Oregon: Jews of the Pacific Coast, January 23

Since the Gold Rush in 1849, the Pacific Coast  has attracted Jews who have shaped this geographical region.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will present "Jews of the Pacific Coast," with Professor Ellen Eisenberg, at its next meeting on Sunday, January 23.

The program begins at 1pm at Congregation Ahavath Achim, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd., Portland. Admission: Members, free; others, $5.

From the California Gold Rush of 1849 to the explosion of population centers in the Southwest in the 1980s, Jews have played a significant role in shaping the Pacific West. In the process, they have reshaped themselves, as individuals and as communities. Through their mercantile networks and cultural innovations, their philanthropic institutions and political leadership, western Jews created a distinctive identity.

Using historical photographs from her new book, Ellen Eisenberg will explore the nature of the Jewish experience in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the small towns of the West. She will explain the important differences among these cities, as well as highlighting the ways in which the western Jewish experience has echoed and deviated from the familiar story of American Jewish history.

Since 1990, Eisenberg has taught history at Willamette University, and was named the Lear Professor of America History in 2003. She holds a BA in American Studies (Carleton College) and a PhD in History (University of Pennsylvania). Her research focuses on Jews in the Pacific West and their relationships with other ethnic groups.

Her publications include Jewish Agricultural Colonies in New Jersey,1882-1920; chapters in the anthologies Jewish Life in the American West and California Jews, and journal articles and monographs.  The First to Cry Down Injustice?  Western Jews and Japanese Removal during WWII was a National Jewish Book Award finalist.  Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community on America’s Edge, co-authored with Ava Kahn and Bill Toll, was released by the University of Washington Press earlier this year.

For more information, click here.

Oregon: 'Lost town of Trochenbrod,' Oct. 12

Avrom Bendavid-Val will present "The Heavens are Empty: Discovering the Lost Town of Trochenbrod," at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon meeting on Tuesday, October 12, in Portland.

The meeting begins at 7.30pm, at Congregation Ahavath Achim, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd.

The town of Trochenbrod was created by city Jews as an agricultural village in a marshy area isolated in the forest in Volyn Province, in the Jewish Pale of Settlement, in the early 1800s. This beginning as a rural farming community happened at a time when no Jews were farmers—at that time Jews couldn’t even own land.

As Trochenbrod gradually took on the character of a town and grew to its final population of about 5,000 people it became the only free-standing Jewish town ever to exist outside the biblical Land of Israel.

Trochenbrod developed into a thriving regional commercial center with a highly diversified and essentially self-sufficient economy.

In Trochenbrod everyone—shopkeepers, farmers, craftspeople, workers, teachers, livestock traders, factory owners…everyone—was Jewish; and the languages the townspeople spoke in the street and in their homes were Yiddish and modern Hebrew.

When Bendavid-Val was working in Poland in 1997, he decided to visit Trochenbrod, the ancestral town of his father and grandfather.

He discovered that there were no physical remnants of Trochenbrod and that it had been a unique settlement in many ways. He documented the town's history from its creation in the early 1800s to its destruction in 1942.

His book about Trochenbrod will be released by Pegasus Books early this month. If you obtain the book before the program, he will sign your copy at the event.

Attendees who arrive by 7pm will receive expert assistance with genealogy problems, and questions may be sent ahead of time.

Fee: JGSO members, free; others, $5 donation requested.

Oregon: A visit to Portland

Portland, Oregon is a great city.

I've spoken to the Jewish genealogical societies in both Portland and Willmette Valley, met the recently-retired Portland Jewish Federation head Charlie Schiffman several times over the years.

The first time I met Charlie was when our daughter attended a Middle East Studies summer program at Portland State University during her university years. We still talk about the wonderful lunch we had with him so long ago.

Daniel Horowitz also stopped this summer in Portland. The MyHeritage.com genealogy and translation manager was the subject of an article by Paul Haist in the Oregon Jewish Review.

The story touched on Daniel's life in Venezuela, the family's transplantation to Israel and his early involvement in Jewish genealogy, although the main focus was his work at MyHeritage.com, which helps make family connections possible, as well as company partnerships with Beit Hatfutsot (the Museum of the Jewish People) and JewishGen to help grow Jewish family trees online.

He came to professional work in genealogy out of a personal interest in genealogical research and after he wrote a curriculum in Hebrew history that called on his students to research their own family histories.

He called the curriculum and the classroom project “Searching for My Roots.”

“The kids researched their own family. We studied—in effect—Jewish history for the last 100 years in a multicultural community.”

The Venezuelan community was richly diverse with strong representation in both Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions.

Read the complete article at the story link above.

Interested in learning more about Oregon's Jewish community?

Click here to read the 60-page Shalom Oregon Guide.

Oregon: Daniel Horowitz, July 1

Face recognition technology is the topic at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, on Thursday, July 1.

Daniel Horowitz, genealogy and translation manager at MyHeritage.com, will speak at the event which begins at 7.30pm at Congregation Ahavath Achim, 3225 SW Barbur Bvd., Portland.

Face recognition technology can help researchers identify and tag people in photos, discover related people and recover lost family connections. MyHeritage makes use of this technology as an excellent tool for genealogy research.

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Daniel graduated from the Moral y Luces Herzl-Bialik High School and earned a BS.c (computer engineering) with specializations in education and management of educational institutions.

He returned to his Jewish high school as a computer instructor and teacher/director of the genealogy project - "Searching for My Roots" - for which he created the educational materials, and presented genealogy workshops for students and parents.

Daniel received awards for the project, including the Gonzalo Benaim Pinto Venezuela national award. His students received nine consecutive awards (1997-2005) in the Beit Hatfutsot / Museum of the Diaspora annual international competition, "My Family Story."

He was a founding member and lecturer of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Venezuela (AGJUVE), and he and his family have lived in Israel since 2005.

He is a member and webmaster of the Israel Genealogical Society (IGS) and the Horowitz Families Association, has lectured at various international conferences and for local genealogy groups. He was elected to the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) board in 2008, and is its webmaster.

Admission: JGSO members, free; others, $5.

For more information, visit the JGSO website, 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.

Oregon: Heirlooms and genealogy, Jan. 24

We all have them - mementos and heirlooms. How can genealogists and family historians use old letters, jewelery, newspaper clippings, photographs and even household items in our research?

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will host Toby Forim Blake, who has many such items and will share some of them, on Sunday, January 24. She's been researching her family since the late 1980s.

The program begins at 1.30pm at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland, where Blake will demonstrate how these family treasures have impacted her own research and how your own heirlooms can help you.

She earned an MA in Jewish History (Baltimore Hebrew University)., and has served on the Baltimore Community Board of Jewish Women's Archives where she was involved in personal history interviews and other project components. She's been a Jewish educator and administrator in the classroom and for the Baltimore Board of Jewish Education. Currently at the Portland Jewish Academy, she is the International Baccalaureate Coordinator for the Primary Years Program.

For more information and directions, see the JGSO site, and check out their resources to help readers tracing family that lived in the state.

Oregon: Jewish Museum reopens

The Oregon Jewish Museum has moved to a new home in the northwest part of Portland.

Its resources include art exhibits and much more, including the Jewish historical society's archives and library (open by appointment to researchers).

Back in the 1950s, the city's Old South Waterfront was a vibrant Jewish and Italian neighborhood. There is a walking tour of the area.

The opening was on Sunday, and various exhibits included:

The Shape of Time: accumulations of place and memory
Arnold Newman – Street Scenes
The Berger Collection of Ceremonial Judaica
Deanne Belinoff – The Book of Keys
Alex Appella – The Janos Book
Shelley Jordon – Family History

The museum also conducts the Oral History Jewish Cemetery Project and the Oral History Project. Seniors' memories are a precious resource that dwindle over time, and both projects are aimed at saving these memories and archiving them.

