Date
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Speaker/Topic
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May 4, 2022 |
"The World in Crisis:
Jews, Ukrainians, and History"
Presented by Dr. Sean Martin
Dr. Martin discussed the Jewish history of Ukraine and the status
of its Jews since Russia’s February 2022 attack on the country.
Jews have lived among Ukrainians for centuries, under the Russian
Empire and then in the Soviet Union. Many of us trace our families
back to this region and some still have family there. Understanding
the importance of this area to our lives and Jewish heritage will
help us better understand what is at stake in the conflict today.
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April 10, 2022 |
Overcoming Brick Walls in Research
A panel of past-presidents led an in-persion seminar for an afternoon renewing ties
with local JGSC members aftertwo years of virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic..
- Attendees Brought research problems, and the panelists demonstrated
techniques to break through the "brick wall".
- Attendees also sharedd significant research breakthroughs that they made during
the past two years.
- ANd the panel discussedLearn how members can contribute to the leadership of JGSC as
we rebuild our infrastructure.
Panelists: Sylvia Abrams, Ken Bravo, Richard Spector
|
April 6, 2022 |
What’s New in Family Tree Maker
Presented by Mark Olsen
THis program was a live, interactive Q and A discussion to answer questions
about Family Tree Maker, the latest version, updates, features and more.
The speaker also talked about Family Tree Maker partner products - Charting
Companion and Family Book Creator - which are amazing plug-ins that can help
you create amazing charts, graphs, and books.
|
March 2, 2022 |
"Out of the Whirlwind: Finding the Family You Lost in
the Holocaust"
Presented by Deborah H. Long
The daughter of two Holocaust survivors, Deborah Long revieweds the best
(as well as some of the obscure) resources and methods for determining the
fate of those involved in the Holocaust, including survivors and victims.
Deborah used examples from her own research to demonstrate the documents
and artifacts she discovered.
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February 9, 2022 |
"The Cultural Phenomenon of Home DNA Testing"
Presented by Libby Copeland
The presentation explored the extraordinary cultural phenomenon of home
DNA testing, which is redefining family history. It drew on Libby Copeland’s
years of research for heer new book The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is
Upending Who We Are (Abrams, 2020), which The Wall Street Journal calls
“a fascinating account of lives dramatically affected by genetic sleuthing.”
With more than 37 million people having been tested, a tipping point has
been reached. Virtually all Americans are affected whether they have been
tested or not, and millions have been impacted by significant revelations
in their immediate families. The presentation featured discussions of the
implications of home DNA testing for Jewish genealogy, as well as the unique
challenges of genetic genealogy for Ashkenazim.
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January 12, 2022 |
"Here Comes The 1950 Census: What To Expect"
Presented by Joel Weintraub
The U.S. 1950 census will become public on April 1, 2022. Joel provided
advice on what can be done now to prepare for the rollout. He covered what
is a census, who uses the census, census caveats, who was enumerated (most
Americans abroad in the military or diplomatic service will not be part
of the rollout), how the 1950 census was taken, training of enumerators,
enumerator instruction manuals, census sampling, and 1950 population and
housing forms and large city block summaries. Joel then discussed locational
tools for finding people as a name index won’t be available for some time
after the opening. Discussion about the National Archives census map collection
(available online), and his and Steve Morse’s 1950 locational tools, online
right now at the One-Step stevemorse.org website, ended the talk. The One-Step
1950 utilities took almost 8 years to produce with the help of 69 volunteers
and involve 230,000 or so searchable 1950 census district definitions with
about 79,000 more small community names added, and street indexes for over
2,400 1950 urban areas that correlate with 1950 census district numbers.
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December 1, 2021
|
Using Facial Recognition Tools to Identify Unnamed
Ancestors for Genealogical Research
Presented by Scott Genzer
Photographs have always been a genealogical challenge because, unlike
more conventional sources such as vital records, they do not impart clear
data. Most often we simply attach the picture to our trees and then leave
it there. However in early 2019 Scott developed a new technique that shows
how to use facial recognition via artificial intelligence / machine learning
methods to identify unknown people in photographs using large libraries
of passport-like images currently available online. With facial recognition,
genealogists can generate new clues with statistical probabilities from
old photos that have never before been available. This presentation was
an elaboration and detailed demonstration of this technique previously published
in the fall issue of Avotaynu. A PDF copy of the article and instructions
for 2 tools used by Scott were provided to the attendees.
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November 14, 2021
|
2-part program in partnership with the
Case Western Reserve University
Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program
One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical
Search Tools
and
Case Study: A Complete Genealogy Starting From Nothing
Presented by Steve Morse
Session 1: One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search
Tools
The One-Step website started out as an aid for finding passengers in
the Ellis Island database. Shortly afterwards it was expanded to help with
searching in the 1930 census. Over the years, it has continued to evolve
and today includes about 300 web-based tools divided into 16 separate categories
ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute
bidding on e-bay This presentation described the range of tools available
and highlights of each.
