"Of course, you can have a horse," said my mother. "It just has to sleep under your bed!"
My mother was a genius in more ways than one, although her real talent was in situations like the "horse issue." When I became horse-mad, as many girls do at some point, I wanted a horse.
Now, where was such a four-footed creature supposed to live in a Brooklyn brownstone? How would it get up the outside stairs or to the second floor bedrooms?Obviously, we hadn't thought it out carefully. But what was important was that Mom said we could have one. It wasn't her fault that the horse couldn't possibly fit under our bed. We even measured it!
It's a good thing we didn't know about today's lofted beds, which would have provided at least a miniature pony-friendly environment.
"Of course, you two can have a piece of cake. One of you cuts it and the other one gets first pick." We pulled out the rulers and slide rules on that one. If computers had been around then, we'd have found a computer program to calculate the angle of the cut and the volume of the cake. God forbid that the other person should get one crumb more than the other. It worked very well. One cuts, the other chooses. So simple. I keep waiting to hear this solution on the SuperNanny television show.
"Of course, you can try it," she said, as she smoked a very rare cigarette. I was about 5 and thought it looked interesting. It worked. One puff and I've never gone anywhere near cigarettes since. Instead of lecturing me on why it was bad and not for kids, she thought the experiment might work better. I don't think the word "dangerous" came into her decision - who knew back then that it really was dangerous? The tiny puff, horrible taste and ensuing coughing were enough for me for life.
When my mother was born, her parents were both working and my mother was cared for by her maternal grandmother, Little Grandma, in Newark, New Jersey. For five years, she "lived" Yiddish.
When it came time for her to go to school, they tried to register her. Of course, the principal and teachers only spoke English. After some unsuccessful conversations and some talk of this child being mentally-challenged because she couldn't understand the simplest of English sentences, they decided to try something. They brought in a Yiddish-speaking teacher for a very animated session with the child. The result was that not only wasn't she mentally-challenged, but that she knew enough to to skip a grade as she already knew how to read and write (albeit in Yiddish).
An excellent student throughout school, she attended Samuel J. Tilden High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where she received such grades as a 98 in Organic Chemistry - who gets grades like that? She had great hopes of becoming a doctor like her maternal uncle, Dr. Louis (Leib) Tollin. Cornell University accepted her for pre-med.
Unfortunately, times were different back then, and although her mother wanted her to do whatever she wanted, her father, perhaps harking back to his shtetl childhood in Suchastow (Galicia->Poland->Ukraine), refused to allow her to consider that future. I was told he insisted she become a teacher, a respected job for a Jewish girl.
Off she went on the bus and subway into the "city" to Greenwich Village and NYU, instead of to upstate Ithaca. However, throughout her life, she was interested in all things medical, read journals, and everything she could find.
As a child, she had a wonderful singing voice, inherited from her mother, and was the descendant and niece of several hazzanim (cantors). Mom auditioned for the Ted Mack Amateur Hour on the radio - the American Idol of its day - and was selected to perform. Always somewhat shy, her stage fright got the best of her and she just couldn't sing that day.
My grandparents had already bought a large piece of land in Kauneonga Lake, near White Lake, in the Catskills, which would become the future Kauneonga Park bungalow colony - the family spent summers and holidays there. My mother was an excellent swimmer. The story was that she used to regularly swim across the lake in summer and, in winter, would ice skate across it.
The women in my family were excellent cooks, and my mother continued the tradition. Although raised in a traditional kosher home, that wasn't part of her persona. So we went to the Italian butcher for the best veal cutlets that would become excellent veal parmigiana, and delicious tender roasts, but also to the Jewish butcher for the best brisket, freshest ground meat and kosher chickens.
A favorite treat was going to the kosher butcher for ground meat. We were little cannibals and loved to eat the fresh ground meat sprinkled with kosher salt. Who knew we were gourmets and were really eating steak tartare?
I'm sure people's eyes are rolling at this raw meat business, but we never got sick and it was the most delicious gastronomic experience at that time of my life. The butcher would place some beautiful fresh ground meat on a piece of brown butcher paper, sprinkle it with coarse kosher salt and we'd eat it up in a flash. I do remember horrified looks on the faces of customers.
We were never allowed to do this at the Italian butcher. And it could not be ready- ground meat in a tray, it could only be fresh-ground to her order.
That ground meat became the best-ever meat loaf - I still make it - or stuffed peppers or spaghetti sauce. In the summer, when we went to mountains, one of her specialities was Chinese-style spareribs (kosher short ribs from Mendelson's in the village). Those were superb, but I've never made them myself.
The only time I remember a really major culinary screw-up was when she decided to buy a new-fangled blender and tried to make tuna salad in it. What poured out was not tuna salad as this planet knew it. Guess what? When you put enough matzo meal or Italian bread crumbs in the "soup," you could form patties and fry them up.
Like my grandmother, she was an excellent sewer, knitter and crocheter. In particular, I remember a black silk dress with a ruffled collar, and also a black-and-white tweed winter skirt and jacket. When our daughter was an infant, she created amazing things - an entire trunkful of sweaters, buntings, hats and outfits. Most of it was from Italian-language magazines - she couldn't read the language but figured out the sophisticated designs from the patterns. When we moved from Los Angeles to Southern Nevada, the entire trunk disappeared and I was heartbroken over the loss.
When my husband and I lived in Teheran, Mom would visit us. It was a long trip in those days, with few non-stop flights from New York. She was never afraid of going off exploring on her own in a foreign country where she didn't speak the language. She'd call a taxi, go off to the museums and have a great day.
She believed in taking responsibility, and she generally found a good solution for problems. She was always calm - I wish I had inherited that - and I don't remember her ever yelling at me - I'm sure she must have, but I just don't remember it.
Of course, there was that time I was watching cartoons on our tiny television screen and I spilled a glass of milk while sitting on a tiny bench at the leather-topped coffee table. Something happened way back then, I knew she was angry, but it really was an accident ... honest.
My mother was the descendant of generations of women and men who lived through the 1391 pogroms in Spain; through the Inquisition; through disasters, epidemics and historic events in Eastern Europe, surmounted the trials of immigration and personal tragedy. They survived and flourished by being "lucky," which I think was merely another word for wisely utilizing innate intelligence and wit.
We have hopefully inherited some of these traits from our ancestors.
The next question: What will our descendants say about us?
February 28, 2009
February 27, 2009
UK: "Culinary Judaism' conference, July 2009
A foodie call for papers has been announced.
The Philly 2009 international Jewish genealogy conference is right on track with its own "Jews and Food" sessions. Here's an entire conference built on this theme organized by the British Association for Jewish Studies.
The event takes place July 12-14 in Durham, UK. For more information, click here.
Submit proposal titles, 250-word abstract and brief CV (a paragraph) by mail to BAJS Conference Abstracts, Prof. Seth Kunin, Faculty Office, Elvet Riverside Block 2, New Elvet DH1 3JT, s.d.kunin@durham.ac.uk by 31 March 2009.
Kunin is also handling proposals for the Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies conference, August 2-4, in Denver, Colorado.
The Philly 2009 international Jewish genealogy conference is right on track with its own "Jews and Food" sessions. Here's an entire conference built on this theme organized by the British Association for Jewish Studies.
The event takes place July 12-14 in Durham, UK. For more information, click here.
The theme is Culinary Judaism.
Speakers are invited to present papers concerning all issues related to food and the use of food in Jewish texts and cultures, addressing commensality, cooking, creation of boundaries, identity, symbolism, sacrifice and material cultural objects related to or symbolic of eating, etc.
Culinary is interpreted broadly and extends to sacrifice and other symbolic uses of food or food related objects.
Submit proposal titles, 250-word abstract and brief CV (a paragraph) by mail to BAJS Conference Abstracts, Prof. Seth Kunin, Faculty Office, Elvet Riverside Block 2, New Elvet DH1 3JT, s.d.kunin@durham.ac.uk by 31 March 2009.
Kunin is also handling proposals for the Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies conference, August 2-4, in Denver, Colorado.
Australia: History of Jewish publications
Looking to trace Jewish ancestors in Australia? The University of Sydney, Archive of Australian Judaica has just issued its 2008 edition of some 400 Jewish publications that have been published in Australia.
Each may hold the keys to your family's details!
For background and history, click here, to see the variety of periodicals, including English and Yiddish newspapers, synagogue publications, journals and more.
To see the list of the 400 publications in a 208-page PDF, click here
This is just one section of the listings and the date runs:
Each may hold the keys to your family's details!
For background and history, click here, to see the variety of periodicals, including English and Yiddish newspapers, synagogue publications, journals and more.
To see the list of the 400 publications in a 208-page PDF, click here
This is just one section of the listings and the date runs:
Communal Newspapers - State and National
The Australasian Hebrew, v.1, no 1-v.2, no 26 (Nov 1895 - Nov 1896)
Australian Hebrew Times, Jan 1894 - Dec 1894?
The Australian Israelite, v.1, no 1-v.4, no 44 (1871 - May 1875)
The Australian Jewish Chronicle, v.1, no 1-v.9, no 2 (Mar 1922 - June 1930); ns v.1, no 1-v.11, no 77 (June 1930 - Feb 1931)
The Australian Jewish Herald, v.1 (1920-1933); ns v.1-90 (1935 - Aug 1980). Supersedes The Jewish Herald, v.1, no 1- v.40 (1879-1919)
Australian Jewish News, v.1 (May 1935)+. Supersedes The Jewish Weekly News, (Oct 1933 - May 1935)
Australian Jewish News. Melbourne edition, Apr 1990+. Continues
Australian Jewish News
Australian Jewish News. Sydney edition, v.9, no 6 (Apr 1990)+. Continues the Australian Jewish Times
The Australian Jewish Times, v.61, no 48-v.9, no 5 (1935 - Mar 1990). Continued by The Australian Jewish News. Sydney edition. Incorporated Sydney Jewish News from 1971. Continues The Jewish Times, v.60, no 16-v.61, no 47 (1953-1955). Continues The Hebrew Standard of Australasia, v.1, nos 1-2 (Nov, Dec 1895); v.2, no 1-v.60, no 15 (July 1897 - Oct 1953)
The Communal Opinion, v.1, no 1-v.2 (Oct 13, 1913-1914)
Hebrew Standard of Australasia, v.1, nos 1-2 (Nov, Dec 1895); v.2, no 1-v.6, no 15 (July 1897 - Oct 1953). Continued by The Jewish Times
JNF: The Link with Israel, v.1, no 1 (1950s-1960s). Superseded by Shalom The Jewish Herald, v.1, no 1-v.40 (1879-1919). Superseded by The Australian Jewish Herald
The Jewish Observer, v.1, no 1-v.5 (1918-1924).
The Jewish Times, v.6, no 16-v.61, no 47 (1953-1955). Continued by The Australian Jewish Times
152 Jewish Times. Wellington, 1926-1932. Superseded by The New Zealand Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Weekly News, Oct 1933 - May 1935. Superseded by The Australian Jewish News
The Judean Bulletin, pre-1941. Superseded by The N.Z. Judean Bulletin
Kesher-Connections: Newsletter, Sydney (Jewish Communal Appeal), no 1 (1992)+
Menorah: Monthly Magazine for Jewish Children, Hunters Hill, NSW (Isabella Lazarus Home), nos 1-2 (Dec 1941 - Feb 1942)
Shalom, Sept 1964-Jy 2004?
The Sydney Jewish News, v.1, no 1-v.34, no 21 (1939-1973). Incorporated Oystralier Leben. Incorporated in Australian Jewish Times
The Voice of Jacob, nos 1-3 (May - Sept 1842)
The Westralian Judean, v.1, nos 1-27 (Nov 1924 - Sept 1955)
Look at the complete listings and details for each publication. If you are looking for family members who may have gone to Australia, these publications may be very important to your quest.
Remember that life cycle events (birth, engagement, marriage, death) were a big part of such publications' content and may hold many genealogical clues.
February 26, 2009
Carnivals of Genealogy past and future
Jasia at Creative Gene does an excellent job organizing our Carnival of Genealogy. She has just posted the index of COGs past and future through 2009.
This list is most helpful for readers who wish to understand how many geneabloggers address these different topics according to their own experiences, and also to learn what's coming up in the future.
In the past, each edition has elicited numerous entries. For geneabloggers, it provides an impetus to write on topics which we may not have previously addressed, while our many blog readers get to see varying opinions, origins, events and the styles of many gen writers.
For the click-ons for COGs already posted, view here.
Happy reading! Thank you, Jasia, for your work!
This list is most helpful for readers who wish to understand how many geneabloggers address these different topics according to their own experiences, and also to learn what's coming up in the future.
In the past, each edition has elicited numerous entries. For geneabloggers, it provides an impetus to write on topics which we may not have previously addressed, while our many blog readers get to see varying opinions, origins, events and the styles of many gen writers.
For the click-ons for COGs already posted, view here.
2006My recent post on Blog Obituaries - If your blog died today... - prompted Jasia to suggest it as the topic for the 81st COG in October 2009.
Edition 1 Technology 6/04/2006
Edition 2 Ethnic Genealogy 6/18/2006
Edition 3 Immigration 7/02/2006
Edition 4 Family Reunions 7/17/2006
Edition 5 Historical Fiction 8/03/2006
Edition 6 Genealogical Societies 8/18/2006
Edition 7 Writing a Family History 9/04/2006
Edition 8 Family Photos 9/17/2006
Edition 9 Genealogy Vacations 10/03/2006
Edition 10 Tombstones 10/17/2006
Edition 11 Family Get Togethers 11/05/2006
Edition 12 Solving Technical Problems 11/19/2006
Edition 13 Genealogy Bloopers 12/04/2006
Edition 14 Genealogy Gift Giving 12/17/2006
2007
Edition 15 Genealogy New Year's Resolutions 1/02/2007
Edition 16 Family Food & Recipes 0/16/2007
Edition 17 Thanks & Acknowledgement 2/04/2007
Edition 18 5 Best Tips for Specific Research Areas 2/18/2007
Edition 19 Family Homes 3/03/2007
Edition 20 A Tribute to Women 3/17/2007
Edition 21 Funny, Foolish, Family! 4/04/2007
Edition 22 Carousel Edition (mixed topic) 4/18/2007
Edition 23 School Days 5/04/2007
Edition 24 Mothers 5/18/2007
Edition 25 Who inherited the creative gene in your family? 6/04/2007
Edition 26 Dads 6/19/2007
Edition 27 What America/Independence Day means to my family 7/03/2007
Edition 28 Surnames 7/18/2007
Edition 29 Moral or legal dilemmas in genealogy or blogging 8/02/2007
Edition 30 Genealogical conferences and seminars 8/18/2007
Edition 31 Proving or debunking family myths 9/04/2007
Edition 32 Family war stories 9/18/2007
Edition 33 Weddings 10/04/2007
Edition 34 Halloween and the supernatural 10/18/2007
Edition 35 A family mystery that might be solved by DNA? 11/04/2007
Edition 36 Carousel Edition (mixed topic) 11/18/2007
Edition 37 Genealogy wish lists 12/03/2007
Edition 38 The New Millennium (2000) 12/18/2007
2008
Edition 39 New Year's Resolutions 1/04/2008
Edition 40 Living-relative connections 1/18/2008
Edition 41 Dinner with 4 ancestors 2/04/2008
Edition 42 Best of the est, iGene Awards edition 2/18/2008
Edition 43 Technology Tips for Genealogists 3/04/2008
Edition 44 A Tribute to Women 3/18/2008
Edition 45 Cars as Stars of Our Family History 4/04/2008
Edition 46 Inherited Traits 4/18/2008
Edition 47 A Place Called Home 5/04/2008
Edition 48 Mom, How'd You Get So Smart? 5/18/2008
Edition 49 Swim Suit Edition 6/04/2008
Edition 50 Family Pets 6/18/2009
Edition 51 Independent Spirit 7/04/2008
Edition 52 Age 7/18/2008
Edition 53 Carousel Edition 8/04/2008
Edition 54 The Family Language 8/18/2008
Edition 55 Show and Tell 9/04/2008
Edition 56 Essential Books in Your Genealogical Library 9/18/2008
Edition 57 I Read It In The News! 10/05/2008
Edition 58 Fact or Fiction, Haunting Stories 10/18/2008
Edition 59 Politics and Our Ancestors 11/04/2008
Edition 60 Alzheimer's Disease 11/18/2008
Edition 61 Traditions 12/04/2008
Edition 62 Wishes! 12/18/2009
2009
Edition 63 New Year's Resolutions 1/04/2009
Edition 64 Winter Photo Essay 1/18/2009
Edition 65 Genealogy Happy Dance 2/04/2009
Edition 66 Second Annual iGene Awards 2/18/2009
Edition 67 Nobody's Fool 3/04/2009
Edition 68 Women's History Month: One Woman 3/18/2009
Edition 69 What if: Rewriting History 4/04/2009
Edition 70 Uncle! Uncle! 4/18/2009
Edition 71 Local History 05/04/2009
Edition 72 Honoring Mothers 5/18/2009
Edition 73 The Good Earth: Family Ties to the Land 6/04/2009
Edition 74 Second Annual Swim Suit Edition 6/18/2009
Edition 75 Justice and Independence 7/04/2009
Edition 76 How I Spent My Summer Vacation 7/18/2009
Edition 77 Disasters Our Ancestors Lived Through 8/04/2009
Edition 78 Ride Em Cowboy: Let's See Your Pony Pictures! 8/18/2009
Edition 79 Family Reunions 9/04/2009
Edition 80 Research An Event Your Ancestor May Have Attended 9/18/2009
Edition 81 Blog Obituary 10/04/2009
Edition 82 Weddings! 10/18/2009
Edition 83 Musical Instruments 11/04/2009
Edition 84 "Harvest": What it meant to your family 11/18/2009
Edition 85 Orphans and Orphans 12/05/2009
Edition 86 Holiday Theme 12/18/2009
Happy reading! Thank you, Jasia, for your work!
Humor: Genealogy cartoons
Genea-Musings's Randy Seaver pointed to a Wizard of Id cartoon indicating a possible "non-paternity even" - as genetic genealogists term it.
I went over to the Comics.com site and plugged in some appropriate keywords (family history, ancestry, genealogy). "Family history" turned up more than 2000 possibilities (some right on target, others more far-fetched).
I didn't have time to go through all of them, but there are many good ones.
You can email, share or embed the cartoons.
I went over to the Comics.com site and plugged in some appropriate keywords (family history, ancestry, genealogy). "Family history" turned up more than 2000 possibilities (some right on target, others more far-fetched).
I didn't have time to go through all of them, but there are many good ones.
You can email, share or embed the cartoons.
February 24, 2009
New edition: Jewish Surnames of the Russian Empire
A large volume that "lives" on the shelf above my desk is Alexander Beider's Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire (1993, Avotaynu). Each time I look up a name, I mark it, and most pages are covered in highlights and notes.Following four years of work by Beider, an updated volume has just been published by Avotaynu, which has brought out all of Beider's books, including surnames in Poland, Galicia and elsewhere, as well as a tome on Ashkenazi given names.
The new edition is hefty at 1,000 pages - 50% more than the 1993 edition - and offers 74,000 surname entries - the 1993 book contained some 50,000.
Bill Gladstone reviewed the book for the Canadian Jewish News:
The new edition is hefty at 1,000 pages - 50% more than the 1993 edition - and offers 74,000 surname entries - the 1993 book contained some 50,000.
Bill Gladstone reviewed the book for the Canadian Jewish News:
Beider considered the revision necessary because of the explosion of new sources and knowledge that has occurred over the last 15 years due to the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the rise of the Internet, and the publication of numerous related new works. He expanded the work’s geographical range, altered hundreds of entries and added many new cross-references.
The Moscow-born statistician, linguist and onomastician, who has lived in Paris since 1990, is credited with almost single-handedly revolutionizing the field of Jewish onomastics. Before Beider, most researchers rehashed names and ideas from the published literature with little scientific method and little regard to where the names occurred geographically. One of Beider’s central methodological principles was to link surnames to the geographical regions in which they originated, and he was the first to do an inductive survey of surnames based on primary sources such as old voters’ lists, censuses, civil records and other archival material.
See a sample page of the new edition here, and the corresponding page in the 1993 edition here. For a better idea of the broad scope of Beider's book, view the table of contents here.
A 200-page intro section offers information on how family names were acquired. Beider covers the history of Eastern European Jewish names, types, linguistics. patterns of adoptions, names used by both Jews and non-Jews.
An accompanying softcover volume provides the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex listing of the surnames. The D-M Soundex was especially formulated to provide a more accurate system for Eastern European names.
The dictionary section references other Beider works to see how a surname migrated both to and from the Russian Empire.
For more information, click Avotaynu. For both books (large hardcover and accompanying softcover), the price is $118.
Read Gladstone's complete review in the Canadian Jewish News.
Oral History Institute: UC Berkeley, August 2009
Learning how to interview is one of the most important skills for genealogists, family historians and others. What are the proven techniques and methodologies? How do we plan a project to gain the information we need?
To help answer these questions, there's a one-week advanced institute on methodology, theory and practice of oral/video history scheduled at the Regional Oral History Office of the University of California Berkeley, August 10-14.
It is designed for academic, independent, public and community scholars engaged in serious research that in some manner utilizes oral/video history and/or interview-based methodologies. Only 30 participants will be accepted, the cost is $800 and and the application deadline is May 1.
Presentations will cover project planning, preparation for interviewing and interview techniques, interview analysis, legal and ethical responsibilities such as copyright and human subject protection requirements.
The goal is to strengthen participants' skills to conduct research focused interviews and to consider the special characteristics of interviews as historical evidence.
Special attention will be given to how oral history interviews can broaden and deepen historical interpretation situated within contemporary discussions of history, subjectivity, memory, and memoir.
Participants will also work in small research interest groups led by faculty with similar interests.
For more details, click here.
To help answer these questions, there's a one-week advanced institute on methodology, theory and practice of oral/video history scheduled at the Regional Oral History Office of the University of California Berkeley, August 10-14.
It is designed for academic, independent, public and community scholars engaged in serious research that in some manner utilizes oral/video history and/or interview-based methodologies. Only 30 participants will be accepted, the cost is $800 and and the application deadline is May 1.
Presentations will cover project planning, preparation for interviewing and interview techniques, interview analysis, legal and ethical responsibilities such as copyright and human subject protection requirements.
The goal is to strengthen participants' skills to conduct research focused interviews and to consider the special characteristics of interviews as historical evidence.
Special attention will be given to how oral history interviews can broaden and deepen historical interpretation situated within contemporary discussions of history, subjectivity, memory, and memoir.
Participants will also work in small research interest groups led by faculty with similar interests.
For more details, click here.
Keeping the kipahs: Yarmulgraphs?
My family had a bag of them. Kipahs, kippahs, yarmulkes. I have the bag now and it has been added to over the years.
