California: Win free family history expo tickets!

Local genealogy events enable participants to network with area individuals sharing mutual interests, have more one-on-one time with major speakers and jump start research.

The events bring genealogy to the people in an easy-to-reach, short-term format, requiring less traveling time and lower costs.

They provide a wide range of excellent programs to participants of various skill levels. Tracing the Tribe feels that participants - particularly beginners - will be much better prepared to later attend larger conferences, such as the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (14-19 August 2011, Washington, DC).

Family History Expos (FHE) runs excellent programs - according to many geneabloggers who have attended and presented. Their next event is set for the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Pleasanton, California (Friday-Saturday, October 8-9), with an excellent lineup of topics and speakers (see below).

Even better, Geneabloggers.com - the genealogy community's resource for genealogy bloggers - is running a contest to give away two free adminission tickets (normally $75 each) to the October event.

It's simple to enter. All you have to do is let Geneabloggers know how attending a Family History Expo event would help your own genealogy research. Click here for more information and to enter.

Enter from September 21-24, and check Geneabloggers.com on September 25 to see which lucky people have received those tickets.

The Pleasanton program is here.

Well-known speakers include Beau Sharbrough, Amy Coffin, Geoggrey D. Rasmussen, Jean, Wilcox Hibben, Arlene Eakle, Thomas MacEntee, Bruce Buzbee, Ron Arons, Lisa Louise Cooke, Lisa Alzo, Leland K. Meitzler, Janet Hovorka and Craig Manson, as well as staffers from Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, software vendors and others.

Topics include blogging, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), software, African American research, US Census, mapping, Irish research, California resources, land and property records, how to track down elusive ancestors, photographs (preservation, scanning, retouching), organizing, German records, genealogy gifts and games, Google search, beginning genealogy, and scheduled one-on-one appointments with the experts.

Upcoming FHE events are set for Atlanta, Georgia (November 12-13) and Mesa, Arizona (January 2011).

Atlanta: Bielski story, Sept. 26

Readers in Atlanta will have an opportunity to hear filmmaker Sharon Rennert of Los Angeles on Sunday, September 26.

The program begins at 2pm, at the Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum on "In Our Hands: A Personal Story of the Bielski Partisans." For more information, click here.

She is the granddaughter of the group’s commander, Tuvia Bielski, and has been exploring her family legacy from Brooklyn to Belarus, Israel and Lithuania.

The multi-media presentation provides a unique and personal glimpse into the real characters behind "Defiance" and includes Bielski family movies and excerpts from her upcoming Bielski documentary.

Sharon presented this program at the last two IAJGS conferences. Local JGSs, synagogues or JCCs interested in having her speak, may reach her via her website.

Thanks to Pamela Weisberger for this pointer.

New blogs: Another 18 found by Geneabloggers!

Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers always appears to be working overtime - he's found an additional 18 new geneablogs this week.

Here are the names, type and link to the new ones, but read his entire post for much more on each.

Take a look at these if they address your geographical or other interests. This week's new blogs cover such topics as genealogy education, New York, genealogy societies, California, vendors, UK, individual family histories, forensic genealogy, France, Massachusetts, New England, professional genealogist, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia, Canada, surname history, Colorado, Scotland.

Bella Online Genealogy - Tina Sansone
Genealogy education, genealogy industry

Central New York Genealogical Society
Genealogical society blog, New York genealogy

Contra Costa County Genealogical Society
California genealogy, Genealogical society blog

Currach – Discovering My Ancestry Before The Canvas Frays
Individual family history

d kay s days
Individual family history

Family Tree Folk
Genealogy vendor blog, UK genealogy

Généalogies
French genealogy blog, Individual family history

Highlands Ranch Genealogical Society
Colorado genealogy, Genealogical society blog

Identifinders - forensic expert Colleen Fitzpatrick
Forensic genealogy

MacArthur Genealogy Services
Massachusetts genealogy, New England genealogy, Professional genealogists