Session 2: Case Study: A Complete Genealogy Starting From Nothing
This lecture presented a case study using the One-Step Webpages as well
as other websites to develop a family history. It illustrated how, with
a minimal amount of initial information, an entire genealogy can be obtained.
It also showed how to obtain records in spite of name misspelling and how
to avoid accepting wrong information.
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The What and When of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Records
Presented by Marian Smith
Marian Smith presented an overview of three historical eras of US immigration
and naturalization records, illustrated with documents of Jewish immigrants.
Using a timeline tool (included in the handout she provided), she demonstrated
how plotting an immigrant’s life events can identify what records may exist
for that particular immigrant and where these records can be found.
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September 1, 2021
|
"The American Jewish Cousins Clubs and Family Circles
as a Genealogical Resource"
Presented by Robinn Magid
Anthropologists say that kinship clubs are unique to American Jewish
Families of Ashkenazic background. This presentation explored Jewish
family clubs and family circles as a cultural phenomenon and showed through
example how exploring cousins' clubs can be useful for genealogy research.
Most examples used in this presentation were from clubs in the Midwest,
including the Katz family of Cleveland, who held a family reunion in 1905
with photos and a memorial book to kick off their cousins' club!
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August 11, 2021
|
"The Holocaust Art Recovery Initiative:
Exposing and Addressing the Historic Injustice of Nazi Looted Artwork"
Presented by Jonathan H. Schwartz, Esq.
This discussion examined the ongoing injustice of unreturned artwork
stolen by the Nazis and their collaborators, which has been called the “greatest
displacement of art in human history.” As part of the discussion, we looked
at legislative efforts to address the problem, the recent Supreme Court
decision in Republic of Hungary v Simon which decimated art-recovery efforts
in U.S. Courts, and the recent discovery of “smoking gun” government documents
exposing the theft of thousands of pieces of still-missing artwork from
Jewish communities in Hungary. Importantly, we discussed how genealogists
can help in the effort to reclaim a missing part of Jewish cultural identity.
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July 7, 2021
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With more than 24 billion online records, twice as many as any other
online genealogy company, Ancestry has a lot to offer Jewish family history
researchers. Crista Cowan gave us a look at records in the U.S., Canada,
and England specific to Jewish immigrants as well as tips for researching
the millions of JewishGen records, Holocaust records, and other European
records from the 18th and 19th century for those of Jewish descent. She
also added a few tips for successful searching as well.
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June 2, 2021
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A Story of Rose’s is a biographical narrative about Rosette Alcabes Volk,
Larry’s mother and a Holocaust survivor, whose journey brought her from
Cuba to France, and later to the United States and Cleveland, Ohio. It is
a son’s creative effort to know his mother through significant events that
shaped and changed Rose’s identity. It is an act of remembrance but also
investigation. Through a presentation of his work exploring his mother’s
history, Larry discussed the process of using the photographs and materials
that have been handed through generations to preserve family history.
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May 5, 2021
|
"Researching Your Litvak Roots on LitvakSIG and
More"
Presented by Judy Baston
Do you want to know more about your Litvak heritage? LitvakSIG's searchable
All Lithuania Database (ALD) provides the primary foundation for Litvak
genealogical research, with translations of more than 2.2 million Jewish
records, census and vital records key among them. Also in the ALD are records
in Lithuanian archives for a number of towns in Belarus and Poland. This
presentation described the LitvakSIG database and website, as well as other
major resources for Litvak research, such as JewishGen, Yad Vashem and district
research groups. The speaker decribed how to determine what records are
available and how to read and analyze your findings to achieve an optimal
outcome.
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April 7, 2021
|
"The History, Adoption, and Regulation of Jewish Surnames
in the Russian Empire"
Presented by Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull
The history of the adoption, regulation, and use of Jewish surnames in
the Russian Empire is quite complex. There were a myriad number of ways
by which Jewish surnames were created, assigned, or adopted, while tight
restrictions were placed on changing or altering surnames.
As a result of Russian laws and mandates, many non-related Jewish individuals
acquired the same surname, while many related family members acquired different
surnames. This situation has created many challenges for genealogists who
try to trace the ancestry or locate descendants of a particular Jewish lineage,
many of whom have different surnames, as well as for interpreting the results
of DNA tests for Jewish descendants.
The purpose of this presentation was to explain the various laws and
mandates pertaining to Jewish surnames in the Russian Empire, so that those
who are interested in Jewish genealogy will better understand the complexities
of Jewish surname adoption and use.
Read more about Dr. Paull’s books and related genealogy and family history
projects on his website, https://www.ANobleHeritage.com,
and Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ANobleHeritage.
