Past Programs - 2015

The following programs and workshops were held in 2015; they are shown here so that you may view the range of activities of JGSGW.

Program 1:
 

Program 2:

Few Jews lived in Eastern Europe 1,000 years ago. Yet, it was to become the home of 80% of the World’s Jews. As Russia expanded westward, more and more Jews came within the Russian Empire. This talk examines Russia’s efforts to limit the Jews in its midst and the Eastern European border changes which frequently resulted in ancestral towns coming under the rule of several countries over time. Recognizing which governments were in control at various times can help in understanding the environment in which ancestors lived, events that stimulated migration, languages in which records were kept and likely locations where these records might be found.

This event is free and open to the community.

This lecture presents a case study illustrating how to transform minimal information into a detailed genealogy using One-Step Webpage tools and other websites.  The presentation also teaches how to find records in spite of name misspellings, and how to analyze evidence to avoid accepting wrong information.

The Mediterranean isle of Rhodes was home to vibrant Jewish communities from antiquity through the Holocaust. This lecture will review the development of the Romaniote community, the Judeo-Spanish community that flourished from the time of the Ottoman Turkish conquest, the Israel rabbinic dynasty, whose rabbis served as chief Rabbis and scholars throughout the eastern Mediterranean Basin (Israel, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Italy), and the colonies founded by Rhodeslis émigrés in the early 1900s in southern Africa and the Americas. The lecture will then describe the many genealogical sources available for researching Jewish Rhodes, including gravestones, burial records, pre-war Italian census records, synagogue plaques, ship manifests, Holocaust records, Hebrew books and manuscripts, marriage, tax, and Alliance Israélite Universelle records, the DNA project involving the Jews of Rhodes, the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation, and social media, such as the Facebook page for the Children of the Jews of Rhodes.

“Cinema Judaica, The War Years, 1939-1949,” weaves together the rich history of Jewish-American films and filmmakers during the period leading up to and during World War II. The narrative, posed alongside a striking visual collection of rare, museum-quality posters, trade ads and stills, tells the story of how Jewish movies, filmmakers, and movie studios influenced American cultural, political, and even military history of the period. “Cinema Judaica, The War Years,” a $20 value, will be available for purchase for $15 at the lecture. Ken Sutak will autograph purchased copies after the program.

Author and JGSGW member Barry Nove has researched the stories of his family's immigration to America through Ellis Island. He will share the story of that immigration experience, based on what he's documented and learned of the history; providing insight into what arriving at Ellis Island was like in the early 20th Century.

The event will culminate in a book signing of The Ellis Island Experience ($10).

12:30: Brown Bag Lunch
Bring your own dairy sandwich. JGSGW will provide beverages and dessert.

This lecture summarizes the sources for finding the arrival record of a 19th- or 20th-century immigrant to America. It then elaborates on alternative sources and methods for overcoming particularly challenging issues that hinder success, such as variant spellings of names, conflicting arrival dates, confusion of ship names, various ports of departure and arrival, and missing passenger manifests. The event will culminate in a book signing of “They Came in Ships” ($15); By advance reservation, copies of the following books will be available: “Finding Italian Roots” ($19), “Only a Few Bones” ($30).