Date
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Speaker/Topic
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March 3, 2019
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Peter J. Haas
Abba Hillel Silver Professor Emeritus
Case western Reserve University
The Clubs: What Excelsior and Oakwood
tell us about Jewish Life in Cleveland
In 1872 about two dozen Jewish business men, excluded from
other clubs in Cleveland, met to form their own social club. The result
was the Excelsior Club which hosted Jewish high society life in Cleveland
for the next nearly 60 years. Due to changing social, demographic and financial
factors, the Excelsior Club voted in 1930 to end its separate existence
and to merge into the newer suburban Jewish club, Oakwood. This Oakwood
Club continued to be an important part of the Cleveland Jewish community
until it was dissolved in 2010 and its membership combined with Mayfield
Sand Ridge Country Club.
This talk focused on the social history of our community
from the character, trajectories and experiences of these two institutions.
It also focused on how these clubs throw light on larger trends that were
shaping North American Jewry.
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February 3, 2019
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Russ Maurer, JGSC Trustee
Spoke on
The Latest and Greatest in Litvak Records
the Vilnius Household Registers
Russ Maurer, who coordinates the household register
project for LitvakSIG, recounted the events that led to the introduction
of household registration to Vilnius in 1919. He explained how household
registration worked, information which provides the background necessary
to understand these records and the unique insights they can provide
into one's family over the inter-war years. The presentation was
illustrated with specific examples.
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January 6, 2019
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The business meeting included Installation
of our Officers and Board for 2019 and a drawing of prizes for early
payment of dues for 2019, followed by our speaker,
Amy
Wachs, Immediate Past President, Jewish Genealogy Society of
Cleveland
OUR EASTERN EUROPEAN ROOTS: WE ARE WHAT OUR ANCESTORS ATE
Amy described what family recipes can tell you about
your ancestors’ places of origin and life in the shtetls of Eastern
Europe.
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December 2, 2018
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ANNUAL MEETING - Election of Officers
and
Report on the 2018 IAJGS conference in Warsaw.
The meeting began with Annual Reports by President, Sylvia Abrams, and
Treasurer, Marilyn Baskin, the annual election of officers and trustees,
and a report by Marlene Englander and Paul Wolf describing our new website.
Following the business meeting, Speakers Marlene Englander, Sean Martin,
Anne Lukas, and Ken Bravo reported on the 38th Conference of the International
Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies which was held in Warsaw, Poland
in August. The panel shared conference sessions and experiences, and discussed
the upcoming 39th conference, which will be in downtown Cleveland from July
28 through August 2, 2019.
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November 11, 2018
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Lara
Diamond, President, Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland
Session 1/DNA 101: How to Use Genetic Testing for Genealogical
Research
Recent scientific advances in genetic sequencing
allow consumers to test their own DNA in a quick and non-invasive
process. In this lecture, Lara Diamond explained how you can leverage
such tests to assist in your genealogical research. She discussed
the various sorts of tests available (including autosomal, yDNA
and mtDNA) and explains the types of genealogical questions each
one can help to answer. She also explained how each company presents
results, the strategies for transferring results from one company
to others, and how to use them to assist in your genealogical research.
Session 2/Sorting Out Distant Cousins From Close Family:
Genetic Testing in Cases of Endogamy
Genetic genealogy is particularly daunting for those
whose forebears come from endogamous populations (such as Ashkenazi
Jews, native Hawaiians and Cajuns, who have married in a closed
group for generations). The work of identifying actual relatives
from the mass of genetic distantly-related family can be frustrating.
Drawing on case studies, this lecture explained how you can have
success in such a situation. For Lara Diamond, this work has led
to reunification with many relatives, including a family branch
thought to have been killed in the Holocaust.
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October 10, 2018
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Patricia Edmonson
Curator of Costumes and Textiles
Cleveland History Center of the Western Reserve Historical Society
The Way We Were: What Photos Tell Us
Ms. Edmonson provided valuable tips to understanding
and preserving family photos (1870’s- 1920’s) plus
- Creating a photographic family tree
- Using clues from clothing and hair styles to date images
- How to organize and store archival materials properly
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September 20, 2018
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Introduction to JEWISHGEN.ORG
an interactive workshop for members
Led by Russ Maurer
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September 5, 2018
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Mark Jamba, DVM
What Killed Grandma: Dissecting Death Certificates
Before the introduction of antibiotics and certain
vaccines there were common illnesses that were often life-threatening
and could be found handwritten on death certificates.
