Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland

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Sunday July 25, 2021
Save the date for our next meeting!

As genealogists, we often search for stories of identity and belonging. How did the Great Depression shape your great-grandmother’s life? What was your family’s experience of World War II? Generations from now, genealogists will continue exploring these stories. They will also wonder about our experience during the historic global pandemic that we’ve faced together. To ensure that the Maryland Jewish Community’s experience of this turbulent moment is preserved and shared, JGSMD members have the opportunity to partner with the Jewish Museum of Maryland.

Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic is one project of a larger initiative by the Council of American Jewish Museums that aims to document the Jewish experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jewish communities in 18 cities throughout the United States are leveraging an innovative oral history platform, TheirStory, to preserve stories of this time and make our experiences accessible for the genealogists that will follow in our footsteps. Join this session to learn more about the project and how you can get involved.

Zach Ellis is the Founder & CEO of TheirStory (www.theirstory.io) -- a remote interviewing platform used by over 50 institutions to remotely record, transcribe, index, and make accessible their community members' stories -- now and for future generations. Zack founded TheirStory after recording his parents telling their life stories over video calls while Zack was in San Francisco and his parents were in Rochester, NY. Prior to TheirStory, Zack worked in Silicon Valley for 6 years at several technology startups -- ranging in industries from API Management, to Home Care, to Education Technology. He has a BA in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Maggie Hoffman serves as the archivist at the Jewish Museum of Maryland where she manages several contemporary collecting initiatives, including JMM’s Collecting These Times project. Previously, she has worked and volunteered in government, museum, university, and community archives. She is committed to generating thoughtful conversations about how communities can learn from history to envision a better future. Her interests include environmental history, creative outreach, and archival access. She is an active member of the Society of American Archivists, where she co-founded the Career Services Commons in 2020. Maggie holds a BA in History from Reed College and an MS-LIS in Archives Management from Simmons College. She can be reached at mahoffman@jewishmuseummd.org

Past Programs

See our past programs here.

Brick Walls

Do you have a genealogy brick wall that you'd like help breaking down? Click here to find out how to have our membership help.

We Need Volunteers!

JGS Maryland has many volunteer opportunities available! If you're interested in getting involved behind the scenes, please be sure to let us know!

Join JGS-Maryland!

Fill out our membership form to join JGSMD!

Upcoming Programs

Please visit our programs page for details on our 2013-2014 programming schedule.

News Tidbits

JGS Maryland has been reconstituted!
JGSMD had its initial meeting on Sunday August 18, 2013 to see if there was interest in the group's reconstituting. The turnout was overwhelming, with 31 people attending with only a few days' notice. Look forward to new programming over the next year!
Some of the attendees: