Florida: 'Chicago' and All That Jazz, Oct. 29

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County's membership meeting will present guest speaker Ron Arons on Wednesday, October 29, at the South County Civic Center, Delray Beach.

The day begins with a choice of two SIG group meetings (Hungary/Romania and Lithuania) from 11.30am-12.30pm, followed by a Brick Wall session, and the main program at 1pm.

Genealogist, author and lecturer - Ron is a popular speaker with the JGSPBC, and his new program is “The Musical 'Chicago' and All That Genealogical Jazz.”

The Broadway musical and Hollywood movie “Chicago” were based on the stories of two real-life women by the name of Belva and Beulah. Just as in the show and movie, these women killed their lovers. By collecting standard genealogical documents, Ron pieces together their lives as well as puts their tales into context relating to Chicago history.

And you thought Jews didn’t commit crimes! Or you thought the number of Jews who broke the law was small. Think again. Ron Arons has spent much of the past decade researching Jewish criminals – big name gangsters and lesser-known individuals.

Born and raised in New York, Arons has traced his roots to England, Poland, Romania, the Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. He has given presentations at many international genealogy conferences and to local genealogical societies across the country. In January 2008, he appeared on the PBS television series "The Jewish Americans" as the resident expert regarding Jewish criminality on New York’s Lower East Side. Arons earned degrees from Princeton and the University of Chicago.

For directions and additional details, click here .