Events 2003

Find Your Family Roots: A Beginners Workshop  flyer

Nancy Levin Arbeiter

December 14, 2003, Sunday — 1:00-5:00 PM

Nancy Levin Arbeiter, an internationally known genealogist, will pack all the basics you need to know for beginner and middle-level genealogical research into a four-hour Beginner’s Workshop. Though Nancy specializes in Jewish genealogy, most of the information is relevant for all genealogical researchers. Topics covered will include Research Logs, Analyzing the Evidence, Census Records, City Directories, Vital Records, Passenger Arrival Manifests, Naturalization Records, and Obituary and Cemetery Research. An extensive handout will be distributed at the workshop. Participants are asked to be on time.

Nancy Levin Arbeiter, CGRS, is a full-time professional genealogist specializing in Jewish family history research. She has a private research practice and since 1996 has also directed the genealogical research services at the American Jewish History Society. Nancy is the author of “A Beginner’s Primer in U.S. Jewish Genealogical Research,” published in AVOTAYNU: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, 1998. She has taught the beginner’s workshop at numerous past international Jewish genealogical conferences and has lectured widely on specific areas of genealogical research. Nancy was a speaker at the 2000 and 2003 National Genealogical Society Conferences held in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Admission is FREE and open to the public.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.  Phone: Wellesley Library (781) 235-1610, ext. 105

Refreshments will be served.

This meeting is being held at the Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St. (Rt. 16), Wellesley.  It can be reached from Rt. 16 at Exit 21 and from Rt. 9 at the Wellesley Hills exit.


Genealogical Research at the Center for Jewish History, New York

Robert Friedman

December 7, 2003, Sunday — 1:00-4:00 PM

The new Center for Jewish History in New York has been heralded as the diaspora’s “National Archives of the Jewish people”.  The Center’s five partners — American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research — collectively house 100 million archival documents and half a million books. The Genealogy Institute’s director, Robert Friedman, will explain the services offered by the Center and will help you identify and access items of interest. Learn about the variety of resources available and how to prepare in advance for an efficient and rewarding research experience.

A native New Yorker, Robert Friedman has a BA in Anthropology from Columbia, an MS in Environmental Health Science, and an MS in Library Science with an Archives and Records Management Certificate. His family history research, begun eight years ago, focuses on Hungary, Transylvania, eastern Slovakia, and the former Suwalki Gubernia in Russian Poland. Active in JewishGen’s Hungarian SIG, Bob also participated in the IAJGS Cemetery Project and JewishGen Yizkor Book Project, and he has served on the Executive Council of JGSNY.

The meeting will take place in the Silvershore Room at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton.  The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21.  Click here for directions.


Secret Jews from Spain and Portugal: History and Genealogy   flyer

Gloria Mound

November 16, 2003, Sunday — 1:30-4:30 PM

What began twenty-five years ago as research on the Secret Jews/Marranos on two Spanish islands has developed into a worldwide project that is discovering and tracing the descendants of Marranos from Spain and Portugal. The original Secret Jews were Jews who were compelled to convert to Christianity first in medieval Spain and then in Portugal. Gloria Mound will lecture on their fascinating history and genealogy.

Gloria Mound is the founder and executive director of Casa Shalom: Institute for Marrano-Anusim Studies at Gan Yavnah, Israel, and was an Honorary Research Fellow of the Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Glasglow. Casa Shalom maintains a unique library and database on previously unknown Jewish communities that is of increasing use to researchers and genealogists. The society also aids many hidden Jews to declare themselves and regain their Jewish heritage.

NOTE: This meeting is being held at the Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St. (Rt. 16), Wellesley. It can be reached from Rt. 16 at Exit 21 and from Rt. 9 at the Wellesley Hills exit.


Using the Internet to Find Anything and Anyone (Dead or Alive)   flyer

Ron Arons

October 13, 2003, Monday — 7:00-9:30 PM
Temple Reyim, West Newton

The internet has vast resources, which can be used in a variety of ways. One only needs a bit of creativity to find the treasures that will help with the family research process. This is not just a theoretical lecture or simply a listing of websites. Many examples will be provided to show how anyone’s family research process can be enhanced.

Ron Arons is a seasoned genealogist. He has traced his roots to England, Poland, Romania, the Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania.  A member of the board of the San Francisco Jewish Genealogical Society, he has given presentations locally and abroad, including at the past three International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies annual conferences in London, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.

Admission is free for members, $5 for non-members.
Refreshments will be served.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Polish-Jewish Genealogical Research     flyer    

Warren Blatt

Sept 14, 2003, Sunday — 1:30-4:30 PM
Temple Reyim, West Newton

A general overview and introduction to researching your Polish-Jewish ancestry. This interactive slide presentation will cover the history of Polish border changes, geography and place-name changes; How to find and locate your ancestral shtetl and historical information; The vital records-keeping system in Poland: How to find and translate birth, marriage and death records; Polish-Jewish surnames and given names, language spelling and grammar issues; Yizkor books and landsmanschaftn; business directories; Polish Archives and Civil Registration Offices; Using Mormon microfilms, Internet sources, and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for Jewish genealogical research in Poland.

Warren Blatt is the Editor-in-Chief of JewishGen (www.jewishgen.org), the primary Internet site for Jewish genealogy, an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (www.mjhnyc.org) in New York City.  Warren is the author of Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the Boston Area (JGSGB, 1996); and co-author (with Gary Mokotoff) of Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy (Avotaynu, 1999).  He was the Chair of the 15th International Seminar on Jewish Genealogy, held here in Boston in 1996.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Jewish Migration within and out of The Russian Empire: 1850-1914   flyer    

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern

August 20, 2003, Wednesday — 7:00-9:30 PM
The Wellesley Public Library, Wakelin Room 1
530 Washington Street (Route 16), Wellesley, MA

From the late 18th century until the Russian Revolution, the Russian Empire included large areas of the former Kingdom of Poland: Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, eastern Poland, and the Ukraine. Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern will present the migration patterns that took place within the Russian Empire during the mid-19th century. He will also discuss the reasons and the logistics for the vast emigration from the Russian Empire to the United States and the role played by the German Jewish community.

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern was born in 1962 in Kiev, Ukraine, into a profoundly assimilated family of Jewish intellectuals. He received a PhD in Comparative Literature in 1988 from Moscow University. In 1996, he came to Brandeis University as a graduate student and was awarded a PhD in Jewish History in 2001. He has taught Judaism and Jewish history in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and the USA and has published extensively on European and South American Literature and on Modern Jewish History. He is currently completing a book on the encounter between Russian Jews and the Russian army entitled Drafted into Modernity: Jews in the Russian Empire 1827-1914.

NOTE: Temple Reyim is being renovated this summer, and this meeting is being held at the Wellesley Public Library, located at 530 Washington Street (Route 16), Wellesley. It can be reached from Route 128 at Exit 21 and from Route 9 at the Wellesley Hills exit.


23rd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy

July 20-25, 2003

JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC

Hosted by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington; sponsored by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).

  • More than 100 Lectures
  • Jewish Genealogy Film Festival
  • Ask the Experts tutorial sessions
  • Special Interest Group Luncheons
  • Birds-of-a-Feather Meetings
  • Special Interest Group Meetings
  • Great Washington DC Resources
  • Computer and Resources Room
  • Vendor Exhibitions
  • Special Washington Tours and Events
  • Exciting Closing Kosher Banquet

For more information, see http://www.jewishgen.org/dc2003.


Jewish Boston: Where Once We Walked   flyer     

Norman Morris

June 1, 2003 — 1:30-4:30 pm
Temple Reyim, West Newton

Annual Meeting: “Jewish Boston: Where Once We Walked”, with Norman Morris. Norman Morris is the author of two books on Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.

Boston native Norm Morris will describe the Jewish Boston of his youth and early adult years. He has recently written two books about the former Jewish neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. In Ghetto Memories, Norm depicted in text and photographs the vibrant life from the 1930s until the flight to the suburbs in the 1960s. The ‘prequel’, Ghetto Memories Revisited, begins with immigration and development of the area in the early 1900s and ends with “what it is like today.”

Norm Morris was President of NMA, Inc., an international audit and consulting firm; a commissioned Examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and a faculty member at Northeastern University and the Banking School at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He holds an undergraduate degree in finance with a graduate degree in economics from Brown University and is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School. Prior to his military service during the Korean War, Mr. Morris was a professional baseball player.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Memorial Books as a Source for Genealogy  flyer     

Joyce Field

May 4, 2003 — 1:30-4:30 pm
Temple Reyim, West Newton

“Memorial Books as a Source for Genealogy”, with Joyce Field.  Joyce Field is the coordinator of the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project, which translates memorial (Yizkor) Books from Yiddish, Hebrew and other languages into English.

