Researching Criminal Ancestors with Ron Arons

Date & Time:  January 4, 2023 at 7:00 - 8:30 PM ET

Location:  Zoom (program will not be recorded)

Program:  In this presentation, Ron Arons demonstrates how to research black sheep ancestors, those relatives who might be difficult to research for any one of a number of different reasons. Ron talks about using ‘standard’ genealogical records (census, vital records, city directories, etc., but also talks about other specific records available only for those who broke the law or came close to doing so. Specific recommendations will be given regarding the methodology of researching such characters.

Speaker:  Born in New York, Ron Arons was reared a goodie-two-shoes. Aside from five moving violations, Arons has never been afoul of the law. Ron worked for many years as a marketer at many high-tech companies, including Texas Instruments, Ashton-Tate, and Sybase, before deciding to work full time on his first book, The Jews of Sing Sing. Ron became interested in understanding his roots after he lost both his parents to cancer 16-18 years ago. In the process of researching his criminal ancestor’s past, Ron has traced his roots to England, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. In 2005 Ron won a Hackman Research Residency Award from the New York State Archives to continue his research of New York Jewish criminals. In January 2008, Ron appeared on the PBS television series, The Jewish Americans, as the acknowledged expert on Jewish criminals of New York’s Lower East Side. Arons tours the country giving educational and entertaining presentations on Jewish criminals and Jewish genealogy. Ron earned a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.