The first project takes small groups to Portland's Jewish cemeteries to film and interview the seniors as they walk together and talk about family and friends buried there. Gravestone names trigger memories and conversation. The films will be open to archival research and eventually made public. This project is funded by the Oregon Heritage Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust and Helen and Jerry Stern.

The second oral history project is part of the museum's mission to preserve the state's Jewish history. The current project expands the Oregon Jewish Oral History and Archive collection begun in the 1970s. Its goal is to collect a wide range of oral histories from community members across the state. Volunteers are trained to to conduct interviews and transcribe tapes.

A third project - Museum in a Suitcase - is an outreach program for elementary school students. The goal is to teach diverse students about the successful integration of the Jews, who were one of the state's earliest immigrant groups. Significant objects including Judaica are included in the suitcase, along with curriculum materials and teaching guide. The museum wants to train docents who will visit schools and organize programs. Funding is via The Collins Foundation, Oregon Heritage Commission and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland have funded this project.

Go to the museum site (link above) and read all about the exhibit... - Shape of Time - which explores urban landscapes and public memory through the Jewish experiences in the state. It utilizes the museums extensive collection of historic photographs.

Oregon: Eastern Europe turn-of-the-century, Oct. 20

Portland's Jewish Genealogical Society will host Assistant Professor Natan Meir (Portland State University) in "Not your Grandfather's Synagogue," on Tuesday, October 20.

The meeting begins at 7pm at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

Meir's program focuses on religious and secular Eastern European Jews in the late 1800s and early 1900s, to increase understanding of our ancestors' way of life.

He will address the shift from traditional religious practice among East European Jews to a more complicated religious landscape, including the Eastern European version of Reform and secularism.
The Lokey Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies, Meir holds a PhD (Columbia University), taught at the University of Southampton (UK), and was a postdoctoral fellow (Hebrew University, Jerusalem).

His academic interest focuses on 19th-20th-century Eastern European Jews' social and cultural history. His book "Kiev: Jewish Metropolis, 1861-1914," will be published by Indiana University Press. His next project will explore the lives of widows, orphans and the disabled in 19th-century Russian and Polish Jewish communities, tentatively titled, "Jewish Marginals in Eastern Europe."

For more information, directions and area resources, see the JGSO website.

Oregon: New Year, new ideas, Sept. 15

Jewish genealogical societies are all kicking off their program years this month. In Oregon, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will present "New Year, New Ideas, New Info on your Family Tree," on Tuesday, September 15.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm for networking, followed by the main program at 7pm, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd., Portland.

The session will include a wrap-up of the Philly 2009 conference by members who attended, and will share new resources and helpful presentations.

Next on the agenda will be unusual research tips that are simple and effective.

Breaking down brick walls for participants by some of the JGSO experts will be the third segment.

To make sure your problems, dilemmas or questions are addressed, email them to Barbara Hershey in advance. Attendees may also bring questions to the meeting, but advance questions will have the benefit of research by the mavens.

The program is free to JGSO members, $5 for others.

For more information, visit the JGSO website.

Oregon: Genealogy's so sweet, Sept. 9

Chocolate and genealogy are a perfect match, says the Jewish Genealogical Society of Willamette Valley Oregon in Eugene.

The group's meeting on Wednesday, September 9, will feature "Mr. Chocolate" AKA Dr. Arnold Ismach, retired head of the University of Oregon's School of Journalism. He will discuss chocolate's history and Jewish involvement, as well as providing some of his famous truffles for this event.

The meeting begins at 7.30pm, at the Quail Run Clubhouse, Eugene. See the JGSWVO website for a map, directions and more details.

Would you like to know more about the early Jews of Eugene, Oregon?