Kipah [kee-pah] is the Hebrew name for the Yiddish yarmulke, the Jewish head covering worn, according to personal observance, only for prayer, at meals or all the time.
A valuable genealogical resource, each has the name or names of the celebrants, the date, sometimes the place. Each commemmorates a bar or bat mitzvah, a wedding, an engagement, an anniversary, a brit millah - even a funeral.
Every major family event is represented by a head covering. They are every color of the rainbow and made of every type of material (satin, silk, suede, leather). Whenever we need a kipah, a hand goes in and withdraws something suitable. The rainbow included white, hot pink, electric blue, green, pale blue, pale pink, gold, silver, even black. You can always find one to match your outfit or that of your guest at a Shabbat or holiday meal!
When writing stories about genealogy and lifecycle events, I often discuss kipah collections as very useful family history artifacts.
In Seattle, meet emergency room pediatrician Jonathan Chalett, 52, who takes his "Kipah Kollection" a step farther, and brings it into the realm of autograph book. The article called them "yarmulgraphs."
Each time he "goes on the hunt," he wonders if he'll be thrown out or arrested. He says he's never been turned down in person, but mailing the headcoverings fails.
The library display includes context and the doctor was the curator, creating captions and ephemera (photos, ticket stubs and more) to provide a background for the unique collection.
Read the complete article at the link above.
Kipah [kee-pah] is the Hebrew name for the Yiddish yarmulke, the Jewish head covering worn, according to personal observance, only for prayer, at meals or all the time.
A valuable genealogical resource, each has the name or names of the celebrants, the date, sometimes the place. Each commemmorates a bar or bat mitzvah, a wedding, an engagement, an anniversary, a brit millah - even a funeral.
Every major family event is represented by a head covering. They are every color of the rainbow and made of every type of material (satin, silk, suede, leather). Whenever we need a kipah, a hand goes in and withdraws something suitable. The rainbow included white, hot pink, electric blue, green, pale blue, pale pink, gold, silver, even black. You can always find one to match your outfit or that of your guest at a Shabbat or holiday meal!
When writing stories about genealogy and lifecycle events, I often discuss kipah collections as very useful family history artifacts.
In Seattle, meet emergency room pediatrician Jonathan Chalett, 52, who takes his "Kipah Kollection" a step farther, and brings it into the realm of autograph book. The article called them "yarmulgraphs."
A modest-looking man with gray hair, wire-rimmed glasses and a thin build steels himself for the mission. He scans the room, plotting his path across the grand ballroom at the Westin Hotel.He has 32 celebrity-autographed kipahs in his collection, and doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. If you live in the Seattle area, you can see them at the University of Washington's Odegaard Undergraduate Library through April 30.
Already, he has beaten the odds. He has been searched by the Secret Service and admitted to an exclusive $1,000-a-plate fundraising dinner, even though he has no ticket.Although he doesn't wear one himself, he carries them in his car and also permanent markers. He says, as a cultural - not religious - Jew - he's not sure if it's OK to autograph them,
It's May 26, 2004.
Clad in a jacket and tie, he approaches presidential candidate John Kerry with an unusual request -- to please sign a yarmulke. He offers the senator a pen, but security waves it away. Kerry takes out his own pen. He makes brief eye contact with the stranger and signs the little white cap without comment.
Then the man approaches Teresa Heinz Kerry with the same request. She says: "Oh, a yarmulke. I'd be glad to sign that," and adds a "shalom."
But Rabbi Simon Benzaquen of the Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation assures us it's not.He's got them signed by Barack Obama, Elvis Costello, Uma Thurman, Ray Allen and Annie Leibowitz.
"It's not that it has any holiness in it. A person wears it for prayers; a person wears it when he eats at the table," Benzaquen said. Then he added, wryly, "I suppose it depends what you write, of course."
Oct. 26, 2006: Best-selling author and new senator Barack Obama is speaking at Benaroya Hall and signing copies of "The Audacity of Hope." Chalett has no ticket to the sold-out event and he has no book to sign. Not that it would matter. He learns Obama will sign only the first 100 books of those in line. Chalett would be somewhere in the 700s.How did Chalett get into this esoteric hobby that requires chutzpah? About a decade ago, his son attended a Magic Johnson basketball clinic, Chalett looked for something the star could sign. The only thing in his pocket was a leftover wedding kipah.
He approaches the first person in line and asks her to slip the yarmulke under the book and request that Obama sign it. She comes back with the brown suede cap Hancocked, and relays that Obama said it was the only yarmulke he'd autographed.
"There's no way a politician is not going to sign a yarmulke," Chalett said.
"It was hysterical -- a yarmulke in the Catholic Church (gym) signed by Magic Johnson," Chalett recalled fondly. "I said, 'Is this the first yarmulke you've signed?' He said, 'It sure is, and I've signed a lot of things.'"Two years later, he tries for Van Halen's David Lee Roth (who is Jewish). Chalett wears his medical badge which gets him backstage and, eventually, the signature.
Each time he "goes on the hunt," he wonders if he'll be thrown out or arrested. He says he's never been turned down in person, but mailing the headcoverings fails.
The library display includes context and the doctor was the curator, creating captions and ephemera (photos, ticket stubs and more) to provide a background for the unique collection.
His collection includes Ray Allen, Ryan Braun, Willie Brown, Peter Buck, Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam drummer), Exene Cervenka, Elvis Costello, the Dalai Lama (unsigned but blessed), Amy Goodman, Harold Gould, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Ariana Huffington, Phil Jackson, Magic Johnson, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, Annie Leibowitz, Taj Mahal, Matisyahu, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, President Barack Obama, Graham Parker, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Madeleine Peyroux, Suzzy and Maggie Roche, David Lee Roth, Dan Savage, Patti Smith, Uma Thurman, John Updike, John Waters, Martell Webster, and Lenny Wilkens.Everyone needs a hobby! And if you'd like to crochet kipahs yourself, here's a great site with downloadable patterns for various designs.
Read the complete article at the link above.
UK: Liverpool Jewish Cemetery restoration
Restoring Jewish cemeteries through lottery funding is a possibility in the UK.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the city's historic Deane Road Jewish cemetery has applied for such funding to aid its restoration.
The group has put in a bid for £220,000 which should fund a total restoration, including replacement, repair or refurbishment of boundary walls, gateposts, railings and front archway, as well as to re-erect all gravestones in good condition.
The Old Liverpool Hebrew Congregation owns the site, which has an ornate Greek-revival style archway entrance and a driveway flanked by cast iron railings.
Burials include Liverpool's first Jewish mayor Charles Mozley, and painter John Raphael Isaac. For more on notable Sephardi and Ashkenazi personalities who rest in Deane Road, click here.
These detailed biographies include family histories, illustrations, links, and other references.
Supporters hope that once restoration is complete, the cemetery will be added to Liverpool’s heritage trail.
For more details on the cemetery, click here. For the history of the cemetery, click here.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the city's historic Deane Road Jewish cemetery has applied for such funding to aid its restoration.
Deane Road Jewish cemetery in Kensington is the final resting place of some of Liverpool’s best-known entrepreneurs including David Lewis, pioneer of Lewis’s, and Moses Samuel, founder of H Samuel.Patrons include Liverpool solicitor Rex Makin, Lord Lieutenant Dame Lorna Muirhead, and the well known actress (and Jewish genealogist) Miriam Margolyes.
The cemetery, which has around 750 gravestones, opened in 1837 but the last burial was in 1929 and it had become derelict before a new campaign to refurbish it was launched three years ago.
The group has put in a bid for £220,000 which should fund a total restoration, including replacement, repair or refurbishment of boundary walls, gateposts, railings and front archway, as well as to re-erect all gravestones in good condition.
The Old Liverpool Hebrew Congregation owns the site, which has an ornate Greek-revival style archway entrance and a driveway flanked by cast iron railings.
Burials include Liverpool's first Jewish mayor Charles Mozley, and painter John Raphael Isaac. For more on notable Sephardi and Ashkenazi personalities who rest in Deane Road, click here.
These detailed biographies include family histories, illustrations, links, and other references.
Supporters hope that once restoration is complete, the cemetery will be added to Liverpool’s heritage trail.
For more details on the cemetery, click here. For the history of the cemetery, click here.
Estonia: Music series in Tallinn synagogue, March 1
A concert of Jewish composers' contribution to world musical culture will be performed in the Tallin, Estonia synagogue. The first concert, part of a six-concert series, takes place Sunday, March 1.
Themed “As long as I Can Remember,” the program includes Soviet songs, ballads and musical scores from movies, created by composers of Jewish origin, including Isaac Dunayevsky, Oscar Feltsman, Yan Frenkel, Isaac Schwartz, Veniamin Basner and others.
Television and radio journalist Irina Stelmakh is director of the series, which will feature Russian Philharmonic Society soloists Alexander Nekrasov (baritone) and Natalia Troshina (mezzo-soprano), with accompaniment by Vladimir Ignatov.
For more, click here.
Themed “As long as I Can Remember,” the program includes Soviet songs, ballads and musical scores from movies, created by composers of Jewish origin, including Isaac Dunayevsky, Oscar Feltsman, Yan Frenkel, Isaac Schwartz, Veniamin Basner and others.
Television and radio journalist Irina Stelmakh is director of the series, which will feature Russian Philharmonic Society soloists Alexander Nekrasov (baritone) and Natalia Troshina (mezzo-soprano), with accompaniment by Vladimir Ignatov.
For more, click here.
New York: Sephardic music concert, March 7
New Yorkers are in for a treat with the Spirit of Sepharad concert, with Gerard Edery, concert set for 8pm, Saturday, March 7.
The Caravan Ensemble group includes:
Tickets $35 Senior $33 Multi-Show $30 Student $20
The venue is the Queens Theatre (Claire Shulman Playhouse), in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For tickets, click here; ($35, senior $33, student $20).
The Caravan Ensemble group includes:
Gerard Edery
Moroccan-born singer and guitarist; winner, Sephardic Musical Heritage Award
Amir Vahab
Iranian master vocalist of Persian folk and sacred music
Glen Velez
World-renowned, three-time Grammy Award-winning master drummer, composer
Ara Dinkjian
Foremost Armenian oud virtuoso
Barbara Martinez
Flamenco star dancer, singer and actress
Peninnah Schram
Internationally acclaimed storyteller
A soul-stirring program, The Spirit of Sepharad traces the unique migration of the Sephardim from medieval Spain, across North Africa, to the Middle East and beyond. Combining music, dance, narration and illuminating projections, this dynamic mixed-media performance brings to life all the rich cultural strains of the Sephardic Diaspora.
Featuring an array of virtuoso musicians from multiple disciplines, the CARAVAN ensemble traces the surprising and exotic musical synergies between Christians, Arabs and Jews from Medieval Spain to the present.
This program includes songs and instrumental music of secular and liturgical origin from Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, Syria, Turkey, Ancient Persia, The Balkans, Israel and Kurdistan (then, as now, part of Iran, Turkey and Iraq).
Tickets $35 Senior $33 Multi-Show $30 Student $20
The venue is the Queens Theatre (Claire Shulman Playhouse), in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For tickets, click here; ($35, senior $33, student $20).
UK: Black Death, gold jewellery
In 1349, nearly 1,000 Jews died in one day from the Black Death in Erfurt, Germany. The plague wiped out about a third of Europe's population.
In Erfurt, the Jewish population was destroyed and Europe's oldest synagogue abandoned.
Fast forward to Erfurt in 1998, when a trove of jewellery weighing nearly 30kg (66 pounds) was discovered. Earlier, in 1863, another collection was found in Colmar, France, hidden in the walls of a home.
The collection of gold and silver is considered priceless. Experts say the items were hidden by families during the Black Death, when Jews were being blamed for the spread of the plague.
An exhibition - The Treasures of the Black Death - brings together two hoards of medieval gold and silver jewellery. at the Wallace Collection in central London, which will run through Sunday, May 10.
Included are three of the earliest known examples of Jewish wedding rings. The rings show a house which symbolises the home of the couple and the Temple of Jerusalem. The inscription reads mazal tov (good fortune, Hebrew).
Also on display, a 650-year-old perfume bottle. It is part of the only surviving medieval cosmetic set, complete with ear cleaners and tweezers.
The Erfurt synagogue is being restored as a museum and will house the artefacts permanently beginning in autumn 2009.
Read the complete article here
In Erfurt, the Jewish population was destroyed and Europe's oldest synagogue abandoned.
Fast forward to Erfurt in 1998, when a trove of jewellery weighing nearly 30kg (66 pounds) was discovered. Earlier, in 1863, another collection was found in Colmar, France, hidden in the walls of a home.
The collection of gold and silver is considered priceless. Experts say the items were hidden by families during the Black Death, when Jews were being blamed for the spread of the plague.
An exhibition - The Treasures of the Black Death - brings together two hoards of medieval gold and silver jewellery. at the Wallace Collection in central London, which will run through Sunday, May 10.
Included are three of the earliest known examples of Jewish wedding rings. The rings show a house which symbolises the home of the couple and the Temple of Jerusalem. The inscription reads mazal tov (good fortune, Hebrew).
Also on display, a 650-year-old perfume bottle. It is part of the only surviving medieval cosmetic set, complete with ear cleaners and tweezers.
The Erfurt synagogue is being restored as a museum and will house the artefacts permanently beginning in autumn 2009.
Read the complete article here
February 23, 2009
Commerce and Religion: Call for papers
The Jewish role in medieval trade and commerce was very important. Many individuals attended local regional trade fairs, while others traveled far distances each year. There are many historical accounts of traders and merchants, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi.
The European Social Science History Conference has announced its call for papers on Commerce and Religion in medieval and early modern times. The conference takes place in Ghent, Belgium, April 13-16, 2010.
Send the proposal title and an abstract (800 words maximum) to Francesca Trivellato, by April 1.
The European Social Science History Conference has announced its call for papers on Commerce and Religion in medieval and early modern times. The conference takes place in Ghent, Belgium, April 13-16, 2010.
How did merchants belonging to different religious groups conduct trade with one another during the Medieval and Early Modern period? How did different societies accommodate "infidels" in the interest of promoting profitable commercial activity? We seek papers that focus on specific instances of inter-faith commerce from around the world in the period from 1000 to 1800. Papers from a variety of perspectives (e.g. economic history, legal history, cultural history) are welcome. They should be based on original research.The ultimate goal of this session is to develop a comparative approach to these questions and to trace changes over time, while respecting the historical particularity of diverse cases.
We are particularly eager to receive contributions that approach two inter-related themes:
a) the emergence of institutions, technologies, and forms of social organization that may have reduced the uncertainty of commercial exchanges, which was particularly acute in the absence of family and religious ties. For example, papers might explore the mechanics of medium- to long-term credit between individuals and groups who shared no religious affiliation and traded over significant distances. Analyses of failed or coerced inter-faith commercial exchanges are also welcome if they reveal larger patterns of cross-cultural interaction.
b) the tension between economic pragmatism, legal prescriptions, and religious prejudice. We are eager to link the mechanics of commercial exchange to their broader cultural implications in a wide variety of contexts and historical moments. In particular, we want to understand how and whether the quest for profit either encouraged more tolerant attitudes or merely enabled different groups to coexist in the context of religious biases and patterns of segregation.
Send the proposal title and an abstract (800 words maximum) to Francesca Trivellato, by April 1.
Sephardic studies: Grants available
UCLA Maurice Amado Program in Sephardic Studies at the school's Center for Jewish Studies invites applications for faculty incentive grants to encourage scholars of any rank to deepen or develop their scholarship and teaching on Sephardic history or culture.
Grants may be used to develop or transform a course or to conduct research on or engage in the writing of a scholarly project with significant Sephardic content. Funding will not exceed $5,000 for any single applicant; typical grants will be in the range of $3,000. The work is expected to be conducted by the end of the 2009-2010 academic year; funds may not be used for the purchase of technology.
Applicants must submit by March 2, a cover letter (750 words maximum)detailing the project, its feasibility, and its contribution to the field of Sephardic Studies; a detailed budget; and contactinformation for two references. Send questions to Vivian Holenbeck.
For more information on the Maurice Amado Foundation, click here.
Grants may be used to develop or transform a course or to conduct research on or engage in the writing of a scholarly project with significant Sephardic content. Funding will not exceed $5,000 for any single applicant; typical grants will be in the range of $3,000. The work is expected to be conducted by the end of the 2009-2010 academic year; funds may not be used for the purchase of technology.
Applicants must submit by March 2, a cover letter (750 words maximum)detailing the project, its feasibility, and its contribution to the field of Sephardic Studies; a detailed budget; and contactinformation for two references. Send questions to Vivian Holenbeck.
For more information on the Maurice Amado Foundation, click here.
A major focus of the Maurice Amado Foundation is to ensure that Sephardic heritage is woven into the fabric of American Jewry. The Foundation has a special interest in integrating information about the religious life and culture of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors originated in the Iberian Peninsula into the education of all American Jews, with a special emphasis on reaching leaders, both present and future, of American Jewry. The heritage of Sephardic Jews includes a) the history and contributions to Jewish thought of the Spanish Jews before the Inquisition, b) the effects of the Inquisition on Jewish religious, cultural and intellectual life, c) the history of the Sephardim in the lands of their dispersion after the Expulsion, and d) modern Sephardic cultural and religious contributions to Jewish life.Maurice Amado established the foundation in 1961. He was a descendant of Sephardic Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire after the 1492 Expulsion from Spain. He immigrated to New York from Izmir, Turkey in 1903 and moved to Los Angeles in 1940. He supported organizations that perpetuated Sephardic heritage and culture.
Jews and Music: Call for Papers
There's more to genealogy than name lists. The field includes all aspects of life, including music. How did music impact the lives of our ancestors? Were they involved in music as performers or listeners? As an important part of life, music helps us understand our ancestors and the times they lived.
The Society for Ethnomusicology has announced its Call for Papers for the Panel on Jews and Music in Latin America and the Caribbean to take place at its conference in Mexico City, November 19-22.
The Society for Ethnomusicology has announced its Call for Papers for the Panel on Jews and Music in Latin America and the Caribbean to take place at its conference in Mexico City, November 19-22.
The Jewish Music Interest Group of the Society for Ethnomusicology invites abstracts (in English, Spanish, or Portuguese) for a panel it intends to sponsor on music and Jewish life/history in the Caribbean and Latin America for the Society's 2009 meeting in Mexico City. We will entertain all proposals from interested scholars on any aspects of music and Judaism associated with the region. These topics may include music's relationship to identity, language, politics, migration, movement/dance, religious belief, gender, history, and so on. We are especially interested in those proposals that engage with and further ethnomusicology's discourses, methods, and/or literatures.Send inquiries to Judah Cohen, with 250-word abstracts to Lillian Wohl, by March 9. Those with accepted proposals must commit to 2009 membership in the Society for Ethnomusicology and attendance at the Mexico City event.
February 21, 2009
Philly 2009: Discussion group online now
Subscribe now to the discussion list for the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (August 2-7, Philadelphia).It's a great way to stay in tune and in touch with breaking program announcements and activities. It also provides a place to both ask and answer questions about the conference and Philadelphia. The moderated discussion group is hosted by JewishGen.
It is a collaborative effort as subscribers share information on how to get the most out of event, about things to see and do in Philly. Speaker announcements, special programs and other announcements are usually made first on the discussion group, so don't miss out on the details.
To subscribe, go to the Philly 2009 site. On the left sidebar, scroll down to Conference Discussion Group. Click that button and follow the instructions.
YIVO: Financial problems, staff cuts
According to The Forward, YIVO is dealing with its own financial problems a few weeks after hosting a public discussion on the financial downturn and Bernard Madoff's misdeeds.
Nathaniel Popper reports that five staff members were fired this month, including the only employee who knew how to type and edit documents in Yiddish.
Others dismissed were Fern Kant, who was two-thirds finished archiving Hebrew Actors Union materials; she will leave it uncompleted. Another laid-off employee had been there for decades, pulling material for researchers from the YIVO library.
Two other members, the American Jewish Historical Society and the Yeshiva University Museum, are also facing layoffs. Problems have increased because the Center has asked the members to pay increased rent to stay in the building.
Read the complete story at the link above.
Nathaniel Popper reports that five staff members were fired this month, including the only employee who knew how to type and edit documents in Yiddish.
Others dismissed were Fern Kant, who was two-thirds finished archiving Hebrew Actors Union materials; she will leave it uncompleted. Another laid-off employee had been there for decades, pulling material for researchers from the YIVO library.
“He knew the location of every journal and every book in the library,” Kant said. “I can’t imagine the library section functioning without him.”Three YIVO board members also resigned.
The problems at YIVO, one of the largest libraries and archives of Yiddish material in the world, are connected to the stock market dive, and the drying up of donor funds. But the recent turmoil also stems from financial disagreements among YIVO’s leadership. At a board meeting February 11, a number of members asked the chairman of the board, Bruce Slovin, to resign, accusing him of a conflict of interest.Fundraising difficulties have highlighted problems in the five organizations forming the Center for Jewish History, which has operated under a deficit for many years. A proposed merger with New York University failed after member groups opposed the plan.
Two other members, the American Jewish Historical Society and the Yeshiva University Museum, are also facing layoffs. Problems have increased because the Center has asked the members to pay increased rent to stay in the building.
The negotiations over this annual rent have been particularly tense at YIVO because the chairman of YIVO, Slovin, is also the founder and chairman of the center. Several members of YIVO’s board have called this a conflict of interest and one of those members, Abramson, said that when the interests of YIVO and the center have conflicted, Slovin has regularly sided with the center against YIVO.In addition to board tensions, layoffs were necessary because of the recession, and YIVO executive director Carl Rheins said that the generosity and size of gifts by major donors will not be the same.
Read the complete story at the link above.
February 20, 2009
Society of American Archivists: March workshops
The Society of American Archivists (SAA) is scheduling workshops on diverse topics in various cities during March and later in the year.
If you are interested in learning more about archives, their organization and more, click the link above.
While non-member workshop fees are not inexpensive and may well be out of reach of non-professionals, reading the details of each workshop will provide information that may be researched independently.
Here are some titles:
If you are interested in learning more about archives, their organization and more, click the link above.
While non-member workshop fees are not inexpensive and may well be out of reach of non-professionals, reading the details of each workshop will provide information that may be researched independently.
Here are some titles:
Questions? Send them here, or see the website's education calendar.Arrangement and Description of Manuscript Collections
March 5-6, Newport News, VA
An Introduction to Archival Exhibitions
March 6, Chicago, IL
Understanding Photographs: Introduction to Archival Principles & Practices
March 9-10, Philadelphia, PA
Analyzing and Improving Archival Web Sites
March 16, Princeton, NJ
Preservation of 20th Century Visual Materials
March 18-19, Milwaukee, WI
Business Archives...Establishing and Managing an Archives
March 25-27, Boston, MA
Archival Content Management Systems Web Seminar
March 31
Miami: Public library resources, March 1
The main branch of the Miami Public Library is home to a genealogy collection with materials including all US census microfilms, city directories, newspapers and more.The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami has planned a field trip to the library to meet with the genealogy librarian, beginning at 12.45pm, Sunday, March 1. The Main Library is located at 101 W. Flagler Street.
