Seattle: Using Ancestry.com to locate Jewish ancestors, March 14

Crista Cowan will present "Using Ancestry.com to Locate Your Jewish Ancestors" for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State.

The two-hour program begins at 7pm at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island; wi-fi and the JGS library will be available.Admission: JGSWS members, free; others, $5.

Cowan is the community alliance manager for the Ancestry World Archives Project.

She will share go-to sources and hidden gems to help you grow your family tree. Learn about the newer additions that provide data on Jewish ancestors. In an interactive forum, she will use personal and audience case studies to give insight into powerful resource, how to access them, and know when to use them. Ancestry.com is available free at all Seattle and King County libraries and at the National Archives

Cowan has been involved in family history research for more than two decades and actively engaged in client research since 2002. Her specialties include Jewish immigration , descendancy research, and sharing family history with the genealogically challenged. She is the owner of Legacy Family History Services, and has been employed at Ancestry.com since 2004.

For directions and more information, see the JGSWS website.

Long Island NY: LA 2010 roundup, Sept. 26

Are you a Long Island resident who couldn't make it to this year's excellent 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Los Angeles?

Here's your chance to learn what you missed, which should inspire and encourage you to attend the next conference, hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington (August 14-19, Washington DC).

On September 26, Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island members who attended (and some who presented programs) will provide a roundup of the week-long event.

The panel includes Judy Simon, Jackie Wasserstein and others who will share some of the information they learned.

The meeting begins at 2pm at the Sid Jacobson JCC, 300 Forest Drive, East Hills.


The JGSLI has decided to vary meeting locations this year to help more people in more places. It's a great idea and wish them success in bringing genealogy to the people.


For more information, view the JGSLI website.

IAJGS 2010: Photos wanted!

Photographs taken at IAJGS 2010 are wanted!

Did you attend the conference and take photographs? There were hundreds of digital cameras there this year, so many people must have good images.

The event's program committee is asking attendees to share those images, writes program chair Pam Weisberger:

If so, can you please email me any pictures you have of the events, speakers, resource room, Market Square Fair, meals, lectures, hallways, and participants as soon as possible?

I've had requests from several people for photos that they can use in their JGS programs detailing conference activities, and the JGSLA also hope to put up some on our own web site soon.

The conference organizers were too busy running around to snap much of anything, so we're depending on you!

Photos should be JPG and high-resolution (for clarity), which usually means 300dpi. Send photos to Pam here. If you have a number of large-size photos, send them together in a zip file.

Remember your shoebox filled with photos without names or dates?

I'm sure you do - we all have one - so pretty please caption your photos with important details and the names of people in the image.

HINT: Use standard format when captioning, such as "From left: XXX, YYY" or "Standing: XXX, YYY; Sitting: XXX, YYY" or "Front row: XXX, YYY; Back row: XXX, YYY."

If you know of others who took photos, please let them know about this image-gathering effort.

Cleveland: LA 2010 recap, Sept. 1

Cleveland-area readers who missed the excellent 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Los Angeles will learn what they missed on Wednesday, September 1.

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland will meet at 7.30pm at Menorah Park's Miller Board Room, Beachwood.

JGS Cleveland member Jerry Kliot, with whom I spoke several times during the Los Angeles conference, will present an overview of the week-long event, subtitled "You shoulda been there!"

For more information, visit the JGS of Cleveland's website, and do check out the group's resources online.

I'm looking forward to seeing Jerry again next summer at the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, August 14-19, in Washington DC.

IAJGS 2010: International Jewish Genealogy Month

Each year, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies holds a competition for a poster for International Jewish Genealogy Month, held during Cheshvan (October-November).

The winner this year was Jen Lowe, a member (since 2009) of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado (JGSCO), where she serves as secretary.

She first started doing genealogy at age 16 when her great-uncle handed her a family tree void of women.

In 1973, her father purchased the Texaco station in Cotopaxi, Colorado. This led to Jen's current research project - the Cotopaxi Jewish Immigrant Colony.

Her roots are in Germany, Switzerland, England and places still unknown.

Jen holds a BS (Business, Colorado State University, Pueblo) and an MBA (University of Northern Colorado, Greeley). Married with two sons, she's been retired since 2002, after working 33 years as a civil servant and in business management.

She’s quite happy to have time to pursue her real love – mixed media art. Her projects have been published 154 times in books and magazines around the world.

The winning poster is also at the IAJGS website; see Jewish Genealogy Month (left sidebar). All genealogy societies, historical societies, synagogues, schools, libraries are invited to download and print out 11x17-inch copies and post them wherever possible.

The poster committee included Merle Kastner of the JGS of Montreal, and Rabbi Gary Gans of the JGS of Greater Philadelphia with myself as committee chair.

We are all delighted that Jen decided to share her talent with IAJGS and all Jewish genealogists around the world.

IAJGS 2010: Out on a limb with JTA

Edmon J. Rodman was out on a limb at the recent 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.

The JTA writer spent several days at the Los Angeles conference investigating his wife's family story that they - SHEINBEIN - are descendants of the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797). It is a common claim and hard to confirm a connection to the famed Talmudic scholar of his age.

Read about his adventure here.

Rodman was among more than a thousand Jews who gathered desperately seeking not only Susan but Esther, Yankel and Morris. He was looking for Moishe Sheinbein, with whom the family tree starts, as created by cousin Fred and Judy Sheinbein.

"It's a family story passed down from generation to generation," Fred Sheinbein said of the Vilna Gaon descendancy. "We have a silver kiddish cup that we think belonged to the Gaon that has been passed down in our family from eldest son to eldest son. On Passover we use it as Elijah's cup."

To begin, I checked out the Gaon's portrait. Looks can be deceiving, but staring back at me over the centuries were the same eyes, brows and nose familiar to me from our wedding photos of my wife's grandmother, Sylvia Bierman, nee Sheinbein.

Among the people Rodman consulted for information on Moishe, who lived in the mid-19th century in Osava, Ukraine, was FamilySearch.Com's Dan Schylter, who told Rodman that Jewish Ukraine records in the Mormon Family History Library are not that good.

Rodman learned - as most of us have - that tracing family depends on readable records, geography, spelling and a lot of mazal (luck).

The conference appeared to be a virtual hotbed of genealogical serendipity.

As a result of computer searches, sessions like "Social Networking: New Horizons for Genealogists" and even genetic tests, the conventions foyer was with plenty of newly found cousins talking and hugging.

"I just found a relative I never knew I had," said Ellen Mark, the conference's translator coordinator, who discovered that her maternal grandmother had a sister through a recent translation of a Russian letter she had long kept.

She and others suggested I dig deeper into the conference's resource room.

In the computer room, he consulted Ina Getzoff of Delray Beach, Florida and accessed Ancestry.com's databases, but received too many hits. Adding in Osova and another location, Kolki, didn't help.

In the vendor room, he saw Chaim Freedman's book,"Eliyahu's Branches, The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon." The cross-index of more than 20,000 names produced a Sheinfeld and a Sheingold- no Sheinbein.

Andrea Massion suggested DNA testing, and Rodman found himself speaking to FamilyTreeDNA.com's partner and vice-president Max Blankfeld. He was just one swab away but hadn't yet experienced the "happy dance" moment that others had.

When I spoke on the phone with Rodman at the conference, he did tell me of one serendipitious moment when he discovered his wife's Sephardic maiden name - HASSON - on a display of photos from the Los Angeles Historical Society. A 1928 photo of Victor Hasson showed him in a flower delivery truck. His wife's uncle Lou confirmed Victor's connection.

And, as so many researchers find, a thread of another hunt replaced his Gaon search.

Maybe Rodman will find what he's looking for at next year's 2011 conference in Washington DC?

LitvakSIG: Election results

LitvakSIG held elections - with voting by email and in person at the recent LA 2010 conference - for its board of directors.

New directors are Judy Baston, David Hoffman and Eden Joachim.

According to the report by election committee chair Charles B. Nam, the special interest group has 529 members.

Congratulations to Judy, David and Eden.

If your ancestors lived in Lithuania, you will find much information at the group's website, which offers many resources. Read about these in more detail here.

San Francisco: Post-conference roundup, July 25

Couldn't make it to Los Angeles for this year's conference? If you're in the Bay Area, there will be a conference roundup on Sunday, July 25.

Several members of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society will offer highlights and discussions on the recent event, at the San Francisco Public Library's Noe Valley Branch, 451 Jersey St. (just west of Castro), San Francisco. Doors open at 1pm; the program begins at 1.30pm.

It's been a few years since we've a post-conference meeting, but as this year's conference is in Los Angeles, we thought we'd bring the concept back again.

The plan is to have at least three people who attended the conference give their personal views to those who did not attend the event. If you weren't able to go to the conference, come and hear what happened. If you did go, come tell us what you learned!

Unrestricted street parking is nearby and light refreshments will be served.

Come along and see what you missed. Start making plans for next year's 31st IAJGS conference, planned for Washington DC in mid-August 2011.

IAJGS 2010: Achievement Awards

The annual IAJGS awards banquet was held last night.

Actor and singer Mitch Smolkin, accompanied by the masterful Nina Shapilsky, provided a nostalgic look back at the "Yiddish Frank Sinatra" - Samuel Rexite - who translated the Great American Song Book into mame loshn.

Following elections, the 2010-2012 IAJGS board includes:

President Michael Goldstein (Israel)
Vice President Michael Brenner (Nevada)
Secretary Joel Spector (New Jersey)
Treasurer Paul Silverstone (New York)

Directors at large:
Jan Meisels Allen (California)
Nolan Altman (New York)
Daniel Horowitz (Israel)
Kahlile Mehr (Utah)
Jackye Sullins (California)
Jay Sage (Massachusetts)

The Achievement Awards:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Hal Bookbinder (California)

Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product:Judith Frazin (Illinois), for her Polish translation book.

Outstanding Program or Project that Advances the Objectives of Jewish Genealogy:"Philadelphia-area Jewish Genealogical Resource Guide" - JGS of Greater Philadelphia

Outstanding Publication by a Member Organization of IAJGS: "RootsKey" - JGS of Los Angeles

Stern Grant:Israel Genealogical Society

International Jewish Genealogy Month Poster:Jen Lowe, JGS of Colorado

This year's host society, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, is to be congratulated on producing an excellent event. It could not have been done without the leadership of co-chairs Sandy Malek, Lois Rosen and Pamela Weisberger and their legion of dedicated volunteers.

We're already looking forward to 2011, which will be hosted by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington, August 14-18, in Washington DC. A preview of next year's conference will be held this morning.

Tracing the Tribe is leaving for El Paso (Texas) this morning for the 6th Sephardic Bnai Anousim Conference.

IAJGS 2010: IAJGS business meeting, elections

The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies held its annual business meeting and elections Wednesday afternoon, July 14.

Several announcements were made:

-- The group is considering and investigating an Eastern European conference that could serve as a springboard for researchers to travel to ancestral towns after the event.

-- A review is being made of the IAJGS Mission Statement. A hefty packet was provided with information on the deliberations of the committee involving the statement, membership expansion and benefits and services for members.

-- Elections were held. Members of the board of directors, elected for a two-year term, are Jan Meisels Allen, Nolan Altman, Daniel Horowitz, Khalil Mehr, Jay Sage and Jackye Sullins. Directors are elected in even years, officers in odd years.

More information will be available on the IAJGS website.

IAJGS 2010: Breakfast with the bloggers

Monday began early with a special social networking breakfast headed by the bloggers.

From left: Thomas MacEntee, Schelly Talalay Dardashti, Lisa Louise Cooke

Lisa of Genealogy Gems Podcast and Genealogy Gems News covered the portability of podcasts via iTunes download - even telling us about the woman who has a waterproof iPod and who listens to the podcasts while doing her laps.

She has so many helpful topics at the site, and she recommends going back and listening to older ones. As listeners learn more, some older topics may provide more information after a second take. Each episode has show notes - like a syllabus.

You can listen to the podcasts via any MP3 player, which may cost from a few dollars to many dollars, or even on a cellphone. Listen while exercising, cooking, commuting, or traveling on a plane trip.

An attendee asked Lisa how one makes money from podcasts, which Lisa terms vehicles of connection. But she offers more, such as only for subscribers' special videos and exclusive podcasts, for $29.95 a year.

At this conference, Lisa is teaching three Google classes (two searching, one Google Earth). Premium membership provides classes, DVDs, many special offerings. She also post affiliate links, such as Amazon and other sources. And she also has a speaking career. There's a wide range of things, which provide information and free initial content.

Lisa said that podcasts are suitable for genealogical societies, family groups and others.

Thomas MacEntee of Chicago cautioned attendees on privacy issues and said that any social networking site that you establish an account with has ramifications.

He discussed Facebook and how it can help diverse genealogy groups. For example, he shared that he will be publicity director for the FGS 2011 in Springfield, Illinois, and the event will have a Facebook page.

His latest endeavor is The Connected Genealogist, where free and for-fee items are available, including a Facebook cheat sheet and other very useful technical resources. He does charge for only e-books and templates.

As far as Facebook, he has six separate pages for his various activities, but are all linked to one Facebook account.

I discussed blogging, and also mentioned a new tool on Tracing the Tribe to help readers with visual problems. By clicking the icon above the logo, you can download a toolbar that can enlarge text, change the font, switch colors and more to make it easier to see, or even have the text read to you.

By the way, all of Tracing the Tribe's posts are available as podcasts!