Click here for an article by Professor Robert Levinson, featuring interviews conducted 1962-64 and written when he was 27.

The late Robert Levinson was one of the great historians of Western Jewry. He was native of Portland and associated with the University of Oregon and subsequently became a professor of History at San Jose State College. He held a BS from Portland State College, MA and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oregon"The Jews of Jacksonville, Oregon" was his Master's thesis, while his doctoral dissertation "The Jews in the California Gold Rush," became a book in more than one printing.

The article offers fascinating details and leads to the early settlers in the area.

Oregon: Jews in the News, May 31

Genealogists know that newspapers can be our best friends in our quest for family information.

Pamela Weisberger of Los Angeles will present two excellent programs focusing on newspapers resources at the annual brunch of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon (JGSO), on Sunday, May 31.

The program begins at 10.30am at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.

"Jews in the News: Enhance Your Research with Newspaper Databases" offers techniques for locating people and events of interest to your quest.

Some of the most exciting resources for genealogists are the online databases and microfilms of old newspapers and journals. Following this oft-neglected “paper trail” will enhance your genealogical knowledge. From obituaries, birth, engagement and marriage announcements, to curiosities such as “Yesterday’s Fires,” “News of the Courts,” and articles covering Eastern European towns and businesses, you will be astonished by the unexpected appearances immigrant ancestors make in the pages of these tabloids and broadsheets.

"When Leopold Met Lena: Marriage, Divorce and Deception in the 1890s" is a fascinating case study.

First came love, then came marriage - but after the baby in the baby carriage came adultery and two trials in New York’s Court of Common Pleas. A divorce decree in the 1890s New York Times “News of the Courts” leads to scandal-ridden NYC court transcripts and revelations of a family secret. From Czestochowa , Poland and Cracow , Austria to Manhattan ’s Lower East Side and Little Rock , Arkansas - the tumultuous, romantic and litigious world of our ancestors is brought to life in court records, newspaper articles, census and vital records. Learn how present-day research can be used to solve 19th century mysteries.

Pamela is program chair for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, Gesher Galicia president and research coordinator for Gesher Galicia, and co-chair for the 2010 IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (July 2010, Los Angeles) .

Her first job in the film industry was working for Otto Preminger who never took no for an answer. This was the perfect training for becoming a genealogist. Documenting her family’s history for more than 20 years, she has visited and researched her ancestral towns and villages conducting research in Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian archives. Her special interest is late-19th-early-20th century city directories, newspapers and court records. She has produced two genealogy-related documentaries.

Fee: JGSO members, $7; others, $9. For more details and reservation information see the JGSO website.

Oregon: What do I want to know? April 21

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon is offering a "Back to Basics" series. The next one focuses on "What do I want to know?" with Debbi Korman.

The meeting is set for 7pm, Tuesday, April 21, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd., Portland.

Learn how to frame research issues, develop a research plan, keep track of sources and organize the genealogical information found.

Debbi has been researching her family tree for 20 years and is prepared to reveal all of her mistakes in order to help you to be a more successful researcher.

She specializes in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. For five years, she edited the Jewish Genealogical Society's journal Rootskey, and is now the JGSO Shalshelet editor. She has discovered and connected with distant relatives in multiple European countries and Australia.

For more information, see the JGSO website

Oregon: Choosing genealogy software, March 17

At the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, Marty Krauter will offer guidelines to help researchers decide which genealogy software program to select, as well as how to maintain and present genealogical research on a computer.

He'll include research goals, recording, source documentation, information output and a suggested program list.

The Portland program begins at 7pm, Tuesday, March 17, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

For 12 years, Krauter has been chair of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon’s Computer Interest Group. He has been actively doing genealogy for 14 years. He has a strong interest in Irish Genealogy where he has traced two of his wife’s family lines to their ancestral village. Marty is an accountant who loves the analytical nature of genealogy.

Admission: JGSO members, free; others, $5. For more details, click here.

Oregon: Jewish life in Eastern Europe, Feb. 17

What was life really like for our Eastern European ancestors before the mass migration of the late 19th-early 20th centuries?

"Jewish Life in Eastern Europe: Leading Up to the Great Migration," will be presented by Portland State University assistant professor of Judaic Studies Dr. Natan Meir, at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon's next meeting, at 7pm, Tuesday, February 17, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.

Meir's first book, "Kiev: Jewish Metropolis, 1861-1914," will be published by Indiana University Press. His His scholarly interest is modern Jewish history focusing on the social and cultural history of East European Jewry in the 19th-20th centuries.

He holds a PhD in Jewish history (Columbia University), taught at the University of Southampton (UK) and was a Yad Hanadiv postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Admission: JGSO members, free; others: $5.

For more details, click here.

Portland: Family History Centers, Jan. 20

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will host Susan LeBlanc speaking on Family History Centers at its next meeting, 7pm, Tuesday, January 20.

Learn about the local FHC and what they offer to help family history researchers. LeBlanc will discuss their locations, who works in them and what makes them unique.

An Oregon native, LeBlanc started doing genealogical research 35 years ago. She is an avid reader and a determined researcher. Her research specialities include the West, Midwest, New England, Europe and Scandinavia, and she works in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese records. She holds both AS and BGS degrees from BYU.

She worked for 10 years at the Milwaukie Stake Family History Center as an instructor and lecturer; and is coordinator of Ruth C. Bishop Volunteer Awards with the Federation of Genealogical Societies, with memberships in APG, Genealogical Council of Oregon, Genealogical Forum of Oregon and DAR.

She speaks at the BYU Genealogy Conference, Portland Area PAF Users Group, Milwaukie, McMinnville, and Corvallis Family History Center Fairs in Oregon, Oregon Genealogical Society, Genealogical Forum of Oregon, and The Genealogical Society of Washington County.

The venue is Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland. JGSO members, free; others, $2 donation requested and deductible from membership if paid that evening.

Oregon: Film, roots travel, Sept. 16

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, in Portland, welcomes readers in the area to its first meeting of the program year.

The two-part program includes "Genealogy Successes and Successful Techniques" and the screening of "Beshert," a short film by Rick Kolinsky.

The meeting begins at 6.45pm Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Ahavat Achim Synagogue.

One of the many things that we like about genealogy as a hobby is the opportunity to interact with others as we pursue our goals. We all have stories about how we pursued some item of information and the results we achieved. Learning from each other will help to break through those brick walls we encounter. JGSO's Board Members will lead an open discussion about our experiences.

In the second part of our program, we will show a short film, "Beshert",which chronicles Rick Kolinsky's discoveries on his visit to his ancestral home in Ukraine.

Admission is free for JGSO members; others, $2. For more information, address and more, click here.

Oregon: Steve Morse, June 22

Genealogy resource guru Dr. Stephen P. Morse will speak at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon's annual brunch meeting on Sunday, June 22.

The meeting takes place 10:30am-2pm at Congregation Bais Menachem Chabad, across from Portland's Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

Steve will present two programs, "A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools," which covers his One-Step Web page tools that we all use, as well as the rather funny "The Jewish Calendar Demystified," presenting the Jewish calendar through Adam and Eve's eyes.

An amateur genealogist who has researched his Russian-Jewish origins since he was a boy, he has developed many web-based searching aides used by genealogists around the world, and has won more than a few awards and recognition from major genealogy organizations. The One-Step website began as an aid for finding passengers in the Ellis Island database and grew from there to more than 100 web-based tools in 13 categories.

A computer professional with a doctorate in electrical engineering (NYU), Steve has held research positions at Bell Labs, IBM Watson Research Lab, GE Corporate R&D, and Compagnie Internationale pour l'Informatique in France; and in development at Intel Corp, Alsys Inc, and Netscape. He's also taught at CCNY, Pratt Institute, UC Berkeley, SUNY Albany, Stanford University and San Francisco State University, authored technical papers, written textbooks and holds four patents. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today's Pentium processor) which sparked the PC revolution 25 years ago.

The brunch requires RSVPs; click here for more information.

Oregon: Jewish in Japan, April 15

What kind of records are available concerning Jews who lived in Japan? Are there census record? Are these available to genealogists? What happened to Jewish aliens living in Japan during the Second World War?

If these questions are intriguing, then the next program of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will be of interest.

George Sidline will present "Somehow We'll Survive: A Story of Growing Up Jewish in WWII-era Japan," beginning at 7pm, Tuesday, April 15, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.

Sidline, the second of two sons, was born in Japan of Jewish parents before World War II. When war broke out, the family remained in Kobe, Japan, where George's father ran an import/export business. After the war, the family stayed in Japan, eventually immigrating to Canada in 1954. In 1962, George moved to the US, where he worked in California's Silicon Valley.

Many people urged George to write a book about his wartime experiences and the experiences of others among the foreign population living in Japan during the war. He published his book in 2007, chronicling some of the harrowing events that engulfed the family.

The book is available at www.amazon.com, titled "Somehow, We'll Survive, Life in Japan during WWII through the eyes of a young Caucasian boy." A retired engineer, George lives with his wife in Portland, Oregon, where his children and grandchildren reside.

For more details and directions, click here.

Oregon: Public library resources, March 18

Public libraries are great resources for researchers, but we too often forget to use them.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon will remind its members about these essential resources, including special websites through the library's internet system as well as available print materials, at its next meeting at 7pm, Tuesday, March 18, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.

"Mining the Genealogical Resources at your Public Library" will be offered by professional librarians Janet Irwin and Michael Constan.

Irwin is a librarian at Multnomah County Library. She volunteered to take care of the first version of the genealogy portion of the library's homepage, and later volunteered to learn more about genealogy so it could offer public classes focused on its genealogy collection and Internet-accessible databases. Active in the Genealogical Forum of Oregon and the Association of Professional Genealogists, she and her brother research their midwest and East coast family.

Constan has workd for the last decade at the Periodicals and Humanities sections of the Central Library. He has explored the roots of his maternal grandparents, who were born in Prszka and Koniecpol, Poland; researched family records through the LDS Family History Center's microfilm collection; found family records online through Jewish Records Indexing - Poland (JRI-Poland); and found relatives through the JewishGen Family Finder.

Fee: JGSO members, free: others, $2. For more information, click here.

Oregon: Court House questing, Feb. 19

Gerald S. Lenzen will present "Exploring your roots: In the US Courthouse" at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon.

The event begins at 7pm Tuesday, February 19, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Portland.

County courthouses are treasure stores for your family history. It is almost impossible for individuals and families to live in a place for a period of time without leaving some record in the local courthouse. Learn about these original records. Lenzen will also describe the Genealogical Forum of Oregon and its resources.

Since 1963, the Portland resident has been conducting historical and family research since 1963, and has researched and co-authored several family history volumes with his wife, professional genealogist Connie Miller Lenzen.

Lenzen has traveled and researched extensively throughout the US, and has conducted on-site research in Prussia and Bavaria. He teaches and lectures at local, state and national seminars and conferences on general family history including introduction to genealogy, census, court and land records, and French Canadian Settlement in the Willamette Valley. He is a Portland State University graduate and retired after 32 years with the Bonneville Power Administration.

The holder of current, past and life memberships in many historical, family history and genealogical societies throughout the US, he has served as a board member of the St. Paul Mission (Oregon) Historical Society, the Archdiocesan Historical Commission (Portland, Oregon), the statewide Genealogical Council of Oregon, and on committees of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.

From 7-7.30pm, participants can view library items and discuss questions with JGSO experts. The event is free for JGSO members.

For more information, click here.