Jewish genealogy: Opportunities on the horizon?

A JTA blog provides food for thought as to how Jewish family history might gain more of a foothold in the larger Jewish world.

The Fundermentalist's Jacob Berkman provides weekly interesting tidbits on Jewish philanthropy in diverse areas.

How about this possibility for family history at Jewish clubs in public schools?

The blog reported that The Jim Joseph Foundation has given the Jack E. and Rachel Gindi Jewish Student Union a $1.476 million grant to be paid out over the next three years to replicate in Westchester, N.Y. and southern Connecticut a pilot project in Chicago public high schools. The grant has been matched by the Wolfson Family of New York. The JSU will establish Jewish clubs at public schools in the area that will provide Jewish programming to students.

Or in conjunction with Jewish-focused museums:

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust is set to open next week, according to the LA Jewish Journal.

Or cemetery projects: A new nonprofit in Berkeley protects Jewish cemeteries, reports Jweekly.com

Stephen Kinsey knows a lot about Jewish tradition, including the dictum that cemeteries matter more than synagogues.

And how about the first-ever Jewish Futures Conference which will focus on Jewish Education? Is anyone presenting Jewish family history at this event as a wonderful way to connect and maintain Jewish identity?

The Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly will host the first Jewish Futures Conference in New Orleans on November 8. The conference, which will focus on re-imagining Jewish education, will be sponsored by the JFNA, JESNA, The Lippman Kanfer Institute, BJENY-SALES and the Covenant Foundation.

These and similar opportunities might provide an entry to present Jewish genealogy to a much wider - and younger - audience.

Who's up for the challenge?

Louisiana: Historic Jewish cemetery vandalized

In 1873, a Yellow Fever epidemic struck Shreveport, Louisiana.

In 2010, vandals struck the Jewish cemetery called Hebrew Rest where those Jewish epidemic victims and many other deceased individuals have been buried since.

According to an article in the Shreveport Times, the vandals could face hate crime charges resulting from the recent desecration of several historic graves in the Jewish section of Oakland Cemetery.

Nine headstones were overturned or broken.

Local historian Gary Joiner is working with a group of LSU-Shreveport students who are electronically cataloging the historic graveyard.

A student in the group called the desecration anti-Semitic, and said the cemetery was like a museum and the vandals destroyed history.

Fortunately, the group had already recorded those graves. A group of vandals is suspected, as the size of the stones would have made it difficult for one person to desecrate. Most of the stones date from the 1873 epidemic, which killed 25% of Shreveport's residents.

The police are working on the case. Those arrested will face a felony charge, and other penalties of up to a $5,000 fine, five years in prison or both.

For an exhaustive history of Jewish cemeteries in Shreveport, click here for the specific entry at the IAJGS International Jewish Cemetery Project. There are three Hebrew Rest sections (established 1858, 1886 and 1993). Earlier burials were in the non-sectarian Oakland Cemetery.

New Orleans: Jewish history exhibit

A New Orleans Jewish heritage exhibit is open through the first week in January at Tulane University's Louisiana Research Collection (LRC).

The LRC was formed by the manuscripts department and the Louisiana collection department.

One of its strengths are Jewish-related archives of local organizations and synagogues. LRC head Leon Cahill Miller said that the collection serves as the official archives for most local synagogues:

“We specialize in documenting the Jewish heritage of the area,” Miller said. “New Orleans traditionally has had one of the largest Jewish populations in the South, and it’s one of the oldest Jewish communities in the country.”

Manuscripts processor Eira Tasney said she pulled archives from the library’s major Jewish collections, which include records from the Touro Synagogue and Temple Sinai.

According to Miller, Tulane’s manuscript department is the largest New Orleans research archive in the world and the second largest Louisiana research archive, including letters written by Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.

“We’re a huge department,” Miller said. “We’re heavily used by researchers from around the world. You can’t write a new book about the Civil War without coming here. You can’t write a new book about almost any aspect of Louisiana without coming here.”

Read more here.

New Orleans: Alsace-Lorraine Jewish Experience, November 2009

The Alsace-Lorraine Jewish Experience in Louisiana and the Gulf South is a New Orleans conference set for November 2009.

The call for papers has just been announced.

The Historic New Orleans Collection, with support from the Consulate General of
France in New Orleans and from Tulane University, announces a one-day conference
to be held November 13, 2009, in New Orleans. The organizing committee invites
submissions on a range of subjects discussing the Alsace-Lorraine Jews of New
Orleans and their associated communities.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

- Jewish community life in Alsace-Lorraine
- Rhine Valley immigration to the New Orleans region
- Jews in 19th-century New Orleans
- Rural vs. urban lifestyles of Louisiana's Jewish immigrants
- German-French relations in America
- European Jews and their cultural allegiances in America.

Proposals for 30-minute English-language presentations should be sent to Mr.
Daniel Hammer, danielh(AT)hnoc(DOT)org, including a CV and 500-word abstract. Program submissions must be received by November 15, 2008. Limited travel funds are available.

Louisiana: Natchitoches Jewish cemetery, video

The Natchitoches Preservation Network has prepared a short video on the town's Jewish cemetery. View it here

The Jewish cemetery in Natchitoches, La., is located on the west side of the 900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, formerly known as Lee Street. It is roughly an acre in size and is partly fenced.

Along the eastern boundary is a brick wall bearing a plaque stating that it was erected in memory of Adolph Kaffie.

Within the cemetery is lush foliage and numerous large trees, especially oak, cedar, and crepe myrtles.

The Jewish community of Natchitoches, though never large, is nevertheless very old. Its origins date to the time of the Civil War, prior to which a few Jews had settled in the area.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a synagogue functioned at Natchitoches. Today, most Jews of Natchitoches (for several families remain) are associated with the Jewish community of Alexandria-Pineville, some 40 miles to the south. (updated 1995) source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877

For more information, visit the following sites here and here.

Libraries: Ideas for Jewish genealogical societies

Has your genealogical society ever thought about getting involved with your local library?

Did you know that many libraries have Friends of .... organizations? These individuals help in many ways, volunteering in various positions, fundraising, sponsoring programming for children and adults.

What does this have to do with genealogy?  Read on.

This Opelousas, Louisiana story covers that angle.

Estelle Perrault, who is heading up the drive to create a friends chapter for the Opelousas-Eunice library system, has invited Howard Coy, long-time administrator of the Vernon Parish Library System, to speak about what a friends group can mean for a library.

He will be the featured speaker at Saturday's 10 a.m. meeting of the Imperial St. Landry Genealogical and Historical Society in the conference room of Doctors Hospital.

"The Genealogical Society is purposefully opening its meeting and inviting all citizens," Perrault said. "The information gained at this meeting will guide us in the formation of the library support organization.

She urged everyone interested in helping promote the library and willing to work for its betterment to attend.

"The formation of a Friends of the Library in the near future will help to promote better library funding for all users of the library and expand the present services to meet the interests of children, teens, parents, our 'Golden Oldie' seniors and all other interests of our varied population," Perrault said.

She said libraries are of special interest to genealogists and is happy her group can spearhead this effort.


"Because of the need for an adequate library to assist with genealogical and family history research, local genealogy society members have a special interest in helping the local library to have a larger book and related materials collection," said Perrault, who heads the genealogy group. "Therefore our group is taking a leadership role in promoting enhanced local support of the library."

Food for thought.  Read the complete article at the link above.