IAJGS 2010: Sunday, July 11

This is a roundup of day one of the conference. So much to cover, so little time!

My day began with my presentation of "The Wonderful World of Genealogy Blogging" to a good group who asked excellent, interesting questions.

After assisting Daniel Horowitz at the MyHeritage.com booth, I attended the Jewish Records Indexing-Poland luncheon, featuring Yale Reisner, well-known to the Jewish genealogy community.

JRI-Poland luncheon: Yale Reisner

From 1994-2006, Yale was the founder and director of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Genealogy Project at the Jewish Historical Institute (Warsaw). Anna Przybyszewska Drozd took over at the JHI from 2007-2010. That arrangement ended about a month ago, and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture (San Francisco) is now the main sponsor of the new Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center. Yale is the director of this new Center, and Ania is also there in this team effort.

Future plans include, as funding allows, staffing increases, and a new database. For the first time, all information, including names and cross-referencing, will be in a database with backup.

It will provide better access to material. The goal is to include genealogical information and archival materials, books, articles, photographs, Jewish historical sites and historical documentation.

They also plan to link to other databases - possibly JRI-Poland, JewishGen and the new Museum of the Polish Jews.

An interactive website will serve as a clearinghouse of sorts for various Jewish heritage projects and researchers around the country. Yale noted that most major universities have Jewish studies departments, while Jewish culture festivals draw large numbers of attendees .

The database will be linked to the website and allow some access (but not all) via the Internet.

He also noted that they are planning a portal so that people can communicate live with staff. Visitors to the JHI's former Genealogy Project were (and to the new center) private individuals or professional researchers.

The main issue is that of staff, who are overwhelmed with inquiries.When one searcher receives good information, they tell their friends who tell all their friends, and thus the number of inquiries rises exponentially, via personal visits, email or phone calls. If inquirers can receive information via technology, they don't have to come to Poland to ask the same questions.

He advised that there are only a few staff members, but "10,000 of you." They've been triaging requests for 16 years and do the best they can, and also take walk-ins. "Perhaps we can do more with contributions."

The center will have a Facebook presence. Yale also mentioned that they will have the ability to receive items from the public. It is not just what information an inquirer wants, but if they have pre-war images or other items to share. "The memory of Polish Jewry is no longer in Poland, but elsewhere," said Yale. Such items need to be placed in the proper setting and may be what others are looking for.

They are beginning to connect, provide links, perhaps planning for live reunions of family members and the possibility of conferences. The public will be able to upload items to the website. The database is ready now and will come online later this year.

Yale also addressed the significant number of Polish clients who are researching their heritage. There are survivor grandchildren who just discover their roots. He described a nun who learned her father was Jewish; she converted to Judaism. Some young people are looking for their Jewish grandparents so they can participate on the Birthright trips to Israel (twice a year from Poland) which brings a few hundred young people.

Is fee for service in the future? Possibly. They hadn't thought about it previously, although JRI-Poland suggests contributions be made to them. Requests vary: an elderly survivor looking for family is very different than a tourist coming in to ask where Lemberg is located. "Something may be coming, we don't know when or what."

For more information, contact Yale and Ania.

Jewish Geography

Judy Simon's "Jewish Geography and DNA: A Player's Guide" provided a good guide for attendees to earn about the "alphabet soup" of DNA.

According to Judy, chromosomes do not come with labels, town flags, or ethnicity. She reminded attendees at the beginning that although more than 300,000 records are in the FamilyTreeDNA.com database, if you don't find matches, just wait until later. As more people test, the probability of matches becomes much better.

Learn the DNA vocabulary at either FamilyTreeDNA.com or at ISOGG.org. Learn whom you should test for searching paternal or maternal lines or the new Family Finder, for which sex doesn't matter.

When you get your results, join surname, geographic or haplogroup projects. Upload your results to public databases such as YSearch.org or Mitosearch.org.

Judy advised testing the earliest generation you have available and to test at least one good person from each side of the family, while also maintaining good archival records. Use the Family Finder results, YDNA and mtDNA together with records.

Intricate Tapestry of Iranian Jews

UCLA professor Nahid Pirnazar of the Iranian Studies Department gave a very good overview of Iranian Jewish history, which I enjoyed very much. I've known Nahid for a long time and we have met in Los Angeles, in London and elsewhere. We hope she will participate in the 2011 conference.

Those are just some of today's offerings.

There were many more, however we still have not perfected the ability to be in three places at one time!

See evening activities and photos in the next post!

JGSLA 2010: Saturday, July 10

Would you believe that Tracing the Tribe was so busy today that I forgot it was our fifth blogoversary. I was reminded of this happy event when Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.com arrived.

