JewishGen: Sarina Roffé elected to board of governors

The Board of Governors of JewishGen announced that Sarina Roffé has been elected to the board.

A family historian and journalist, Sarina is a member of Brooklyn's Syrian Jewish community and an active member of the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. (JGSNY).

She has published widely on themes connected with Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish genealogy and is a recognized authority on the history and culture of Aleppan Jewry.

She is executive director of New York's non-profit Shehebar Sephardic Center, which fundraises for its rabbinical training program in Israel, and support for schools and outreach centers in more than 60 cities worldwide.

According to Rand Fishbein, PhD, a board member: "We will be looking to her for fresh ideas on how to expand our programming and online resources in Sephardic genealogy. Her knowledge and experience are sure to prove invaluable as we look to expand our outreach activities.”

Tracing the Tribe congratulates Sarina on this election!

San Francisco: 'Cadastral Maps, Landowner Records,' April 10

Northern California genealogists can learn about cadastral maps and landowner records with Pamela Weisberger at the next meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, on Sunday, April 10.

Doors open at 12.30pm for the 1.30pm program, at the Oakland Regional Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, in Oakland. The meeting is free.

"Cadastral Maps and Landowner Records: New Horizons for Genealogists" will demonstrate why Galician (today Polish and Ukrainian) cadastral land records and property maps are valuable sources of family history information, especially when vital records are sparse or missing.

Pamela's talk will cover the history and relevance of cadastral maps as an alternative source of genealogical and community information, how to obtain this type of record from overseas archives, the history of Gesher Galicia’s cadastral map program, and how to create your own community projects using these data.

These maps, created in the early 19th-20th centuries, show exact locations of churches, synagogues, cemeteries, schools, and market squares and often have the names of the landowners written onto the plots of land.

The house or parcel numbers can be used to chart a family across several generations and the land records can provide the size and/or values (for taxes) of properties that an individual owned and show inheritance patterns. In some cases, these records may be the only documented evidence of a family living in a particular town or village.

Pamela started out in the film industry working for Otto Preminger, who never took no for an answer, which was excellent training for becoming a genealogist! She is currently the 1st vice president and program chair for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles and president of Gesher Galicia.

In addition to co-chairing/program chair for the 2010 Los Angeles IAJGS conference, she has coordinated the genealogical film festival for the past four events. She chairs the LimmudLA film team and is a professional genealogist.

For more than 30 years, she has conducted research in Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary with a specialty in newspaper research. She holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MS from Boston University.

For more information and directions, click here.

Ohio: 'Researching Israel Resources,' April 5

Daniel Horowitz will demonstrate researching Israel genealogy resources at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland, on Tuesday, April 5.

The meeting begins at 7.30pm, at Menorah Park, Miller Board Room, 27100 Cedar Road, Beachwood.

Daniel's talk is titled, "“Researching Genealogical Resources in Israel from Your Couch.”

For those who do not know him, Daniel is chief genealogist and translation manager at MyHeritage.com; a board member and webmaster of the Israel Genealogical Society (IGS), and a board member and webmaster of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).

For more information, see the JGS of Cleveland.

London: Food of the Jews of Babylon, April 3

The Jews of Babylon have a culinary tradition dating back more than 2,000 years, but it is a home-based cuisine rarely found in restaurants.

The Spiro Ark Centre, 25-26 Enford St., London, W1, will host Linda Dangoor, of a well-known Iraqi Jewish family in the UK, on Sunday, April 3, at 7.30pm.

The cost is £12 + £1 Internet booking fee. Click here to book now.

The cuisine, much like Persian food, is well-flavored, aromatic, but rarely spicy or hot.

The event marks Dangoor's new cookbook - "Flavours of Babylon" - and she will talk with Sami Zubaida about Babylonian Jewish food and its significance as a language and badge of identity.

Attendees will also get a chance to sample some foods.

Dangoor has been working in the design field for more than three decades as a designer, painter and ceramicist. The cookbook is her first book.

Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has published several books on the religion, culture and politics of the Middle East; and is co-editor of "A Taste of Thyme: the Culinary Cultures of the Middle East." The event will include a book sale by both authors.

Seating is limited; advance reservations are recommended.

WDYTYA: Gywneth Paltrow & JRI-Poland

Jewish Records Indexing-Poland played an essential part in research for the new episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" - spotlighting actress Gywneth Paltrow - to be aired Friday night, April 1, on NBC.

Paltrow's family's original name was PALTROWICZ, a rabbinical family from northeastern Poland, specifically Suwalki, Lomza and other towns. JRI-Poland offers 90 records for the family.

JRI-Poland will appear in the credits for the episode.

Our dear friend Montrealer Stan Diamond (co-founder and executive director of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland) called Tracing the Tribe the other day to let us know about the JRI-Poland connection.

For readers not familiar with JRI-Poland, it is a continually growing resource of more than 4.2 million records used by many readers to discover family data.

The following press release provides more information:

Jewish Records Indexing - Poland

4.2 million Polish-Jewish records database is key resource for Gwyneth Paltrow episode of NBC's "Who Do You think You Are?

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s ancestral search, told in a new episode of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?”, might not have happened if not for Jewish Records Indexing - Poland.

The April 1st episode of the documentary series features Academy Award-winner Paltrow’s search. The U.S. born daughter of producer Bruce Paltrow ("St. Elsewhere," "The White Shadow"), her roots go back to a long line of rabbis named Paltrowicz from northeastern Poland and the towns of Suwalki, Lomza and nearby shtetls.

The show’s researchers were able to tap into JRI-Poland’s online database as the starting point in documenting Paltrow's ancestry. The website has 90 record entries for Paltrow's ancestors and the WDYTYA team said "JRI Poland is a wonderful resource for anyone researching Jewish Polish ancestry and was invaluable during the research for the Gwyneth Paltrow episode."

Founded in 1995, JRI-Poland was an outgrowth of Montrealer Stanley Diamond's need for access to Jewish vital records of the former Lomza Gubernia area of Poland for research into his family’s genetic history. Diamond is Executive Director and the organization has a global board, hundreds of volunteers serving thousands of researchers, funded by groups and genealogists around the world.

JRI-Poland is creating searchable on-line indices of Jewish records from current and former territories of Poland. The vast database of records going back to the late 18th century belies the misleading notion all the Jewish records of Poland were destroyed in World War II.

The searchable database has indices to 4.2 million records from more than 550 towns, with thousands added every month, vital records and censuses from the Polish State Archives and other sources both inside and outside of Poland. The database also includes army draft lists, cemetery burial indices, ghetto death records, birth, marriage and death announcements in newspapers in Poland, and more.

JRI-Poland has been recognized by the medical and scientific communities for the potential benefit for Ashkenazic families trying to trace medical histories, particularly those at increased risk for hereditary conditions and diseases. As a result of statistical analyses indicating a high incidence of medical and genetic abnormalities in individuals of Polish-Jewish descent, JRI - Poland is creating a finding aid for those who may need answers to medical-related questions or require bone marrow or other transplants. Because of this, JRI-Poland has received commendations from the Gift of Life Foundation and the National Marrow Donor Program.

For more information,  visit JRI-Poland, or contact Stanley Diamond. And for more information on the upcoming episode, click here.

Thank you, Stan, for creating this valuable resource for so many researchers. JRI-Poland's many volunteers are also to be commended for their work over the years and in advance for their future contributions.

New Mexico: Genealogy 'superstars' to speak, April 2-3

New Mexico family history researchers are in for a treat when two major genealogy superstars will speak on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3.

Bennett Greenspan (left) - founder and CEO of FamilyTreeDNA.com - and Dr. Steve Morse - of One-Step pages fame - will be in Albuquerque next weekend to speak at two major events, co-sponsored by the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society, which is revamping and expanding its genealogy programming. The NMJHS is now a member of the IAJGS.

-- Saturday, April 2, from 10.30am-3.30pm, the Rio Rancho Library's Loma Colorado main branch will host a free "Blast Into Your Past" - a general program aimed at beginners and recent family history researchers, athough the entire genealogical community is invited to attend.

-- Sunday, April 3, from 11am-1pm, the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque will host both speakers for sessions spotlighting Jewish issues and topics in genetic genealogy with Bennett, and One-Step helpful tools, such as demystifying the Jewish calendar, with Steve. The program is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

See below for more information on each event.

Judging from responses already received by organizers, attendees will be coming from many areas of the state for both sessions.

"Blast Into Your Past" will provide a good basic introduction to family history with the superstars and local experts. Beginning at 10.30am and running through 3.30pm - attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch - there will be an introduction to genetic genealogy with Bennett Greenspan, followed by Steve Morse's intro to the more than 200+ tools on his site.

After a short lunch break, there will be three additional sessions:

-- Michael Barger will present genealogy basics.
-- An ethnic research panel (Hispanic, Jewish, and others) will field questions from attendees and supply information on how to find additional information. Lionel Rael of the Hispanic Genealogy Society will be on this panel, along with others.
-- Social media for family history researchers will be presented by Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

There will also be an overview of genealogical resources at the library, including databases and subscription sites available in the computer lab or accessible at home for library card holders.

There will be time for Q&A.

On Sunday, April 3, both men will speak at the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque from 11am-1pm. Bennett will address genetic genealogy through a focus on Jewish history and share stories of discoveries, while Steve will focus on One-Step tools that may assist Jewish family history researchers, such as demystifying the Jewish calender.

Again, the library program is free and its general topics are aimed at beginners and those who are recent to family history research. The JCC program - with more of a Jewish genealogy focus - is free for NMJHS members, and $5 for others (the fee may be applied to a one-year NMJHS membership).

We believe that many attendees on Saturday will want to know more about these topics and will also attend the Sunday program, which is open to the public.

The NMJHS, the Library and New Mexico genealogical community is looking forward to this "superstar" weekend. I'm looking forward to greeting Tracing the Tribe readers at both events.

For more information, click on the NMJHS website, or send an email.

Southern California: 'Jews of the Pacific Coast,' April 3

Dr. Ava F. Kahn will present "Jews of the Pacific Coast," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV), in conjunction with the Western States Jewish History Journal, on Sunday, April 3.

The meeting runs from 1.30-3.30pm, at Temple Adat Elohim, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, which also co-sponsors JGSCV meetings. There is no admission fee.

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 co-authored book Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community at America's Edge Ava F. Kahn will explore the nature of the Jewish experience in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland 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.

Speaker Ava F. Kahn, PhD, is affiliated with the California Studies Center, University of California, Berkeley. She has published numerous articles and books on Jews in the West including: "Jewish Voices of the California Gold Rush," "Jewish Life in the American West and California Jews." There will be a book-signing following the meeting.

Western States Jewish History Journal is a quarterly journal dedicated to discovering, chronicling, and making available to the general public information on the Jewish participation in the pioneering and development of the American West, Canada, Mexico, and the Pacific Rim.

For more information, click on the JGSCV website, or send an email.

Michigan: Polish-language treasures, April 3

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan will host genealogist and author Judith Frazin on Sunday, April 3.

Frazin  will speak on "Discovering the Treasures 
in 19th-Century Polish-Language Records."

The meeting begins at 11am, at the Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills. Admission: JGSMI members, free; others, $5.

A genealogist for more than 39 years, she is the author of three editions of "A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language Civil-Registration Documents."

Frazin received the  "2010 Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product," from the IAJGS.

This practical and interactive presentation will first briefly discuss unique factors which impact 19th-century Polish research. Then, with audience participation, it will walk attendees step by step through the process of translating one 19th-century Polish document, and possibly two, if time permits. Documents will be passed out at the workshop.

The program is co-sponsored by the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan.