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Past Programs - 2014
The following
programs and workshops were held in 2014; they are shown here so that
you may view the range of activities of JGSGW.
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| January |
Sunday,
January 12, 2014 |
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Location:
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Special Program: |
Lecture on INS Board of Special Inquiry Records |
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Time: |
11:00 AM - Noon |
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Speaker: |
Rebecca Sharp, Archives
Specialist, NARA |
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Upon arrival in the United States,
Immigrant Inspectors detained immigrants who were among the excludable
classes, such as likely public charges (LPC), individuals afflicted with
contagious diseases, convicts, etc. The detainee then attended a Board
of Special Inquiry (BSI) hearing where it was determined whether he or
she would be admitted into the U.S. or deported.
The only BSI records that have survived relate to cases that were
appealed to Washington, D.C. These records are held by NARA in
Washington, D.C. and are part of Entry 9, Records of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (Record Group 85). This lecture will examine
several Entry 9 files to reveal the information that these often
overlooked records provide about immigrants and their family members.
Rebecca Sharp is a Genealogy Archives Specialist at the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C. She
specializes in Federal records of genealogical interest. She graduated
with departmental honors in History from McDaniel College (established
as Western Maryland College).
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Book Sale! |
JGSGW Library Overstock Book Sale and Exchange |
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Time: |
Noon |
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Sometimes we receive donations that are
duplicates of books that we already have in our collection.
Occasionally, the donation is an update, so we are left with the older,
but still excellent resource.
So, the JGSGW Library will have an overstock sale before the January
program.
We invite members to bring their overstock genealogy-related books, maps
and other items to add to the tables.
There will be freebies and a small donation will be requested for the
more desired and valuable items.
Bring a bag and enjoy the browsing and socializing at the JGSGW Library
Overstock Book Sale and Exchange.
Refreshments will be served.
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Program: |
The Human Side of a Little-known Music Archive
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements,
and Program
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Speaker:
Miriam Isaacs (bio) |
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In the summer of 1948, the lobby of the
Hotel Marseilles, at Broadway and 103rd Street, served as a gathering
place for Holocaust survivors only recently off the ship from the
Displaced Persons camps of Germany. Most of them were Yiddish speakers,
bereft of most of their families and without much in the way of money or
English. The lobby was a good place to meet people like themselves and
talk. In that lobby, Ben Stonehill (nee Steinberg) set up an informal
operation to collect an archive of songs from these survivors.
At the time, wire reels and large microphones were new. Some survivors
had never seen a microphone and Stonehill had to explain what it did. He
archived over one thousand songs, with voices male and female, young and
old. The main spoken language is Yiddish, with most of the songs in
Yiddish or Hebrew. Some immigrants from an earlier era were interviewed
in English, describing the place of Yiddish song in the lives of
Ashkenazi Jews in terms of cultural cohesion and emotional sustenance. |
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| February |
Sunday,
February 9, 2014
*** Two Programs *** |
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Program #1: |
Holocaust Research for the Genealogist--Past, Present and Future
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Program #2: |
Resources at the Fairfax City Library |
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Note: Free admission for guests at this meeting. |
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM
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Speaker #1:
Peter Landé |
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20 years ago, Holocaust researchers had
few resources available, and even less on the web. Today, research is
much easier. Sources such as JewishGen, Yad Vashem, various online
national databases, printed sources containing databases for individual
concentration camps and other collections are readily available.
However, access to the International Tracing Service collection, the
largest source of information, remains difficult unless one physically
visits the sites where this material is available. Looking ahead, one
can expect easier access and the release of more information on Eastern
European material including the tens of thousands of Jews who fled
eastward ahead of the Germans.
Peter Landé was born in Berlin of German parents
and came to the United States as a child in 1937. His father had been a
professor and politician, and a member of the Reichsrat for Prussia.
Peter Landé received a BA from Haverford College in 1952 and a MA from
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He also studied at Hamburg
University on a Fulbright grant. He joined the Foreign Service of the
Department of State in 1956, serving in New Zealand, Germany, Japan,
India, Canada and Egypt, as well as in senior positions in the
Department. He retired in 1988 as Economic Minister in the US Embassy in
Cairo.
Since retirement, he has been active in genealogy research, writing and
lecturing, with special emphasis on Holocaust records. He has worked as
a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington, D.C. since its opening 20 years ago. In July 2001 he
received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association
of Jewish Genealogical Societies for work in identifying sources of
information on Holocaust victims and survivors.
Speaker #2: Alan Rems
Author and historian Alan Rems will present works from
the library’s collection that are especially important for genealogy
research and will deepen an understanding of the world our ancestors
came from. Items include the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern
Europe, books about specific Jewish communities, and Holocaust-related
works. The presentation will be followed by a tour of the Virginia Room. |
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| March |
Sunday, March 9, 2014 |
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Program: |
Polish Jewry Through the Eyes of One Family
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements,
and Program
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Speaker:
Gary Schiff (bio) |
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Dr. Gary Schiff, author of In Search of
Polin: Chasing Jewish Ghosts in Today’s Polin, will present a unique
verbal and visual perspective on the thousand-year history of Polish
Jewry. While outlining the broad sweep of what was for many centuries
the largest Jewish community in the world in words and pictures on
screen, Dr. Schiff will also zero in on the genealogy of his family in
Poland, which he has traced back to the 1700’s. He has found that by any
measure--names, family size, occupations, locations, religious and
political affiliations, etc.--they represented an accurate barometer of
what was going on with the millions of Polish Jews at any given time.
Dr. Schiff will also take us to all of Poland’s main cities and some of
its shtetls, where in 1939 Poland’s 3½ million Jews, who constituted 10
percent of Poland’s overall population, were often between 1/3 and 2/3
of the residents. The book, published in 2012 by Peter Lang Publishing,
a major international academic publisher, is based on Dr. Schiff’s visit
to Poland, and on years of historical and genealogical research.
Autographed copies will be available for purchase at a preferred price
after the talk. |
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| April |
Sunday, April
6, 2014
*** Program plus Workshop *** |
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Program: |
GenealogyIndexer Search Engine
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements,
and Program
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Speaker:
Logan Kleinwaks |
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GenealogyIndexer.org is a free website offering full-text search of
more than 400,000 pages of historical directories (business, address,
telephone), yizkor books, Polish and Russian military documents,
community and personal histories, Galician secondary school reports, and
more. Containing millions of personal names – often with places of
residence, street addresses, and occupations, and sometimes with vital
dates or patronymics – this huge and growing collection is mostly
comprised of data not searchable elsewhere. This talk will focus on
recently added sources, new ways to search, and highlights from the
past. Recipient of the IAJGS 2012 Award for Outstanding Contribution to
Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product.
Logan Joseph Kleinwaks is the creator of free genealogy websites
including
GenealogyIndexer.org,
a full-text search engine of historical directories and other sources,
and ShoahConnect.org, a tool for reuniting families separated by the
Shoah through Page of Testimony research. His broader genealogical
interests include the photographic documentation of Jewish cemeteries,
improving Internet access to genealogical information, and privacy. A
hobbyist genealogist living in Reston, he has a research background in
physics and started the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation (http://bookwish.org),
which aids refugees from the genocide in Darfur. |
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Workshop: |
Beginner's Workshop |
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Time: |
3:00 - 5:00 PM |
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If you are new to Jewish genealogy or
looking for some fresh ideas and new
sources or how to approach a "brick wall," then register for our
Beginner's
Workshop. The workshop is a members-only benefit. Attendees will receive
a
copy of the JGSGW publication "Jump-Start Your Jewish Genealogy
Research: A
Beginner's Guide." The Workshop will include an introduction to Jewish
Genealogy, information about special member-only access to our JGSGW
Library
and resources available at the library, an invitation to use the Jack
Klein
Memorial Library, local and national resources for research, the
internet
and online resources, and how you can use DNA testing as part of your
research toolkit.
Participation in the workshop limited to 20. This is a members-only
event.
Send registration request to
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| May |
Sunday,
May 4, 2014
*** Joint Program with JCCGW
*** |
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Program: |
Reception and Book Talk / Signing with
David Laskin
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Location:
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Time: |
3:00 PM - Reception
*** JGSGW Members Only ***
4:00 PM - Book Talk and Signing (open to public)
***
see flyer here ***
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The JCC of Greater Washington and the Jewish Genealogy
Society of Greater Washington present a Book Talk and Signing with David
Laskin, author of The
Family.
Free of charge.
For advanced book sales, email: jgsgw@jgsgw.org
To register, email:
dgoldberg@jccgw.org |
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| May |
Sunday,
May 18, 2014
*** Two Programs *** |
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Program #1: |
The Immigrant Saga: A Memoir of the Lower East Side & Early Jewish
American Writers |
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Program #2: |
Documentary film “Stories from the Syracuse Jewish Community”
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements,
and Program
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Speaker #1:
Professor
Sanford Sternlicht, Ph.D.
***
see poster here *** |
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The story of the massive Jewish
emigration to America from Eastern Europe (1882-1924) is one of
America's greatest success stories. And it was the Lower East Side of
Manhattan, the traditional reception area of NYC from the great Irish
Famine (1845-1849) until today, that was their first American home.
The Lower East Side was (and is) a magical place teeming with people.
Even in my childhood there were African Americans, Poles, Ukrainians,
and Irish living in the predominantly Jewish area, and of course, just
next door was and is China Town and Little Italy.
What did the Jewish Immigrants do for a living? What was religious and
cultural life like? What did they eat, read, see for entertainment, and
what games did the children play in an area that had a population
density as great as Calcutta.
Of particular interest is how and why did many Jewish writers come to
write in English rather than in Yiddish, their mother tongue? These
writers, such as Abraham Cahan, Anzia Yezierska, Marya Zaturenska,
Michael Gold, and Henry Roth broke new ground and made the way for the
next generation, the great generation of Jewish American
writers: Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, and
others.
Dr. Sternlicht will also be speaking on Monday, May 19, 2014 at noon at
the Library of Congress, African & Middle Eastern Reading Room, 101
Independence Ave. SE, Washington, District of Columbia 20540.
The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington and
The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington are sponsoring Dr.
Sternlicht’s lecture at the Library of Congress in celebration of Jewish
American Heritage Month.
Sanford Sternlicht is Emeritus Professor of English at Syracuse
University. He has a B.S. from SUNY: Oswego; M.A. (with distinction) from
Colgate University, and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He has been Leverhulme Visiting Professor of English at the University of York,
England and a Fulbright Senior Visiting Professor of English at the
University of Pecs, Hungary. He has lectured nationally for the English
Speaking Union of North America. Sternlicht has been a New York Council
for the Humanities Speaker in the Humanities since 2008. A former United
States Naval officer, Sternlicht has published 4 books on Naval History
including: Uriah Philips Levy: The Blue Star Commodore.
|
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Speaker #2: Robin Meltzer
What do you do if there are few or no genealogic
resources for your hometown? Create new ones. Cousins Linda Epstein, a
certified archivist, and Robin Meltzer, an attorney, realized that their
genealogic research
required information not held by libraries or archives, but perhaps kept
by their grandparents’ friends and neighbors. To uncover these items,
they joined together in December 2011 to found the Facebook group
“Jewish Community of the 15th Ward, Syracuse, New York.” Now at over 500
members, group participants have contributed thousands of images,
including family photos, letters, scrapbooks, headstone photos, vital
records and business ephemera from the 1870s onward. This fully
searchable database has solved many dozens of family mysteries and
brought about several family reunions. Inspired by these discoveries,
group member and producer Jay Lurie began filming a documentary on
Jewish Syracuse history in May 2011. Robin joined the project as
associate producer. The completed film will be broadcast on public
television in Central New York and shown at genealogy and Jewish
heritage events. Also see program on May 22 at the Library of Congress,
below. This May 18 presentation is 80% about crowdsourcing, and 20%
movie; the May 22 presentation will be just the reverse - primarily
movie.
Robin Meltzer is JGSGW Vice President of Communications. As an attorney
and genealogist, Robin has 30 years of research experience. Robin has
also written and co-written several articles on Jewish genealogy and
local history for the Jewish Observer of Central New York and Mishpacha,
the JGSGW newsletter. |
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| May 22: |
Thursday, May 22, 2014 |
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Program: |
"Stories from
the Syracuse Jewish Community” (Jay Lurie Productions) |
| Location: |
Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, corner of 2nd
Street and Independence Avenue SE, third floor, Mary Pickford Theater
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| Time: |
12:00 PM |
| |
“Stories from the Syracuse
Jewish Community” presents the history of Jewish life in central New
York, from German Jewish merchants who founded businesses on the Erie
Canal, to Russian immigrants who built a vibrant neighborhood in
Syracuse’s 15th Ward. Photographs and archival film footage bring to
light Jewish Syracusans from shoemakers to the Shubert
brothers. Residents recall the their childhood synagogues, YMHA
basketball rivalries, the upheavals of World War II and the dislocation
of urban renewal. Through the many changes of the last century, families
and neighbors maintained strong connections, laying a solid foundation
for the community’s future. The presentation is sponsored by the Library
of Congress in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month. Associate
producer Robin Meltzer, JGSGW VP for Communications, will give a brief
introduction to the documentary. |
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| June |
Sunday,
June 8, 2014 |
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Program: |
Membership Appreciation Luncheon
*** Members Only - no Guests ***
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Location:
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Time: |
Noon - Meeting and
Luncheon
1:00 PM - Program
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Speaker:
Seth Kibel
in Concert (play
short excerpt here) |
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Enjoy a toe-tapping program of klezmer
music interwoven with an engaging narrative on the history of this
unique musical form and its impact on Jewish culture. Seth will be
accompanied by pianist Sean Lane.
Seth Kibel is one of the Mid-Atlantic's premier woodwind specialists,
working with some of the best bands in jazz, swing, and more. Wowing
audiences on saxophone, clarinet, and flute, Seth has made a name for
himself in the Washington/Baltimore region, and beyond. He is the
featured performer with The Alexandria Kleztet, Bay Jazz Project, Music
Pilgrim Trio, The Natty Beaux, and more. Winner of 24 Washington Area
Music Awards (Wammies), including "Best World Music Instrumentalist"
(2003-11) and "Best Jazz Instrumentalist" (2005, 2007-8, 2011-12). For
more information, visit
http://www.sethkibel.com/. |
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| September |
Sunday,
September 14, 2014 |
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Program: |
DNA and Genealogy
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements, and Program
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Speaker:
Jay Sage |
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With the incredible drop in the cost of
DNA sequencing, DNA testing is now affordable for individuals. Mr. Sage
will discuss the role that DNA testing can play in genealogical
research. The basics of human genetics will clarify what can and cannot
be learned from DNA testing. The talk covers how the testing is done,
how much it costs, and how to interpret the reported results.
Jay Sage served as co-president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of
Greater Boston (JGSGB) from 2000 to 2003 and is currently co-editor of
the Society’s journal, Mass-Pocha. Professionally, Sage worked as a
research physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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| October |
Sunday,
October 19, 2014 |
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Program: |
Genealogy Resources in the Library of
Congress
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements, and Program
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| Speakers: |
Susan Garfinkel
(bio),
Anne Toohey
(bio) |
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Discover world class genealogy resources in your own backyard! This
program features presentations from representatives of the Library of
Congress from the Genealogy & Local History section. Each speaker will
highlight many resources of interest to genealogists and how the Library’s
unique collections can further family history research. |
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Finding Jewish Ancestors and their
Stories
Susan Garfinkel and Anne Toohey, Library of Congress
Many ancestors—immigrants, women, minorities,
and others—do not have compiled biographies. While their presence is duly
noted in public records such as the census, the richness of their lives can
seem lost to history. Yet, when the dry “facts” of records are placed in
context with a broad variety of social and cultural artifacts, a fuller
story soon emerges. Available sources of evidence run the gamut from
newspapers, travelogues, letters, diaries, printed texts and ephemera; to
photographs, moving images, sound recordings, and maps; to three-dimensional
objects. Anne Toohey of the Local History and Genealogy Section and Susan
Garfinkel of the Digital Reference Section will discuss resources and
strategies for reconstructing the lift stories of our ancestors using
materials available on site at the Library of Congress and digitized on its
website, with special attention to the historical context that enriches
Jewish genealogical research. |
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| November |
Sunday, November
16, 2014 |
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Location:
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Workshop: |
Beginner's Workshop
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Time: |
10:00 AM to noon.
The workshop
will start with an intro to Jewish genealogy in general, beginning with
basic guidelines and strategies . Then the participants will break into
small groups with 4 different "experts" for 15 minute sessions with
each. Everyone will have a chance to ask questions and take notes. The
four different sessions will be on DNA, Online Resources, Local and
National Resources and info on the holdings of the JGSGW library, which
is at B'nai Israel, and how to use them. Attendees will be given a copy
of the JGSGW publication “Jump-Start Your Jewish Genealogy Research: A
Beginner’s Guide.”
The workshop is free for members of JGSGW; anyone who joins the
Society in advance may be part of the group. The workshop will be
limited to 20 enrollees. To register, please send an email to
A light
lunch will be available between the workshop and the afternoon JGSGW
meeting.
BONUS
DRAWING
A raffle
will be held for participants in the workshop. Two lucky names will be
drawn. The prizes are (1) copy of Family Tree Maker 2014 for PC and (1)
copy of Family Tree Maker Mac 3.
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Program: |
Two Programs:
1. The Name Remains the Same: Adventures in Finding Sid Caesar's
Grandmother
2. Researching the Man with Many Names
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Time: |
12:30 PM - Short Business
Meeting, Announcements, and Program (note
start time)
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Speakers:
Robin Meltzer (bio),
Marlene Bishow
(bio) |
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Robin: When Sid Caesar, the
architect of television’s Golden Age, passed away in February 2014,
hundreds of press reports repeated the myth that the family name had
been “changed at Ellis Island” on their arrival from Austria. Of course,
no one’s name was changed at Ellis Island (or Castle Garden). But
careful research proved that the family’s surname remained unchanged
from the time they lived in Galicia through their immigration to the
United States. This presentation will explain the search techniques used
to find the embarkation list and passenger manifest for Sid Caesar’s
grandmother and great-uncle, and how attendees can apply these
methodologies to their own research. |
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Marlene: For 42 years, Grandpa Jack was
an important part of my life. While I loved and admired the man, it was
not until more than a dozen years after his death that I uncovered more
of his story. Using skills that I learned as a genealogist, I developed
a fuller and richer understanding of this man of many names, whose life
had a profound influence on me. In this presentation, I will tell his
story with emphasis on the sources and resources that I used. |
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| December 2 |
Tuesday, December
2, 2014 |
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Program: |
Jewish Genealogical Research Resources at the Library of Congress
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Location:
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Library of
Congress, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Room LM B01,
Washington, DC
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Time: |
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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Leader: Library of Congress personnel |
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Our day of learning begins at the
Geography & Map Division’s Reading Room with the Sanborn Maps and
related collections. Beginning in 1867, the Sanborn Map Company
published detailed maps showing individual buildings and lots in
approximately 12,000 cities and towns in the United States. Attendees
will learn research techniques for using maps to corroborate and enhance
family histories.
After a lunch break, we will visit the Hebraic Section of the Library’s
African and Middle Eastern Division where we will meet staff specialists
in Jewish history and culture. We will view rare Jewish historical
materials in a variety of Hebraic languages from around the world.
Materials with a distinct family focus include haggadahs and children’s
books. Next, we will tour the Main Reading Room and the Local History &
Genealogy collection. There will be a presentation on usiing the
electronic resources, and a chance to peruse historical materials of
genealogic interest, including periodicals, yearbooks, and synagogue
histories.
The workshop is FREE to JGSGW members but is limited
to 25 enrollees. Nonmembers may join JGSGW in advance of the
workshop (if space is available). To register, please send an e-mail
to
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| December 7 |
Sunday, December 7,
2014 |
|
Program: |
Sharing your family stories with the next generation – Tips from
a Jewish Storyteller
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Location:
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Time: |
1:00 PM - Schmooze
1:30 PM - Short Business Meeting, Announcements, and Program
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Speaker:
Robert Rovinsky
(bio) |
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The work of gathering and assembling
family histories is not complete until the material is passed along to
the next generation. In this talk, Storyteller Bob Rovinsky will share
some of his work in transforming family narrative into compelling
stories. When can we elaborate, leave out, or stick to the facts? How
can we make the past meaningful to the present generation of listeners?
Bob will illustrate his talk with stories from his and others families.
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© 2014, Jewish Genealogy Society of
Greater Washington, Inc.
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