Northern California: 'When Leopold met Lena,' April 11

Pamela Weisberger will present a fascinating tale of 1890s' marriage, divorce and deception at the Los Altos branch of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, on Monday, April 11.

The meeting begins at 7pm, at Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road Rm. 5/6, in Los Altos Hills. The meeting is free.

"When Leopold Met Lena: Marriage, Divorce, and Deception in the 1890s" utilizes newspaper resources, court transcripts and more to reveal family secrets.

First came love, then came marriage—but on the heels of the baby in the baby carriage came accusations of adultery and two trials in New York City’s Court of Common Pleas. The unexpected discovery of a divorce decree in the 1890's New York Times “News of the Courts” led to scandal-ridden court transcripts held at the NYC municipal archives
and revelations of a family secret.

Beginning in Czestochowa, Poland, and Cracow, Austria, and continuing to Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Little Rock, Arkansas, the tumultuous, romantic, and litigious world of immigrant ancestors is brought to life in court records, graveyard inscriptions, newspaper articles, city directories, censuses, and vital records.

Enjoy the ride as Besser v. Besser is deconstructed and learn how present-day genealogical research can be used to solve 19th-century mysteries.

Documenting her family’s history for more than 30 years, Pam has conducted research in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary with a specialty in newspaper research. She holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. from Boston University.

For more information and directions, click here.

WPA: Historical Records Survey and genealogists

Do we, as family historians and genealogists, realize how the WPA's Historical Records Survey has helped us?

Leland Meitzler's Genealogy Blog provided an article by reference librarian Bryan L. Mulcahy of the Fort Myers-Lee County Library that detailed how one aspect of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) - the Historical Records Survey - created inventories and records of use to the entire genealogy community.

The WPA was the largest project created as a relief program during the aftermath of the Great Depression of 1929.

Workers visited archives, historical societies and libraries to compile manuscript collection inventories. They visited courthouses, town halls, offices in large cities and vital statistics offices to inventory records, and also transcribed some.

Among the databases created by the Survey were:

•Burial listing in cemeteries •Federal and state census indexes •Indexes to naturalization records
•Indexes to Newspapers
•Inventories of county courthouse records
•Descriptions of manuscripts found in various libraries
•Place-name guides
•Inventories of church records including years/content of church christening records, and names of those buried in church cemeteries

Most researchers have used many of these collections. Although the majority of materials survived, and are available to researchers, some records and indexes were deemed to be of no value and were destroyed.

Read the complete article at Leland's blog above.

Florida: John Martino, ItalianGen, March 7

You don't have to be Italian to be in the Italian Genealogy Group's database!

John Martino, a founder of the Italian Genealogy Group (IGG), will speak on just that topic at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County (JGSPBC) on Sunday, March 7.

The JGSPBC's annual "Lunch and Learn" is set for 11.30-3pm, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, West Palm Beach.

Now IGG vice president and Special Project Coordinator, John has received an award from the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York (JSNY), and ItalianGen also received the Malcolm Stern Award from the IAJGS for its work in developing research databases.

Tracing the Tribe remembers the excellent talk John gave at the IAJGS annual conference (New York 2006), where his society received the Stern Award.

John will discuss how his 1,200 worldwide volunteers - of all ethnicities and religions - have created a variety of databases in New York and New Jersey, and how the same can be done in Boston, Detroit , Philadelphia Chicago and elsewhere.

He'll address the many naturalization records, and county, federal, and NYC vital records now in the IGG databases that have helped many genealogists in the US and around the world, how to use these databases and how they were created. The information contained includes data for Jewish genealogists not found elsewhere.

Tracing the Tribe has found many items of value for her New York-based families in IGG's resources.

IGG was organized in 1990 and John was one of its founders. He has visited Italy twice and has traced his family back to 1572. Since he retired in 2000, he hs devoted most of his time to organizing volunteers to create databases.

He first helped the JGSNY with Kings County naturalizations, followed by Suffolk, Nassau and Bronx counties. The federal records came next, including the Southern District Naturalization and now he's working on the Eastern District.

Brian Anderson, Department of Records and Information Services commissioner, asked John to computerize the Municipal Archives' vital records. John and the IGG team have computerized New York City's death records (1891-1929) and the Groom Index (1895-1936).

Fee: members, $25; others, $30. Free valet parking. Reservations required by February 27. See the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County website for information and reservations.

New York: Old Records Division treasures, Feb. 21

New York City's Division of Old Records holds many important genealogical records.

Joseph Van Nostrand, of the New York County Clerk's office, will demonstrate what researchers can find in division records at the next Jewish Genealogical Society of New York meeting on Sunday, February 21.

“Treasure Hunt at the Division of Old Records” begins at 2pm at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. See the JGSNY website for address, directions and more information.