The librarian will be available to meet with attendees following an introduction to the collections. The genealogy department's six computers are reserved for the JGS; attendees may bring their own laptops, flash drives and wireless cards.
The genealogy department features three microfilm readers that can print and save, with another two only for reading, while other library areas have additional readers and computers.
The library offers Internet access to Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest and other sites.
For more information, click here.
Vancouver, BC: Two workshops, March 1- Update
I just received a correction from dear friend Cissie Eppel in Vancouver who writes that the beginning Jewish genealogy program described below will be held at the Jewish Community Centre, in Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, and not at the Jewish Museum and Archives in the city of Vancouver. This is a great opportunity for those living in and around beautiful Victoria to get started in Jewish genealogy!
March 1 is a busy genealogy day at the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC, with two workshops scheduled.
The Museum and Archives demonstrates 150 years of Jewish culture and history in British Columbia. It is also the home of the Jewish Genealogical Institute of BC (founded 1992), the Jewish Historical Society of BC, and the Nemetz Jewish Community Archives.
The Nemetz Jewish Community Archives Reference Room (NJCA) The NJCA Reference Room in the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia provides a quiet atmosphere for researchers. The Reference Room contains a small but definitive resource library and is equipped with an oral history listening area and access to the Jewish Historical Society’s Oral History Collection. Visitors can also access the Jewish Genealogical Institute of British Columbia’s reference library and the genealogical databases Ancestry.com and FindMyPast.com.
The following beginning Jewish genealogy program will be held at the Jewish Community Centre, in Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, and not at the Jewish Museum and Archives.
From 1-4.30pm, the Jewish Genealogical Institute of BC will present a beginning Jewish genealogy workshop, led by president Catherine Youngren, called "First Steps in Jewish Genealogy: Tracing Your Jewish Ancestry, Giving life to your ancestors." Participants will receive handouts and beginner's kit at the program. The cost is $35.
From 2-4pm, the Jewish Historical Society of BC will offer an oral history interviewer workshop for those interested in becoming involved with the JHSBC's Oral History Project.This workshop will introduce participants to the steps involved in doing genealogy research and the challenges involved in telling and sharing your ancestor’s stories. Topics will include: collecting family documents, interviewing family members, using genealogical tools such as ancestral charts and family group sheets, and using genealogical websites and databases. Participants will be introduced to important online tools such as Jewishgen.org and Familysearch.org, and most useful online databases including Ancestry.com, Findyourpast.com, and Footnote.com.
Irene Dodek, who interviewed Holocaust survivors for the Shoah Foundation, and archivist Janine Johnston will lead the workshop. Cost is $20; $5 for those who are already interviewers with the JHSBC. For information on the oral history workshop, call 604-638-7286 .
The Museum's permanent interactive exhibit offers interesting details such as Gastown merchant Louis Gold, who jumped into Burrard Inlet to escape Vancouver’s Great Fire of 1886. Others include Vancouver's second mayor David Oppenheimer, called the “Father of Vancouver,” who was instrumental in opening beautiful Stanley Park.
There's a gift shop with relevant books (some of which I purchased on my last speaking visit to Vancouver) and even the kosher Nava Cafe. If you are visiting Vancouver, note that the museum is open from 10am-5pm, Sunday-Thursday, closed on legal and Jewish holidays, of course.
If your blog died today...
"If your blog died today, what would it be remembered for?" asks ProBlogger Darren Rowse.
I realized that since obits are part of what we geneabloggers deal with, this might be an excellent exercise. I haven't written these yet for Tracing the Tribe, but perhaps this would make for an interesting Carnival of Genealogy.
Jasia, what do you think of scheduling this? It sounds like a good motivational activity for our community. footnoteMaven, can you do a badge for this one?
Darren posted a two-part exercise that should take about 30 minutes. Others might think obits are morbid, but geneabloggers are used to handling those sort of records and it shouldn't make us too squirmy.
Bloggers, writes Darren, should compare the two obits (future and present) and ask themselves if they are moving in the right direction and then make some plans to move from the "present reality to the future dream."
There are numerous comments, and in scanning them, I came across Digital Family Trunk by Rob in New Zealand. If Rob's blog isn't on your reading list, it should be. Each of his posts poses numerous questions that genealogists and family historians should be asking themselves.
Others posed questions related to the Problogger item: If a genealogy blogger met his or her demise, who would let readers know? If the blogger goes, who will blog the information? And, what would happen to our collective accounts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites?
Finally, will all the work we have done on our respective blogs be part of our own memorials?
I realized that since obits are part of what we geneabloggers deal with, this might be an excellent exercise. I haven't written these yet for Tracing the Tribe, but perhaps this would make for an interesting Carnival of Genealogy.
Jasia, what do you think of scheduling this? It sounds like a good motivational activity for our community. footnoteMaven, can you do a badge for this one?
Darren posted a two-part exercise that should take about 30 minutes. Others might think obits are morbid, but geneabloggers are used to handling those sort of records and it shouldn't make us too squirmy.
1. Write an obituary for your blog 10 years in the future
Project yourself forward 10 years, imagine that at that point you decide to end your blog having achieved everything that you want to achieve with it and write a short obituary about your blog as you’d like other people to have seen it to that point.
Keep in mind that your blog has been as successful as it can be and you’re ending it at the peak of its game.
- What do you want people to say about your blog?
- How do you hope it will have been perceived?
- What will people miss about it the most?
- What ground has it broken?
- What has it achieved?
- How has it helped people?Take 10 minutes to write this obituary and dare to dream big.
2. Write an obituary for your blog as it stands today
OK - back to the present. Let's just say that you blog ended today. Perhaps it was hacked, perhaps you just decided to delete it or perhaps your server died and you didn’t have a backup - the reason doesn’t matter - the exercise remains the same.
- Write an obituary for your blog as you think others see it now.
- What would they say about it?
- What would people miss about it?
- What has it achieved?
- How has it fulfilled a need or service in people’s lives.
- What ground has it broken?
Bloggers, writes Darren, should compare the two obits (future and present) and ask themselves if they are moving in the right direction and then make some plans to move from the "present reality to the future dream."
There are numerous comments, and in scanning them, I came across Digital Family Trunk by Rob in New Zealand. If Rob's blog isn't on your reading list, it should be. Each of his posts poses numerous questions that genealogists and family historians should be asking themselves.
Others posed questions related to the Problogger item: If a genealogy blogger met his or her demise, who would let readers know? If the blogger goes, who will blog the information? And, what would happen to our collective accounts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites?
Finally, will all the work we have done on our respective blogs be part of our own memorials?
February 19, 2009
Crypto-Judaic Studies: Call for conference papers
The call for papers is out for the 19th Conference of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, set for August 2-4, in Denver, Colorado.
Papers are invited on any aspect of crypto-Judaism from any discipline (e.g., anthropology, history, sociology, philosophy, literature, music, etc.) and from any geographic location or time period. Also welcomed are additional aspects of the Sephardic experience and other communities whose historical or sociological experience is similar to that of the crypto-Jewish community.
All interested scholars and professionals, including advanced graduate students, are invited to submit proposals for papers, presentations or workshops.
Proposals are also welcome from individuals with personal stories and genealogical or other research relating to crypto-Judaism.
Proposals may be for individual papers or presentations or complete sessions on specific topics. Submitters should indicate if the proposal represents completed research or work in progress. Include a 200-word abstract and a brief bio.
Submit proposals by May 1, or questions, to Seth Kunin, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Durham University (UK). There is some available funding for graduate students to attend and present at the conference
For more information, visit the SCJS website.
Papers are invited on any aspect of crypto-Judaism from any discipline (e.g., anthropology, history, sociology, philosophy, literature, music, etc.) and from any geographic location or time period. Also welcomed are additional aspects of the Sephardic experience and other communities whose historical or sociological experience is similar to that of the crypto-Jewish community.
All interested scholars and professionals, including advanced graduate students, are invited to submit proposals for papers, presentations or workshops.
Proposals are also welcome from individuals with personal stories and genealogical or other research relating to crypto-Judaism.
Proposals may be for individual papers or presentations or complete sessions on specific topics. Submitters should indicate if the proposal represents completed research or work in progress. Include a 200-word abstract and a brief bio.
Submit proposals by May 1, or questions, to Seth Kunin, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Durham University (UK). There is some available funding for graduate students to attend and present at the conference
For more information, visit the SCJS website.
Philly 2009: Keynote speaker Father Patrick Desbois
Keynote speaker at Philly 2009's opening session will be Father Patrick Desbois, the distinguished French priest, author and humanitarian.He will speak on "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews," the title of his book.
The conference opening session takes place on Sunday, August 2.
The grandson of a deportee to the Nazi Rawa Ruska forced-labor Camp in Ukraine, Father Desbois is best known for his work in searching for and uncovering mass graves in Ukraine and for his book, "The Holocaust by Bullets."
"My book is an act of prevention of future acts of genocide," Debois said.
Winner of the B’nai B’rith International Award for Outstanding Contribution to Relations with the Jewish People, Father Desbois is secretary to the French Conference of Bishops for Relations with Judaism, advisor to the Cardinal-Archbishop of Leon and advisor to the Vatican on the Jewish Religion.
He is president of YAHAD-IN UNUM, whose mission is to increase knowledge and cooperation between Catholic and Jews.
"We are extremely pleased to have Father Desbois speak at our conference," said event co-chair David Mink. "He has performed selfless acts of kindness for the many people of Jewish heritage who trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe and have not been able to record the death of loved ones on their family tree."
The 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy runs from Sunday, August 2 through Friday, August 7, in Philadelphia; more than 1,000 participants are expected.
For all conference details, registration and hotel information, click here. Also, sign up for the conference blog which will provide all breaking news and additional information.
Portugal: Kosher cheese made again
Portugal has seen the first kosher wine, the first kosher olive oil, and now, the first kosher cheese - a hard, goat's milk cheese - since the Inquisition, detailed in this Haaretz story.
As Tracing the Tribe's readers know, bnai anusim (Hebrew; conversos, Spanish) are the descendants of Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition, such as Jose Braz featured here:
Read the complete story at the link above.
As Tracing the Tribe's readers know, bnai anusim (Hebrew; conversos, Spanish) are the descendants of Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition, such as Jose Braz featured here:
Freund adds that he sees a definite connection between how many anousim are rediscovering their roots and the increased interest.Last year, Jose Braz, owner of the Queijos Braz factory, contacted Daniel Litwak, the chief rabbi of Portugal's second-largest city, Porto, and asked him to arrange a kashrut certificate for Serra da Estrela cheese, which Braz manufactures. Braz believes that his own family were members of Portugal's Jewish community in the 14th and 15th centuries, but like many others were forced to convert to escape persecution by the Inquisition.
"When I spoke to Jose, he told me he wanted to reconnect to his Jewish roots - this was the reason for contacting me," says Litwak, who was born in Argentina. "I was surprised because his brand was doing rather nicely all over Europe. He did not need the certificate to increase his turnover."
New York-born Michael Freund, the chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization that helps people with Jewish roots become more involved in their Jewish community, who immigrated to Israel some 10 years ago, told Haaretz that Portugal "is seeing a Jewish revival over the past few years."
Read the complete story at the link above.
Rosenblat: Holocaust faker admits lie - UPDATED
The latest Holocaust faker, Herman Rosenblat, appeared on Good Morning America and admitted he lied.
The love story was so touching, that Hollywood is even making a movie about it.Herman Rosenblat received international attention for his tale about being a hungry little boy in a Nazi concentration camp who was thrown apples every day by a little girl named Roma, on the other side of the fence.
Years later, according to the story, Rosenblat met that same girl on a blind date in New York City and proposed to her on the spot.
Even Oprah Winfrey was taken in by the fraud, as were publishers and Hollywood.
On GMA, Rosenblat said:
"It wasn't a lie," he told "GMA." "It was my imagination. And in my imagination, in my mind, I believed it. Even now, I believe it, that she was there and she threw the apple to me. ... In my imagination, it was true."
Rosenblat said he told the story to give people hope and to promote understanding about the Holocaust. His wife went along with the story because, as Rosenblat said, she "loved" him.
His son, Ken Rosenblat, however, indicated the real motive was money. A book deal. A movie.
The effort proving the fraud linked forensic genealogy and Holocaust social history methods. The team included Holocaust researchers Dr. Deborah Lipstadt (Emory University), Professor Ken Waltzer (Michigan State University and director of Jewish Studies), author Danny Bloom and forensic genealogists Colleen Fitzpatrick and Sharon Sargeant. The team also received help from historians Uwe Schwarz (Germany) and Jean-Louis Rey (France) who are working on the history of the Buchenwald sub-camp Schlieben.
The talents of this group joined genealogical methods and historical research skills related to survivor testimony, ITS camp records (transport lists and prisoner records) as well as Claims Conference materials.
About six weeks ago, the team proved that it was impossible for prisoners to approach the fence at Herman's concentration camp and that his wife's family was really 200 miles away.
Learn how they did it at their new site Identifinders. Colleen and Sharon also exposed Misha DeFonseca's Holocaust hoax of living with wolves. I have just read and highly recommend a very detailed story focusing on Waltzer's role (view it online at Harpers).
The talents of this group joined genealogical methods and historical research skills related to survivor testimony, ITS camp records (transport lists and prisoner records) as well as Claims Conference materials.
About six weeks ago, the team proved that it was impossible for prisoners to approach the fence at Herman's concentration camp and that his wife's family was really 200 miles away.
Learn how they did it at their new site Identifinders. Colleen and Sharon also exposed Misha DeFonseca's Holocaust hoax of living with wolves. I have just read and highly recommend a very detailed story focusing on Waltzer's role (view it online at Harpers).
Rosenblat's memoir, "Angel at the Fence," was canceled by Berkely Books. A children's book on the same subject, "Angel Girl," was published in September but pulled after the revelations.
The latest news is that a $25 million film project, "Flower of the Fence" will be going ahead.
Read the complete story at the link above.
Isn't it time that publishers hired forensic genealogists to clear books with this subject matter?
Publishers Weekly ran a story on this topic, recommending that such manuscripts be cleared by professional researchers before deals are made, rather than running extensive damage control after the fact; see Tracing the Tribe's link here.
Publishers Weekly ran a story on this topic, recommending that such manuscripts be cleared by professional researchers before deals are made, rather than running extensive damage control after the fact; see Tracing the Tribe's link here.
San Diego: Jewish archives catalog online
Family roots in San Diego, California? If so, the new searchable website of The Jewish Historical Society of San Diego may help you add leaves to your family tree.The JHSSD offers more than 50 collections of personal and communal papers, documents and photos, local Jewish newspapers, including significant collections on pioneer Jews. Materials date from the 1850s-late 20th century, with original material from the 1910s through today.
The personal papers of Rabbi Morton J. Cohn, a Reform rabbi in San Diego from the 1940s-1980s, was the first and largest component of the collection.
The 19th century holdings include published and unpublished papers on local Jewish history and copies of primary source material.
Other materials include women's and men's communal organizations, clerical papers, Jewish Community Center, San Diego Jewish newspapers, family collections, oral histories, synagogue papers and much more.
Click here for a list of the collections.
The JHSSD, located at San Diego State University campus,We work in partnership with the Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University. The Archives is located on the campus, in the Love Library.
Awards: Kreative Blogger
Jasia at Creative Gene has awarded Tracing the Tribe the Kreative Blogger award. Thank you, Jasia, for your consideration.Jasia was one of the first geneabloggers I knew. Her creativity and broad knowledge helped me over numerous bumps in the road.
The rules of this award are:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.
I'm sure each of my nominations will receive multiple shout-outs from the geneablogger community, but here goes. Although in alphabetical order, each is number one in my book!
The ChartChick - Janet is the energizer bunny of genealogy charts and much more.
DearMyrtle - Always an inspiration, she revealed the possibilities of geneablogging to me when Tracing the Tribe first appeared.
Destination: Austin Family - Thomas cares so much about what we do and is always ready to assist with creative work-arounds for sticky problems. What would we do without him?
footnoteMaven - A veritable perpetually flowing fountain of inspiring creativity, she's also great fun to go to lunch with - just make sure you've scheduled in a four-hour time slot!
Genea-Musings - No one checks out internet resources like Randy. I am always in awe of how he transforms complex technical issues into simple-to-understand explanations that even complete non-techies like me can understand.
Practical Archivist - Sally's suggestions, hints and tips are endless. I find myself returning again and again to check specific topics.
Steve's Genealogy Blog - Steve never fails to inspire readers with his attention to detail. I am especially indebted to him for his looks at major resources for Polish resource, such as geographic atlases.
Enjoy reading my nominations to this "kreative klub."
February 18, 2009
Out of the bag: Our favorite techno-geek genealogist
Geneablogger colleague Thomas McEntee of Destination: Austin Family (and several other blogs and genealogical sites) has just been named the National Genealogy and Technology Examiner at Examiner.com.
Thomas has been instrumental in assisting everyone interested in family history with many resources, utilizing his awesome command of technology (Internet tools and applications) and genealogy to help readers trace their roots.
His own blog post provided more information on the new position and, as the site did not have an appropriate category for what he does so well, he convinced them to add a new sub-category for genealogy and technology under its Gadgets and Tech section.
His first post is here:
Congratulations, Thomas!
Thomas has been instrumental in assisting everyone interested in family history with many resources, utilizing his awesome command of technology (Internet tools and applications) and genealogy to help readers trace their roots.
His own blog post provided more information on the new position and, as the site did not have an appropriate category for what he does so well, he convinced them to add a new sub-category for genealogy and technology under its Gadgets and Tech section.
His first post is here:
I am “here” not only because I have an expertise in the area of genealogy and technology, but also because I have ancestors.His second posting deals with changes in terms of service at Facebook.
Lots of ancestors. And my job here at Examiner.com is to help you locate your own family roots as well as discover technology tools you can use to find those elusive family members from generations gone by.
I’ve been researching my own family history since 1995, during which time I've seen the field of genealogy embrace (sometimes reluctantly) the Internet and various Web applications to assist in the research process.
For the past two years I've been blogging and writing about many Web 2.0 and social media applications which more and more genealogists are utilizing in their sleuthing efforts.
So stay tuned and you’ll learn how to ramp up your own genealogy research, and keep tabs on changes in technology, new applications and Web sites which could be useful to every family historian. You may also change the way you look at the process of finding out who you are and where you came from.
As of early this morning – 12:17 am CST to be exact – Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook announced a backtracking on recent changes made to Facebook’s Terms of Service (TOS) over at The Facebook Blog.Stay tuned at Examiner for more of Thomas's articles.
Congratulations, Thomas!
Iran: Cuisine, culture and more
If you've always wondered about Persian food, here's a great multi-part series on Iranian.com.
Each segment runs about 10 minutes and looks at food, music, culture, ordinary life and beautiful scenery.
This first series covers the northern province of Gilan, on the shores of the Caspian. It was good to revisit an area that I had last seen in person such a long time ago.
The next series - not yet posted - covers the central area of the country, including Isfahan, where the Dardashti family originated, in the neighborhood of Dardasht.
Isfahan was one of the first places, according to tradition, where the Jews settled following the Babylonian Exile. So many Jews lived there that Arab geographers called it The City of the Jews.
According to legend, when the Jews were exiled from the land of Israel, they took along samples of the water and soil. At each place they stopped, they checked the water and soil of the place with their samples from home. When they reached Isfahan, goes the story, the samples matched and they settled down.
Each segment runs about 10 minutes and looks at food, music, culture, ordinary life and beautiful scenery.
This first series covers the northern province of Gilan, on the shores of the Caspian. It was good to revisit an area that I had last seen in person such a long time ago.
The next series - not yet posted - covers the central area of the country, including Isfahan, where the Dardashti family originated, in the neighborhood of Dardasht.
Isfahan was one of the first places, according to tradition, where the Jews settled following the Babylonian Exile. So many Jews lived there that Arab geographers called it The City of the Jews.
According to legend, when the Jews were exiled from the land of Israel, they took along samples of the water and soil. At each place they stopped, they checked the water and soil of the place with their samples from home. When they reached Isfahan, goes the story, the samples matched and they settled down.
'Special' gen program sought
Is there a genealogy program that wouldn't self-destruct if this so-called family was entered?
Read about a man living with 32 women and who has fathered 89 children. Some readers asked if he has 32 mothers-in-law and others wanted to know who had control of the TV remote.
On the surface, this is an interesting and even funny case for genealogists from a technical charting viewpoint. As a case for family services and child protection agencies, it is a different matter.
The story was in Haaretz.
Read about a man living with 32 women and who has fathered 89 children. Some readers asked if he has 32 mothers-in-law and others wanted to know who had control of the TV remote.
On the surface, this is an interesting and even funny case for genealogists from a technical charting viewpoint. As a case for family services and child protection agencies, it is a different matter.
The story was in Haaretz.
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh's Jews of Steel
A recent book details the Jewish history of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reviewed in the Pittsburgh Tribune.
Barbara Burstin, author of "Steel City Jews: A History of Pittsburgh and its Jewish Community, 1840-1915," says that Cincinnati was a more enticing destination than Western Pennsylvania for a practical reason.
The story details mid-19th century Pittsburgh Jewish life and where the families migrated in the area. Some went to the North Side, known as Allegheny City, across the river. The Ridge Avenue area was favored by the rich and affluent. West of Ridge Avenue, now known as Manchester, attracted many Jewish families from the 1850s-1870s. The Sheffield Street area was popular and the community began to divide along ethnic lines.
The demographics changed in the early 1960s following the construction of the Civic Arena, and the Jewish population left for Squirrel Hill and elsewhere.
Burstin is currently writing another book on Pittsburgh Jewish history from 1915.
Read the complete article at the link above.
Barbara Burstin, author of "Steel City Jews: A History of Pittsburgh and its Jewish Community, 1840-1915," says that Cincinnati was a more enticing destination than Western Pennsylvania for a practical reason.
The author is a Long Island native who moved from Connecticut to Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill more than 30 years ago. She took on the project writing the history of the city's early Jews."You couldn't get here very easily from the East," says Burstin, a historian who teaches history at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. "There was no train connection from the East, so (Jews) went to other cities much further west."
"I enjoyed talking to people," she says. "I enjoyed the research. It was like being a detective and ferreting out clues, trying to understand the path these people took."According to Burstin, a few Jewish peddlers showed up in the 1840s, selling on Pittsburgh streets. It wasn't until 1846 that the first Jewish institution - Troy Hill Cemetery - was organized by William Frank, David Strassberger and Emmanuel Reis. The first synagogue - Shaare Shamayim (Gates of Heaven) was founded in 1848.
