From Micheline Gutman in Paris comes news of the contents of the new issue of GenAmi's journal.
- The call for papers for GenAmi's one-day seminar on March 12, 2009. The event includes lunch and the organization's annual meeting.
- The Jews of Argentina by Paul Armony z'l of Buenos Aires. Cover art is the city's Caminito neighborhood.
- A list of students, who received prizes in 1940, of the Buenos Aires' French College.
- An article on writer Rene Goscinny (who grew up in Buenos Aires), creator of
Asterix, Lucky Luke, the Dalton, Petit Nicolas, illustrated with original photos and drawings. His ancestors and family are also detailed. Goscinny was born in France to a father from Warsaw and a Ukrainian mother (daughter of Abraham Beresniak who authored a 1941 Hebrew-Yiddish dictionary).
- A study of the Jews at Gray in Haute-Saone, an important 19th century river town. Several lists are included.
- The Lyons family from Alsace to San Francisco in 1853. Born in Dijon, Hugues Joseph David went to California with his second wife and children. He was a Paris jeweller but in Sonora, he became a wine and alchohol dealer. A branch returned to France, others stayed in California, a daughter married into the Joseph family (Montreal).
- An article speaks of children and both new and old problems. It addresses the situation of those who do not know one or both of their parents for various reasons: the Shoah, adoption, new fertility methods.
- Other items address the wife of London's Moses Oppenheim and research about the van Oven family.
- The Jewish cemetery of Koenighoffen, Strasbourg: an article (with photos) discusses three registers. One is computerized (free online access to GenAmi members), as well as various documents, civil records, cemetery records, etc.
For more information, click on the GenAmi website.
06 December 2008
05 December 2008
DNA: New study reveals 20% of Iberians have Sephardic ancestry
Today's New York Times reported on a new DNA study in Spain and Portugal revealing that some 20% of the Iberian Peninsula's population has Sephardic ancestry and indicating a high level of conversion among Jews, as reported online in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
The study offers "new and explicit evidence of the mass conversions of Sephardic Jews and Muslims to Catholicism in the 15th and 16th centuries." Nicholas Wade's story is here.
Of course, most Sephardim know this already and know that the events of 1391 and 1492 figure prominently in these mass conversions. Millions of Hispanics in the US and worldwide are descendants of those forcibly converted and many either know it or are learning about it. As one example, on one day in 1391, some 4,000 Jews were forcibly converted in Barcelona; others who resisted were murdered. Figures for other cities are available in the subject literature. Several books list the old Jewish family names of individuals and their "new" Catholic names. I have several of these lists and may devote a posting or two to this subject.
It is nice, however, to have scientific corroboration to what we've always known, and what has been supported by historical evidence over centuries.
However, I've been in communication with some people who have seen the actual text of the journal article. The markers used are not what are tested at FamilyTreeDNA.com and only a few were tested. It will be difficult to correlate with testing done at that company. I am attempting to get a full report so readers can understand what was exactly tested. Stay tuned for more.
After a period of getting along under the Arab Umayyad rulers, Spain was the center of religious intolerance. Muslim Berbers forced Christians and Jews to convert to Islam, and the victorious Christians then expelled Jews and Muslims or forced them to convert.
Dr. Calafell, one of the study's authors, has confronted this himself. His Y-DNA may be Sephardic and his surname is that of a Catalunya town. Genealogists know that it is common for Jewish families to take geographic names.
The issue raised by Ray and by Calafell is another reason why more people of Spanish and Portuguese ancestry should be DNA tested. My hope is that they will test at FamilyTreeDNA.com which already has the largest DNA database of all companies in the field, and within that database, already has the largest Jewish DNA database. The more people who test, the more information can be gleaned and the more connection
Some historians believe that more than 24 million Hispanics - I have heard even larger numbers - in the US have Sephardic roots and were forcibly converted during either 1391 or 1492, when mass conversions were forced on the Jewish population. As an example, nearly all original settlers in New Mexico were of Converso ancestry.
The flip side, of course, is finding out that numbers of Sephardim escaped these mass pogroms in 1391 and left Iberia for Europe and Eastern Europe where they were absorbed into the larger Ashkenazi populations - some have only a family myth to sustain their research ("that was our name when we left Spain."). With some judicious research, it is becoming increasingly common to do successful research and locate documents in Spanish archives.
In our IberianAshkenaz DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA.com, we continue to find genetic matches among today's Conversos with ostensible Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.