Nina’s Genealogy
Georgia genealogy, Individual family history, Kentucky genealogy, Mississippi genealogy, Virginia genealogy, West Virginia genealogy

On Being A Bridge Builder
Individual family history

Pioneer Portraits – Miller/Swain Family History
Genealogy education blog, Individual family history

Schwans and Lohr Family Roots Blog
Individual family blog

The Jones Surname
Surname history blogs

The Passionate Genealogist
Canadian genealogy, Professional genealogists

The Scottish Emigration Blog
Scottish genealogy

Trace My Family Tree
A new blog by established blogger Amir Dekkel
Genealogy education

Click on Thomas' post to read much more about each new blog. Enjoy!

Newspapers: Southern Israelite Archive expands

Did you have family in Georgia, or across the South? Here's a newly-expanded resource that may provide information on your Southern Jewish heritage.

The Digital Library of Georgia and the Cuba Archives of the Breman Museum announced the expansion of the Southern Israelite Archive to more than 48,000 images..

The Southern Israelite Archive now includes issues 1959-1983, spanning 1929-1986.

The paper began as an August temple bulletin founded by Rabbi H. Cerf Straus in 1925. it became so popular that it became a monthly newspaper. It was sold and moved to Atlanta, circulated across the state and then throughout the South.
In October 1934, a four-page weekly edition began along with a monthly already-estblished magazine. , supplemented by its established monthly magazine edition. The monthly edition was discontinued in 1973 to concentrate on the growing weekly. In 1987, the Southern Israelite change its name to the Atlanta Jewish Times and published 32-page issues. Today owned by Jewish Renaissance Media, its readership is more than 25,000.

"Even in these earliest years, the paper not only covered the news of the southern Jewry, but also the issues that involved Jewish populations throughout the nation and world, including the Holocaust and later the creation of the Jewish state of Israel."

The Southern Israelite database is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia, a GALILEO initiative that shares Georgia's history and culture online. Digitization is made possible by the Cuba Archives of the Breman Museum and the generosity of the Srochi family of Atlanta.

Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (1847-1922), the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspaper Archive (1808-1920), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). Access these archives here.

Atlanta: Turkish Jewish history, Oct. 12-23

Turkish Jewish history includes both Sephardic and Ashkenazi elements. The majority of Sephardim arrived after the 1492 Expulsion from Spain, while the small Ashkenazi community dates to the 14th century.

During October, an exhibit and lecture program will be sponsored by Georgia State University's Middle East Institute, Department of Religious Studies and Program in Jewish Studies.

"Under Vine and Fig Tree: 500 Years of Turkish Jewish History" will run from October 12-23, and will show images of artifacts and treasures from the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews in Istanbul.

When Jews who refused to convert to Catholicism were expelled from Spain, Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II invited them to come to the Ottoman Empire, where some rose to prominent Ottoman Empire positions.

Some of the images in the exhibit will include that of the decree of Sultan Abdülmecid I in the 19th century railing against the “blood libel” that incited anti-Semitic beliefs across Europe and led to atrocities against Jews, as well as a menorah shaped as a minaret.

There will also be a lecture on Jewish contributions to Turkish society with Kennesaw State associate history professor Catherine Lewis, at 7pm October 20. The lecture, at Atlanta's Congregation Or VeShalom, is free and open to the public. Those interested in attending should RSVP.

Exhibit co-sponsors include the Istanbul Center, Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum and the Southeast US Consulate General of Israel.

Georgia: 'Southern Israelite' digitized, online

Historic newspapers are a fountain of important information and even more so are Jewish historic papers.

At left, find a story from the July 30, 1937 Southern Israelite which has just been digitized, indexed and searchable online. Click on the image to see it expanded and more clearly.

Tracing the Tribe hears frequently about new newspaper digitalization projects. The newest project is that of the "Southern Israelite," which was at first a mere temple bulletin in Augusta, Georgia, in 1925.

Thanks to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia, the Breman Museum and the Digital Library of Georgia, the Southern Israelite (1929-1958, 1984-1986) has now been digitized, indexed, and is freely searchable on line. There are more than 22,000 images in the collection.