The story details mid-19th century Pittsburgh Jewish life and where the families migrated in the area. Some went to the North Side, known as Allegheny City, across the river. The Ridge Avenue area was favored by the rich and affluent. West of Ridge Avenue, now known as Manchester, attracted many Jewish families from the 1850s-1870s. The Sheffield Street area was popular and the community began to divide along ethnic lines.
"I talk about a 'Tale of Two Cities,' '' Burstin says. "You have the German Jews who had come earlier and had some degree of success. And you had Eastern European Jews, who were quite poor, arriving. ... There was a real chasm between the two of them, in many ways."Congregations and organizations were formed. In the 1880s, a train stop in the Hill District was the impetus for that area to begin to thrive. In the 1890s, it became the immigrant Jewish community's neighborhood, although the area was mixed and diverse people lived there.
The demographics changed in the early 1960s following the construction of the Civic Arena, and the Jewish population left for Squirrel Hill and elsewhere.
Burstin is currently writing another book on Pittsburgh Jewish history from 1915.
Read the complete article at the link above.
Television: Extraordinary stories, ordinary people
The family history television program Legend Seekers will preview its pilot episode in Indianapolis on March 26.
The difference between the well-known WDYTYA and Legend Seekers is that LS deals with ordinary people, not celebrities, and bills itself as "the stories of real American families."
According to the site, the show combines a reality program, investigation and historic documentary utilizing travel, research, genealogy, experts (historians, scientists, archivists, archeologists, professional genealogists, relatives and local history buffs) and science (ground-penetrating radar, GPS data and satellite imagery, DNA) .
The pilot episode (see the trailer here) focuses on the Lively Family Massacre, tracing the family legend of Pam Frazer, a southern Illinois resident. The show helps trace her connect to some of the first white settlers in the area in 1813. According to the show's site, and during the search, she uncovers a handwritten letter addressed to William Clark (of the Lewish & Clark expedition) mentioning her ancestors by name and their graves. The episode features research, genealogy, expert interviews and a historic reenactment of the pioneers and their tragic end.
The screening on several independent public television stations across the US is intended "to engage viewers interested in genealogy and create interest in sponsorship to fulfill a 13 episode series. " Other stations considering screening the documentary are inIllinois, Nebraska, Michigan and Maryland.
Other episodes:
The difference between the well-known WDYTYA and Legend Seekers is that LS deals with ordinary people, not celebrities, and bills itself as "the stories of real American families."
According to the site, the show combines a reality program, investigation and historic documentary utilizing travel, research, genealogy, experts (historians, scientists, archivists, archeologists, professional genealogists, relatives and local history buffs) and science (ground-penetrating radar, GPS data and satellite imagery, DNA) .
The pilot episode (see the trailer here) focuses on the Lively Family Massacre, tracing the family legend of Pam Frazer, a southern Illinois resident. The show helps trace her connect to some of the first white settlers in the area in 1813. According to the show's site, and during the search, she uncovers a handwritten letter addressed to William Clark (of the Lewish & Clark expedition) mentioning her ancestors by name and their graves. The episode features research, genealogy, expert interviews and a historic reenactment of the pioneers and their tragic end.
The screening on several independent public television stations across the US is intended "to engage viewers interested in genealogy and create interest in sponsorship to fulfill a 13 episode series. " Other stations considering screening the documentary are inIllinois, Nebraska, Michigan and Maryland.
Other episodes:
Read more at the site links above.The Legend of the Clarence Still on the Underground Railroad
Slave ancestors, a plantation and a hero.The Legend of Handey and the Trail of Tears
A Cherokee great grandfather’s Missouri birth place and the Trail of Tears.The Legend of the Walker Family’s Tennessee Gold
A legend of Civil War gold coins, a century of searching a Tennessee farm and clues found in the 1990s.The Legend of the Schnaubelt Bomb and the Haymarket Riot
A post-card, an anarchist ancestor and Chicago.The Legend of Dr. Horace Potter’s Shell
A strange monument of a Civil War surgeon and the shell that killed him in Georgia.
Hidden Jews: Report on meeting
Some 100 people attended Arthur Benveniste's February program, "Secret Jews: History and Culture of Crypto-Jews and Their Research for Jewish Roots and Identity," hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley (JGSCV), near Los Angeles.
Tracing the Tribe informed readers about this program here. As regular readers know, this topic has always been of great interest to me personally.
The JGSCV newsletter, Venturings, reported the following:
The topic of hidden Jews, combined with the contemporary phenomenon of more and more hidden Jews (bnai anousim) coming out of centuries of silence as they search for their roots, always attracts large audiences.
"Until more recent times, these traditions were not recognized by the descendants to be from their Jewish roots," is not entirely accurate in my experience. Many of these families know exactly who they are, who their ancestors were and why they preserve and observe certain traditions - they just don't talk about them with outsiders as such traditions are private family matters.
In the post announcing the above meeting, I wrote:
Those interested in this topic can visit the Society for Crypto Judaic Studies, see the group's newsletter Halapid, and look forward in the near future to the SCJS's new annual journal with academic, peer-reviewed papers: Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto Jews.
The SCJS also holds an annual conference - this year, August 2-4, in Denver. I have been trying to attend this conference for several years, missing it to due to scheduling problems. Unfortunately, this year, it conflicts with the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (August 2-7, Philadelphia). I am hoping it won't conflict with the 2010 conference in Los Angeles - which should have a large Sephardic programming component - maybe I'll be able to attend the SCJS event then.
Tracing the Tribe encourages the leadership of all conferences focusing on Jewish heritage, Jewish genealogy, Jewish history and other areas of relevant research to check the calendar in an attempt to avoid head-on conflicts with other major events in the field. In the past there have been conflicts with conferences on Jewish names and other topics. Avoiding such conflicts means that important topics can be presented by the same experts to different venues and to larger audiences.
Tracing the Tribe informed readers about this program here. As regular readers know, this topic has always been of great interest to me personally.
The JGSCV newsletter, Venturings, reported the following:
Nearly 100 JGSCV members and meeting attendees experienced a fascinating, erudite and historical presentation by Arthur Benveniste on Secret Jews: History and Culture of Crypto-Jews and Their Research for Jewish Roots and Identity.
Arthur discussed the impact of the Inquistions in Spain and Portugal, and later in Brazil and Mexico, on the Jews who lived in those countries. The Inquisition required Jews to leave the country or convert to Catholism.
Many, who converted to Catholicism, maintained some Jewish traditions, albeit hiding them. Until more recent times, these traditions were not recognized by the descendants to be from their Jewish roots. The traditions include playing cards around a table on Friday nights—so that if someone came to the door they could put away their prayer books and looked as if they were playing cards, or consuming certain foods, or lighting eight candles in paper bags [luminarias] at Christmas time—the eight being for Chanukah… and more.
A recently released DNA study showed that 20 percent of today's Spanish population is of at least partial Jewish descent.
The audience asked very provocative questions and related their family stories. This included one attendee who told of her family in 1938 Germany having to do a family tree going back to 1481 to prove they were Catholic in order to survive. This individual wanted to know where she could research prior to 1481 to see if her family had been Jewish. (Arthur referred her to certain Archives in Spain.) [1481 was the year a Spanish Inquisitor was murdered and the converted Jews were blamed.]
Others related that their family made certain foods, such as "bourmules" [boumelos] (Crypto-Jewish potato or flour deep fried) or in Spanish today "banuleos" [banuelos] a special tortilla, indicating a tradition long-passed down through the generations.
The topic of hidden Jews, combined with the contemporary phenomenon of more and more hidden Jews (bnai anousim) coming out of centuries of silence as they search for their roots, always attracts large audiences.
"Until more recent times, these traditions were not recognized by the descendants to be from their Jewish roots," is not entirely accurate in my experience. Many of these families know exactly who they are, who their ancestors were and why they preserve and observe certain traditions - they just don't talk about them with outsiders as such traditions are private family matters.
In the post announcing the above meeting, I wrote:
I am fortunate to know many Converso families and am particularly interested in their preservation of Judaism, observance, customs and traditions within their families since their New World arrival in the early 1600s. Many Conversos have always known their history, while other Hispanics are just learning about their Jewish roots. Many are conflicted about how to handle this new information as to their heritage.The quest for knowledge continues and, just this week, I have heard from Converso friends (who have preserved extensive knowledge in their own families) who are now being asked by their friends to answer questions and provide information about possible Jewish ancestry.
Those interested in this topic can visit the Society for Crypto Judaic Studies, see the group's newsletter Halapid, and look forward in the near future to the SCJS's new annual journal with academic, peer-reviewed papers: Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto Jews.
The SCJS also holds an annual conference - this year, August 2-4, in Denver. I have been trying to attend this conference for several years, missing it to due to scheduling problems. Unfortunately, this year, it conflicts with the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (August 2-7, Philadelphia). I am hoping it won't conflict with the 2010 conference in Los Angeles - which should have a large Sephardic programming component - maybe I'll be able to attend the SCJS event then.
Tracing the Tribe encourages the leadership of all conferences focusing on Jewish heritage, Jewish genealogy, Jewish history and other areas of relevant research to check the calendar in an attempt to avoid head-on conflicts with other major events in the field. In the past there have been conflicts with conferences on Jewish names and other topics. Avoiding such conflicts means that important topics can be presented by the same experts to different venues and to larger audiences.
February 16, 2009
Australia: 'Catskills' destroyed by fire
Burned to the ground on February 7 during the terrible Australian fires, the once-upon-a-time gold mining center of Marysville was known as the Australian "Catskills."Many Melbourne Jewish families and groups went there for Passover and other holidays, traveling the 100 kilometers northeast of Melbourne (Victoria's state capital) in about 90 minutes.
The town was established in the 1850s after gold was discovered and, by 1861, some 6,000 miners had living there.
The town was established in the 1850s after gold was discovered and, by 1861, some 6,000 miners had living there.
Before the fire, the population was 518. At least 15, and possibly up to 100 residents, may have lost their lives in what officials believe was an act of arson, according to this Jerusalem Post article.
By the 1920s, Marysville had become a popular tourist resort, largely due to its proximity to the Yarra Valley, dozens of wineries and Stevenson's Falls, Victoria's highest waterfall. The Cumberland opened in 1917, and was always booked out during school vacations, often 12 months in advance.Read the complete story at the link above.
For the local Jewish community, Marysville was the equivalent of the Catskills for east coast Americans. Over the last 21 years, on Pessah and other holidays, dozens of Jewish families, primarily from Melbourne, would drive up to the scenic resort for a week of eating, schmoozing, bush walks and horse riding.
Sydney's Rabbi Chaim Ingram summed up the uniqueness of the experience in a letter to the Australian Jewish News last year.
"One hundred and sixty men and women of all ages and varying native languages, prayer rites, synagogue affiliations and shades of observance bonded together as one havura - the very opposite of the old joke about a man who builds two shuls on a desert island, one of which he would not be seen dead in," he wrote.
Michigan: Preserving family history, Feb. 22
"Preserving Family History Online and Offline" is Richard Jaeger's presentation for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan, on Sunday, February 22.He will discuss, via PowerPoint, "sorting through all the genealogical stuff," what and how to save so it's available, protected and meaningful to us and others and - most importantly - to future generations.
The program will cover such topics as why preserve family history, methods and suggested locations of preserving documents and records - from safe deposit boxes to flash drives and more - and how to save information so future generations will read them (scrapbooks and other formats), how and where clues can be found to smash through "brick wall" problems, Internet resources and more.
Jaeger, a retired Internet technology specialist, has been researching and documenting his genealogy since 1996. He and his wife Caryn have created an impressive scrapbook which chronicles their family history.
A member of JGSMI. JGSNY, JGS Great Britain, Jewish GenealogyNetwork on Facebook, Jaeger also serves as the Jewish Communities and Records-United Kingdom discussion group (JCR-UK) lead moderator and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) discussion group secondary moderator.
The program begins at 1.30pm Sunday, February 22, at the Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus, 24123 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Admission: JGSMI members, free; others, $5.
Win two free gen classes? Yes, you can!
Win two free genealogy classes by listening to Genealogy Gems' Lisa Louise Cooke as she interviews Lisa Alzo of GenClass.
GenClass offers practical, information-packed, economical classes for those who want to know more. The topics are diverse, and include two Jewish genealogy classes as well as many other ethnic and general classes.
The core group of Genclass instructors taught online classes with MyFamily.com. When those classes were canceled by the website, Micha Reisel and I gathered many of our colleagues to continue doing what all of us love to do - helping people discover how to research their family's unique history.
Now for the bargain: One lucky listener is going to win not one but two free classes from GenClass.
How can YOU win?
First you'll want to listen to the interview to learn about GenClass. Then go to GenClass to see the classes for March and April and see which will help you in your quest.
Then send an email (to Genealogy Gems) with your name, state and email address. Don't forget to include the topic you'd most like to learn about in 2009 on one of Genealogy Gem's upcoming podcasts. The deadline is midnight, Sunday, Feb. 21.
One lucky winner will be drawn from all of the email entries, and will receive his or her choice of any two classes. Look for the winner on the Genealogy Gems News Blog and Episode 60 of the Genealogy Gems Podcast.
Re downloading the podcast - I had some false starts until I realized it works better if you have iTunes already installed. Read the FAQs to get detailed information - it's very easy to follow. Then subscribe to all the Genealogy Gem podcasts - they'll appear in your Library section.
Click on Podcast 59 to hear about GenClass. Hint: If you're rushed for time, the first section of the podcast is a collection of good announcements and spotlights, and Alzo's GenClass section starts at minute 32.
Southern California: Get ready for Jamboree 2009
The 40th Genealogy Jamboree will feature more than 50 national and international speakers, including quite a few geneabloggers. More than 100 sessions will be featured this year, 25% more than in 2008, at the Southern California Genealogical Society event.
The conference schedule has just been posted for download at the Jamboree Blog.
Among the great offerings will be the second edition of the Gathering of the Geneabloggers - Summit 2: Son of Blogger - set for 9.30am Saturday.
George G. Morgan will moderate and the panel will likely include (some people with an * are still working on their schedules - like me!) DearMYRTLE, Juliana Smith*, Leland Meitzler, Dick Eastman, Stephen Danko, Ph.D., Lisa Louise Cooke, Schelly Talalay Dardashti*, Craig Manson* and The Ancestry Insider.
The dates are June 26-28, at the completely renovated Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Jamboree is also taking over the main hotel's ballroom for the entire weekend, to provide for the expected crowds and allow more space for additional programs.
Jamboree is headed by creative co-chairs Paula Hinkel and Leo Myers and their capable staff of smiling volunteers, who certainly provide inspiration for all event-planning societies and organizations. I have really enjoyed working with Paula for the past few years.
The program offers sessions on research techniques for traditional brick-and-mortar record sources, digital resources, DNA in genealogy, organization, and several that are geography-specific. Although today's genealogists need to know the time-tested research skills used in earlier generations - not everything is online - they will also take full advantage of all resources available, including the newest technologies.
Participants include, as speakers and exhibitors, leading genealogical organizations and societies, including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, New England Historic GenealogicalSociety (NEHGS), the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Federation ofGenealogical Societies (FGS), and California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA). Several Southern California societies will also be in attendance.
This year's theme focuses on British Isles research (English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh). Featured speakers include Feargal ODonnell, Irish Family History Foundation executive director (County Kildare, Ireland), and David E. Rencher, director of planning and coordination, Family History Department, FamilySearch.org, Salt Lake City. They will address special challenges for searching Irish ancestry. British Isles Family History Society speakers will also appear.
Among the speakers:
With genealogy in the spotlight, this year could see great numbers of newcomers joining the ranks of researchers already exploring their unique family histories.
To learn all conference details as they are announced, sign up for email alerts at the Jamboree blog.
The conference schedule has just been posted for download at the Jamboree Blog.Among the great offerings will be the second edition of the Gathering of the Geneabloggers - Summit 2: Son of Blogger - set for 9.30am Saturday.
George G. Morgan will moderate and the panel will likely include (some people with an * are still working on their schedules - like me!) DearMYRTLE, Juliana Smith*, Leland Meitzler, Dick Eastman, Stephen Danko, Ph.D., Lisa Louise Cooke, Schelly Talalay Dardashti*, Craig Manson* and The Ancestry Insider.
The dates are June 26-28, at the completely renovated Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Jamboree is also taking over the main hotel's ballroom for the entire weekend, to provide for the expected crowds and allow more space for additional programs.
Jamboree is headed by creative co-chairs Paula Hinkel and Leo Myers and their capable staff of smiling volunteers, who certainly provide inspiration for all event-planning societies and organizations. I have really enjoyed working with Paula for the past few years.
The program offers sessions on research techniques for traditional brick-and-mortar record sources, digital resources, DNA in genealogy, organization, and several that are geography-specific. Although today's genealogists need to know the time-tested research skills used in earlier generations - not everything is online - they will also take full advantage of all resources available, including the newest technologies.
Participants include, as speakers and exhibitors, leading genealogical organizations and societies, including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, New England Historic GenealogicalSociety (NEHGS), the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Federation ofGenealogical Societies (FGS), and California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA). Several Southern California societies will also be in attendance.
This year's theme focuses on British Isles research (English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh). Featured speakers include Feargal ODonnell, Irish Family History Foundation executive director (County Kildare, Ireland), and David E. Rencher, director of planning and coordination, Family History Department, FamilySearch.org, Salt Lake City. They will address special challenges for searching Irish ancestry. British Isles Family History Society speakers will also appear.
Among the speakers:
Co-chair Paula Hinkel mentions that 2009 promises to be an exceptional genealogy year. "Patchwork heritage" was mentioned by President Obama in his Inaugural Address. NBC will begin airing, on April 20, the US version of the runaway BBC hit "Who Do You Think You Are." Every day, there are new websites, online databases and new books.Suzanne Russo Adams, Ancestry.com
Elaine Alexander, author
Lisa Alzo, author, lecturer
Ron Arons, author, lecturer
Jana Broglin, CG, FGS and Ohio State Genealogical Society
Tony Burroughs, FUGA, genealogist, author, lecturer
Bruce Buzbee, RootsMagic
Starr Hailey Campbell, Kids Family History Camp
Chris Child, NEHGS
Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Gems Podcast
Stephen Danko, Ph.D., StephenDanko.com
Schelly Talalay Dardashti, TracingTheTribe.com
DearMYRTLE, popular blogger, podcaster, lecturer, author
William Dollarhide, noted genealogical author, lecturer
Arlene Eakle, Ph.D., FUGA, The Genealogical Institute
Jim Ericson, World Vital Records
Wendy Elliott, Ph.D., FUGA Jim Ericson, World Vital Records
Anna Fechter, Ancestry.com
Joy Fisher, US GenWeb
Bennett Greenspan, FamilyTree DNA
Mike Hall, FamilySearch.org
Jean Wilcox Hibben, Ph.D.
Janet Hovorka, MLS, "The Chart Chick" and Generation Maps
Ivan C. Johnson, Ph.D., British Isles Family History Society
Thomas J. Kemp, GenealogyBank.com
Michael Leclerc, NEHGS
Betty Malesky, CG
Keith McCarty, Geni.com
Leland Meitzler, Everton's Genealogical Helper, FamilyRoots Publishing
Dennis Meldrum, FamilySearch.org
Michael Melendez, Kids Family History Camp
Cheri Mello, educator, DNA lecturer
Julie Miller, CG, National Genealogical Society
George G. Morgan, The Genealogy Guys Podcast
Feargal ODonnell, Irish Family History Foundation, Ireland
Lynne Parmenter, SCGS Beginning Genealogy
Michelle Pfister, Ancestry.com
Larry Proctor, Light Impressions
Geoffrey Rasmussen, Legacy Family Tree
David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA
D. Brenton Simons, President/CEO, NEHGS
Drew Smith, MLS, The Genealogy Guys Podcast
Tim Sullivan, President/CEO of The Generations Network Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective
Cath Trindle, CG, FGS and the California State Genealogical Alliance
Beverly Truesdale, SCGS Beginning Genealogy
Tom Underhill, Creative Continuum
Marston Watson, royalancestry.org
Peggy Wishon, British Isles Family History Society
With genealogy in the spotlight, this year could see great numbers of newcomers joining the ranks of researchers already exploring their unique family histories.
To learn all conference details as they are announced, sign up for email alerts at the Jamboree blog.
Israel: Jewish pirates on parade, Feb. 24
There will be parrots, [eye] patches and pirates galore at the annual meeting of the branches of the Jewish Family Research Association (JFRA) on Tuesday evening, February 24.Was your ancestor a Jewish pirate? What were the family names of famous Jewish pirates? Is that a milchig (dairy) or fleischig (meat) knife in the pirate's mouth? For the answers to these and other "biting" questions, come to the meeting.
Dr. Steven Plaut of Haifa University's Graduate School of Business will cover the history of Jewish pirates and the recent plethora of articles and books focusing on this subject.
Recently, in Jamaica, municipal workers uncovered a "pirates' graveyard" where some graves are adorned with - not only a skull and crossbones - but stars of David and Hebrew inscriptions.
Dr. Steven Plaut of Haifa University's Graduate School of Business will cover the history of Jewish pirates and the recent plethora of articles and books focusing on this subject.Recently, in Jamaica, municipal workers uncovered a "pirates' graveyard" where some graves are adorned with - not only a skull and crossbones - but stars of David and Hebrew inscriptions.
Dr. Plaut - a Philadelphia native - will also speak about the Jewish roots of his wife's family - in Gaza City - and we'll end with a comic song about Jewish genealogy.
Along with the festivities, there's also the serious side of an annual business meeting, including elections.
The program is open only to paid-up (2008) JFRA members and to those who pay 2009 dues before the meeting begins. If we wear pirate garb (or bring along a parrot), do we get a discount on dues?
JFRA Ra'anana meets at Beit Fischer, 5 Klausner St. (near Ahuza). Doors open at 6.45pm (come early to pay dues), the business meeting is at 7.15pm, the main program begins at 7.45pm.
For more information, contact JFRA president Ingrid Rockberger.
February 15, 2009
South Africa: Online newsletter, other resources
Did your Jewish ancestors land in South Africa? The South African Special Interest Group (SASIG) offers an online newsletter with articles sure to assist you in finding information.
The December 2008 issue is the latest online, but the earliest one is from 1999, so enjoy nearly a decade of informative articles and resources.
This issue's articles include:
Insights into South African Genealogical and Historical Holdings
Rose Lerer Cohen writes about holdings in the Central Zionist Archives, details genealogical databases and offers document images.
Databases of South African Jewish Births, Marriages and Deaths
Louis Zetler references the South African Rootsbank Jewish Database, Johannesburg Chevra Kadisha and Netcare Hospital, mentions the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) and his own databases of vital records, which he began keeping ni October 2001.
It's Not All Black and White: The South African Jewish Story
Roslyn Sugarman, John Saunders Curatorial Chair at the Jewish Museum in Sydney, Australia, writes on the collection of memories (artifacts, Judaica, oral history, etc.) of South Africa exhibit that opened in December 2008.
Book Review: The Jews in South Africa: An Illustrated Story
Saul Issrof reviews the first comprehensive history of South African Jews in more than 50 years. The authors are Professors Richard Mendelsohn and Milton Shain
The Ochberg Orphans
David Sandler edited, in 2006, 100 Years of Arc Memories, about the Arcadia Jewish Orphanages (in Johannesburg), where David lived from 1956-1969. For the past century, it has cared for more than 3,000 children. He is now compiling several new books (More Arc Memories, early 2009; and The Ochberg Orphans). The Ochberg Orphans were a group of 167 children brought to Cape Town in early 1921; 78 were taken to Johannesburg on their arrival and placed in the South African Jewish Orphange.
South African Small Country Communities Project, Vol. 1
Volume 1 of Jewish Life in South African Country Communities hs been reprinted, covering Northern Transvaal (Limpopo Province) and the Great Escarpment (Mmpumalanga). There is a list of communities covered in the article, and an order form to obtain a copy.
Revisiting Muizenberg
An exhibit - "Memories of Muizenberg" - is being planned for December 2009, and material is being sought for the project, including photographs and information on families, shops, schools, etc.
Additionally, there's a list of books for sale and an index of surnames appearing in this issue.
Other resources at the SASIG homepage include the JewishGen South African files , a more detailed explanation of the South African Jewish Rootsbank project to document some 15,000 core families who arrived in Southern Africa 1850-1950.
Los Angeles area: Bring your shtetl to life, March 1
"Town-wide Research: Bringing your shtetl to life" will be presented by David B. Hoffman, PhD, at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV).The program begins at 1.30pm, Sunday, March 1, at Temple Adat Elohim, Thousand Oaks - easily accessible from Los Angeles.
Photo at left shows David and Sonia Hoffman at Trakai Castle in Lithuania on one of their research trips.
The Ariogala Research Group has been able to re-create their Lithuanian ancestral shtetl - typical of that era and place. The Holocaust destroyed centuries of Jewish life.
Hoffman will demonstrate methods on how to paint a rich picture of an ancestral town. Using Ariogala as an example, and a variety of sources and documents (1765-1940), the program will provide an approach that can be applied to hundreds of Eastern European shtetls. This is what one of the Ariogala documents looks like:
He will demonstrate diverse types of records, maps, photographs, and memorabilia obtained from archives, museums, survivors, descendents, personal visits, newspapers, and current residents will be presented, to illustrate how to bring a shtetl to life.
President of the Litvak SIG and the Jewish Family History Foundation, Hoffman is editor of the JGSLA journal, Roots-Key. His wife, Sonia, is JGSLA past president and coordinates the Grand Duchy Project of the Jewish Family History Foundation.
The meeting is free.
February 14, 2009
Presenting the IGene Awards for 2008
Here we go again! Presenting the 66th Carnival of Genealogy's iGene Awards for the Academy of Genealogy and Family History, where we geneabloggers honor our best posts in five categories.Tracing the Tribe is happy to present its 2008 winners:
BEST PICTURE 2008
Best old family photo that appeared in this blog.
Smiling faces: New Jersey, Moscow, Teheran (July 25) offers family photos from both the Talalay and Dardashti families. This was submitted for the 4th edition of Smile for the Camera!
BEST SCREEN PLAY 2008
The family story that would make the best movie.
Here's a Leib, There's a Leib (September 21) was submitted for the 11th Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy.
BEST DOCUMENTARY 2008
Best informational article about a place, thing, or event involving my family's history.
While holidays really bring out my foodie focus, these two documentaries detail the history, preparation and joyful scarfing down of these delicious dishes:
Ashkefard Chanukah (December 22) describes how my family's origins result in some very yummy dishes.
Fideos or Fidellos The Recipe (October 10) brings a Sephardic traditional dish to life again.
Honorable mention in this category must be Food: Goldenberg's Peanut Chews (October 22).
BEST BIOGRAPHY 2008
The best biographical article
Here's a Leib, There's a Leib (September 21) was submitted for the 11th Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy.
BEST COMEDY 2008
Best funny story, poem, joke, photo or video shared in 2008
Year of the Pickle (January 22 ) suggested that Jewish genealogists add a new custom field to their family tree software program.
February 13, 2009
San Diego: Preparing for the 1940 census, Feb. 14
Preparing for the 1940 census is the topic for the next San Diego Genealogical Society meeting, announced geneablogger Randy Seaver.
Weintraub became interested in genealogy about 12 years ago. He volunteers and presents workshops at NARA in Laguna Niguel. He's an award-winning biology professor emeritus at CalState-Fullerton.
Along with Steve Morse, he has produced a large number of online census searching utilities for both federal and New York state censuses. He has lectured and given census search computer workshops to numerous genealogy societies.
While the 1940 U.S. Federal Census will not be available to researchers until 2012, preparations are already underway to make the geographical search tools and indexing available. Our speaker will discuss the unique aspects and questions of the 1940 Census, the 'undercount,' and divulge why we have to wait 72 years to access the Federal census returns. He will explore the Enumeration district Numbers and what the National Archives and the Morse One-Step web site are planning. Be sure not to miss this presentation so you will be ready to get the most from your census research once it is made available."The venue is St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in San Diego, at noon Saturday, February 14.
Weintraub became interested in genealogy about 12 years ago. He volunteers and presents workshops at NARA in Laguna Niguel. He's an award-winning biology professor emeritus at CalState-Fullerton.
Along with Steve Morse, he has produced a large number of online census searching utilities for both federal and New York state censuses. He has lectured and given census search computer workshops to numerous genealogy societies.
Australia: Is there a numeral missing?
This story from Australia about a forensic investigator turned genealogist offers a peek at what a person can find if they are really persistent.
Ian Beckett has traced his family to the 1600s. What caught my eye, however, was that he "tracked his wife Barbara's family history to 495."
Is there a numeral missing? I wish the story had given more details about that part of his genealogical search.
Ian Beckett has traced his family to the 1600s. What caught my eye, however, was that he "tracked his wife Barbara's family history to 495."
Is there a numeral missing? I wish the story had given more details about that part of his genealogical search.
Readers in NSW can hear Beckett and others share their stories in Baulkham Hills at 12.30pm, Tuesday, February 17.After retiring as a forensic investigator, Ian Beckett developed an interest in genealogy, the study of lines of descent, and now helps people track down their family history.
The Castle Hill resident knows the history of his family as far back as the 1600s and tracked his wife Barbara's family history to 495.
For the last year he has been volunteering as a living book, part of the Hills Living Library program where "living books'' share their story with an audience and answer questions.
"People normally ask me to help them with their family history, some just want to talk about what I do and others have had a go at researching their own family tree and just want me to look at it,'' Mr Beckett said.
"The internet can give people an idea of how to start if they have an interest in genealogy, but because of my investigative background, I can think outside the box.''
Virginia: Black history with a Jewish twist
Linking the Jewish and black histories of Richmond, Virginia - from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
One of Richmond, Virginia's most prominent post-Civil War residents, Richard Gustavus Forrester was born in 1822, and spotlighted in this story.
He was the son of a city Jewish lawyer, Gustavus Myers, and a free woman of color Nelly Forrester, who lived and worked in the home of Moses Myers, the uncle of Gustavus, Richard married Narcissa Wilson of New Orleans. She was the daughter of Narcissa was the daughter of Judah Touro and a free woman of color, Ellen Wilson.
Richard was sent to live in the Richmond home of his father's aunts, Catharine and Slowey Hays, who began educating him at an early age.
When Richard was 14, his great-aunt Slowey died and left him a large bequest. His father sent him to Canada to continue his education. Narcissa was sent to Canada to live in the same house as Richard. Distant cousins, they fell in love and married in Canada around 1840, producing 20 children and 49 grandchildren.
Their son, Richard Gill Forrester, was the first to raise the Union flag over the Virginia Capitol at the end of the Civil War.
Around 1850, Richard and Narcissa returned to Richmond with their young children. Although they were free persons of color, the entire family was registered as slaves owned by their Jewish relatives so the family could remain together.
In 1855, the couple inherited Catharine Hays' home and, in 1860, the family is listed as free residents in the census.
After the war, Richard prospered as a dairy farmer and contractor and was active in Reconstruction organizations. In 1870, he was grand marshal of a parade celebrating the 15th Amendment's ratification, which gave men the vote regardless of race. In 1871, he was one of the first persons of color elected to Richmond City Council, where he served for 11 years.
A school board member in the early 1880s, he improved schools for blacks and hired black teachers.
Richard opened bank accounts for each of his grandchildren at the Freedman's Savings and Trust Co.
Richard Gustavus Forrester, 69, died in Richmond in 1891.
See the link above for more, including a timeline and photograph.
One of Richmond, Virginia's most prominent post-Civil War residents, Richard Gustavus Forrester was born in 1822, and spotlighted in this story.
He was the son of a city Jewish lawyer, Gustavus Myers, and a free woman of color Nelly Forrester, who lived and worked in the home of Moses Myers, the uncle of Gustavus, Richard married Narcissa Wilson of New Orleans. She was the daughter of Narcissa was the daughter of Judah Touro and a free woman of color, Ellen Wilson.
Richard was sent to live in the Richmond home of his father's aunts, Catharine and Slowey Hays, who began educating him at an early age.
When Richard was 14, his great-aunt Slowey died and left him a large bequest. His father sent him to Canada to continue his education. Narcissa was sent to Canada to live in the same house as Richard. Distant cousins, they fell in love and married in Canada around 1840, producing 20 children and 49 grandchildren.
Their son, Richard Gill Forrester, was the first to raise the Union flag over the Virginia Capitol at the end of the Civil War.
Around 1850, Richard and Narcissa returned to Richmond with their young children. Although they were free persons of color, the entire family was registered as slaves owned by their Jewish relatives so the family could remain together.
In 1855, the couple inherited Catharine Hays' home and, in 1860, the family is listed as free residents in the census.
After the war, Richard prospered as a dairy farmer and contractor and was active in Reconstruction organizations. In 1870, he was grand marshal of a parade celebrating the 15th Amendment's ratification, which gave men the vote regardless of race. In 1871, he was one of the first persons of color elected to Richmond City Council, where he served for 11 years.
A school board member in the early 1880s, he improved schools for blacks and hired black teachers.
Richard opened bank accounts for each of his grandchildren at the Freedman's Savings and Trust Co.
Richard Gustavus Forrester, 69, died in Richmond in 1891.
See the link above for more, including a timeline and photograph.
Susan E. King: Online again!
Susan E. King is now the Genealogy Examiner at Examiner.com, which brings together experts writing on various topics. She's writing on general, not Jewish, genealogy.
Her new website is billed as "where genealogy and spirit connect."
Here's the story of her life-changing trip to Galveston in 1986.
Susan was the founder of JewishGen, one of the early and most successful social networking organizations in the genealogy community. Her new site states, "As genealogy emerges into a more than $2 billion industry, our discussions will focus on 'why' so many people are now engaged in genealogy."
Susan writes:
Welcome back, Susan!
Her new website is billed as "where genealogy and spirit connect."
Here's the story of her life-changing trip to Galveston in 1986.
Susan was the founder of JewishGen, one of the early and most successful social networking organizations in the genealogy community. Her new site states, "As genealogy emerges into a more than $2 billion industry, our discussions will focus on 'why' so many people are now engaged in genealogy."
Susan writes:
I've often wondered, as perhaps some of you have, why so millions of us have gotten so fixated on doing family research. The motivating factor certainly can't be the collection of names, places and dates. There must be something more deeply rooted, much more powerful that brings us all to this place.She's decided to follow her passion and to look at genealogy through a different set of lenses. Her new path follows the thought that genealogy should begin to take on another dimension, one which fosters better understanding amongst each other and the different cultures of the world.
During the 27 year journey of doing my own family research, I remember vividly the moment where the fireworks went off and the instant I made it a mission to learn more about my family. The more and more I traveled, the more and more I developed a better understanding of myself; my motivations and the spirit that drives me. There is no doubt that the lives of those that came before me, my ancestors, played a dramatic role in this development. Some good, some not so good!
We live in both very exciting times and very troubling times. But we live in a time where we really do have an opportunity to change; change how we think and feel about ourselves; change how we think and feel about others. We have an opportunity to teach the next generations the importance of preservation, the importance of respect, and the importance of tolerance. I can think of no better modality than through the study and sharing of our genealogies, our research and through our feelings.Writes Susan, "We each share a journey, different paths perhaps, some similar and some remarkably different. Our parents and their parents did as well."
Welcome back, Susan!
Los Angeles: Calling all Ashkefards
Here's a "clash of culture" I have personally lived.
The Los Angeles Jewish Journal focuses on Ashkenazi-Sephardic cross-cultural assimilation. Not out from Judaism, but between the two major groups of Jews as delineated by origin, Eastern European and the widest definition of Sephardic roots.
Writes David Suissa:
Suissa describes two examples of Ashkefard assimilation in a school - where an Ashkenazi educator from a Reform school is helping a strictly Orthodox Sephardic rabbi create a cutting-edge pre-school - and in a shul - Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel at Rabbi Daniel Bouskila’s daughter's bat mitzvah.
Writes Suissa, "My second recent experience of Ashkefardic immersion came at a bat mitzvah last Shabbat that will surely go down as a first in multicultural assimilation."
Maybe the first for Suissa, but certainly not the first in the Los Angeles area.
At our daughter's bat mitzvah at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, there were the two bat mitzvah girls - Dardashti cousins - at a service presided over by Ashkenazi Rabbi Harold Schulweis, with former VBS cantor, our cousin Hazzan Farid Dardashti. Our Ashkefard daughter, product of a Persian father and Ashkenazi mother, bridged the cultures of both rabbi and hazzan.
Ours was the dichotomy of Persian gondi vs Belarus matzoh balls, and assisting Rabbi Schulweis to pronounce the tongue-tying Persian names on the aliyah list for both families.
Although her Torah portion was Chukat (the red heifer) , she elected to speak instead about our months of research for our family history project, for both sides of her ancestry, Eastern European and Persian traditions.
The Los Angeles Jewish Journal focuses on Ashkenazi-Sephardic cross-cultural assimilation. Not out from Judaism, but between the two major groups of Jews as delineated by origin, Eastern European and the widest definition of Sephardic roots.
Writes David Suissa:
For several decades now, one of the most dreaded words in the Jewish community has been the A word: assimilation. How often have we heard rabbis, pollsters and Jewish leaders remind us that America has “loved Jews to death,” to the point that high intermarriage rates and other forms of assimilation have threatened the future of our little tribe in an ocean of loving gentiles?
Thankfully, though, if you look around our community, you will see numerous examples of assimilation of a whole other kind — one that shines a more hopeful light on the Jewish future.
This is the assimilation between Ashkenazim and Sephardim.
After centuries of mutual distancing, these two culturally distinct Jewish communities now represent one of the great stories of the ingathering of exiles, a story of maintaining and sharing traditions in the midst of a long-delayed family reunion. And there’s no better place in the Jewish world to see this reunion than in Los Angeles.
Suissa describes two examples of Ashkefard assimilation in a school - where an Ashkenazi educator from a Reform school is helping a strictly Orthodox Sephardic rabbi create a cutting-edge pre-school - and in a shul - Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel at Rabbi Daniel Bouskila’s daughter's bat mitzvah.
Writes Suissa, "My second recent experience of Ashkefardic immersion came at a bat mitzvah last Shabbat that will surely go down as a first in multicultural assimilation."
Bouskila, like Toledano, is as Sephardic as baklava and Turkish coffee. Since he married a woman who’s as Ashkenazic as kreplach and matzah ball soup, they have children who are going through, if not an identity crisis, then at least a pleasant overdose of ethnic variety. With Sephardic and Ashkenazic family members in the audience, what’s a sweet bat mitzvah girl with a beautiful voice to do to keep everyone happy?
This was the Bouskila solution: Sing the first half of the haftarah in the Ashkenazic melody and the second half in the Sephardic melody. It was like a slice of gefilte fish with horseradish followed immediately by my mother’s spicy Moroccan fish balls. A perfect and delicious solution.Of course, it was more than a solution. It was a celebration. Throughout the ceremony, Rabbi Bouskila interspersed traditions from both his Sephardic roots and his wife’s Ashkenazic heritage. Even the Sephardic chazzan mixed up the flavors.
Maybe the first for Suissa, but certainly not the first in the Los Angeles area.
At our daughter's bat mitzvah at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, there were the two bat mitzvah girls - Dardashti cousins - at a service presided over by Ashkenazi Rabbi Harold Schulweis, with former VBS cantor, our cousin Hazzan Farid Dardashti. Our Ashkefard daughter, product of a Persian father and Ashkenazi mother, bridged the cultures of both rabbi and hazzan.
Ours was the dichotomy of Persian gondi vs Belarus matzoh balls, and assisting Rabbi Schulweis to pronounce the tongue-tying Persian names on the aliyah list for both families.
Although her Torah portion was Chukat (the red heifer) , she elected to speak instead about our months of research for our family history project, for both sides of her ancestry, Eastern European and Persian traditions.
February 12, 2009
Ancestry adds five databases
In honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Ancestry.com has added more than 4 million new records in five new databases focused on the Civil War period.
If your Jewish families came to the Southern states early on, these resources mayhelp you find information on those ancestors who served in the Confederate Army.
The most useful:
If your Jewish families came to the Southern states early on, these resources mayhelp you find information on those ancestors who served in the Confederate Army.
The most useful:
- Confederate Pension Applications from Georgia offers more than 60,000 records documenting pension applications filed in Georgia from Confederate soldiers and their widows. As part of the application process, applicants answered a series of questions about themselves and signed the document, resulting in a wealth of personal information.
- Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons has more than 15,000 records of former Confederate soldiers and government officials requesting Presidential pardons.
- U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles contains more than 4.2 million records and profiles about nearly every officer and soldier who fought in the Civil War. Many of the records include actual photographs of the individuals.
The remaining two sets include the letters of President Abraham Lincoln, with some 20,000 documents,and New Orleans Slave Manifests 1807-1860 with images of ship manifests transporting some 30,000 slaves to New Orleans from upper Southern states.
New York: Major Jewish library exhibit, sale
We Jews are called the People of the Book for good reason, and throughout history, many of our books have been lost for well-known reasons.
If you have a spare $40 million in your pocket and love rare Jewish books, this 13,000-item (Sotheby's says "more than 11,000") collection is for you.
If you don't have the ready cash (who does these days?), at least run over to Sotheby's (1334 York Avenue at 72nd St., Manhattan) to see the Valmadonna Trust Library exhibit, through February 19 (except for February 14). It is considered one of the greatest privately held Judaica libraries in the world - displayed in its entirety for the first time. You may not have another chance to see it.
For those not familiar with the terms, the Hebrew Bible - Torah - is known as the written law, while the Talmud or oral law, comprises centuries of rabbinical discussion and debate on the laws of the Torah.
These rare works were created or printed in Amsterdam, Paris, Leiden, Izmir, Bombay, Cochin, Cremona, Jerusalem, Ferrara, Calcutta, Mantua, Shanghai, Alexandria, Baghdad and elsewhere.
According to this New York Times article and the Sotheby's press release, the Valmadonna Trust Library will be shown for the first time.
The collection is the work of Jack V. Lunzer, a London resident born in Antwerp in 1924, who made a fortune in industrial diamonds. The Valmadonna name according to the Jewish Chronicle, notes the Michtavim Blog, comes from the fact that Lunzer is also known as Count of Valmadonna after his native village near Alessandria in Piedmont, Italy. The New York Times notes that the family has been connected with the village since World War II.
The collection includes rare religious and philosophical books and manuscripts of all types, as well as Hebrew grammar and legal texts, medical works, and even rare wall calendars. Here are some of the treasures:
The press release offers illustrations of seven of the treasures detailed in the text.
About his books, Lunzer told the The New York Times:
If you have a spare $40 million in your pocket and love rare Jewish books, this 13,000-item (Sotheby's says "more than 11,000") collection is for you.
If you don't have the ready cash (who does these days?), at least run over to Sotheby's (1334 York Avenue at 72nd St., Manhattan) to see the Valmadonna Trust Library exhibit, through February 19 (except for February 14). It is considered one of the greatest privately held Judaica libraries in the world - displayed in its entirety for the first time. You may not have another chance to see it.
Throughout history, Jews have kept copying and printing copies of the Torah and Talmud, as well as other works, religious and secular. Often the works were confiscated (1240 Paris, 1509 Germany) or burned (1553 Italy by Papal decree, 1,000 copies in Venice alone). While Hebrew books were destroyed in many places and in many years, others might survive if the "blasphemous" text was removed.“Make books your companions. Let your bookshelves be your gardens,” wrote 12th-century Spanish Jewish scholar Judah Ibn Tibbon.
“Blessed be He... Who has magnified His grace with a great invention, one that is useful for all inhabitants of the world, there is none beside it, and nothing can equal it among all wisdoms and inventions since God created man on the earth: The Printing Press,” is an unusual blessing written by David Gans, a 16th-century Prague Jewish scholar.
For those not familiar with the terms, the Hebrew Bible - Torah - is known as the written law, while the Talmud or oral law, comprises centuries of rabbinical discussion and debate on the laws of the Torah.
These rare works were created or printed in Amsterdam, Paris, Leiden, Izmir, Bombay, Cochin, Cremona, Jerusalem, Ferrara, Calcutta, Mantua, Shanghai, Alexandria, Baghdad and elsewhere.
According to this New York Times article and the Sotheby's press release, the Valmadonna Trust Library will be shown for the first time.
The collection is the work of Jack V. Lunzer, a London resident born in Antwerp in 1924, who made a fortune in industrial diamonds. The Valmadonna name according to the Jewish Chronicle, notes the Michtavim Blog, comes from the fact that Lunzer is also known as Count of Valmadonna after his native village near Alessandria in Piedmont, Italy. The New York Times notes that the family has been connected with the village since World War II.
The collection includes rare religious and philosophical books and manuscripts of all types, as well as Hebrew grammar and legal texts, medical works, and even rare wall calendars. Here are some of the treasures:
- A handwritten Hebrew Bible - known as the Codex Valmadonna I - from England, 1189, one year before the York Jewish community was massacred and its property looted. The Jews were expelled from England in 1290.
- A 10th-11th century Franco-German Pentateuch, written in Ashkenazic script is one of the earliest copies written anywhere in Europe.
- An early 15th century illuminated Yemenite Pentateuch
- A 1737 Vienna book for the birkat hamazon, or “Grace After Meals and other Benedictions.”
- A Venice edition of the Babylonian Talmud (1519-23) by Christian printer Daniel Bomberg, which set the pattern for how the Talmud is printed even today. Lunzer learned of its existence in the Westminster Abbey collection in 1956 and spent 25 years to acquire it, eventually trading a 900-year-old copy of the Abbey's charter for it.
- A 12th-century Samaritan Torah scroll written in ancient Hebrew script.
- From Fez in 1516, the first Hebrew book printed in Africa.
- A 1547 multilingual Torah from Constantinople, with Spanish and Greek translations written in Hebrew script.
- A 19th-century Judeo-Arabic copy of “A Thousand and One Nights” from Calcutta.
- A 1496 copy of a scientific work by Jewish mathematician and astrologer Abraham Zacuto - the first scientific work printed in Portugal.
- An early 20th-century Pakistani guide for ritual slaughters in Hebrew and Marathi.
- 1490 Hijar Torah by David Solomon Sassoon with Hebrew and Aramaic text - the last dated Hebrew book before the 1492 Expulsion.
- 1492 Mishnah, by Joshua Solomon Soncino and Joseph ibn Peso in Naples, with 47 woodcuts.
- 1490 Speier Hebrew travel and exploration text by Bernhard von Breydenbach.
- 1526 Prague Haggadah - by Kohen - is the earliest extant dated and illustrated edition. It has Yiddish song lyrics.
Sotheby's vice chairman David Redden said,
Lunzer's collection includes almost complete holdings of 16th century Italian printed Jewish texts, from such places as Mantua, Venice, Naples, Livorno, Pisa and Trieste. The volumes also track the migration of Sephardim following 1492, with texts printed in Amsterdam by refugee Conversos, with more than 350 other treasures from Constantinople and some 440 from Salonika. There are also books from Africa, Iraq and China; a rich collection from India; more than 500 printed in Baghdad in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic and Aramaic."We have worked to honor the collection by mounting an unprecedented exhibition – all 11,000 works on view together for the first time. For scholars and collectors who have only ever seen its highlights, this provides an extraordinary opportunity to view the Valmadonna Library as a whole. And for the public, it is the chance to see one of the greatest collections in the world and witness firsthand the history of the Jewish people.
“The collection is filled with treasures - individual works valued at millions of dollars each. Whoever acquires this remarkable Library, whether a private collector or institution, will take their place among the world’s foremost collections, including such great institutions as the British Library, the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, La Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the National Library of Israel.”
The press release offers illustrations of seven of the treasures detailed in the text.
About his books, Lunzer told the The New York Times:
“They’re my friends,” he says. Will he miss them? “I’ll be happy if they are well kept and respected.”Go see this important exhibit - you may not have another opportunity. Read the complete article and press release at the links above.
But each one, he says, could be printed only because of permission that was granted by others. “Every one of these books,” he says with bibliophilic compassion, “is crying its own tears.”
WDYTYA: Delay until summer
According to The Futon Critic, which People Magazine calls "The go-to site for suits and stars alike," the NBC premiere of Who Do You Think You Are? has now been delayed from the previously announced April 20 date.
The site is rather interesting for those with an interest in television, shows in development and more.
The delay was announced in breaking news, and that a new premiere date for the six-episode series will be set shortly.
Tracing the Tribe has set up an alert at the site for all breaking news concerning the show. As soon as a new start date is released, we'll let you know.
The site is rather interesting for those with an interest in television, shows in development and more.
The delay was announced in breaking news, and that a new premiere date for the six-episode series will be set shortly.
Tracing the Tribe has set up an alert at the site for all breaking news concerning the show. As soon as a new start date is released, we'll let you know.
Cuba: Castro writes on genealogy!
Fidel Castro is a closet genealogist?
JTA reported on Castro's musings concerning the surname of President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Castro muses whether there's a connection with philosopher Immanuel Kant and also made some errors, writing that Emanuel is the son of a Russian immigrant, when his father Benjamin is an Israeli. He also noted Emanuel's Israeli roots.
It would be interesting for Castro to detail his own genealogy and the widely-held speculation that his own family roots are Sephardic.
Read the complete story at the link above.
JTA reported on Castro's musings concerning the surname of President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Fidel Castro speculated as to the origins of Rahm Emanuel's surname.
"What a strange surname!" begins the column in the Cuban newspaper Gramma penned by the retired and ailing Cuban dictator, and dedicated to musings about U.S. President Barack Obama's chief of staff.
"It appears Spanish, easy to pronounce, but it’s not. Never in my life have I heard or read about any student or compatriot with that name, among tens of thousands."
Emanuel is a common Christian and Jewish name, first appearing in Isaiah as the name of the messiah; it means "God is with us."
Castro muses whether there's a connection with philosopher Immanuel Kant and also made some errors, writing that Emanuel is the son of a Russian immigrant, when his father Benjamin is an Israeli. He also noted Emanuel's Israeli roots.
It would be interesting for Castro to detail his own genealogy and the widely-held speculation that his own family roots are Sephardic.
Read the complete story at the link above.
FamilyTreeDNA.com: You've come a long way, baby!
"You've come a long way, baby," as that old ad slogan went. Where would genealogy be today without Bennett Greenspan's innovative idea of genetic genealogy and FamilyTreeDNA?
Today, the company issued a press release indicating that more than a half-million DNA test kits have been sold by Family Tree DNA, a major milestone. Congratulations are in order!
I remember sitting with Bennett in Salt Lake City years ago, at an IAJGS conference, and hearing about the first faint germination of this idea.
FamilyTreeDNA has made it possible for so many people to learn more about themselves and their ancestors.
For Jewish genealogists especially this has meant an opportunity to reconnect families decimated by the Holocaust, for Hispanic families to learn about Jewish roots, for hidden Polish children looking for their Holocaust-era birth families, to confirm Ashkenazi family stories of Sephardic origin and for so many others to participate in thousands of surname and geographical projects.
When a person tests against FamilyTreeDNA's database - the largest in existence and the largest Jewish DNA database within that - the chance of finding genetic matches is much better.
Thank you, Bennett!
This was great news!HOUSTON, - Family Tree DNA, the world leader in genetic genealogy, announced today that it has received its 500,000th DNA test order for genealogy and anthropology purposes. This historic milestone comprises Family Tree DNA’s own customers as well as the public participation samples in National Geographic and IBM‘s Genographic Project, which are also processed by Family Tree DNA.
Founded in April 2000, Family Tree DNA was the first company to develop the commercial application of DNA testing for genealogical purposes that had previously been available only for academic and scientific research. Almost a decade later, the Houston-based company continues to establish standards and create new milestones in the increasingly popular and rapidly growing field of genetic genealogy, while other companies have come to the market space looking for the business opportunity, but offering tests of lesser value.
Presenting the most popular and wide-ranging DNA-testing service in the field of genetic genealogy, Family Tree DNA prides itself on its commitment to the practice of solid, ethical science.Family Tree DNA is the only company that provides all customers with a guaranteed assignment of ancestral origins and places their records in our secured database—the largest in the world for matching purposes—which, in turn, means increased chances of finding long lost relatives. In that regard, Family Tree DNA is an important resource for the three million people in the United States who either were adopted or descend from adoptees.
Since its inception, Family Tree DNA has been associated with the Genomics Analysis and Technology Core at the University of Arizona as well as some of the world’s leading authorities in the fields of Genetics and Anthropology. In 2006, Family Tree DNA established the state-of-the-art Genomics Research Center at its headquarters in Houston, Texas, where it currently performs R&D and processes over 200 types of advanced DNA tests for its customers.
Family Tree DNA currently has representative offices in Europe and the Middle East.
Tracing the Tribe is waiting for the announcement of the millionth test kit sale!
I don't think we'll have to wait that long for the next milestone!
February 10, 2009
Los Angeles: Assisted research afternoon, Feb. 16
Meet with experienced Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles mentors at an assisted research afternoon at the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center.The program runs from 1.30-6.30pm, Monday, February 16 (Presidents' Day), for Internet guidance, networking, translators and classes.
Experts will provide one-on-one computer assistance with popular online genealogical databases including JewishGen, Ancestry and Footnote.com, as participants access the Center's collection of maps, gazetteers, census and vital records, naturalization and passport applications, city directories, and passenger arrival lists.
Bring along your family trees and research to share. And, if you plan to download electronic images, bring a flashdrive.
Program:
2-6pm: Translators in Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Yiddish, Hebrew, German will be available only by appoint with paid reservation ($25 for 25 minutes). See details below.
2-3pm: Intro to the Family History Center, with JGSLA librarian Barbara Algaze. Learn about the resources of the LARFHC and how to use their census and naturalization microfilms, city directories and more. A great start for members new to the library, but, experienced genealogists will discover surprising tips and creative hints to enhance their research.
4:30-5:30pm: Using the Internet for Anglo-Jewish Research, with Ron Arons. When Ron discovered an ancestor was a criminal, he traced the person's footsteps back to England and Poland. Eventually, the research led to Ron's book, The Jews of Sing Sing. He'll discuss myriad family history websites for people who resided in England, along with techniques for finding living people, census records, vital registrations, maps, and newspapers. (There will also be a book sale and signing).
2-3pm: Intro to the Family History Center, with JGSLA librarian Barbara Algaze. Learn about the resources of the LARFHC and how to use their census and naturalization microfilms, city directories and more. A great start for members new to the library, but, experienced genealogists will discover surprising tips and creative hints to enhance their research.
4:30-5:30pm: Using the Internet for Anglo-Jewish Research, with Ron Arons. When Ron discovered an ancestor was a criminal, he traced the person's footsteps back to England and Poland. Eventually, the research led to Ron's book, The Jews of Sing Sing. He'll discuss myriad family history websites for people who resided in England, along with techniques for finding living people, census records, vital registrations, maps, and newspapers. (There will also be a book sale and signing).
The event is only open to paid members, but others can renew at the door, and also join for the first time. Newcomers are always welcome.
Bring food and drink with you and eat in the lunchroom; snacks are available in vending machines. Directions to the Center are here.
To make a first-come first-served paid appointment for a translator, the cost is $25 for 25 minutes or $50 for 55 minutes. Payments by check or Paypal to JGSLA. See here for more details about paying, reserving and confirming time slots.
New York: Italian Jewish Roots Conference, March 22
The second Italian Jewish Roots conference will take place in New York City from 10.30am-5pm, Sunday, March 22.Sponsored by Rabbi Barbara Aiello, of the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria (IjCCC), it aims to assist Italians with Jewish roots to reconnect with their heritage.
Register for the all-day event by February 15, and receive a fee discount.
To read more about Jewish renewal in southern Italy, read this Hadassah Magazine (December 2008) article, "Spark in the Bottom of the Boot."
Following the 1492 Expulsion from Spain and the 1493 Expulsion from Sicily, many Jews went to mainland Italy. Most of them settled in southern Italy, across the Straits of Messina from Sicily, in Calabria. According to historians, at that time, about half of Italians in the area had Jewish roots.
Rabbi Aiello has discovered communities of hidden Jews in small towns. Her own background illustrates this history, of a grandmother lighting Shabbat candles in the basement so no one would see them. Her family comes from the mountain-top village of Serrastretta, and Aiello returned there a few years ago after purchasing her ancestral home.
Her work in setting up the first non-Orthodox synagogue and the first headed by a female rabbi in the region has produced enormous food for thought among both researchers and residents in examining their roots. The subject is rarely mentioned by historians because of the pervasive reach of the Catholic Church in suppressing the area's Jewish history.
This year's speakers are:
Bennett Greenspan, director/founder, Family Tree DNA - will demonstrate hisThe conference will provide information about DNA testing and how the results can help individuals connect theirItalian and Jewish ancestry.
personal experience to explain DNA research and its link to establishing Italian Jewish roots.
Kathleen Kirkpatrick, CEO, Gentracer - specializes in Italian genealogy and works in conjunction with Rabbi Aiello to help Italian Americans make important connections between Italian heritage and Jewish ancestry.
Rabbi Frank Tamburello - will share his rjourney from Catholic priest, to his discovery of Sicilian Jewish roots, through Jewish conversion and his ordination as a rabbi.
Professor Enrico Tromba - from Reggio Calabria - is principal archaeologist for the Bova Marina project which discovered a 3rd century CE synagogue. He will share his hands-on experience in the excavation that establishes ancient Jewish roots in Calabria.
Rabbi Barbara Aiello – is the first woman and first non-Orthodox rabbi to live and work in Italy. Her discovery of her Italian Jewish heritage led to the establishment of the first active synagogue in Italy in 500 years and the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria (IjCCC) to help Italians worldwide discover and embrace their Jewish heritage.
It will demonstrate archaeological documentation of a strong Jewish presence in Calabria and Sicily – areas until recently thought to be devoid of any Jewish history.
There will be examples of Jewish customs, traditions, beliefs and practices that persecuted Spanish Jews brought with them to Calabria - traces indicating an old Jewish presence dating back five centuries.
First-hand experiences will be shared by Italian-Americans who have combined genealogical documentation and family anecdotal histories to discover and embrace their Jewish roots.
The conference will run from 10.30am-5pm, at the Brotherhood Synagogue, 28 Gramercy Park South.
The all-day conference fee is $85, including a kosher Italian lunch, coffee/tea breaks and Italian dolce (pastries). Register by February 15 for only $75; Brotherhood Synagogue members pay $65.
For more information on the Center and Calabria's Jewish history, click here.
Ashkenazi synagogues, Sephardic liturgy
"Were my ancestors Sephardim?" is a recurring question in Jewish genealogical circles as researchers ask about those who worshipped in a congregation with the term nusach Sefard (Sephardic liturgy) in its name. There are also many seemingly Ashkenazi families out there with strong oral traditions of Sephardic descent.
For some answers, go to the Jewish History Channel Blog written by Joel Davidi, who has a well-developed interest in Sephardic topics. His posts contain relevant links, online resources, photographs and notes. Additionally, Joel's facility in Hebrew is welcomed as he accesses with ease books that the linguistically-challenged cannot. I also recommend reading his archived posts on diverse topics.
His latest offering is right on target as he details the difference between Sephardim and nusach (liturgy), and provides information on authentic Eastern European Sephardi and Mizrahi synagogues.
It all goes back to Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov, who founded the Chassidic movement in Eastern Europe and began teaching his philosophy around 1734. He applied Kabbalistic concepts and ideas into Jewish ritual.
He discusses Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Falk (1710-1782) - the Baal Shem of London - often confused with the Chassidic movement's founder, the Baal Shem Tov. Falk referred to himself as the son of Raphael the Sefardi, and later as Chaim Shmuel Yaakov d’falk Mardiola Laniado, with a definite Sephardic connection.
In a recently published Hebrew-language book, there is a mention of Falk which Joel translates as “it seems that his father Rabbi Joshua Refael the Sephardi was a descendant of Marranos who arrived in Poland in the 16th century and retuned openly to Judaism. Additional information on Falk’s family is unknown."
[One can only assume that in a Hebrew-language book the actual term used would be "bnai anousim" and not the pejorative marrano. I'll ask him about that. ]
Writes Joel, the Bitterman family (Hrubieszow, Poland) has an oral tradition of Sephardic descent although recent genetic testing has shown that the family falls within a large group of Ashkenazic families who have no tradition of Sephardic ancestry. The Bitterman family website administrator concludes, “It is quite possible that Bitterman ancestors were not Sephardim but rather part of a Nusach Sephard congregations, in the region where Hassidism developed."
And, for even more confusion, there really were authentic Sephardic congregations in Eastern Europe. See the article for details about Lublin's 17th century Sephardic synagogue; in Zamocz ( called the Sephardic Synagogue until World War II); in Krakow; and in Lithuania (Otian, Biraz, Dolhinov, Heidozishok, Vilkomir, Kopishok and Vilkaviskis/Vilkovishk, whose Jewish community was founded by Sephardim). Another clue to Sephardic origins is the name Alsheikh or Alfa in a congregation's name (in Horodna, Shavel, Tabarig and Lida).
Budapest had both a Sephardic (Iberian refugees) and a Mizrahi synagogue (Syrian Jews), and there were other locations in Hungary, Transylvania and Romania with both Sephardi and Mizrahi populations.
Another fascinating clue to our collective Jewish roots is that in Bekeczaba, Hungary, according to Joel, many Jews had a tradition of descent from Armenian Mizrahi Jews and that recent genetic testing has vindicated this claim. He's working on a separate post on this subject.
Read the complete post for more details, references, online articles and photographs.
For some answers, go to the Jewish History Channel Blog written by Joel Davidi, who has a well-developed interest in Sephardic topics. His posts contain relevant links, online resources, photographs and notes. Additionally, Joel's facility in Hebrew is welcomed as he accesses with ease books that the linguistically-challenged cannot. I also recommend reading his archived posts on diverse topics.
His latest offering is right on target as he details the difference between Sephardim and nusach (liturgy), and provides information on authentic Eastern European Sephardi and Mizrahi synagogues.
It all goes back to Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov, who founded the Chassidic movement in Eastern Europe and began teaching his philosophy around 1734. He applied Kabbalistic concepts and ideas into Jewish ritual.
If until then most Eastern European Jews followed the (generally non-Kabbalistic) customs and traditions that they inherited from their Western European forbears (known as Minhag Ashkenaz), Chassidut now felt that Kabbalah should be dominant. One of the results of this was the complete change of Nusach (prayer liturgy) from the Ashkenazic tradition to the Sephardic one. The reason for this change was because the Chassidim felt that the Sephardic liturgy was more Kabbalistically oriented and therefore superior.There are other confusing aspects of the issue with different versions of nusach Sfard according to different groups, and that Orthodox Jews sometimes used the term Sephardic to distinguish themselves from less traditional coreligionists.
In Hungary, the election of a moderate religious Zionist to the post of Chief Rabbi of Cluj, Transylvania (better known as Klausenberg) in 1878 precipitated the establishment of a newly formed “Sephardic” community in that city. The group consisted of about one hundred families who decided that they could no longer remain subject to the authority of a Zionist Rabbi. The term “Sephardic community” was a sort of legal fiction designed to gain the recognition of the secular authorities that would recognize only one Orthodox community within a given town or district. The only “Sephardic” aspect of the community was that they recited prayers in “nusach sefard.”And then there are those Eastern European Ashkenazim who used Sephardic Hebrew pronounciation because they felt it was more correct than the Ashkenazi.
He discusses Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Falk (1710-1782) - the Baal Shem of London - often confused with the Chassidic movement's founder, the Baal Shem Tov. Falk referred to himself as the son of Raphael the Sefardi, and later as Chaim Shmuel Yaakov d’falk Mardiola Laniado, with a definite Sephardic connection.
In a recently published Hebrew-language book, there is a mention of Falk which Joel translates as “it seems that his father Rabbi Joshua Refael the Sephardi was a descendant of Marranos who arrived in Poland in the 16th century and retuned openly to Judaism. Additional information on Falk’s family is unknown."
[One can only assume that in a Hebrew-language book the actual term used would be "bnai anousim" and not the pejorative marrano. I'll ask him about that. ]
Writes Joel, the Bitterman family (Hrubieszow, Poland) has an oral tradition of Sephardic descent although recent genetic testing has shown that the family falls within a large group of Ashkenazic families who have no tradition of Sephardic ancestry. The Bitterman family website administrator concludes, “It is quite possible that Bitterman ancestors were not Sephardim but rather part of a Nusach Sephard congregations, in the region where Hassidism developed."
And, for even more confusion, there really were authentic Sephardic congregations in Eastern Europe. See the article for details about Lublin's 17th century Sephardic synagogue; in Zamocz ( called the Sephardic Synagogue until World War II); in Krakow; and in Lithuania (Otian, Biraz, Dolhinov, Heidozishok, Vilkomir, Kopishok and Vilkaviskis/Vilkovishk, whose Jewish community was founded by Sephardim). Another clue to Sephardic origins is the name Alsheikh or Alfa in a congregation's name (in Horodna, Shavel, Tabarig and Lida).
Budapest had both a Sephardic (Iberian refugees) and a Mizrahi synagogue (Syrian Jews), and there were other locations in Hungary, Transylvania and Romania with both Sephardi and Mizrahi populations.
Another fascinating clue to our collective Jewish roots is that in Bekeczaba, Hungary, according to Joel, many Jews had a tradition of descent from Armenian Mizrahi Jews and that recent genetic testing has vindicated this claim. He's working on a separate post on this subject.
Read the complete post for more details, references, online articles and photographs.
Argentina: Ashkenazi Jewish history
I didn't expect to find a story about Eastern European Jews in Argentina in the Financial Times.
However, it was a bit disconcerting that an article titled "Argentina's Jewish heritage," completely ignored the Sephardic community, only addressing Ashkenazi history..
Entre RÃos’s fortunes were transformed by 19th-century European immigrants. Millions of poor Europeans were lured by unlimited land and open immigration laws. The settlers – largely from central and eastern Europe – set up colonies perpetuating their individual traditions. Local radio stations broadcast in German, Polish and Russian.
From 1888, Jews escaping Russian pogroms headed for the New World in a mass emigration organized by Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who bought vast lands to organize Jewish farming colonies. there were 600,000 hectares in Argentina and 40,000 Jews settled more than 200 towns.
Russian Jews arrived to found farming colonies in Entre RÃos from 1895. The most successful had synagogues, Yiddish schools, public baths and cultural centres hosting European theatre groups. Basavilbaso - once a Russian Jewish town - has a statue of a menorah in the main square and three synagogues.
Read more, at the link above, about Basavilbaso, its cemeteries, where the children of the town live today, and the Novibuco cemetery.
However, it was a bit disconcerting that an article titled "Argentina's Jewish heritage," completely ignored the Sephardic community, only addressing Ashkenazi history..
The charms of Entre RÃos, a northeastern province of Argentina, are more modest than those of Patagonia’s snow-dusted peaks or the waterfalls at Iguazú. Its rural culture is founded on old-fashioned etiquette, stirring folk music and bountiful nature. It also has an important place in Jewish history, as it was once the home of thousands of east European Jews who escaped the pogroms and came to farm here in the 19th century. Close to Buenos Aires, it also makes a great short break from the Argentine capital.
Entre RÃos’s fortunes were transformed by 19th-century European immigrants. Millions of poor Europeans were lured by unlimited land and open immigration laws. The settlers – largely from central and eastern Europe – set up colonies perpetuating their individual traditions. Local radio stations broadcast in German, Polish and Russian.
From 1888, Jews escaping Russian pogroms headed for the New World in a mass emigration organized by Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who bought vast lands to organize Jewish farming colonies. there were 600,000 hectares in Argentina and 40,000 Jews settled more than 200 towns.
Russian Jews arrived to found farming colonies in Entre RÃos from 1895. The most successful had synagogues, Yiddish schools, public baths and cultural centres hosting European theatre groups. Basavilbaso - once a Russian Jewish town - has a statue of a menorah in the main square and three synagogues.
