UK: 160 years of Illustrated London News now online

Researching your ancestors in the UK just became easier, with 160 years of the Illustrated London News now online.

Hosted by Gale, there are some 250,000 pages and about 750,000 photographs and illustrations, from its first issue on May 14, 1842 to the last in 2003. At a time when copper printing was expensive and took time, the ILN developed a fast, cheap woodcut print method for illustrations. Photographs first began to appear in print during the late 19th century.

"It was the multimedia of its day," said Seth Cayley, publisher of media history at Cengage Learning, which has digitised the ILN archive. "In one sense, people didn't know before then what the rest of the world really looked like. ILN was the strongest paper of its sort and helped shape the middle class."

According to the Guardian, highlights include articles by such writers as Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins and Agatha Chrstie. The first illustrated news publication included all the news of the day, such as wars, disasters, exhibitions and work by famed artists of the day.

While access is currently available only to subscribing institutions, there seems to be hope, as noted in the original Guardian story:

The online archive, which goes up to 2003, will initially be available only to libraries and educational institutions.

The archive presents articles both on an individual page, or to view in the original layout next to adverts and other editorial of the day. Pages are full-colour with both text and tagged images indexed for search, though the archive is not publicly accessible and has not been indexed by Google.

Cayley said the firm had improved the archive experience with each previous project, including its work on Times Online, the Economist, the British Library and the FT.

"The Times archive has been so successful it has almost distorted the way people research, because they assume that is the only newspaper archive. But more archives coming online will mean better representation of different reporting and a clearer perspective on the past," Cayley added.

He said it would be ideal for all newspaper archives to be cross searchable in the future, and that Cengage is exploring that option.

From a page at Gale, here's more on access:

Please note: The ILN Historical Archive is only available for institutions to trial and purchase.The archive is not available at this stage for individual subscriptions, although a pay per view site may be considered at some future time. Users of the archive can share images and articles for non commercial purposes only.

If you have access, here's what you'll find.

The Illustrated London News Historical Archive gives students and researchers unprecedented online access to the entire run of the ILN from its first publication on 14 May 1842 to its last in 2003. Each page has been digitally reproduced in full colour and every article and caption is full-text searchable with hit-term highlighting and links to corresponding illustrations. Facsimilies of articles and illustrations can be viewed, printed and saved either individually or in the context of the page in which they appear. Wherever possible Special Numbers covering special events such as coronations or royal funerals have been included.

For more from Gale, click here, which notes that the new archive will be of interest to researchers in many fields:

Use this remarkable resource to support scholarly and enthusiast research in social history, fashion, theatre, media, literature, advertising, graphic design and politics, as well as those interested in genealogy.

The Guardian noted:

The archive includes an 1850s illustration of a "sea serpent" seen by sailors from HMS Daedalus on a passage from the West Indies – which they promptly tried to shoot – and a column by feminist Florence Fenwick Miller. She describes using cocaine drops to combat sea sickness. "All chemists keep it, and my readers undertaking a sea-voyage should have no difficulty in procuring a supply."

Tracing the Tribe hopes for future access for all.

San Francisco: Hidden Jewish Heritage, April 26

How would you react if you realized an important family secret had been kept from you?

What happens when adults discover their hidden Jewish heritage?

Find out on Monday, April 26, at 7.30pm, at a program co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Library (JCL) and the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS), at the JCL, 1835 Ellis St., San Francisco.
Four people from very different backgrounds discuss the discovery of their Jewish heritage, the circumstances surrounding the revelation, and how it affected their lives, their relationships, and their identities.

"Sudden Jews: When Adults Discover Their Hidden Jewish Heritage" brings together Marny Hall, Irene Reti, Jim Van Buskirk and Cecilia Wambach to discuss this topic, at the Jewish Community Library, 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco.

Irene Reti is the daughter of two Holocaust refugees who hid their Jewish identities. She is the author of "Keeper of Memory: A Memoir and Kabbalah of Stone," a novel about hidden Jews (conversos) in 15th century Spain. Reti is the director of the oral history research office at UC Santa Cruz.

Jim Van Buskirk, book group coordinator at the Jewish Community Library, is the co-editor of "Identity Envy: Wanting to Be Who We're Not." He is currently working on an intergenerational family memoir about discovering his Jewish heritage at age 54, "My Grandmother's Suitcase."

Marny Hall discovered she was Jewish at age 30. She is a sex therapist and author whose books include The Lavender Couch, Sexualities, and The Lesbian Love Companion. Hall is also the co-author of Queer Blues.