Understandably, it would become challenging for
family genealogy researchers to comprehend fully what were common
causes of death in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Veterinarian Mark Jamba helped demystify historical
medical terminology in his lighthearted presentation, as he explained
the common causes of death dating back more than a century ago with
emphasis on understanding the impact that sickness had on our ancestors
and history. His presentation covered each of the major organ systems
with the necessary scientific terminology broken down into prefix,
root and suffix to further comprehension. Fourteen infectious diseases
that often killed our ancestors were introduced and for each the
cause, transmission, diagnosis and treatment was highlighted.
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Sunday
August 5, 2018
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Judy Cetina
FIELD TRIP to the
Cuyahoga County Archives
3951 Perkins Avenue
Cleveland
We had a guided tour of the Cuyahoga County Archives now
located in the former Halle Brothers warehouse at 3951 Perkins Avenue, Cleveland.
The Archives encourages the use and scholarly research of
all County records and makes staff assistance available for that purpose.
This was an opportunity for members and guests to learn
about the holdings and resources available to the general public as well
as research policies and procedures.
Time was available for questions and responses from archivist
Judy Cetina and members of her staff.
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July 11, 2018
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Harry Brown
Partner - Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Creating an Ethical Will
There is an old Jewish custom whereby a parent writes not
one, but two wills. The first is a conventional or disposition will to pass
on material possessions. The second, equally or even more important, is
an ethical will. The ethical will states the values in which the parents
want the children to subscribe. Attorney Harry Brown shared examples of
ethical wills and how they are prepared in contemplation of death to create
something of meaning that will live on after we are gone, providing a sense
of completion for our lives.
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June 21, 2018
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Introduction to ANCESTRY.COM
an interactive workshop for members
Led by Murray Davis
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June 6, 2018
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Betsie Norris
Founder and Executive Director of the Adoption Network Cleveland
and Mark Elliott
Accessing Adoption Records
Betsie Norris spoke about current laws regarding adoption
records in Ohio and other states, including the movement to open previously
closed birth records to adult adoptees. In addition, she also addressed
how DNA testing can help reunite adult adoptees with their birth families.
Mark Elliott, who was adopted at the age of 2-1/2 from Bellefaire, shared
his journey to a successful reunion with his biological family members.
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May 2, 2018
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Sunny Morton
Comparing the Genealogy Giants
Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com
These genealogy giants all provide international audiences
with tools and records for researching family trees online. But which should
you use? We learned why we should be familiar with all four sites; subscription
and free access options; and how they compare for historical record content
(including records for Jewish research), family trees and DNA tools, and
we were told about insider tips on each site’s best features—and cautions
or challenges for working with each.
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April 11, 2018
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Sylvia Abrams, President, Jewish Genealogy Society of
Cleveland,
Ken Bravo, President, International Association of
Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS), and
Chuck Lissauer, Past President, Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland
LOCAL EXPERTS SHARE PERSONAL BREAKTHROUGHS AND “AHA MOMENTS”
The speakers shared valuable techniques that led them to
experience “aha moments” in researching their own ancestors, and revealed
insights from years of examining marriage records, census documents and
school yearbooks to enhance family research. Each cited specific examples
of breakthroughs they had made and invited questions from the audience on
how to get the most value out of their investigative research. Tips from
“how to” video clips on census records, marriage documents and school yearbooks
were also featured courtesy of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island,
New York.
Sylvia Abrams discussed marriage record information that
can further family research. Ken Bravo provided tips on making the most
of federal census reports. Chuck Lissauer spoke about examining school yearbooks
as a source of useful information for genealogists.
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March 4, 2018
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Matthew Skvasik
Innovation Programming Specialist
Cuyahoga County Public Library
The Memory Lab at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library
Branch
An Asset for Genealogy Research
Matthew Skvasik explained the equipment, capabilities and
software that can be used for free in the library’s lab to digitize and
preserve family photographs, artifacts and other items.
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February 4, 2018
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Mitchell Balk
President, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
Whither Jewish Hospitals - the Mt. Sinai Legacy
Mitchell Balk discussed the history of Jewish-sponsored
hospitals in the United States, with a focus on Cleveland’s Mt. Sinai Medical
Center, In his presentation, he explained how the medical institution has
had a lasting impact on the community through the grantmaking Foundation
formed from its sale in 1996 and the people who fondly remember the history
of the hospital.
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January 7, 2018
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Ken Bravo, and Richard Spector
Installation of Officers
and
Learn how to “Break down Brick Walls”
A panel of experts, past presidents of the Jewish Genealogy
Society of Cleveland, gave advice on how to break through a brick wall while
researching your family tree. They shared research strategies and examples
of how they have found missing ancestors.
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For lists of earlier programs and speakers, click on the
ARCHIVE tab on the menu bar at the top of the page.
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