Read more, at the link above, about Basavilbaso, its cemeteries, where the children of the town live today, and the Novibuco cemetery.
February 09, 2009
Electronic books: The next stage
Wouldn't it be great to take along major genealogy works on an electronic reader when you are out researching? Those big books could stay at home - way too heavy to schlep along anywhere - but you'd have the resources with you to check on the spot.
Interested in having the next genealogy conference syllabus on your handy-dandy electronic reader? Would it be possible to listen to a lecture and add your own notes to the appropriate syllabus page?
How about going on vacation and taking along a year's supply of Avotaynu journals? Of course, Avotaynu is already available on a comprehensive CD, but there are all sorts of scenarios for when we don't want to use laptops or CDs. Genealogists' ideas about the components of an ideal vacation can be somewhat different than ordinary folk.
This New York Times story details the emergence of a company called Plastic Logic, whose product may be available early next year. Unlike similar products (e.g., Kindle, Sony), this company's screen is much larger - 10.7 inches diagonal - and seems, says the story, more like a magazine page or print newspaper.
Easier-to-read should make consumers happier.
The story also indicated that the company is aiming for business professionals rather than casual readers/ That is code for "fee-for-access" for the convenience of having a large-screen device "to store, read and mark up stacks of documents and PDFs using a touch screen and then forward the documents to colleagues."
An online store will allow users to buy books and periodicals and will also offer tools to publishers and individuals to allow them to format and sell books at the store.
While nothing beats holding a real book or newspaper in our hands, I do wonder what our genealogical geniuses will be able to do with this technology in the future.
What are your thoughts on how this could be useful for genealogists?
Interested in having the next genealogy conference syllabus on your handy-dandy electronic reader? Would it be possible to listen to a lecture and add your own notes to the appropriate syllabus page?
How about going on vacation and taking along a year's supply of Avotaynu journals? Of course, Avotaynu is already available on a comprehensive CD, but there are all sorts of scenarios for when we don't want to use laptops or CDs. Genealogists' ideas about the components of an ideal vacation can be somewhat different than ordinary folk.
This New York Times story details the emergence of a company called Plastic Logic, whose product may be available early next year. Unlike similar products (e.g., Kindle, Sony), this company's screen is much larger - 10.7 inches diagonal - and seems, says the story, more like a magazine page or print newspaper.
Easier-to-read should make consumers happier.
The story also indicated that the company is aiming for business professionals rather than casual readers/ That is code for "fee-for-access" for the convenience of having a large-screen device "to store, read and mark up stacks of documents and PDFs using a touch screen and then forward the documents to colleagues."
The article mentioned deals with The Financial Times, LibreDigital (offering electronic versions of The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post and others), USA Today, Ingram Digital and Zinio (distributors of periodicals from Hearst, IDG, Hachette Filipacchi and others.The company is hoping that the larger size will interest publishers who think that shrinking a newspaper page onto a small screen does not provide a good reading experience.
Users will be able to receive updated versions of the paper over a broadband or wireless connection. But the company did not say how much the device would cost or the price of subscriptions to various publications.
An online store will allow users to buy books and periodicals and will also offer tools to publishers and individuals to allow them to format and sell books at the store.
While nothing beats holding a real book or newspaper in our hands, I do wonder what our genealogical geniuses will be able to do with this technology in the future.
What are your thoughts on how this could be useful for genealogists?
Newberry Library: Digitized Jewish resources online
A selection of books from the Newberry's collection are now available digitally through the Internet Archive, according to the Newberry blog. Most are histories of religious congregations or specialized professional directories in Chicago.
The books are full-text searchable in a variety of formats.
Jewish resources include:
History of Kehillath Anshe Maarabh: Congregation of the Men of the West (1897)
The 50-year history of the oldest congregation in the city provides much information on the early Jewish community.
The Chicago Jewish Community Blue Book for 1918 is a veritable treasurehouse of names, photographs, history and commercial advertisements offering a good flavor of the times - it was published in 1918. Institutions and organizations are detailed, and there is an extensive listing of Chicago's Jewish residents, including addresses.
There are other non-Jewish resources listed, as well as early 20th century medical, law and real estate directories. Visit the link above for more information.
The books are full-text searchable in a variety of formats.
Jewish resources include:
History of Kehillath Anshe Maarabh: Congregation of the Men of the West (1897)The 50-year history of the oldest congregation in the city provides much information on the early Jewish community.
The Chicago Jewish Community Blue Book for 1918 is a veritable treasurehouse of names, photographs, history and commercial advertisements offering a good flavor of the times - it was published in 1918. Institutions and organizations are detailed, and there is an extensive listing of Chicago's Jewish residents, including addresses.There are other non-Jewish resources listed, as well as early 20th century medical, law and real estate directories. Visit the link above for more information.
Jewish Museums: Some groans, some success stories
Hard times all around, a bit of guarded optimism and even a few success stories were recounted at the recent Conference of American Jewish Museums in New York City, as detailed in the New York Jewish Week by Eric Herschthal.
Some said it was not so simple. A woman trying to raise money for the Roman Vishniac archives - the last known photographs of pre-war European Jews - said, “There’s just not that much money to go around."
There were some success stories to counter the groans.
There's much more in the complete article at the link above.
There was plenty to talk about at this year’s Conference of American Jewish Museums. Days before the event began here Sunday, Brandeis’ trustees
announced that they were selling off the jewels in its Rose Art Museum — works
by Warhol, de Kooning and Hoffman — to cover the university’s deficits. No one
at the conference had any clue how much the Madoff scandal would affect future
fundraisers. And, of course, it was anyone’s guess how long or deep this recession might be.
But, hey, chin up! That was one order heard plenty of times at the panels held at museums, galleries, and private homes that played host to the four-day event. “I think we need to stop worrying about Madoff,” said Michele Cohn Tocci, who manages The David Berg Foundation, at a panel at the Center for Jewish History. “There’s plenty of rich people in your communities. You just need to go out there and ask.”
Some said it was not so simple. A woman trying to raise money for the Roman Vishniac archives - the last known photographs of pre-war European Jews - said, “There’s just not that much money to go around."
There were some success stories to counter the groans.
A delegation from Alaska could be seen at several conference events telling its story. The Jewish community there — 6,000 of the state’s 700,000 inhabitants — recently raised about $2 million and bought a new home for a Jewish museum in downtown Anchorage. “Seventy percent of our money comes from non-Jews,” said the bearded and bespectacled Rabbi Joseph Greenberg.
The speaker of Alaska’s House of Representatives, John Harris, a Catholic, was there to back him up. “The idea to purchase Alaska, that was a Jewish idea,” said the stout, blue-eyed pol in praise. Furriers lobbied the federal government hard to purchase Alaska in the 1860s, and, Harris said, “they were all Jewish, everyone. ... I want to return the favor.”
There's much more in the complete article at the link above.
JewishGen is back!
JewishGen is back again!
Searches are much faster and things seem to be working very smoothly.
The discussion groups appeared again a few days ago - I apologize for the delay in letting readers know about this happy news.
Searches are much faster and things seem to be working very smoothly.
The discussion groups appeared again a few days ago - I apologize for the delay in letting readers know about this happy news.
February 08, 2009
Madoff's list: Names online
Looking for missing relatives?
Access the names of more than 13,000 people who lost money in the tragic Madoff Ponzi scheme through a New York Times link. Caveat: Some on the list say they are there in error and some, according to the link, are the lawyers, accountants, foundation trustees and agents who set up the accounts on behalf of the actual investors.
That said, however, for a genealogist, the list is quite frustrating as the names are alphabetized by FIRST NAME.
Who does that? There must be a reason as to why the alphabetization was done this way, but the link provides no information. I wonder why standard alphabetizing guidelines were not used, such as the simple "last name first."
The method utilized is okay for business listings (unless it begins with "The"), but certainly not for individuals.
There are 679 pages displaying only 20 names per page. So, if you've got the sitzfleisch (Yiddish, ability to sit for a long time) - and a first name - the link is here.
Access the names of more than 13,000 people who lost money in the tragic Madoff Ponzi scheme through a New York Times link. Caveat: Some on the list say they are there in error and some, according to the link, are the lawyers, accountants, foundation trustees and agents who set up the accounts on behalf of the actual investors.
That said, however, for a genealogist, the list is quite frustrating as the names are alphabetized by FIRST NAME.
Who does that? There must be a reason as to why the alphabetization was done this way, but the link provides no information. I wonder why standard alphabetizing guidelines were not used, such as the simple "last name first."
The method utilized is okay for business listings (unless it begins with "The"), but certainly not for individuals.
There are 679 pages displaying only 20 names per page. So, if you've got the sitzfleisch (Yiddish, ability to sit for a long time) - and a first name - the link is here.
Museum of Family History: New in February
Where in the world is Steve Lasky, creator of the Museum of Family History and what has he done now?
He was in Florida and he's always busy improving his cyberspace Museum of Family History.
Steve reminds visitors that he now offers a Google-powered search engine on the site's home page or on a separate Search page. Check the site map page.
- Jewish Philadelphia now has its fourth entry - reading Jack Segal’s story about growing up in Philly in the early-mid1900s.
- Thomas Jefferson High School Database has new information from the January and June 1931 yearbooks. In the next month or so, Steve plans to add data from the 1933-34 and 1938-40 books. Volunteers needed: Steve needs some help with simple database entry for the senior photos. The sooner he gets some help, the sooner the database will be updated.
- Just for Latvia researchers, Steve will be placing online excerpts from the English translation of “Chorbn Lettland: The Destruction of the Jews of Lettland.” This important work was written soon after the war, in 1947, and recently translated to English.
- Read the first excerpt from this book re Simon Dubnow, Jewish historian, writer and activist.
- The Screening Room now offers a film clip of "The Tree of Life." A Los Angeles woman comes to terms with her father's death by traveling to Italy, where he was born, to trace the family tree. Her 82-year-old aunt (her father's sister) helps and she travels from city to city, searching ancient manuscripts and interviewing many quirky scholars to piece together the puzzle and fascinating story of her Italian Jewish ancestors. At the link above, click on number 18 and turn on your speakers.
- New Jersey's Riverside Cemetery now has a searchable database; click on "Genealogy Search."
- The Jewish Museum of Maryland has five PDF files available for download with the cemetery burial listings for Baltimore, Maryland.
For questions or to volunteer to assist with yearbook entries, contact Steve.
He was in Florida and he's always busy improving his cyberspace Museum of Family History.
Steve reminds visitors that he now offers a Google-powered search engine on the site's home page or on a separate Search page. Check the site map page.
- Jewish Philadelphia now has its fourth entry - reading Jack Segal’s story about growing up in Philly in the early-mid1900s.
- Thomas Jefferson High School Database has new information from the January and June 1931 yearbooks. In the next month or so, Steve plans to add data from the 1933-34 and 1938-40 books. Volunteers needed: Steve needs some help with simple database entry for the senior photos. The sooner he gets some help, the sooner the database will be updated.
- Just for Latvia researchers, Steve will be placing online excerpts from the English translation of “Chorbn Lettland: The Destruction of the Jews of Lettland.” This important work was written soon after the war, in 1947, and recently translated to English.
- Read the first excerpt from this book re Simon Dubnow, Jewish historian, writer and activist.
- The Screening Room now offers a film clip of "The Tree of Life." A Los Angeles woman comes to terms with her father's death by traveling to Italy, where he was born, to trace the family tree. Her 82-year-old aunt (her father's sister) helps and she travels from city to city, searching ancient manuscripts and interviewing many quirky scholars to piece together the puzzle and fascinating story of her Italian Jewish ancestors. At the link above, click on number 18 and turn on your speakers.
- New Jersey's Riverside Cemetery now has a searchable database; click on "Genealogy Search."
- The Jewish Museum of Maryland has five PDF files available for download with the cemetery burial listings for Baltimore, Maryland.
For questions or to volunteer to assist with yearbook entries, contact Steve.
Seattle: Genealogy software, Feb. 9
Did you know that there some 200 genealogy software programs out there? Which one is right for you?The Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State will help you with "Genealogy Software: Today and Tomorrow" at its next program at 7pm Monday, February 9, at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island.
This program will help participants narrow down the choices to select one that's right for each person's needs.
The session will look at ways to sort the broad feature sets to help evaluate the programs, and attendees will walk away with a list of criteria to use when selecting a software program.
Also, learn about current and future trends in online software, genealogical social networking and how online genealogy sites can help you connect with others researching the same families in the US and around the world.
Speaker Dawn Bingaman compiled her first pedigree chart for a Girl Scout project when she was very young, and 30 years later, she's still working on her family tree.
A long-time member of the Seattle GenealogicalSociety and co-chair of the SGS Computer Interest Group, she has worked in the information technology field for 13 years and is currently director of information systems at a private country club.
Admission: JGSWS members, free; others, $5.
For more details, click here.
London: WDYTYA's DNA workshop, Feb. 27-March 1
FamilyTreeDNA is sponsoring the DNA workshop at the major Who Do You Think You Are? event in London, set for Friday, February 27-Sunday, March 1.
Many DNA speakers are well-known to Jewish genealogists from appearances at the annual IAJGS conferences and other events. Sessions will be repeated Friday, Saturday and Sunday:Michael Hammer, PhD: Director, Genome Analysis and Technology Core, University of Arizona; Chief Family Tree DNA Scientist. "DNA and our ancestral origins."
Doron Behar, MD, PhD: Chief mtDNA Scientist, Family Tree DNA; National Geographic's Genographic Associate Researcher. "DNA and Female Lines."
Max Blankfeld: VP Operations, Family Tree DNA. "DNA for Genealogy - Basics and Case Studies."
Katherine Hope Borges: Director, International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). "British DNA 101."
Also speaking:
Brian Swann: "Reverse Genealogy - Tracing People Forwards in England and Wales, and Recruiting Them for DNA Testing."
Chris Pomery: "Traditional Genealogy and DNA One-Name Studies"
"National Geographic's Genographic Project" and a "DNA Testing Panel Q&A" are also on the schedule.
Ancestry.com's Chief Family Historian, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, will speak on "DNA's role in family history research," on the Ancestry.co.uk's Live Stage.
Increasing numbers of family historians and genealogists have experienced success with the exciting advances in DNA research.
If you'll be attending the event and want to learn more, attend the workshop sessions. For more information, click here.
February 07, 2009
Happy Dance: Put on your dancing shoes!
Fifty geneabloggers have each described the excitement and joy of a first Happy Dance, "be it a rousing rumba or a restrained, elegant waltz," followed by complete and utter addiction to genealogical passion.Becky at Kinnexions just posted the newest Carnival of Genealogy, focusing on The Happy Dance: The Joy of Genealogy.
This was a great event and I sincerely regret my non-participation describing the first time I saw TALALAY written anywhere, as well as the discovery of an archival document from Spain dated 1353. Oh well. Next time. I had this written in all my calendars, on a Post-It on the corner of my monitor and I still missed participating.
Read Becky's post at the link above, but remember to wear your dancing shoes!
The choreography includes dances based on ship births, immigration, a board message that broke down a brick wall, surname variants, college projects, travel, genealogy conferences, Montreal, genealogy with children, ancestors without names, memes, female ancestors, connecting stories, DNA, hitting the proverbial jackpot, genea-gasms, new cousins, court cases, photos, Germany, phone calls, Indiana and much more.
Make yourself a cup of hot chocolate (if it's snowing) or a tall glass of iced tea (if you can see palm trees), sit back and read.
Tracing the Tribe wants to know what prompted your first genealogy happy dance. Write a comment so we can all share in the toe-tapping!
Oregon: Jewish life in Eastern Europe, Feb. 17
What was life really like for our Eastern European ancestors before the mass migration of the late 19th-early 20th centuries?
"Jewish Life in Eastern Europe: Leading Up to the Great Migration," will be presented by Portland State University assistant professor of Judaic Studies Dr. Natan Meir, at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon's next meeting, at 7pm, Tuesday, February 17, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.
Meir's first book, "Kiev: Jewish Metropolis, 1861-1914," will be published by Indiana University Press. His His scholarly interest is modern Jewish history focusing on the social and cultural history of East European Jewry in the 19th-20th centuries.
He holds a PhD in Jewish history (Columbia University), taught at the University of Southampton (UK) and was a Yad Hanadiv postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Admission: JGSO members, free; others: $5.
For more details, click here.
"Jewish Life in Eastern Europe: Leading Up to the Great Migration," will be presented by Portland State University assistant professor of Judaic Studies Dr. Natan Meir, at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon's next meeting, at 7pm, Tuesday, February 17, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.
Meir's first book, "Kiev: Jewish Metropolis, 1861-1914," will be published by Indiana University Press. His His scholarly interest is modern Jewish history focusing on the social and cultural history of East European Jewry in the 19th-20th centuries.
He holds a PhD in Jewish history (Columbia University), taught at the University of Southampton (UK) and was a Yad Hanadiv postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Admission: JGSO members, free; others: $5.
For more details, click here.
San Francisco: Photo Restoration, Feb. 15
Our precious ancestral photographs may be the only tangible items we hold today. Some may be wrinkled, rubbed, stained or otherwise damaged. What can be done? How can they be restored?The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society has invited photographer and photo restoration expert Jason Rose to present "Using Photographs to Trace Your Roots." The meeting begins at 1pm, Sunday, February 15, at the JCC East Bay in Berkeley. Doors open at 12.30pm.
Rose specializes in digital photo restoration and has a background in oil painting. His mission is to preserve and restore the integrity of ancestral photographs while enhancing the original spirit of the image.
He'll address the importance of personal photographs in tracing ancestral roots and present a before-and-after slide show of restored photos, while providing hints and tips for the beginner.
The SFBAJGS has several other branches, and this interesting program will be repeated on March 15 in San Francisco and on August 17 in Los Altos Hills.
For more information, click here.
February 06, 2009
Barcelona: Jewish cemeteries symposium report
"Archaeological intervention on historical necropolises: Jewish cemeteries" was a symposium organized by the Museum of History of Barcelona on January 15-16. From Barcelona, Zakhor Center's Dominique Tomasov Blinder sent me a symposium report, detailed below.
For some time, I have spoken to Dominique about this situation and, on my trips to Spain, I have visited such sites as Tarrega where Jewish cemeteries have been unearthed after centuries. As a Jew, of course, I want all Jewish remains to be handled with respect and dignity and to be reburied in a Jewish cemetery.
However, as a genealogist with a personal Sephardic interest, and also as a researcher who understands that DNA knowledge is essential to learning who we really are, I keep hoping that it may be possible to work out an arrangement with one research institute, in Spain or elsewhere, whereby such remains may supply enough DNA to be able to connect the descendants of these remains to a community of origin.
I am personally conflicted about this situation and believe that others are as well. I understand that allowing DNA testing on those Spanish or indeed any such remains anywhere would mean that many researchers in diverse fields would want samples, thus seriously impacting the Jewish injunction that such remains are to be respected and reburied in Jewish cemeteries.
What do you think?
Here's the report:
For three years, the Jewish community in Barcelona and Catalonia has taken a pro-active approach to protect the country's Jewish history, believing it is essential to Spain's history and that the [active] role of the Jewish people is necessary to bring meaning to interpretation and presentation.
Barcelona's three synagogues created a task force - the Heritage Commission - which along with the Center of Studies of Montjuic, requested landmark status for Barcelona's ancient Jewish cemetery (much of it destroyed over the centuries) to dignify its memory and explain its meaning and value to society.
A year later, after the Catalan government initiated a process to designate the cemetery an historic site, public works planned for the area were halted until the final declaration would be issued.
The Heritage Commission was also involved in finding an alternative approach to the excavations in the Jewish cemetery of Tarrega (two hours west of Barcelona). In this case, after pressure from international Jewish and non Jewish organizations, the Catalan government decided that human remains, after being analyzed as per standard archaeological practices, would be turned over to the Jewish community.
As in 1996 - when remains were discovered in Valencia - the bones were reburied in Barcelona's Jewish cemetery.
The scientific community complained in both cases, alleging that halting archaeological work, including research, was against the Constitution and not acceptable if in favor of a religious minority.
In October 2008, the National Sessions for the Research of Jewish Necropolis in Sepharad, was organized by the Municipal government of Lucena (Cordoba) after an ancient Jewish cemetery was discovered during that city's beltway construction.
The Museum of History of the City [of Barcelona] organized a symposium which, according to organizers, would discuss issues of concern to the scientific world and the general public. View the program here.
The Commission welcomed the initiative, a first step in a process of debate and understanding, where different legitimate concerns could be expressed and analysed. Unfortunately the symposium did not offer this opportunity as only a one-sided position of "science above all" was presented with no room for dialogue.
All speakers and participants were either archaeologists or public officers in charge of cultural management, along with a public notary who stressed aspects of current legislation ratifying an “interventionism” approach in dealing with ancient cemeteries.
The lone Jewish voice in one session was the Federation of Jewish Communities, which found it difficult to explain its concerns including looking for dialogue and working towards an acceptable solution respecting the Jewish prohibition on exhumation and sensibility.
Organizers and presenters brought up the issue of “historic discontinuity” of Jews in Catalonia (and Spain) as an argument to deny the involvement that the local or international Jewish community claims today in connection to historic cemeteries.
I think that what the notary really meant to say was that, after the 1492 Expulsion of the Jews, the Jewish community no longer has any rights.
The symposium ended with an eight-point declaration signed only by the presenters - not the organizers or the Federation of Jewish Communities. It was meant to be a working paper for participants to add comments, critiques and contributions.
However, because panelists and audience shared a singular position, the points do not reveal real questions concerning the cemetery issue. In essence, it says yes to excavations and yes to analyzing human remains. According to Dominique, only one open issue remains - what to do with the bones afterwards.
In a few months, the organizers want to present a final document to the government to decide on a system to be used for Jewish cemeteries. If circulated only among symposium participants, only one point of view (official and scientific) will be reflected. It reduces the issue to majority/establishment vs minority/religion instead of creating wider opinions on diversity, respect and social maturity.
Here are the points:
Perhaps the most disturbing is Point 7, where I have bolded the last sentence.
The "future place of deposit" of such remains is not a topic for "discussion by all relevant parties," as Jewish remains, after studies have been conducted, must be reburied in Jewish cemeteries.
It seems there is precedent for just this action according to previous government decisions, which seem to have been influenced by international interest in such cases.
For some time, I have spoken to Dominique about this situation and, on my trips to Spain, I have visited such sites as Tarrega where Jewish cemeteries have been unearthed after centuries. As a Jew, of course, I want all Jewish remains to be handled with respect and dignity and to be reburied in a Jewish cemetery.
However, as a genealogist with a personal Sephardic interest, and also as a researcher who understands that DNA knowledge is essential to learning who we really are, I keep hoping that it may be possible to work out an arrangement with one research institute, in Spain or elsewhere, whereby such remains may supply enough DNA to be able to connect the descendants of these remains to a community of origin.
I am personally conflicted about this situation and believe that others are as well. I understand that allowing DNA testing on those Spanish or indeed any such remains anywhere would mean that many researchers in diverse fields would want samples, thus seriously impacting the Jewish injunction that such remains are to be respected and reburied in Jewish cemeteries.
What do you think?
Here's the report:
For three years, the Jewish community in Barcelona and Catalonia has taken a pro-active approach to protect the country's Jewish history, believing it is essential to Spain's history and that the [active] role of the Jewish people is necessary to bring meaning to interpretation and presentation.
Barcelona's three synagogues created a task force - the Heritage Commission - which along with the Center of Studies of Montjuic, requested landmark status for Barcelona's ancient Jewish cemetery (much of it destroyed over the centuries) to dignify its memory and explain its meaning and value to society.
A year later, after the Catalan government initiated a process to designate the cemetery an historic site, public works planned for the area were halted until the final declaration would be issued.
The Heritage Commission was also involved in finding an alternative approach to the excavations in the Jewish cemetery of Tarrega (two hours west of Barcelona). In this case, after pressure from international Jewish and non Jewish organizations, the Catalan government decided that human remains, after being analyzed as per standard archaeological practices, would be turned over to the Jewish community.
As in 1996 - when remains were discovered in Valencia - the bones were reburied in Barcelona's Jewish cemetery.
The scientific community complained in both cases, alleging that halting archaeological work, including research, was against the Constitution and not acceptable if in favor of a religious minority.
In October 2008, the National Sessions for the Research of Jewish Necropolis in Sepharad, was organized by the Municipal government of Lucena (Cordoba) after an ancient Jewish cemetery was discovered during that city's beltway construction.
The Museum of History of the City [of Barcelona] organized a symposium which, according to organizers, would discuss issues of concern to the scientific world and the general public. View the program here.
The Commission welcomed the initiative, a first step in a process of debate and understanding, where different legitimate concerns could be expressed and analysed. Unfortunately the symposium did not offer this opportunity as only a one-sided position of "science above all" was presented with no room for dialogue.
All speakers and participants were either archaeologists or public officers in charge of cultural management, along with a public notary who stressed aspects of current legislation ratifying an “interventionism” approach in dealing with ancient cemeteries.
The lone Jewish voice in one session was the Federation of Jewish Communities, which found it difficult to explain its concerns including looking for dialogue and working towards an acceptable solution respecting the Jewish prohibition on exhumation and sensibility.
Organizers and presenters brought up the issue of “historic discontinuity” of Jews in Catalonia (and Spain) as an argument to deny the involvement that the local or international Jewish community claims today in connection to historic cemeteries.
Museum director Joan Roca said: “I want to stress on these two concepts, that of public character of the heritage and historic discontinuity."
The public notary added: ”Juridical relations expire with the passing of time, after 600 years there are no more rights. Nobody can request that a site is respected with religious criteria. To recover the memory may be sacred, but not to obtain privileges. In memory, there are no singularities.”
I think that what the notary really meant to say was that, after the 1492 Expulsion of the Jews, the Jewish community no longer has any rights.
Writes Dominique, where were the historians? The archaeologists with a different point of view? The lawyers with understanding of local and international law and recommendations? The human science professionals? Or other professionals and interest groups?According to Dominique, Zakhor Center insists on the need for a full inventory of ancient Jewish cemeteries in Spain, and the best definition of the site borders. If these sites are documented in city or municipality property registers, they can be accounted for and respected in future urban planning. Zakhor is compiling the results of thorough research to establish the boundaries of Barcelona's Jewish cemetery.
Public heritage issues cannot be discussed only at the “official level” as it will never represent the many and diverse layers in the society that contribute to the understanding of such heritage
The process to allow for the exchange of ideas and for consultation, very necessary for such a complex issue, may take some time, but there is a lot of work to be done in the meantime.
In an authentic dialogue, with open minds and a genuine interest to learn from different experiences and knowledge, one can begin to understand connections among religious, cultural and ethnic identities and history. This reflection will help society to place this chapter of Jewish history within the overall history of Spain and protect the important heritage of humanity as part of the diverse society we live in.
The symposium ended with an eight-point declaration signed only by the presenters - not the organizers or the Federation of Jewish Communities. It was meant to be a working paper for participants to add comments, critiques and contributions.
However, because panelists and audience shared a singular position, the points do not reveal real questions concerning the cemetery issue. In essence, it says yes to excavations and yes to analyzing human remains. According to Dominique, only one open issue remains - what to do with the bones afterwards.
In a few months, the organizers want to present a final document to the government to decide on a system to be used for Jewish cemeteries. If circulated only among symposium participants, only one point of view (official and scientific) will be reflected. It reduces the issue to majority/establishment vs minority/religion instead of creating wider opinions on diversity, respect and social maturity.
Here are the points:
Aware of the need to make our contribution to the reconstruction of the
scientific principles of our common past and specially in relation to processes
of studying and dealing with human remains which appear in historical centers,
wish to make the following declaration:
1. Particular sensitivities relating to public heritage in general and historical cemeteries in particular should be accommodated in the framework of the declaration of human rights and constitutional principles enforced in each country.
2. Ancient cemeteries are an irreplaceable physical testimony of capital importance for the study of diversity and characteristics of peoples who created and used them.
3. Knowledge of rituals corresponding to those buried and scientific methodologies for the social and biological study of disappeared ancient populations, is a reliable way to achieve objective knowledge about ancestors.
4. The handling of human remains, regardless of typology, antiquity, cultural or religious description, must be carried out with maximum care, scientific assurances and respect for the fact that these are human remains
5. Archaeology and anthropology allow assurance of scientific action in cemetery study, not excluding other fields such as history. Actions on burial sites shall comply strictly with local public law and apply principles of professional ethics.
6. The depository institutions shall assure respectful treatment of remains, unity of grouping and individuals, preservation under the best physical conditions and access to authorized persons for appropriate study.
7. The human remains, regardless of how fragmentary they may be, obtained from archaeological interventions, are basic elements for the study of ancient populations. Once such studies have been conducted, the future place of deposit shall be discussed by all relevant parties in accordance with the laws enforced.
8. The data and conclusions obtained through studies of historical cemeteries should be public character and accessible to all who so request and who are interested in explaining themselves and their history, with respect to aspects related to physical knowledge of the individuals who have been studied and to the
associated cultural aspects.
Perhaps the most disturbing is Point 7, where I have bolded the last sentence.
The "future place of deposit" of such remains is not a topic for "discussion by all relevant parties," as Jewish remains, after studies have been conducted, must be reburied in Jewish cemeteries.
It seems there is precedent for just this action according to previous government decisions, which seem to have been influenced by international interest in such cases.
Boston: Where the bodies lie
Talk about dedication! Although not about a Jewish cemetery, this story is an inspiration to all ancestor hunters.
A Massachusetts woman has spent a decade cataloging every grave in town, from 1711-2003, for a book. She has also photographed every grave - 6,000 - in the town's 31 cemeteries.
Her story was detailed in the Boston Globe here.
Although she selected Lakeville's cemeteries just because she lived there, the area was made for her research. In many New England towns, a population center's cemetery began as a family burial site.
Douillette was also inspired by Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery, as she went by it to get to her grandmother's home, where she heard stories about her family history and ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower.
As she began researching her own relatives, she began making contacts with genealogists around the country and helped to assist their research in her area. During one project, she saw gaps in information and decided to record all of Lakeville's graves to help those who could not come to Massachusetts to do their own research.
The story also contains hints about photographing stones. She used a wall mirror on an easel to reflect sunlight onto the carvings to obtain a clear photo.
The book is organized by cemetery with photographs, how to locate it and plot maps. It includes all markings on the stone, along with individual's name, birth and death years and carvings. She also tried to confirm the information on the stones.
In 2002, after she acquired a digital camera, she began imaging every one of the 6,000 headstones in the 31 cemeteries and these are on a DVD released in January, "Photographs of Lakeville, Massachusetts, Gravestone 1711- 2003."
The story details changes in art style of the stones over time. In the 1700s, there were simple faces, sometimes wings were added in the 1800s, which also saw poems and biographical details added. In the 20th century, other motifs were carved on white marble, and more recently, a greater variety in shapes and materials have appeared.
A Massachusetts woman has spent a decade cataloging every grave in town, from 1711-2003, for a book. She has also photographed every grave - 6,000 - in the town's 31 cemeteries.
Her story was detailed in the Boston Globe here.
'I am not afraid of death," says Jean Douillette, who has immersed herself in it for a decade.Her book - "Lakeville, Massachusetts, Gravestones Inscriptions 1711-2003" - catalogs every person buried in the town in its 463 pages.
It started in 1999, when Douilette, a dentist-turned-housewife, used her interest in genealogy as a way of connecting with her community. She began documenting the epitaphs of Lakeville's 31 cemeteries, mapping the gravestones on graph paper, then recording any gravestone carving in a notebook.
"My mother told me I was crazy for doing this. She was also the first person to purchase the book when it first came out," said Douillette.Her work has assisted genealogists and historians whose roots are in Lakeville but couldn't find their ancestors' graves.
Although she selected Lakeville's cemeteries just because she lived there, the area was made for her research. In many New England towns, a population center's cemetery began as a family burial site.
Douillette was also inspired by Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery, as she went by it to get to her grandmother's home, where she heard stories about her family history and ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower.
As she began researching her own relatives, she began making contacts with genealogists around the country and helped to assist their research in her area. During one project, she saw gaps in information and decided to record all of Lakeville's graves to help those who could not come to Massachusetts to do their own research.
"I also wanted to preserve the information before time and weather obliterated the inscriptions or destroyed the stones," she said.Some cemeteries had only three graves, making it quick work, but others were very large and took weeks to complete. Thompson Hill had a stone nearly 300 years old and still readable.
The story also contains hints about photographing stones. She used a wall mirror on an easel to reflect sunlight onto the carvings to obtain a clear photo.
The book is organized by cemetery with photographs, how to locate it and plot maps. It includes all markings on the stone, along with individual's name, birth and death years and carvings. She also tried to confirm the information on the stones.
In 2002, after she acquired a digital camera, she began imaging every one of the 6,000 headstones in the 31 cemeteries and these are on a DVD released in January, "Photographs of Lakeville, Massachusetts, Gravestone 1711- 2003."
The story details changes in art style of the stones over time. In the 1700s, there were simple faces, sometimes wings were added in the 1800s, which also saw poems and biographical details added. In the 20th century, other motifs were carved on white marble, and more recently, a greater variety in shapes and materials have appeared.
"There is a visible progression in style," she said, "but there are also differences between the styles of the gravestone carvers, and there are a variety of carvers."Read the complete story at the link above.
Ancestry: Interesting updates and news
Here's news of Ancestry content updates and future improvements.
While a number of Chinese American records have been added in honor of the Chinese New Year, these are not exactly useful for Jewish genealogists, except those researching the Kaifeng Jewish community. However, the addition of New South Wales (Australia) naturalization certificates (1849-1903) might indeed turn up some interesting connections.
To see the complete list (for several months) of recently added databases, click here.
A few weeks ago, when a group of geneabloggers visited the Ancestry office in Provo, Utah, they requested that Ancestry post feature changes each week and the company listened. Updates will appear on the company blog.
During 2009, Ancestry product managers will make a better effort to reach out more to customers via bulletin boards and blog. According to Content VP Eric Shoup:
And frankly, this helps hold our Product Managers accountable to our customers for building the right features and communicating sufficiently. This is an example of a broader objective this year within the Product team to “engage our customers in conversation.” We hope this will result in better products and a better informed customer base.
Shoup also announced some upcoming useful features:
- Ancestry searchers know that searches return records outside the date ranges we seek. Date filtering will be instituted and will return more relevant data.
- Better support will be provided for same-gender relationships in Ancestry’s Member Trees in the next few months.
- Improvements will be made to the member-to-member messaging system to have these available on Ancestry, without losing any emails.
US Content vice president Gary Gibb provided some upcoming February content with most focusing on Civil War records. Since many Jewish residents in the Southern states served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, these may be useful databases for Jewish genealogists.
Civil War Service Records Update w/Soldier Photos Names with photos linked to service records, along with many bios and some signatures.
Confederate Pension Applications, Georgia. Extraordinary genealogical and historical information on Civil War veterans and their widows. Applications for pensions are often multiple pages long and answer numerous questions about the individuals involved. Many Jews in Georgia served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln Letters. Letters to and by Abraham Lincoln, from the Library of Congress, including correspondence, speech drafts, notes and other printed material (mostly 1850s-1865).
Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons (Amnesty Papers) 1865-1867. Following the Civil War, former Confederates not covered by general amnesty were required to request a pardon. This group includes letters of application and other related records.
National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938. The National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers were founded following the Civil War. This database contains records from 12 National Homes. Most records are historical registers, but also included are indexes to historical registers, applications, admissions, deaths, burials and hospital records.
Update to U.S. State Census Collection Names. New state census for Kansas and South Dakota, including updates to existing databases.
Update to Historic Land Ownership and Reference Atlases, 1507-2000. More than 10,000 maps have been added to many townships maps showing land plots with owners' names.
The update idea was an excellent innovation.
Volunteers needed: Cyrillic, Hebrew
Can you read and transliterate accurately from Hebrew or Cyrillic to English?
This is your chance to do a mitzvah (Hebrew, good deed) for thousands of researchers around the world who do not have your language skills. This project is for the JewishGen Romania Special Interest Group (RomSIG) , with data destined for the Romania Database.
And, if your roots are in the towns named below, you might even discover your own family's records while participating!
RomSIG coordinator Bob Wascou (Sacramento, California) desperately needs people who can read the difficult Hebrew. For Kishinev, nearly all the Cyrillic records have been done, but the Hebrew records need to be validated. For Balti, there are many records to be done from scratch in both languages.
I know readers are asking about validation, which is basically a term for quality control.
Volunteers will quality control those Kishinev vital records already translated from Cyrillic. This requires a person fluent in Hebrew to check what was entered on Excel spreadsheets and add anything different from the original Hebrew record.
For Balti, volunteers are needed to both translate the Cyrillic and Hebrew vital records and input data in Latin letters on Excel spreadsheets.
More than 123,000 records were created by the Jewish communities in the towns were the events took place, with text in both Russian (Cyrillic) and Hebrew script.
The original records are at the National Archives of the Republic of Moldova (NARM) in Chisnau, Moldova, were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, and were provided to JewishGen on CD-ROMs. The films are available through the LDS Family History Library and all LDS Family History Centers.
To volunteer, email Bob and tell him about your language skills.
For more information, check out this webpage.
This is your chance to do a mitzvah (Hebrew, good deed) for thousands of researchers around the world who do not have your language skills. This project is for the JewishGen Romania Special Interest Group (RomSIG) , with data destined for the Romania Database.
And, if your roots are in the towns named below, you might even discover your own family's records while participating!
RomSIG coordinator Bob Wascou (Sacramento, California) desperately needs people who can read the difficult Hebrew. For Kishinev, nearly all the Cyrillic records have been done, but the Hebrew records need to be validated. For Balti, there are many records to be done from scratch in both languages.
I know readers are asking about validation, which is basically a term for quality control.
Volunteers will quality control those Kishinev vital records already translated from Cyrillic. This requires a person fluent in Hebrew to check what was entered on Excel spreadsheets and add anything different from the original Hebrew record.
For Balti, volunteers are needed to both translate the Cyrillic and Hebrew vital records and input data in Latin letters on Excel spreadsheets.
More than 123,000 records were created by the Jewish communities in the towns were the events took place, with text in both Russian (Cyrillic) and Hebrew script.
The original records are at the National Archives of the Republic of Moldova (NARM) in Chisnau, Moldova, were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, and were provided to JewishGen on CD-ROMs. The films are available through the LDS Family History Library and all LDS Family History Centers.
Requirements:All entries will be made in Latin letters, and transliterated as necessary from Hebrew or Russian according to standardized guidelines, which will be supplied to volunteers.
- Volunteers must have the ability to read Hebrew or Cyrillic
- To view JPG images as email attachments
- Knowledge of Excel
- Ability to input data into Excel template
- Have a high degree of accurate data entry.
To volunteer, email Bob and tell him about your language skills.
For more information, check out this webpage.
Florida: Steve Morse, Feb. 11
Steve Morse will speak at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County, on Wednesday, February 11.
He will present "One-Step Webpages: A Hodgepodge of Lesser-Known Gems," a sequel to "One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools."
The meeting takes place at the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach, and begins at 11.30am with SIG meetings (Romania, Hungary), followed by a Brick Wall session, and the main program begins at 1pm.
Steve became a household name after he figured out how to make the information in the Ellis Island database more accessible to researchers following his own frustrating experiences.
He has continued to expand his research techniques, designing more than 150 web-based programs in 14 categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on E-Bay.
The meeting takes place at the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach, and begins at 11.30am with SIG meetings (Romania, Hungary), followed by a Brick Wall session, and the main program begins at 1pm.Steve became a household name after he figured out how to make the information in the Ellis Island database more accessible to researchers following his own frustrating experiences.
He has continued to expand his research techniques, designing more than 150 web-based programs in 14 categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on E-Bay.
For more information, visit the JGSPBCI site.
Philly 2009: Hotel, conference registration now open
Get ready for the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, August 2-7, in Philadelphia!
Conference and hotel registration has just gone live for the major event of the Jewish genealogy year.
Continuing a conference tradition, a drawing for a hotel room for four nights will be held from among early registrants (by March 18) for both the conference and the hotel, so consider registering quickly - you might be the lucky winner.
Also, if you register by April 30, enjoy a substantial early bird conference discount over later registration. Click here for more information.
This year, attendees will receive a CD syllabus version with their registration. This is an excellent idea, as these rather hefty printed volumes were expensive to ship home and took up valuable space in suitcases.
Print copies ($35) are also available, but must be ordered online in advance by July 1. Extra print syllabuses will not be available at the conference. Extra CD copies are $10 each. Think about ordering an extra CD or a print copy for your local Jewish genealogical society reference library.
For all conference information and registration details, click here.
Stay tuned to Tracing the Tribe for all event information as it is announced!
Conference and hotel registration has just gone live for the major event of the Jewish genealogy year.
Continuing a conference tradition, a drawing for a hotel room for four nights will be held from among early registrants (by March 18) for both the conference and the hotel, so consider registering quickly - you might be the lucky winner.
Also, if you register by April 30, enjoy a substantial early bird conference discount over later registration. Click here for more information.
This year, attendees will receive a CD syllabus version with their registration. This is an excellent idea, as these rather hefty printed volumes were expensive to ship home and took up valuable space in suitcases.
Print copies ($35) are also available, but must be ordered online in advance by July 1. Extra print syllabuses will not be available at the conference. Extra CD copies are $10 each. Think about ordering an extra CD or a print copy for your local Jewish genealogical society reference library.
For all conference information and registration details, click here.
Stay tuned to Tracing the Tribe for all event information as it is announced!
February 05, 2009
Sacramento: You can find your family! Feb. 15
"Computer guy" Gary Sandler's interest in genealogy came from his curiosity as to whether he's related to actor Adam Sandler. For more than eight years, he’s been researching and documenting his Russian, Lithuanian and Polish roots.
To find out if Gary is related to Adam, you'll have to attend his talk, “How My Family Unexpectedly Materialized in Ellis Island Records and So Can Yours,” at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento's next meeting, at 10am, Sunday, February 15.
Sandler will demonstrate his longtime search for family members on the Ellis Island Web site. He had heard the stories about when and how his family arrived, and scoured the records for years, with no success. Ultimately, however, he did succeed and he'll share his helpful search strategies.
A computer guy for more than 3 decades, he worked, in 2006, with Steve Morse to create the Gold Form for searching Ellis Island passenger records.
The group meets at the Albert Einstein Residence Center, 1935 Wright St., Sacramento.
For more details, visit the JGSS site.
To find out if Gary is related to Adam, you'll have to attend his talk, “How My Family Unexpectedly Materialized in Ellis Island Records and So Can Yours,” at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento's next meeting, at 10am, Sunday, February 15.
Sandler will demonstrate his longtime search for family members on the Ellis Island Web site. He had heard the stories about when and how his family arrived, and scoured the records for years, with no success. Ultimately, however, he did succeed and he'll share his helpful search strategies.
A computer guy for more than 3 decades, he worked, in 2006, with Steve Morse to create the Gold Form for searching Ellis Island passenger records.
The group meets at the Albert Einstein Residence Center, 1935 Wright St., Sacramento.
For more details, visit the JGSS site.
Florida: JGS of Greater Miami celebrates 20th anniversary
South Florida Jewish genealogists are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the JGS-Greater Miami!
If this group had been around when we lived in Miami in the late 1970s, I would have likely caught the genealogy bug 20 years sooner than I did!
Returning by popular demand, the celebration will feature Steve Morse. The program begins at 10am, Sunday, February 8, at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, 4200 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.
He will present Hodge Podge, a follow-up to his popular Potpourri presentation, followed by the Jewish Calendar Demystified.
What have Adam and Eve to do with the Jewish calendar? Come along and find out.
Admission: members, free; others, $5. Special refreshments will be on hand for the celebration. Any guest who joins that day receives free admission.
For more information (parking, directions), visit the JGS Greater Miami website.
February 03, 2009
Time for teleporting? Not quite!
It seems we are closer to having access to teleporters, according to this New York Times article.Right now, it only works on a single atom, so don't spend too much time thinking of how exciting it will be to teleport a la Star Trek to the next genealogy conference or that it will revolutionize roots travel with instantaneous visits back to your family's shtetl.
Joint Quantum Institute (Maryland) scientists were successful in teleporting the quantum identity of one atom to another a few feet away.
The process needs some more work as it fails nearly all the time, succeeding in only one of each 100 million attempts, and takes 10 minutes to transfer a single bit of information. Said University of Maryland physicist Christopher Monroe, who authored a paper describing the research, "We need to work on that."
While it may not be a practical mode of transportation for the forseeable future, scientists say it could form an important component in new types of communication and computing.
If you are a science sort, you'll understand more than I did in the story about the process which mentions ytterbium ions, microwave pulses, photons and such.
Every great journey starts with a single step!
February 01, 2009
JewishGen is back online - partially
According to a notice at JewishGen.org - as of Friday, January 30 - the rehosting of the site's servers from Texas to the Ancestry.com data center is in progress:
A little more patience is required for readers addicted to the site.
We are up and running at our new location, but not all functions are yet operational. There are many programs and operations to be ported and configured.
Programs not yet working include:
The Lyris mailing list manager.
Email from web forms.
JewishGen-erosity secure checkout.
A little more patience is required for readers addicted to the site.
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