This document defines how verification is done in this project: what the certainty criteria are, how a database record is distinguished from an original document, and what the source map is for breaking one generation back beyond the current boundary. Updated in light of the archival verification, which determined which paths are dead and which are still alive.
1 · The certainty criteria
Level
Criterion
High
Verified in 2+ independent sources, or a contemporary primary source
Medium
A single reliable source, or a strong inference from several indirect ones
To verify
A single unverified source, or a claim that requires checking
2 · The hierarchy of sources
Not every "source" is equal. The order of priority:
Type
Example
Weight
Original contemporary document
An original Russian metrical book (NHAB)
Highest
Indexed database record
The 1875 conscription record (JewishGen transcription)
High, with a transcription caveat
Authoritative biographical source
Tidhar
High
Self-memoir
AZR's memoir chapters
High for the bloodline, selective
Collaborative source
Geni
Medium (source-dependent)
Seller's claim
Dynasty Auctions
Low, requires verification
A critical distinction — record vs. document: the 1875 conscription record is an indexed English transcription (Gurevich), not the Russian document itself. Every transcription step adds uncertainty. It is therefore a "verified database record," not an "original document." Definitive verification requires the Russian scan from NHAB.
3 · The map for breaking back
The archival verification tested the paths: several were ruled out, and one promising path opened.
NIAB fond 3410 (covers the Gorki district / Lyady)
Open — the promising path
The NIAB "Mogilev Synagogue" database (25K records)
Open — requires an inquiry
The 1811/1834 revision censuses of Lyady
To check, if filmed
4 · The promising path: NIAB fond 3410
Precise update (24.6): fond 3410 is the collection of metrical books and the name index (the path to a birth record, 1854). The missing generation — R. Nissan's father — is recorded in the 1858 revision list of the Jews of Lyady, which is a separate and precisely identified file: NIAB ф.2151 / оп.1 / д.154. See "The Russian Sources."
Why fond 3410 specifically
Unlike fond 3362 (Mogilev city only, which was ruled out), fond 3410 explicitly covers the Gorki district (Горецкий), in which Lyady lies. Official annotation: metrical books of the districts of Gomel, Gorki, Mogilev, Mstislavl, Klimovichi, and Rogachev. URL: fk.archives.gov.by/fond/110385.
5 · The action plan
An inquiry to NIAB (niab@niab.by), requesting a search for "Rabinovitz, Lyady, Gorki district" in fond 3410 and in the "Mogilev Synagogue" database. There — if AZR's birth (1854) was registered — the record will be found.
The list of localities under Mogilev Governorate on FamilySearch — once the catalog view is fixed, search for the Gorki district at the County level, to locate the Lyady/Romanovo rabbinate.
The revision censuses of Lyady (1811/1834) on JewishGen, if filmed; they document "where the family was registered from."
The AZR archive at the NLI — manual review; possibly early family documents.
6 · The question of the family's origin
A direction to clarify: the 1875 record is marked as "wanted by Mstislavl," while the residence was in Lyady. Most likely Mstislavl was the administrative town of the conscription district, and Lyady the place of residence. The revision censuses (which document "where the family was registered from") are the key to the question of whether the family came to Lyady from elsewhere — but this is an open question; nothing should be assumed about it.