Today became more frenetic as the hours went by and more attendees arrived.

From left, IAJGS president Michael Goldstein (Israel), secretary Joel Spector (New Jersey), board members Jackye Sullins (California) and Jan Meisels Allen (California) with vice president Michael Brenner (Nevada).

Breakfast is the most important part of the day - conference-goers are usually too busy to eat lunch - and I was joined by Howie Morris of the JGS of Greater Boston, who is part of our International Jewish Genealogy Month committee. Conference co-chair Pam Weisberger and just-arrived Wolf-Erich Eckstein of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (Jewish Community Archives, Vienna, Austria) later came over to our table. I asked Wolf about Sephardic records in Vienna. He said that some 10 years of marriage records are missing, from about 1850-60, and no one knows why.

The breakfast buffet at the hotel's LA Market was tempting, complete with French toast, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit, pastries and more. Some nice touches: genuine maple syrup is served in small warmed bottles, and steamed milk for coffee. Very nice!

Doris Loeb Nabel (Connecticut), who heads up the Mac-users group (gen-mac_users-schmozzers@yahoogroups.com, for more information) walked by not much later.

Pam had mentioned that an interesting display was being set up at the Platinum Ballroom, near the resource room, so I wandered up there and took a few shots of the traveling exhibit - Generations - which illustrates how four Holocaust survivor families reflect on the challenges they have inherited.

This hotel is BIG. There is a bridge from one part of the conference center to the other. Seating was non-existent on my first round, but many seating areas were ready for attendees only a few hours later.

The Internet connection, free for conference attendees, is excellent wired or wireless - to be expected in a brand-new facility.

Among the people greeted today: conference co-chair Sandy Malek (California), Renee Steinig (New York), Judy Simon (New York), Steve and Anita Morse (San Francisco), and so many more.

I also participated in the annual rite of conference bag stuffing this afternoon. See the finished bags (photo left).

Daniel Horowitz (Israel), Thomas MacEntee (Illinois) and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Trader Vic's down the street. At an outdoor table were Warren and Debra Blatt (California) and Michael Tobias and his family (Scotland).

Back at the hotel, attendees began lining up at 9.15pm to pre-register. The long line moved quickly and I was soon back in my room, blogging about today's experiences, going over my blogging presentation tomorrow and reading through the conference materials.

More tomorrow on the major events of the conference's opening day: klezmer concerts, the Market Square, sessions for beginners, films and so much more.

Footnote.com: Holocaust Collection free through July 19

Tracing the Tribe has previously noted that our Footnote.com friends are making their Holocaust Collection free through July 19.

This is in honor of the 30th IAJGS International Conference of Jewish Genealogy, which begins on Sunday, July 11, and for all those researching their Jewish ancestors, regardless of whether or not they are attending the week-long Los Angeles event.

With so many beginning researchers at the event, it is likely that some will realize for the first time that their families were caught up in the tragic events of World War II.

I wrote about this on June 30, but forgot to note that the only condition is that visitors will need to register (free) to access the content.

From now through July 19, visit the Holocaust Collection microsite.

Footnote will also be presenting and exhibiting at JGSLA 2010. Stop by their booth in the vendor room to say hello and thank them for making the collection available.

Have you found other valuable records on Footnote.com? Do let them know. Feedback is always welcomed.

JGSLA 2010: Conference makes NBC news!!!

JGSLA 2010 made NBC News Los Angeles' around town event page.

Read all about it here - as if Tracing the Tribe's readers didn't already know that more than 1,000 researchers and experts from around the world will be meeting from Sunday, July 11-Friday, July 16, at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live, in downtown Los Angeles.

The NBC conference story covers the event's attraction for local Jewish families to research their backgrounds and emphasizes that Sunday is targeted to those just beginning the quest for family with how-to sessions, workshops, a Market Square, Klezmer concerts and much more.

The Market Square Fair on Sunday will include craft displays and demonstrations, a daylong film festival and more.

For all conference information and to see the program online, click here.

An opening day (Sunday) pass is $105, and $85 daily for the balance of the conference. Tickets are available online.

See you at the conference!

Seattle: Jewish library conference begins

Tracing the Tribe is now in Seattle at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference.

I'm helping Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage.com at the conference, which opened today. People were coming by even before the event officially opened.

Attendees are librarians, archivists and educators at universities, congregations, day schools and elsewhere, in the US and Israel. Some are active in their local Jewish genealogical and historical societies.

It was really interesting seeing so many people who knew about Tracing the Tribe, and many who told us that their users ask them how to start genealogy research.

