Genealogical Research at the American Jewish Historical Archives in Cincinnati (No charge or JGSLA members; $5.00 for guests. You may join at the door)

Monday, March 20, 2006, 7:00 pm, at the Valley Cities Jewish Community Center
(for directions)

7:00 p.m. Pre-meeting Program: Yizkor Books – Bridges to the Past

Speaker: Joyce Field

Yizkor books are memorial books that recollect Eastern European Jewish communities, usually created by landsmanshaftn (societies of immigrants from the same town) after the Holocaust. Most of them are written in Hebrew and Yiddish. They are useful to genealogists because they contain family names and specific information about families who were living in Eastern Europe during the interwar period. JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Project posted its first translation in 1997 and at the end of 2005 had 416 entries and 677 books, including volumes from Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Yugoslavia. Joyce Field will explain how JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Project functions, what insights can be gained from researching these memorial books, and how you can help in the effort to make additional translations available to all researchers.

Joyce Field has been actively involved in Jewish genealogy for ten years and with JewishGen since 1997, when she assumed the role of Yizkor Book Translations Manager. She became Vice President of Research in 1999, and was instrumental in creating the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Register. She is also a Vice President for Data Acquisition for JewishGen.

7:30 p.m. Program: Genealogical Research at the American Jewish Historical Archives in Cincinnati: Unusual Resources

Speaker: Nancy Felson Brant

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/, has a large and growing genealogy collection which is used by persons seeking information on their ancestry and family history. From the most obvious family trees, oral histories, memoirs, and biographies, to the personal papers of rabbis and synagogue organizational records--which often contain membership lists and vital record information--Nancy Brant will explore the more unusual resources of the Center, and the extensive online catalogue of the archives, and explain the best way to pursue your research.

Nancy Felson Brant is a native Cincinnatian. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BA Degree in Sociology. She has been researching her family history for about 30 years. She has taught Jewish Genealogy at the Institute for Learning in Retirement at the University of Cincinnati and at the Melton School. She is currently a genealogy consultant to the American Jewish Archives and speaks nationally on genealogy subjects.

Location: Valley Cities Jewish Community Center, 13164 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys.

Directions to Valley Cities Jewish Community Center: Exit the 405 Freeway at Burbank and drive three miles east. The JCC is on the right between Woodman Avenue and Coldwater Canyon. Or, exit the 170 Freeway at Burbank and drive two miles west. The JCC will be on your left.