This project makes it easier than ever to find information about Jewish families in the Southern states. At right, see the social column from the same 1937 issue (click on the image to see an expanded, more clear version).

As it grew in popularity, founder Rabbi H. Cerf Straus expanded to a monthly publication. He sold it to Herman Dessauer and Sara B. Simmons, who moved operations to Atlanta. The paper circulated throughout the state and the South. M. Stephen Schiffer, a former Atlanta Georgian employee, took over as sole owner in 1930.

Even in the early years, it covered not only southern Jewish news but all national and world issues impacting Jewish lives and communities. It carried columns about Jewish communities in Florida and Alabama, and its society columns mentioned almost every Jewish person who visited Atlanta, making this a valuable resource if your families were connected to southern communities.

Along with the monthly magazine, a weekly edition began publication in October 1934. In 1951, Israelite editor Adolph Rosenberg headed a corporation that took over ownership. One major local issue event that became known nationally was the Atlanta Temple bombing in October 1958.

The monthly magazine ended in 1973 as the weekly edition grew and, in 1987, the paper's name was changed to the Atlanta Jewish Times - owned today by Jewish Renaissance Media.

According to information at the website, circulation is more than 25,000.

A DJVu reader is required to see images, and readers can install one from the first link above.

Georgia: Savannah genealogy classes

Savannah residents have an opportunity to learn about genealogy, oral history, the Civil War, Savannah's influential women, participate in tours and more, when the Georgia Historical Society becomes a summer classroom.

The classes, seminars and walking tours represent an opportunity to expand GHS' community visibility and raise some funding, according to the group's senior historian Stan Deaton. The reference library is closed to researchers on mornings because state cuts resulted in staffing reductions, and made the library available as a classroom.

Topics include:

- Basic Preservation for Your Family Treasures. June 8 and July 20, 10 am-noon. $75.

- Transforming the Bully Pulpit: American Presidents in the 20th Century. June 15-19, 10-11am $125.

- Decisive Battles of the Civil War. June 22-26, 10-11:30am. $125.

- Introduction to Genealogical Research. June 29, July 13 and Aug. 24, 10am-noon. $50.

- Savannah Women: A Downtown Walking Tour. July 27 and Aug. 10, 9-11am. $20.

- The Gardens of Clermont Lee: A Downtown Walking Tour. July 30 and Aug. 13, 9-11am. $20.

- Civil War Leadership. Aug. 3-7, 10-11:30am. $125.

- Oral History: Getting Started. Aug. 17, 10-11am $35.

- Oral History: It's Recorded, Now What? Aug. 20, 10-11:30am. $35.

For more information, reservations and registration, click the GHS. All classes are open to the public and GHS members receive a 10% discount.

Georgia: Jewish Savannah's 275th anniversary

The New York Jewish Week's Carolyn Slutsky details the Jewish history of Savannah,Georgia in this article, "Southern Comfort, 275 Years On." Savannah’s Congregation Mickve Israel, an imposing Gothic building constructed in the mid-1870s, is the home of the third oldest Jewish congregation in the US. This weekend the Reform synagogue celebrates its milestone anniversary, welcoming 100 descendants of congregation founders, reading from the original 1733 Torah and enjoying speeches and performances by personalities.

On July 11, 1733, 42 Sephardic Jews from Portugal arrived on a ship to start a new life in what would become one of the most graceful cities in the Southern United States. The colony of Georgia had been founded earlier that year, and with a total population of 116 settlers, one third of the population of the new colony was Jewish.

Tracing the Tribe has written previously about Savannah's Jewish community, including the name list of the original Jewish settlers, such as Jewish doctor Samuel Nunez who arrived during an epidemic and cured inhabitants.

“Every 25 years is a generation and we feel it’s important that the congregation celebrate and commemorate important events in its history,” says Rabbi Belzer, who is originally from Westchester County. “Telling our story is a very Jewish thing, it’s what we do.”