Additionally, here's another plea for removing the term marrano to describe those of converso ancestry. Conversos hate this pejorative, insulting term. If you hear someone using it, please explain to them that it is insulting and should not be used. Many conversos - with whom I am in frequent contact - continually tell me how angry and insulted they feel when the word is used, usually by people who do not know its meaning.
Education is key. I find that when I explain that the term is not nice ( in the same way that other epithets are aimed at various ethnic/religious communities), those individuals apologize and think before using it again. The Hebrew term for converso (Spanish) is bnai anousim (children of the forced) or simply anousim.
The study offers "new and explicit evidence of the mass conversions of Sephardic Jews and Muslims to Catholicism in the 15th and 16th centuries." Nicholas Wade's story is here.
Of course, most Sephardim know this already and know that the events of 1391 and 1492 figure prominently in these mass conversions. Millions of Hispanics in the US and worldwide are descendants of those forcibly converted and many either know it or are learning about it. As one example, on one day in 1391, some 4,000 Jews were forcibly converted in Barcelona; others who resisted were murdered. Figures for other cities are available in the subject literature. Several books list the old Jewish family names of individuals and their "new" Catholic names. I have several of these lists and may devote a posting or two to this subject.
It is nice, however, to have scientific corroboration to what we've always known, and what has been supported by historical evidence over centuries.
However, I've been in communication with some people who have seen the actual text of the journal article. The markers used are not what are tested at FamilyTreeDNA.com and only a few were tested. It will be difficult to correlate with testing done at that company. I am attempting to get a full report so readers can understand what was exactly tested. Stay tuned for more.
Twenty percent of the population of the Iberian Peninsula has Sephardic Jewish ancestry and 11 percent have DNA reflecting Moorish ancestors, the geneticists have found. Historians have debated how many Jews converted and how many chose exile. “One wing grossly underestimates the number of conversions,” said Jane S. Gerber, an expert on Sephardic history at the City University of New York.
The finding bears on two different views of Spanish history, said Jonathan S. Ray, a professor of Jewish studies at Georgetown University. One, proposed by the 20th-century historian Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz, holds that Spanish civilization is Catholic and other influences are foreign; the other sees Spain as having been enriched by drawing from all three of its historical cultures, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim.
The study, based on an analysis of Y chromosomes, was conducted by biologists led by Mark A. Jobling of the University of Leicester in England and Francesc Calafell of the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. They developed a Y chromosome signature for Sephardic men by studying Sephardic Jewish communities in places where Jews migrated after being expelled from Spain in 1492 to 1496. They also characterized the Y chromosomes of the Arab and Berber army that invaded Spain in A.D. 711 from data on people living in Morocco and Western Sahara.
After a period of getting along under the Arab Umayyad rulers, Spain was the center of religious intolerance. Muslim Berbers forced Christians and Jews to convert to Islam, and the victorious Christians then expelled Jews and Muslims or forced them to convert.
Because most of the Y chromosome remains unchanged from father to son, the proportions of Sephardic and Moorish ancestry detected in the present population are probably the same as those just after the 1492 expulsions. A high proportion of people with Sephardic ancestry was to be expected, Dr. Ray said. “Jews formed a very large part of the urban population up until the great conversions,” he said.
Dr. Ray raised the question of what the DNA evidence might mean personally. “If four generations on I have no knowledge of my genetic past, how does that affect my understanding of my own religious association?”
Dr. Calafell, one of the study's authors, has confronted this himself. His Y-DNA may be Sephardic and his surname is that of a Catalunya town. Genealogists know that it is common for Jewish families to take geographic names.
The issue raised by Ray and by Calafell is another reason why more people of Spanish and Portuguese ancestry should be DNA tested. My hope is that they will test at FamilyTreeDNA.com which already has the largest DNA database of all companies in the field, and within that database, already has the largest Jewish DNA database. The more people who test, the more information can be gleaned and the more connection
Some historians believe that more than 24 million Hispanics - I have heard even larger numbers - in the US have Sephardic roots and were forcibly converted during either 1391 or 1492, when mass conversions were forced on the Jewish population. As an example, nearly all original settlers in New Mexico were of Converso ancestry.
The flip side, of course, is finding out that numbers of Sephardim escaped these mass pogroms in 1391 and left Iberia for Europe and Eastern Europe where they were absorbed into the larger Ashkenazi populations - some have only a family myth to sustain their research ("that was our name when we left Spain."). With some judicious research, it is becoming increasingly common to do successful research and locate documents in Spanish archives.
In our IberianAshkenaz DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA.com, we continue to find genetic matches among today's Conversos with ostensible Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.
