Sunday
December 2, 2018
|
ANNUAL MEETING - Election of Officers
and
Report on the 2017 IAJGS Orlando conference.
Speakers Phyllis Bravo, Kenneth Bravo, Sherri Routman, and Helen
Wolf reported on the 37th Conference of the International Association
of Jewish Genealogical Societies which was held in Orlando in July.
The panel shared conference sessions and experiences such as: deciding
if a family tree should be private or public; how to evaluate records;
special interest groups; and featured speakers.
The meeting also included the annual election of officers and trustees.
|
Sunday
November 11, 2018
|
|
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.
|
 |
|
Lara Diamond’s appearance was sponsored by
The Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland
and
Siegal Life Long Learning Program of Case Western Reserve University
|
|
|
|
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
|
 |
|
Sunday
September 5, 2018
|
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
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.
|
Sunday
March 4, 2018
|
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.
|
 |
|
Sunday
February 4, 2018
|
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.
|
 |
|
Sunday
January 7, 2018
|
Ken Bravo and Richard Spector
Installation of Officers
and
Learn how to “Break down Brick Walls”
Two 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.
|
 |
|
