Events Search and Views Navigation
January 2021
What is the New England Jewish Experience? Co-Sponsored with the New England Jewish History Collaborative
An Online Event Presented by the New England Jewish History Collaborative Sunday, January 24, 2021 2:00–4:00 PM Do New England Jews share a common experience? Is there a regional identity? What resources are available for studying New England’s Jewish history? Join us online as we invite historians, archivists, genealogists, and others interested in Jewish history to explore the regional experience of New England Jews. Program Keynote Talk Highlighting the consistent patterns and the dynamic exceptions that have defined New England's…
Find out more »An Evening with Brooke Schreier Ganz – Co-Sponsored with the Massachusetts Genealogical Council
Presented by Massachusetts Genealogical Council and co-sponsored by JGSGB Reclaim The Records is a non-profit organization that advocates for greater transparency and accessibility for genealogical, archival, and vital records in the United States. They use state Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits to provide copies of previously inaccessible records to the public. Reclaim The Records then digitizes and publishes the records online for free public use, without any copyrights or usage restrictions. Reclaim The Records is the first genealogical…
Find out more »Amy Wachs – History and Geography-Tools for Eastern European Research
PLEASE NOTE: THIS PROGRAM WILL NOT BE RECORDED JGSGB paid members: Program is free. Members do not need to register.You can find the Zoom link by logging in to your JGSGB Membership account. Once logged in, use the "What would you like to do" dropdown to locate the Members-only Page for the Zoom link. You will also receive an email with the Zoom link the morning of the program.This program will NOT be recorded. Non-members: Click here to pay $5.00 fee…
Find out more »February 2021
Marian Burk Wood – Planning a Future for your Family’s Past
Old family photos, documents, and heirlooms are vitally important in preserving your family's past. Learn how to organize and store these special items safely, and discover an easy step-by-step process for deciding what to retain in your collection and what to give to relatives or institutions. Finally, you will get ideas for preparing a "genealogical will" to preserve your family's photos, documents, and heirlooms for future generations. Bio: Marian Burk Wood is a popular speaker and author. Her Planning a Future…
Find out more »March 2021
Nicka Smith – Reverse Genealogy: Finding Cousins and Chasing the Living
This presentation is for you if you’ve done a great job finding your ancestors, but you’re not sure where to start to locate their living descendants. Learn tips and tricks that you can use to safely and respectfully discover the identities of your living cousins and perhaps make new connections. Bio: Nicka Smith is a professional photographer, speaker, host, and documentarian with more than 20 years of experience as a genealogist. She hosts BlackProGen LIVE, an innovative web show about…
Find out more »April 2021
Stephen Morse – Two Lectures: Finding Presidents’ (and Your) Ancestors in the Strangest Places & Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching with and without a Name Index
Finding Presidents' (and Your) Ancestors in the Strangest Places You might think that U.S. presidents are a breed apart from your ancestors, but they are not. They also arrived on ships and also came face-to-face with the census taker. This talk will show you how to search for presidential records, and, in the process, it will teach you how to search for your ancestors' records. There are similar problems with both searches, including misspellings and incorrect dates, and we'll learn…
Find out more »May 2021
Emily Garber – Two Talks: When It Takes a Village: Applying Cluster Research Techniques & Conflict Management: Evaluating Evidence of Identity
When It Takes a Village: Applying Cluster Research Techniques Researching our ancestors involves not only finding their origins, tracking them through different times and places, and viewing them in their social context, but also looking at their relatives, associates, and neighbors. This presentation shows how to apply cluster and collateral research techniques to your genealogical research problems. Topics include research planning, commonly used resources and documents, and a case study following individuals’ migrations from Europe to the U.S., overcoming name…
Find out more »Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz – Finding Vital Records from Poland Online
Joint program between the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts and the JGSGB If you’d like to go beyond JewishGen and JRI-Poland to find vital records for your Polish-Jewish ancestors, this program will introduce you to major websites such as Metryki, GenBaza, Szukajwarchiwach (the Polish State Archives), Geneteka, and FamilySearch. Our speaker, Julie Szczepankiewicz, will also review U.S. records that contain the specific places of origin of your immigrant ancestors, suggest resources to decipher misspelled place names, and identify the registry…
Find out more »June 2021
JGSGB Panel: Digital Storytelling: A New Way to Share Your Information
Our stories keep memories alive. Digital storytelling, using computer-based audio visual tools, allows everyday people to share their stories in a 21st century way. Four JGSGB members, Linda Levine, Gilda Bruckman, Jill Roff and Jeanne Eberhart will each share their unique stories via short videos (each under 5 minutes) and explain how they turned genealogical research into a video using resources of the Cambridge Public Library and Cambridge CCTV. You will experience how compelling family stories can be when presented through this wonderful new…
Find out more »