Additionally, here's another plea for removing the term marrano to describe those of converso ancestry. Conversos hate this pejorative, insulting term. If you hear someone using it, please explain to them that it is insulting and should not be used. Many conversos - with whom I am in frequent contact - continually tell me how angry and insulted they feel when the word is used, usually by people who do not know its meaning.
Education is key. I find that when I explain that the term is not nice ( in the same way that other epithets are aimed at various ethnic/religious communities), those individuals apologize and think before using it again. The Hebrew term for converso (Spanish) is bnai anousim (children of the forced) or simply anousim.
04 December 2008
New York: Jon Entine, Dec. 9
Jon Entine, author of "Abraham's Children: What DNA Reveals About Jewish History," will speak at 1.30pm, Tuesday, December 9, at the Central Queens YM/YWHA in Forest Hills.
A best-selling author and journalist, Entine is an Emmy-award winning former television news producer. He has produced news magazine programs at ABC News and CBS News, and was Tom Brokaw’s long-time producer at NBC News, where he was also the executive in charge of documentaries.
His talk is in the series of Fall Author Events sponsored by the Rabbi Simon Hevesi Library, 67-09 108 Street, Forest Hills.
All events are open to the general public, $4 donation requested.
For more information, call 718-268-5011 ext. 151, or email.
Like a microscope, DNA offers revolutionary ways to answer historical mysteries. To what extent are most of today’s Jews descendants of converts? What does DNA reveal about the genetic bonds between Jews and Arabs? In his recent book, Entine explains what the new field of genetic research reveals about Jewish history, Jewish migrations, and personal family history.
A best-selling author and journalist, Entine is an Emmy-award winning former television news producer. He has produced news magazine programs at ABC News and CBS News, and was Tom Brokaw’s long-time producer at NBC News, where he was also the executive in charge of documentaries.
His talk is in the series of Fall Author Events sponsored by the Rabbi Simon Hevesi Library, 67-09 108 Street, Forest Hills.
All events are open to the general public, $4 donation requested.
For more information, call 718-268-5011 ext. 151, or email.
JewishGen: New databases, 120,000 records added
JewishGen has added 120,000 new records, in various databases. Explore these databases at the links indicated below.
JewishGen Holocaust Database additions - 4,000 Hidden Children in France (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants - OSE); Persons transferred from Rhodes to Ferramonti Di Tarsia Internment Camp, 12-Jan-1942; - 1,900 rescued Hungarian Jews (1944) in the Rudolph Kasztner Transports; nearly 9,700 names in the 1942 Arad Hungary/Romania census; Lost Train from Bergen-Belse to Trobitz, April 1945. The JewishGen Holocaust Database comprises 150 datasets, with nearly 2 million records about victims and survivors.
Hungarian Census Records with 1,519 records for Bereg county, 1832, 1842.
Bialystok Area Business Directories (1895 and 1903 Vsia Rossiia business directories) - 1,264 entries from Russian business directories for Bialystok, Bielsk, and Sokolka uyezds (districts), Grodno gubernia (now northeast Poland).
Bessarabia Vital Records - More than 20,000 new birth, marriage and death records for Beltsy, Bendery, and Kishinev (now Moldova).
Lithuania - Additions for Tax and Voters Lists (1,598 records, Telz/Shavl districts, 1880s-1915). Revision Lists (8,148 records, Panevezys district 1887, Troki district 1834-42). Lithuania Vital Records, 24,114 new records: Births: Alytus 1922-1939; Babtai 1875-1891, 1913-14; Cekiske 1865-1906; Grinkiskis 1844, 1873-75, 1881-1914; Jonava 1922-31; Josvainiai 1836-37, 1844, 1873-1914; Kaunas 1880-85; Panevezys 1876, 1883, 1885, 1892-1903, 1905-20; Seredzius 1897-1906; Simnas 1922-26; Vilkija 1838-1897; Vilijampole 1880-1882, 84-85, 90-91. Deaths: Babtai 1875-1884; Birzai 1881-1898; Butrymonis 1922-26; Joniskis 1919-39; Kedainiai 1854-1910; Panemune Frentzela 1826-1837; Panevezys 1875, 1880, 1922-24; Pasvitinys 1922-26; Raseniai 1922-39; Varniai 1852-66; 1868-75, 1881-1913; Vilkija 1854-57, 1861-1914; Vilijampole 1881. Lithuania Internal Passports: 886 records, Siauliai/Shavl); 338, Panevezys/Ponevez).
Yizkor Book Necrology Database - 6,808 records from four Yizkor Books: Lublin, Poland (232 records); Pinsk, Belarus (5,561 records); Suwalki, Poland (685 records); Konotop, Ukraine (330 records).
US Databases - Houston (Texas) Jewish Herald-Voice Database, 1,000 new events, completing 100 years, 1908-2008. Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) 'Jewish Exponent' Obituary Database, 3,000 new events, 1887-2007.
Duma Voter Lists - Minsk Gubernia - 35,000 men eligible to vote in the Russian parliamentary elections (1906, 1907) in nine Minsk Gubernia districts (now Belarus). The districts are Minsk, Pinsk, Mozyr, Novogrudok, Igumen, Borisov, Slutsk, Rechitsa and Bobruisk.
The additions were announced by JewishGen's managing director Warren Blatt, who thanked all the volunteers and donors who made this possible.
JewishGen Holocaust Database additions - 4,000 Hidden Children in France (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants - OSE); Persons transferred from Rhodes to Ferramonti Di Tarsia Internment Camp, 12-Jan-1942; - 1,900 rescued Hungarian Jews (1944) in the Rudolph Kasztner Transports; nearly 9,700 names in the 1942 Arad Hungary/Romania census; Lost Train from Bergen-Belse to Trobitz, April 1945. The JewishGen Holocaust Database comprises 150 datasets, with nearly 2 million records about victims and survivors.
Hungarian Census Records with 1,519 records for Bereg county, 1832, 1842.
Bialystok Area Business Directories (1895 and 1903 Vsia Rossiia business directories) - 1,264 entries from Russian business directories for Bialystok, Bielsk, and Sokolka uyezds (districts), Grodno gubernia (now northeast Poland).
Bessarabia Vital Records - More than 20,000 new birth, marriage and death records for Beltsy, Bendery, and Kishinev (now Moldova).
Lithuania - Additions for Tax and Voters Lists (1,598 records, Telz/Shavl districts, 1880s-1915). Revision Lists (8,148 records, Panevezys district 1887, Troki district 1834-42). Lithuania Vital Records, 24,114 new records: Births: Alytus 1922-1939; Babtai 1875-1891, 1913-14; Cekiske 1865-1906; Grinkiskis 1844, 1873-75, 1881-1914; Jonava 1922-31; Josvainiai 1836-37, 1844, 1873-1914; Kaunas 1880-85; Panevezys 1876, 1883, 1885, 1892-1903, 1905-20; Seredzius 1897-1906; Simnas 1922-26; Vilkija 1838-1897; Vilijampole 1880-1882, 84-85, 90-91. Deaths: Babtai 1875-1884; Birzai 1881-1898; Butrymonis 1922-26; Joniskis 1919-39; Kedainiai 1854-1910; Panemune Frentzela 1826-1837; Panevezys 1875, 1880, 1922-24; Pasvitinys 1922-26; Raseniai 1922-39; Varniai 1852-66; 1868-75, 1881-1913; Vilkija 1854-57, 1861-1914; Vilijampole 1881. Lithuania Internal Passports: 886 records, Siauliai/Shavl); 338, Panevezys/Ponevez).
Yizkor Book Necrology Database - 6,808 records from four Yizkor Books: Lublin, Poland (232 records); Pinsk, Belarus (5,561 records); Suwalki, Poland (685 records); Konotop, Ukraine (330 records).
US Databases - Houston (Texas) Jewish Herald-Voice Database, 1,000 new events, completing 100 years, 1908-2008. Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) 'Jewish Exponent' Obituary Database, 3,000 new events, 1887-2007.
Duma Voter Lists - Minsk Gubernia - 35,000 men eligible to vote in the Russian parliamentary elections (1906, 1907) in nine Minsk Gubernia districts (now Belarus). The districts are Minsk, Pinsk, Mozyr, Novogrudok, Igumen, Borisov, Slutsk, Rechitsa and Bobruisk.
The additions were announced by JewishGen's managing director Warren Blatt, who thanked all the volunteers and donors who made this possible.
03 December 2008
Philly 2009: Website live, call for papers!
The website - Philly2009.org - and the important Call for Papers for the 29th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy is now up and running. More information is sure to be added rapidly.
Mark your calendars, check for plane and train tickets, for what will be an excellent conference hosted by the JGS of Greater Philadelphia and the IAJGS at Philly's Sheraton Center City Hotel from August 2-7, 2009.
The proposal submittal deadline is January 15, 2009, with acceptance notification by February 28, 2009. Program co-chairs are the well-known Mark Halpern and Mark Heckman.
Proposals are welcomed on all relevant topics, including workshops and panel discussions, and new presentations (not offered at the past three annual conferences). The committee is particularly interested in the following topics:
Encouraged are presentations and workshops providing practical research methodologies that will help conference participants in their research. Highly original topics will be given special consideration.
Presentations and panel discussions are 75 minutes including 15 minutes Q&A; workshops are 2 hours long.
Speakers may submit any number of proposals. Sole speakers with at least one accepted proposal will receive complimentary conference registration. Speakers sharing accepted proposals will receive partial registration fee waivers.
All proposals must be submitted using the Conference website by clicking on the “Begin Submission” button. Proposals submitted by other means (e-mail or regular mail, etc.) will not be accepted.
Before submitting online, prepare the following items:
Ok, genners, time to get cracking on readying your programs.
Mark your calendars, check for plane and train tickets, for what will be an excellent conference hosted by the JGS of Greater Philadelphia and the IAJGS at Philly's Sheraton Center City Hotel from August 2-7, 2009.
The proposal submittal deadline is January 15, 2009, with acceptance notification by February 28, 2009. Program co-chairs are the well-known Mark Halpern and Mark Heckman.
Proposals are welcomed on all relevant topics, including workshops and panel discussions, and new presentations (not offered at the past three annual conferences). The committee is particularly interested in the following topics:
Research sources/methodology for beginning genealogists
Research sources/Jewish history: Philadelphia area
Genealogical research: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware Research resources/methodology: Ukraine, Eastern/Central Europe
Sephardim
Mizrahim
Israel
US/Canada
South/Central America
Western Europe
Other locales (Australia, China, South Africa, India, etc.)
Jewish immigration/migration
Jewish surname adoption/naming patterns
Holocaust research
Genetics/DNA research
Jewish history/culture
Jewish music/theater
Jewish food
Photographic/document preservation
Technology/Internet resources
Computer training workshops
Other training workshops (e.g. photo identification, document preservation)
Encouraged are presentations and workshops providing practical research methodologies that will help conference participants in their research. Highly original topics will be given special consideration.
Presentations and panel discussions are 75 minutes including 15 minutes Q&A; workshops are 2 hours long.
Speakers may submit any number of proposals. Sole speakers with at least one accepted proposal will receive complimentary conference registration. Speakers sharing accepted proposals will receive partial registration fee waivers.
All proposals must be submitted using the Conference website by clicking on the “Begin Submission” button. Proposals submitted by other means (e-mail or regular mail, etc.) will not be accepted.
Before submitting online, prepare the following items:
Presenter/s full name, mail address, email and phoneSpeakers are required to provide handout material for each presentation to be included in the syllabus distributed to all Conference registrants. All materials must be uploaded using the Conference website. Letters of acceptance will provide more details.
Brief biographical sketch
Summary of recent presentation experience
Title of presentation
Program type (presentation, workshop, panel)
Brief description of the presentation
Audience skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
Ok, genners, time to get cracking on readying your programs.
London: Sacred textiles exhibit, through March 2009
Three 17th-18th-century Torah mantles from the exhibit.The center piece is made from a wedding dress.
London's Jewish Museum presents "Hidden Treasures, Sacred Textiles," through March 15, 2009, at the Bevis Marks Spanish and Portuguese Congregation. The rare textiles are from the collection of the congregation and the Montefiore Endowment.
Although Jews were officially expelled from England in 1290, historians and scholars say some Jews remained in the country, although not outwardly identified as such. The Sephardic community of London's East End settled near Aldgate in the 1640s, founded by descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who fled Spanish persecution. Spanish Jew Antonio Carvajal founded a synagogue in Creechurch Lane in Aldgate in 1656, which outgrew its premises and served as the impetus for the building of a larger facility at Bevis Marks in 1701.
Although Jews were officially expelled from England in 1290, historians and scholars say some Jews remained in the country, although not outwardly identified as such. The Sephardic community of London's East End settled near Aldgate in the 1640s, founded by descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who fled Spanish persecution. Spanish Jew Antonio Carvajal founded a synagogue in Creechurch Lane in Aldgate in 1656, which outgrew its premises and served as the impetus for the building of a larger facility at Bevis Marks in 1701.
The elegant fabrics of the Bevis Marks' Torah mantles are being displayed for the first time in this joint venture. The Collection dates to the late 17th century, including silks, brocades and gold-work embroidery donated to the synagogue over time.
