South Carolina: Jewish genealogy, Oct. 25-26

The annual meeting of the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina (JHSSC) will take place Saturday and Sunday, October 25-26, at the College of Charleston's Jewish Studies Center.

"Jewish Genealogy: Explore Your Family Tree" will explore the subject through lectures and hands-on workshops.

Expert speakers leading the conference are Karen S. Franklin of New York, director of the Family Research Program at the Leo Baeck Institute, and Dr. Stephen P. Morse of San Francisco, creator of "One-Step Genealogy."

Karen and Steve together will present "Using Computers at the College of Charleston," using their expertise to guide participants in their person research using a variety of resources and developing strategies to solve a variety of research problems.

Karen will present "Tracking the Winter Family," demonstrating how she found the European roots of a Southern Jewish family in a remote village in Germany. Stories about four Civil War veterans, an “Embalmer on the Plain” (Jewish homesteader in South Dakota) and cousins-in-common will demonstrate search techniques.

Steve will present three talks based on his One Step website:

- "One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools."
- "What Color Ellis Island Search Form Should I Use?"
- "Playing Hide and Seek in the US Census"

Fees for the two-day event: Jewish Historical Society member, $90; others, $125. For more information, click on the JGSSC site here, or the event brochure here.

Learn more about local resources and archives here:

The Jewish Heritage Collection documents the Jewish experience in South Carolina from colonial times to the present day. The archives grows out of an active program of collection, field work, and public education that was inaugurated in January 1995 by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, the College of Charleston's Jewish Studies Program, and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina. Project staff spearheaded research and development of a major museum exhibition, A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life, that opened at McKissick in January 2002, beginning a two-year national tour.

Located in Special Collections at the College's Addlestone Library, the Jewish Heritage Collection emphasizes individuals over institutions. It encompasses recorded interviews, manuscripts, photographs, genealogies, memoirs, home movies, and other primary sources. ...

Explore the JHSSC site for more information. Its newsletters and journals are online here.

Tracing the Tribe has previously written eight posts on South Carolina and the Southern US, in general. Topics include: Savannah, Georgia's 275th anniversary; Southern Jewish history grants, Deep South resources, Civil War's Confederate Jewish soldiers and books.