Winnipeg: Galicia gen conference, Oct. 2

"Galicia: Multi-Ethnic Roots in Ukraine and Poland" is a full-day seminar scheduled by the East European Genealogical Society in Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), on Saturday, October 2.

The city is home to a large Ashkenazi Eastern European community, as well as large Ukrainian and Polish populations and EEGS experts will help those interested in tracing their roots.

The former Austrian province of Galicia is now western Ukraine and southeastern Poland.

Among the topics to be presented: how records of the people were kept; how to locate, read, and analyze them; languages (including Cyrillic), and more.

Speakers are internationally known authorities on Galician genealogical research Matthew Bielawa and Brian J. Lenius, both well-known to Jewish genealogists and to those with Galician roots.

Bielawa specializes in western Ukraine and eastern Galicia, has extensively lectured, written articles for journals and has a webpage, Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia. He has conducted research in Ukraine, Poland and Russia, and holds a BA in Slavic and East European Studies (University of Connecticut), and an MA in Slavic Languages and Literature (New York University).

Lenius (Selkirk, Manitoba) has researched for more than 25 years in Galicia. He is author and publisher of the "Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia: Expanded Data Edition," numerous articles on Galician and Austrian research published in Polish, Eastern European, and other genealogical periodicals. He has presented research-oriented lectures to numerous genealogical societies in Canada, USA, and Germany. Brian has undertaken 15 extended research trips in Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany greatly expanding resources available to North American genealogical researchers.

While Ukrainian and Polish roots will be covered in depth, other groups - German, Jewish, Mennonite, Armenian and Czech with roots in Galicia - will be covered according to attendance.

The location is Red River College’s Princess Street Campus. Registration: EEGS members, C$55; others, C$60. Meals are not included.

The seminar is open to 120 people only. For more information, see the East European Genealogy Society website, or request a registration form via email.