Each item tells the stories of members of this community who donated them over the centuries. Some carry the inscriptions of the donors and the occasions. Many are created from recycled English and French dress fabrics, including Lady Montefiore's wedding dress.
According to a news report, restorers found a December 1780 men's magazine cutting in the top of an 18th century silk mantle to help stiffen the fabric and, of course, also helping to date the item.
Many fabrics were made of famed Spitalfields silk, woven by Huguenots who lived and worked around Spitalfields and Whitechapel.
In 1851, a mantle was presented to the congregation by David Lindo, uncle of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, whose father attended the synagogue until he had problems with the administration and baptized his children.
The exhibit also includes guided tours, lunchtime lectures, craft activities and sessions with expert embroiderers.
Admission: £3. Hours: Monday-Friday: 11am-1pm, Sunday: 10.30am-12.30pm. Group visits by appointment.
Each item tells the stories of members of this community who donated them over the centuries. Some carry the inscriptions of the donors and the occasions. Many are created from recycled English and French dress fabrics, including Lady Montefiore's wedding dress.
According to a news report, restorers found a December 1780 men's magazine cutting in the top of an 18th century silk mantle to help stiffen the fabric and, of course, also helping to date the item.
Many fabrics were made of famed Spitalfields silk, woven by Huguenots who lived and worked around Spitalfields and Whitechapel.
In 1851, a mantle was presented to the congregation by David Lindo, uncle of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, whose father attended the synagogue until he had problems with the administration and baptized his children.
The exhibit also includes guided tours, lunchtime lectures, craft activities and sessions with expert embroiderers.
Admission: £3. Hours: Monday-Friday: 11am-1pm, Sunday: 10.30am-12.30pm. Group visits by appointment.
Michigan: Echoes that remain, Dec. 14
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan will screen the documentary, "Echoes That Remain," followed by a discussion, at 2.30pm, Sunday, December 14.
The venue is the Detroit Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus, 28213 Orchard Lake Rd., in Farmington Hills.
Narrated by Martin Landau and Miriam Margolyes (a well-known UK Jewish genealogist in addition to her film career) and produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, it is a poignant study of Jewish shtetl life pre-Holocaust.
It combines hundreds of rare archival photographs and previously unseen film footage with live action sequences shot on location at the sites of former Jewish communities in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Rumania.
The film covers all aspects of Jewish life in the "old world."
JGSMichigan members, free; others, $5. For more information, click here.
The venue is the Detroit Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus, 28213 Orchard Lake Rd., in Farmington Hills.
Narrated by Martin Landau and Miriam Margolyes (a well-known UK Jewish genealogist in addition to her film career) and produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, it is a poignant study of Jewish shtetl life pre-Holocaust.
It combines hundreds of rare archival photographs and previously unseen film footage with live action sequences shot on location at the sites of former Jewish communities in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Rumania.
The film covers all aspects of Jewish life in the "old world."
JGSMichigan members, free; others, $5. For more information, click here.
Washington, DC: Family mysteries, Dec. 14
Carol G. Freeman will present "Solving and Creating Family Mysteries: Integrating US Census Records with the New York City Archives," for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington, at 1.30pm, Sunday, December 14.
The meeting will take place at Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Alexandria, VA. For more details, click here.
Freeman is an expert genealogy researcher who has worked extensively with records in the United States and England as well as numerous on-line resources. Her presentation will discuss her sleuthing into New York City Municipal Archives and her reconciliation of these records with U.S. Census data, as she separated fact from myth in reconstructing her family's history in the United States.
This episode in Ms. Freeman's genealogy adventures will be of obvious interest to all of us who have found that family lore is not always accurate -- an experience that almost all of us have had at one time or another. As an added bonus, her talk will also inform us about the types of information that can be extracted from the New York City Municipal Archives and what the genealogist must do to retrieve the information.
In her "other" life, Carol Freeman is a retired criminal defense lawyer (another occupation that has its sleuthing moments). A graduate of Wellesley College, she received her law degree with high honors from Columbia University in New York City. After clerking for a United States District Judge and a stint as a prosecutor with the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, she began her career as defense counsel. She was Deputy Public Defender in Montgomery County, Maryland and later served as a staff attorney to the judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Although now nominally retired from the law, she continues to serve her profession in many ways, including as author of a regular column on Supreme Court criminal law decisions for the Section on Criminal Law of the American Bar Association.
The meeting will take place at Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Alexandria, VA. For more details, click here.
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