than she actually was, but we were somewhat convinced she was born in 1908. What we do know is that she consistently said she was born on May 21st. We also know her family left came to the US in October of 1908 to come to the U.S. In 2005, when we couldn't find her birth certificate under May 1908 I believe we looked in May 1907 but struck out. Recently, I found. out that it is much more likely that she was born in 1907. I have been thinking about the different possibilities of why we could not find her birth record. One thought that I had was that just because we heard that she is from Chernivtsi doesn't mean she was from the city. Perhaps she was from the oblast but not the city? Although we know for sure that some of her cousins were from the city. I know today the oblast is made up of more than 50 towns/cities. I am not sure if she was born outside the city if we would have had to check somewhere else for the record. If you happen to have any advice on where I can pick up the search of this birth certificate Yetta Dorf May 21, 1907? please let me know. Thank you for your time, -Kevin Wexler This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com <http://czernowitz.ehpes.com/> that includes a searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in 2021, archived messages can be found at: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ <https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> To send mail to the list, address it to <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>. To remove your address from this e-list follow these directions <https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/leave-e-lists-lyris>. To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> ******************************************************************************* This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in 2021, archived messages can be found at: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To send mail to the list, address it to <[email protected]>. To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/leave-e-lists-lyris To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