Where smaller Southern Jewish communities have struggled or folded and Atlanta, a young but growing city now home to more than 100,000 Jews and poised to have a quarter of a million by 2020, Savannah occupies a stable middle ground. Many of its young professionals have left for Atlanta and other Sunbelt and northern cities for jobs, and at the same time it is attracting young retirees who are moving to the area in significant numbers and getting involved in all aspects of civic and Jewish life.

The original Sephardic settlers were joined by German and Eastern European Jews, while the Sephardim soon migrated to other Southern cities like Charleston. Savannah Jewish Federation executive director Adam Solender characterizes Savannah as, “a small Jewish community that acts like a large one.”

During the Civil War, Rabbi Belzer describes that Jews were just as Southern as any Southerner, with 17 percent of Savannah’s Jews owning slaves as compared with 14 percent of the general population. They fought for the Confederacy, and everyone harbored a penchant for duels.

“Duel, shmuel,” quips Rabbi Belzer, at his desk in his corner office adjacent to the synagogue’s museum, which houses historical letters and artifacts, of how he’d have liked to see differences handled, bringing a Yiddish flair to an old-South convention. “Let’s have a sandwich, work it out.

He says there are between 2,800 and 3,400 Jews in Savannah and points to the high per capita giving to federation, the heavy involvement of Jews in civic organizations and the fact that numerous families belong to all three of the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations as a way of supporting the community as a whole. The Orthodox Synagogue, Congregation Bnai Brith Jacob, with close to 600families, is about double the size of the Reform congregation.

Deep South Jewish Voice editor/publisher Larry Brook - whom I have met at several American Jewish Press Association annual conferences - spoke about Jewish life in the 13 Southern states his paper covers:

Woodville, Miss., he says, was called “Little Jerusalem” 120 years ago because of the proportion of Jews there; by the 1920s, that community was pretty much gone. In Selma, Ala., in the early 1900s it was said you could roll a bowling ball down main street on Rosh HaShanah and not hit anyone for all the Jewish businesses. Today, Selma has a gorgeous synagogue building, but only holds services a few times a year because there are a few dozen elderly Jews left. Congregations in Clarksville, Miss., and Demopolis, Ala., have had to close their doors because of Jewish migration to cities with more opportunities.

Brook describes Atlanta as a magnet, and Slutsky comments that If the number of Jews reaches 250,000 in the next 12 years, a figure cited by federation officials, Atlanta will be the fourth largest Jewish community in the US. Do read the complete article.

Atlanta: There Once Was a Town, Nov. 11

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia's annual movie meeting is set for 2pm, Sunday, November 11, at the Cuba Genealogy Center at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, in Atlanta.

The 90-minute film is "There Once Was a Town," focuses on Dr. Yaffa Eliach's return to her hometown of Eishyshok, Poland, where 3,500 Jews were murdered in 1941. Eliach takes a busload of survivors back to their town.

For more information and directions, click here or here. No charge to members; $5 for others.

If you have access to Eliach's remarkably detailed book of the same title, do read it to understand the town, the region, the history of the peoples, religions, cultures and daily life.

Atlanta: Gen sources in Georgia

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia is contributing to a new book covering Jewish genealogical research in North America.

A working session - at 1.30 p.m. Sunday, May 20 - is planned to create the Georgia section for the future Jewish Resources for Genealogy and Family History in the United States and Canada, by Avotaynu, which publishes most reference works for Jewish genealogy.

Helpful Hint: Check out Avotaynu's Consolidated Name Index (CJSI), which contains nearly 700,000 surnames, mostly Jewish, that appear in 42 databases totalling 7.3 million records. The names are sequenced phonetically, using the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex System, rather than alphabetically. Name variants that sound the same are grouped together. For example, there are 40 listings for TALALAY, of which 11 are those I have found in my research. It is a very useful tool and can provide new directions and possibilities in which to search.

The meeting is at the Cuba Genealogy Center at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta.

Fee: JGSG/Breman Members, no charge; others, $5.

Click here or here for more information.