Massachusetts: Searching Australia, Dec. 2

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston will host Judith Romney Wegner speaking on “Jews Down Under: Tracing My Australian Forebears” at 1.30pm, Sunday, December 2, at Temple Emanuel in Newton Center.

Wegner gave up law to pursue Judaic studies and was professor of Judaic and Comparative Religious Studies at several New England colleges. She holds law degrees from Cambridge and Harvard universities as well as a Judaic Studies PhD from Brown University. In her retirement, she continues to conduct research in Judaism and Islam and to follow her own genealogical research.

Her great-grandparents sailed to New Zealand as British colonists in the mid-19th century. Although some family members returned to England, others moved to Australia. She'll share the process used to conduct research using information from tombstones, newspapers, service records from the Australian Jewish Historical Society, and even coroner's inquest proceedings.

Wegner is an expert source when it comes to Hebrew, other languages and Jewish history; she contributes frequently to JewishGen's discussion groups and has assisted many researchers in their quests.

For address, direction and fees, click here.