Yizkor books provide a valuable source of information about Jewish communities in Eastern and Central Europe.  Former residents published these books, written mostly in Hebrew or Yiddish, as a tribute to their home towns and the people there who perished during the Holocaust.  The JewishGen Yizkor Book Project was organized in 1994 to unlock the valuable information contained in these books, by compiling an online database of Yizkor Books, and online translations.

Joyce Field, a founder of the Yizkor Book Project, now serves as its Project Manager.  As Vice President for Research at JewishGen, she oversees a number of other research projects, including the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR).  She has also served on the steering committees of the Romania and Gesher Galicia SIGs.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Lithuanian Jewry Yesterday and Today  flyer

Dina Kopilevic

April 6, 2003 — 1:30-4:30 pm
Temple Reyim, West Newton

Dina Kopilevic is the Secretary for Cultural, Public, and Educational Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Washington, DC. She will speak about the history of Lithuanian Jewry, the current Jewish culture in Lithuania, and travel for archival research and to visit one’s ancestral home.

Born in Lithuania, Ms. Kopilevic received a Master’s of Science Degree in Pharmacy from the Kaunas Medical Academy in 1988. Upon joining the Lithuanian Embassy in 2000, she became the only Jewish staff member. Ms. Kopilevic has been active in various Lithuanian Jewish cultural societies. Dina has accompanied her sister, Regina Kopilevic, the foremost Lithuanian Jewish research guide, on several of her guided tours.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Sephardic Genealogy    flyer     

Jeff Malka

March 9, 2003 — 1:30-4:30 pm
Temple Reyim, West Newton

“Sephardic Genealogy”, with Jeff Malka, author of a recent 400-page book entitled Sephardic Genealogy published by Avotaynu.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


Traveling to the Lands of Our Ancestors   flyer     

Tom Weiss, Judi Garfinkle

February 2, 2003 — 1:30-4:30 pm
Temple Reyim, West Newton

Join two of our members, Judi Garfinkel and Tom Weiss, as they describe and illustrate their travels to their ancestral homelands in search of their genealogical roots. There will be an opportunity for questions and answers after each presentation.

Judi Garfinkel, a first-time traveler to Romania, spoke about her trip at the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Toronto last summer. Her talk was well received, and she will now share with us her experiences as a novice journeying to Romania for genealogical research.

Tom Weiss has made numerous trips in search of his genealogical roots in Ukraine, Austria and the Czech Republic. Some were made independently; others were organized JewishGen “ShtetlShlepper” trips. From him we’ll get the perspectives of a seasoned traveler.

The meeting will take place at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington Street (Route 16), West Newton. The Temple is near Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Woodland Stop on the Riverside Green Line, as well as a short ride from Route 128 at Exit 21. Click here for directions.


JGSGB’s Night at the National Archives

 

January 7, 2003 — 6:00-9:00pm
National Archives, New England Region, 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA.

Our annual meeting at the National Archives and Records Administration facility in Waltham features instruction on how to access the materials at NARA and an opportunity to carry out research.

The Archives will be open in the evening especially for us. If your membership is not current, please send dues in advance to: JGSGB, P.O. Box 610366, Newton Highland, MA 02461-0366.

The National Archives, New England Region holds many records for genealogical research, including the U.S. Federal Census (1790-1930); Passenger Arrival Records for Boston and other New England ports; New England Naturalization Records, Canadian Border Crossing records, WWI Draft Registration Card for New England, Russian Consular Records, and WWII War Crimes records.

For a complete list of the National Archives’ relevant holdings, see Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the Boston Area, (Boston: JGSGB, 1996).

Jerry Anderson will give the orientation at 6:00 PM, repeating it as often as needed during the evening. Archives staff and experienced JGSGB members will be available to help anyone who needs assistance. Microfilm copiers are available, so bring quarters.

Refreshments will be served.

Directions:

  • From Route 128: Exit at Trapelo Road (Exit 28 or 28A) and continue east on Trapelo Road for 2.8 miles to the National Archives, on the right side of the road.
  • From Boston: Take Storrow Drive, follow signs for Route 2. Cross the Charles River at the Eliot Bridge, bear right but keep left, left on Mt. Auburn Street till it forks, bear right onto Belmont Street. When Belmont Street forks, bear right onto Trapelo Road, follow for 2.4 miles to the National Archives on the left.