Cecelia Wambach is professor emeritus of mathematics education at San Francisco State University. For almost eight years, she has been involved in a project to research her father's ancestry, which has taken her to the Czech Republic, Israel and Uruguay and is the subject of her forthcoming book, "Hide and Go Seek: The Search for My Father's Family."

The discussion is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the JGS San Francisco website.

Boston: Sephardic Jewry history, DNA - April 25

Two Sephardic presentations (covering history, genealogy and DNA) are on the program of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston on Sunday, April 25.

The program begins at 1:30 pm, at Temple Emanuel, Newton Centre, with Brandeis Professor Jonathan Decter, and Tracing the Tribe's good friend Dr. Dan Laby of Harvard University Medical School.

In “Sephardic Jewry after the Expulsion from Spain,” Decter will talk about Sephardic migration after 1492 - to Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, Europe, and the Americas, with a focus on Eastern and Central Europe. He will discuss intellectual and economic connections across the Sephardi Diaspora, and the nature of Sephardi identity.

Laby will present “Tracing Family to 13th Century Spain,” Dr. Daniel Laby will describe his quest to trace his Laby- De La Caballeria family. Using both modern (DNA) and classical methods (microfilms), he was able to follow the trail from western Massachusetts and New York’s Lower East Side all the way back to the Ottoman Empire and pre-inquisition Spain.

[NOTE: In fact, Dan holds a document dated 1202 from the same archive - Lerida/Lleida (in Catalunya, about 140km NW of Barcelona) where our first Talalay document, dated 1358, was discovered. We share the same researcher in Spain.]

Decter is Associate Professor and the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Sephardic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. His first book, "Iberian Jewish Literature: Between al-Andalus and Christian Europe," received the 2007 Salo W. Baron prize for best first book in Judaic Studies.

Laby is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and is a specialist in Sports Vision working with the Boston Red Sox as well as several other professional and Olympic teams.

Fee: JGSGB members, free; others, $5.
Click for directions. For more information about JGSGB, click here.

JGSLA 2010: You don't have to be Jewish!

1,000+ genealogists, 150+ speakers, 300+ programs, six days.

What do these refer to? Only one thing Tracing the Tribe knows: The 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, or JGSLA 2010, to those in the know.

It is open to all. You don't have to be Jewish to love Jewish genealogy or to attend JGSLA 2010. Those who suspect Jewish roots or those who just want to learn from world experts, are welcomed.

This once-a-year event provides access to experts covering the diversity of Jewish genealogy and encourages networking and collaboration.

Programs start early Sunday morning July 11 and run through mid-day Friday, July 16, in Los Angeles.

Learn from scholars, archivists, authors and other experts. Enjoy a genealogy film festival (directors and Q&A), methodology/ technology workshops, musical performances, and network with a truly global genealogical community.

Many sessions and workshops have applications to general genealogy for all ethnicities.

Here's just a glimpse of the event's first day, Sunday, July 11. For the rest of the week, program abstracts and speaker bios, click JGSLA 2010 and click the top tab for Program (there will be additions and changes).

What can you expect? Take a deep breath, and away we go!

Day 1 offers three time slots each with many concurrent sessions, along with films, special lunches, computer/technology workshops, Market Square Fair, two klezmer concerts and official event opening.

9.30-10.45am:

-- From DNA to Genetic Genealogy to the Animal Kingdom: everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
-- Genealogy at the Los Angeles Public Library
-- Haunting Cemeteries: A Genealogist's favorite pastime
-- Only in New York
-- Razzle Dazzle 'em: Using Technology to Present Your Family History Research with Pizzazz
-- The Wonderful World of Genealogy Blogging
-- Absolute Beginners: Computer Basics for Technology-Challenged Genealogists ($ computer lab)

11am-12:15am:

-- Introduction to JewishGen: Beginners Computer Workshop ($ computer lab)
-- Clued-in: Case Studies from Sherlock Cohn, The Photo Genealogist
-- Jewish Genealogical Research Beginner Strategies, Part 1
-- Demystifying the Hebrew Calendar
-- My Uncle, The Hollywood Producer: A Spicy Tale
-- Researching Your Criminal Ancestors
-- Writing Jewish Family Stories and Memoirs, Part 1

2-3.15pm:

-- DAVKA, The Survival of a People
-- Finding and Using Los Angeles County Records
-- From Shiterein to Showpiece: Cooking Jewish for the 21st Century
-- Jewish Genealogical Research Beginner Strategies, Part 2
-- Jewish Geography and DNA: A Player's Guide
-- Writing Jewish Family Stories and Memoirs, Part 2

There are two klezmer concerts, from 3.30-4.45pm and 5-6.15pm with master Yale Strom and friends.