There were friends of cousins who live here in Seattle, as well as those from many cities who knew one or more of our Dardashti cousins. Monday night, I'm seeing the cousins and going to a birthday barbeque for my cousin Charlie.

Daniel will present "Technology and Museums: A Success Story to Retrieve Information," discussing the partnership between MyHeritage.com and Beit Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People) to grow the museum's collection of Jewish family trees.

Among the familiar faces at the conference is Zvi Bernhardt of Yad Vashem, who will also be speaking later this month at JGSLA 2010, July 11-16.

The keynote speaker tonight was the very animated and interesting Joseph Janes, author and associate professor at the Information School of the University of Washington, who attempted to explain how different libraries are today in the digital age, how some things are the same and what may be coming down the road.

One great quote was that in the old days, when one said "research," it meant standing up and going to get the necessary information. Today, the perception of the term is that research and resources will come to the person who needs it, through the Internet.

While we of a certain generation - likely anyone over 30 - tend to think externally about research, today's students, who have grown up with computers and other electronic information devices since childhood (unlike adults who had to learn the technology), are "wired" for multi-tasking and they think internally about research.

Today the conference focused on meetings and newcomer sessions; tomorrow, the sessions start and Daniel and I will each try to attend sessions of personal interest.

Sephardic topics include:

-- Shulamith Berger will speak on the "Sephardic Collections at Yeshiva University'," in its Mendel Gottesman Library, focusing on the Ladino book collection. It contains several hundred rare Ladino books, which were recently catalogued and microfilmed.

-- Amalia Levi will speak on "Archiving Balkan Jews: Reclaiming the 'Sephardic Homeland' through social media, discuss how social media can be used to unite historians and scholars and how it can promote the creation of online archives for Sephardic studies.

-- Hazzan Isaac Azose will speak on the history of the Seattle Sephardic community.

-- Julia Eulenberg will present the history of Jewish businessmen in the Western US from the 19th century, and describe how she gathered the information.

On Tuesday, a session on Jewish history and economics includes Marlene Schiffman's "How Jews got their last names in Europe in the 18th-19th centuries. A session on Jewish archives collaboration is "Building a Successful Jewish History Archive Through Collaboration: The Washington State Jewish Historical Society Archive.," with a panel from the JHS.

There will be sessions on Yiddish culture, focusing on Yiddish Theater in Argentina and Yiddish Publishing in Winnipeg.

In "Resources at Yad Vashem," Zvi Bernhardt will speak on two topics:

-- "Yad Vashem Reference and Information Services: On Integrating 'Corporate Cultures" in a Reference Setting," as it discusses the combining of Yad Vashem's reference service units (library, archive, photo archive and the Hall of Names.). He'll talk about difficulties in combining the various departments including resistance of some staff and administration to the change, and how the departments have evolved to better fulfil the needs of the public.

-- "Resources at Yad Vashem: Online and Offline" will address the organization's resources, including the database of Shoah Victims' Names, photo archive, library catalog, Shoah Resource Center, scholarly articles and stories of the Righteous among nations, as well as its online services for the public such as basic research, genealogical and scholarly research and more.

Zvi will also be speaking at the 30th IAJGS International Conference of Jewish Genealogy (JGSLA 2010) later this month, from July 11-16, in Los Angeles.

Yoram Bitton will present "Columbia University's Hebrew Rare Book and Manuscript Collection," featuring thousands of of items, mostly from the 12th-19th centuries. It was unknown to the scholarly community until the unversity began cataloging it.

Rachel Misrati of the National Library of Israel will speak on "Who's Been Using my Archives: A Historical User-Study of Personal Archive Users" in the NLI's Archives department. There are some 400 personal archives in this department.

Social media is also a focus, with Heidi Estrin and Diane Romm presenting AJL and the social web, discussing the organization's online presence, including website, blog, podcast, Facebook page and more.

There's a session on the huge digitizing project at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has covered more than 10 million pages. Michlean Amir will discuss problems of storage, access, quality control, restriction issues and future plans.

Next year's AJL conference will take place in Montreal, June 29-22, 2011. The theme is "Cultural Diversity/Cultural Mosaic: From Bagels to Borekas."

JGSLA 2010: DNA test sale, and many sessions

The FamilyTreeDNA booth at Jamboree was jammed most of the time. It's aways like that whenever Bennett Greenspan and his team are at a conference.

The company also offered very attractive test prices for Jamboree attendees.

We can now announce that FamilyTreeDNA will again offer the same special prices, but only during the 30th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy, July 11-16, in Los Angeles.

Although the special prices expired June 30, Tracing the Tribe queried Bennett about offering them for the JGSLA 2010 conference attendees, and he agreed. Thank you, Bennett!

If you've been thinking of testing your DNA to find out more about your families, the Los Angeles conference is the place to do it. The special sale was instituted to grow participation in surname and geographic projects and to increase the overall database size.

Prices for July 11-16 only will be:

-- Y-DNA37: $119 (normally $149)
-- Y-DNA67: $199 (normally $239)
-- Y-DNA37+mtDNA bundle: $159 (normally $238)

Wondering about genetic genealogy? There will be 14 related sessions at JGSLA 2010.

For the complete program schedule, go to JGSLA2010.com, click on the "Program" tab and then click on the "complete program." Search by topic, session category, presenter's name and other parameters.

Here's a list of the DNA and genetic sessions:

SUNDAY, July 11

9.30-10.45am: "From DNA to genetic genealogy: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask," with Steve Morse.

2.05-3.15pm: Having trouble understanding your test results? Make sure to attend Judy Simon's "Jewish Geography and DNA: A Player's Guide."

MONDAY, July 12

8-9.15am Breakfast with the Experts: "Jews, genes and genetics & Unlocking the medical secrets in your family tree," Adele Schneider and Gary Frolich. Session continues, 9.15-10.30am.

10.45-noon: "Beyond the Y chromosome, tracing your genealogy with the 'other' DNA," Bennett Greenspan.

10.45-noon: "Jewish genetic diseases: Ashkenazi and Persian (history, detection & education)," Drs. Richard Gladstein and David Rimoin.

1.50-3pm: Genealogy of the Jewish people (Lost and dispersed communities of India, Uganda, Peru, China, Nigeria, Southern Africa, Italy & Ethiopia)," Jonina Duker.

8.45-10pm: "Legacy: A genetic history of the Jewish people," Dr. Harry Ostrer.

TUESDAY, July 13

8-9.10am: "BOF: DNA project administration," Elise Friedman.

9.15-10.30am: "The Jewish HapMap: What genetics has given to Jews and what Jews have given to genetics," Dr. Harry Ostrer.

12.40-1.45pm, Lunch 'n' Learn: "Create a DNA Project: The IberianAshkenaz DNA Project, a case study," Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

WEDNESDAY, July 14

8.15-9.30am: "DNA and the Maharal of Prague," Herbert Huebscher.

2.15-3.30pm: "The captives return: Descendants of forced Iberian converts find their way back to Judaism," Jonina Duker.

THURSDAY, July 15

8.15-9.30AM: "21st Century Sephardic Genealogy," Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

11.15-12.30pm: DNA, Genetic Genealogy and Identity 101," Matthew Kapan.

See you in Los Angeles!

Footnote.com: Holocaust Collection free access, July 9-19

Everyone loves presents, and Footnote.com is giving one to all Jewish genealogists.


At the recent Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, I met with Footnote's marketing director Justin Schroepfer.

I suggested to Justin that it would be really nice if the subscription site would offer free access to its Holocaust Collection, for everyone, during the 30th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy conference (July 11-16), whether or not researchers are attending the Los Angeles event.

Justin just wrote, saying: "I will have it [the Holocaust Collection] opened on July 9 through July 19. That way people can go home after the conference and still have access through the weekend."

From July 9-19, visit the Holocaust Collection microsite.

Footnote will also be presenting and exhibiting at JGSLA 2010. Try to stop by their booth in the vendor room and thank them for making the collection available.

Thanks, Justin, for providing this resource at a time when many beginning researchers will - for the first time - learn about the fate of family members during that tragic period.

JGSLA 2010: Jewish Journal's cover story!

As more than 1,000 researchers prepare to attend the 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, in Los Angeles, from July 11-16, the event graced the Jewish Journal's cover, and offered three Jewish genealogy-focused stories.

The JGSLA 2010 conference story, by Julie Gruenbaum Fax, provided information about this much-anticipated event which will provide resources, information and research opportunities to attendees of all skill levels, from absolute beginners through professionals.

There were also two related stories, both of which mentioned the conference:

-- Journey of a Lifetime, by Elizabeth Ruderman Miller, author of “How Will I Know Where I’m Going, If I Don’t Know Where I’ve Been? A Genealogical Journey” (AuthorHouse, 2009). Miller provided information on how she researched her book, listing such topics as find a muse, become a detective and research the time periods; and

-- Capturing Your Family’s History, by architectural historian and preservationist Barbara Hoff Delvac, the granddaughter of 19th-century Hungarian immigrants. Delvac discussed how important recording oral histories are to one's family history, as well as Ancestry.com, "Who Do You Think You Are?," the Mormon Family History Library, Jewish geography and online research.