His talk will cover the use and interrelationship of various record series at the Division, for use in genealogy. It will include information in New York County naturalizations (1792-1924) with emphasis on records before and after 1895.

Additionally, the census records for 1855, 1870, 1905, 1915 and 1925 and the diverse data and access will be explored. He'll also address business records, civil court proceedings and more. Court proceedings cover divorces, guardianships, name changes, foreclosures and other tort actions.

Van Nostrand has been the supervising archivist at the Division of Old Records of the New York County Clerk for almost 30 years. He earned a BA (History) from Fordham University and an MA (American History) from NYU.

He's a trustee and officer for two non-profit corporations concerned with the preservation and use of historical records.

Since the inception of the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund by the New York State Archives, he has successfully written grants for over $1 million for the conservation treatment of colonial and early national court minute books, microfilming and scanning of court records, and the creation of database indexes to search pre-1911 court records by both plaintiff and defendant.

In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the 2009 Bernard B. Botein Award for "outstanding contributions to the administration of the courts," by the New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division.

The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at CJH will be open 12.30-1.45pm for networking.

For more information, visit the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York.

Florida: When Leopold Met Lena, Feb. 10

Looking for juicy scandal from old court records and historic newspapers?

"When Leopold Met Lena" isn't exactly like "When Harry Met Sally," but will offer many scandalous details from old documents and records - from the old country to the New World - at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County (JGSPBCI).

The program, presented by Pamela Weisberger of Los Angeles, will be held at the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach on Wednesday, February 10.

The JGSPBCI event begins at 12.30pm with a brick wall session, followed by a business meeting and the main program. SIGs (Galicia and Ukraine) will meet prior to the main program, Pamela will also be the Galicia SIG speaker.

"When Leopold Met Lena: Marriage, Divorce and Deception in 1892 New York" will be brought to life with court records, newspapers and other resources as the fascinating story unfolds.

From Czestochowa, Poland to Austria and to Manhattan 's Lower East Side and Little Rock , Arkansas, the tumultuous, romantic and litigious world of our immigrant ancestors unfolds as she demonstrates how present-day genealogical research is used to solve 19th-century mysteries.

Pam has documented her family’s history for more than 20 years, traveling through Eastern Europe visiting ancestral towns and villages and conducting research in Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian archives.

One of her special interests is late-19th to early-20th century city directories, newspapers and court records.

She is a co-chair of JGSLA 2010 (the 30th edition of the IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy), set for July 11-16, in Los Angeles. Her other "hats" include JGSLA program chair, Gesher Galicia president/research coordinator, and has produced two documentaries.

She holds a BA in English (Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri) and an MS in Broadcasting (Boston University).

Fee: JGSPBCI members, free; others, $5.

For directions and more information, see the JGSBCI site.

Florida: US State Court Records, April 22

Licensed Michigan attorney Diane Freilich will speak on "US State Court Records - a Valuable Resource," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County (JGSPBC).

The meeting begins at 11.30am, Wednesday, April 22 at the South County Civic Center, Delray Beach.

An expert in researching legal documents, Freilich says legal records are a valuable source of family history, and she will discuss the legal system, availability of public documents in courthouses and motivate researchers.

The focus will be on the following aspects of the legal system (predominately at the state level): Civil records, including family law and criminal law; Register of Deeds including deeds and plats of land; Probate records with an emphasis on wills and estates.

The lecture will include an understanding of basic legal terms and information generally contained within certain legal documents.

Freilich serves on the board of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan. Awell known lecturer, she has spoken at many international genealogical conferences, and has written articles on the subject.

The meeting will also include a meeting of the Polish SIG, from 11.30-12.30pm, followed by Freilich's talk at 1pm. Admission: members, free; others, $5.

See the JGSPBC website for more details and directions.

California: Probate records, wills, June 20

Probate records and wills are valuable sources of genealogical information.

When I located my great-grandfather's brother's will in Essex County, New Jersey, I learned the names of his children and grandchildren and was able to contact them.

Readers in the Los Angeles area may be interested in this program at the San Fernando Valley Genealogical Society, Granada Hills, at 7.30 pm, Friday, June 20. Click here for more details.

Speaker Randall J. Bunn will present "Tips on Researching Probate Records & Analyzing Wills "

Currently a Department of Defense attorney, Bunn retired from the US Air Force in 2005, where he was a judge advocate military attorney.

He holds degrees from the University of California, Davis (History and Economics); Wright State University (Masters in Public History); Brigham Young University Law School (Juris Doctorate) and George Washington University Law School (Master of Laws in Government Procurement Law). Bunn is a member of both the California and Utah State Bars, and admitted to practice before the Eastern District of California, United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Supreme Court.

Bun has a long interest in genealogy and family history research, is website administrator for two MyFamily.com family history sites, and chairs a family organization that has been holding family reunions since the 1950s.