The conference officially opens at the 7.45pm opening ceremony and keynote address, followed by a 9pm dessert reception.

Monday (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) bloom bright and early, from 8am breakfasts-with-the-experts ($), workshops ($), birds-of-feather meetings, five time slots with many concurrent sessions each, special lunches, and major evening sessions. Friday is a light day, offering "only" 15 sessions, ending at 12.30pm.

Click JGSLA 2010 for the full program (subject to changes and additions), registration for the event (early-bird discounts end April 30, so don't miss out!) and the hotel (the JW Marriott at L.A. Live, downtown Los Angeles).

Have questions? Want more information?  Send an email. Sign up for the conference newsletter, blog, discussion group, or stay tuned to Tracing the Tribe for all the news.

Montreal: Getting-started panel, April 21

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal, in association with the Jewish Public Library, will present a getting-started panel on Wednesday, April 21.

The program begins at 7.30pm at the Gelber Conference Center.

On the panel are Rikee and Maryn Madoff, Susan Shulman and Sorel Friedman - all JGSM members. They will discuss how they got started and their subsequent research, recount their collective experiences and successes, as well as provide tips.

Check out the JGS Montreal site and look at the wealth of information available in databases, projects, cemetery indices, Montreal and Quebec Province vital records. If you had family members who lived there, make sure to look at these resources. 

Survey: Genealogists, historians and copyright issues

From the National Genealogical Society blog, comes this nugget:

Dear Genealogist,

A research project at the University of Maryland aims to learn more about how historians and genealogists deal with copyright issues when using online archival sources.

In particular, we are looking for genealogists who have used the online holdings of American archival institutions in their research, and who are willing to participate in a focus group or telephone interview to discuss how you deal with copyright issues that arise in your uses of online archival material.

Focus Groups: will be held on a weekday in the Washington, D.C., area will last for approximately 2 hours will consist of 5-8 participants. Participants will receive a $50 honorarium.

Interviews: will be conducted by telephone will last for approximately 1 hour. Participants will receive a $25 honorarium.

Interested? Contact Dr. Jean Dryden, principal investigator, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland College Park.

Sacramento: Facial recognition technology for genealogy, April 18

"Facial Recognition Technology for Genealogy," with Daniel Horowitz, will be the topic at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento (California), on Sunday, April 18.

The program begins at 10m, at the Albert Einstein Residence Center.

Facial recognition technology is used worldwide in the security industry. It can also help identify people in old family photos, discover other people related to you and enable reconnection of lost branches.

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Daniel has lived in Israel with his family since 2005. He is the database and translation manager for MyHeritage.com, a genealogy social networking site. Among his other "hats," he's the IAJGS webmaster and at the Horowitz Family Association. He was the founder of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Venezuela.

For additional information, directions and more, see the JGSS site or send an email.

Oregon: DNA genetic genealogy, April 20

Genetic genealogy with Emily D. Aulicino is on the program at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, on Tuesday, April 20.

The talk begins at 7.30pm at Congregation Ahavath Achim, Portland. Doors open at 7pm for networking and assistance with genealogy questions.

Genetic genealogy, the use of DNA testing to aid traditional genealogical research, is a new and accurate field for the family historian as it can prove or disprove family connections. In this information-packed program, learn the basics of DNA testing and how it helps your research. Learn about different tests and the value of each. Understand who to test and why.

Find out why FamilyTreeDNA.com's new test, Family Finder, is the next generation in DNA testing and goes beyond what previous tests could do.

Aulicino will answer questions and address such issues as privacy and getting your family to participate.

A $30 gift certificate toward a DNA test will be raffled at no cost to those attending the program.

A retired teacher, Aulicino has researched her family’s genealogy for more than 40 years, traveling nationally and internationally for that purpose. She is a speaker and regional coordinator for the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG), and teaches genetic genealogy at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon (Portland).

She has attended five annual FamilyTreeDNA.com administrator conferences, where she spoke in 2007. In 2008, she presented at the West Coast African American Summit (Bellevue, Washington), and in 2009 and 2010, attended the London UK "Who Do You Think You Are? Live" family history fair.

She administers 13 DNA projects at FamilyTreeDNA (surname, geographical and societies) and seven surname email lists on Roots Web, three genetic genealogy email lists with another that helps helps genealogists and non-genealogists write their  family and personal memories.

Attendees interested in testing with FamilyTreeDNA can receive discounted tests through the JGSO page. For more information on the arrangement, click here.

Fee:  JGSO members, free; others, $5. See the JGSO website for directions and additional information.