The idea of the conference, according to co-chair Pamela Weisberger, is to "entice, and then enable" everyone in all segments of the Los Angeles Jewish community - no matter their age, origin or level of observance -- to discover their legacy and heritage in diverse ways.

For all information on the six-day event (from Sunday morning through mid-day Friday, click here).

“Most Jews mistakenly believe that they cannot research their family trees because ‘our name was changed at Ellis Island’ or ‘my grandfather’s shtetl no longer exists’ or ‘all the records were destroyed,’ ” said Pamela Weisberger, co-chair for the conference and a professional genealogical researcher. “These are all false concepts, but without instruction on how to do family research, most Jews will never attempt to document their family history or gather the precious stories of elderly family members, and their histories will be lost to time.”

Information was provided on the comprehensive Sunday program on the event's first day. Los Angeles residents can purchase day passes for Sunday or the other days of the conference.

On Sunday, diverse programs focus on how-sessions, beginners and multi-generational workshops. The Market Square Fair will offer expert photo analysts, who can pull clues from the clothes, background and hairstyles in old family photos. The professionally-staffed resource room will help attendees decipher cryptic documents or tangled family stories.

Some topic highlights include culinary history, medical genealogy and DNA genetic genealogy, Jewish surnames in non-Jewish families, Persian and Sephardic Jews, Conversos, genealogist-in-residence Arthur Kurzweil, archivists, technology workshops, writing family history, technology workshops, social networking and blogging, the keynote speaker, Film Festival, guided tours and evening entertainment.

Of course, frequent attendees of the conferences know that the networking at the events is most important and people researching the same geographical areas, technologies or techniques get together to collaborate, share and increase their collective knowledge.

The conference site is the JW Marriott at LA Live, July 11-16. Registration for the entire event is $310 (student/senior rates available). Day passes: $105, Sunday; $85, other days. For more information or to or register, visit jgsla2010.com.

For more, read the story links above.

See you in Los Angeles!

JGSLA 2010: Tours planned

JGSLA 2010 is just around the corner, only a few weeks away, from July 11-16, at the new JW Marriott at LA Live!

Every conference offers local tours (extra fee required) covering the Jewish community, cemeteries and other points of interest.

Here are the offerings for Los Angeles:

-- Shomer Shabbat Downtown Los Angeles Historical Jewish Walking Tour
Saturday, July 10, 1:30-5pm
Walk from the hotel, no transportation required ($15)

-- Old LA, From the First Jews Forward: A Walking Tour
Sunday, July 11, 9am-noon
Guided walking and public transit tour of Jewish Los Angeles history. Transit includes subway Dash bus ($2 not included). Required: Ability to walk and take public transportation. ($15)

-- Boyle Heights & Breed Street Shul Downtown Jewish L.A. Bus & Lunch Tour
Sunday, July 11, 9:30am-3:30pm
Includes The Breed Street Shul, Welsh Presbyterian Church, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, San Antonio Winery (lunch stop, meal not included). A Jewish Historical Society docent is the guide. ($45)

-- Hollywood Forever Cemetery – The Jewish Heritage Tour: Resting Place of the Stars
Sunday, July 11, 12:45-3pm
Explore the lives and contributions of the Jewish residents interred at Hollywood Forever. Visit Beth Olam Mausoleum. Highlights: Garbo’s agent, Charles Feldman; mobster Bugsy Siegel, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Michael Kanin (“Woman of the Year”); the Ritz Brothers, and the Anne Frank Memorial. ($45)

-- Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Tour (& kosher dinner)
Tuesday, July 13, 4:15-7:15pm
The Museum is the oldest Holocaust museum in the US. Its board president, Randy Schoenberg, will personally guide participants on a sneak peak of the Museum’s new permanent home built into a Pan Pacific Park hillside. Enjoy a festive kosher buffet dinner and be one of the first to visit. Tour will return to the conference in time for the JewishGen evening. ($59)

-- Hollywood Forever Cemetery: The Jewish Heritage Tour (Resting Place of the Stars!)
Wednesday, July 14, 1:15-3:45pm (repeat of Sunday tour) ($45)

Sign up for the tours:

Already registered? Go to the Attendee Service Center here, log in email and password (received with your confirmation email), click EDIT on your account to add tours.

Not yet registered?
Add the tours as part of the initial registration process.

Visit JGSLA 2010 for more information and all conference details.

See you in Los Angeles!