Direct your research questions to
jmpaull@anobleheritage.com.
Please limit email requests to questions directly pertaining
to the webinar presentation.
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March 10, 2021
|
"The View from Pittsburgh"
Presented by Eric Lidji
Eric Lidji discussed the development of the Pittsburgh Jewish community
from the nineteenth century on, explaining how and why that development
differed from the settlement of Jews in Cleveland. Topography, transportation
routes, industry, and personalities all combined to help form Pittsburgh's
Jewish community and the many smaller Jewish settlements throughout Western
Pennsylvania. Focusing on patterns of migration and population density,
Eric drew our attention to how communities develop. Eric also addressed
the history of Jewish archives in Pittsburgh, suggested sources for genealogy
researchers, and highlighted recent efforts to document the shooting at
the Tree of Life synagogue on October 27, 2018 and the ongoing impact of
the coronavirus pandemic on the Jewish community.
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February 10, 2021
|
The talk featured a collection of tips to maximize your genealogical
research. The speaker presented a number of research problems that required
a creative approach to locate elusive people and their documents. She discussed
online search strategies and indexing, names and name variations, the importance
of geography, getting the most out of each record, revisiting old research,
and the importance of persistence in achieving success.
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January 13, 2021
|
Board Installation and Program
Finding Your Kaplans
Presented by Mindie Kaplan
Our program began after a short business meeting, which
included installation of our Officers and Board members for 2021. The speaker
discussed techniques for researching common names that, because they are
so common, create difficulties in determining whether there is a relationship
to the family being researched. To illustrate the process, she focused on
how she was able to find a bit more on her Cleveland relatives in the presentation.
She also illustrated her techniques with an example from our membership.
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December 9, 2020
|
Music for the Khasene: Traditional East European
Jewish Wedding Music of our ancestors
Presented by Steven Greenman
|
After our annual business meeting and election, Mr. Greenman
described and presented the various klezmer music genres that were
performed for the traditional East European Jewish wedding (khasene).
He explained each piece and its purpose then played the melodies
on violin and sang some of the lines of the badkhn (af
Yiddish), the master-of-ceremony at the traditional East European
wedding. The music included:
- Music played for the bride the night before the wedding
as the bride bids her family a farewell
- Elaborate artistic listening tunes played to honor special
guests the day of the wedding
- Music to lead the guests to different parts of the wedding
- Music for the seating of the bride
- Moralistic recitative music recited by the badkhn
to the bride to make the bride weep
- Music leading the wedding party to the khupe
- Dance music post ceremony
- Character dances for the in-laws, etc.
- Virtuosic table music for the bride and groom
- Music to bid everyone a good night
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November 15, 2020
|
Why Cleveland? Immigration Stories Uncovered from
the Industrial Removal Office
Renée K. Carl
Co-sponsored by the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program
of Case Western Reserve University
If you ever wondered why your immigrant ancestor chose to live
in Cleveland instead of Pittsburgh, Little Rock - not Los Angeles, or Memphis
- not Miami, the answers might lie in the records of the Industrial Removal
Office, a scary name for a good organization. Renée Carl examined the history
of the Industrial Removal Office and its records. Then, using a case study,
demonstrated how to use the online index, and how to navigate to find immigrant
case files, correspondence, and reports.
The IRO, founded in 1901, assisted immigrants in finding employment
and better living conditions, and helped assimilate them into American society.
IRO agents, often working in partnership with B’nai B’rith or other Jewish
fraternal groups, spread around the USA securing jobs, and then immigrants
would be sent to those locations to establish a new life. Records of the
IRO, housed at the American Jewish Historical Society, include ledger books,
case files and correspondence, as well as reports by local agents on the
newly settled immigrants. Ohio, and specifically Cleveland, played outsized
roles in the history of the IRO, and the talk included an Ohio-focused angle.
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October 7, 2020
|
Why you should examine original
records, and how to find them
Russ Maurer
As an experienced researcher, volunteer translator, and Coordinator for
Records Acquisition & Translation for LitvakSIG, our speaker is all too
familiar with the ways that a translated record may not fully or accurately
reflect the original. In this talk he demonstrated what a researcher might
be missing if he or she doesn't examine original records. He also offered
some tips for locating online records if they are not directly linked to
an index.
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September 9, 2020
|
Getting the Most out of Family Tree Maker®
A Virtual Presentation by Duff Wilson
The presentation highlighted all the latest features of Family Tree Maker
2019 as well as older features you may not use, but should. 2019 marked
thirty years since Family Tree Maker was born, and it's only fitting that
this new edition takes this grand old brand to places its original creators
could only have dreamed of. Where every change you make to your tree on
your Mac or PC can be instantly and automatically viewed from your smartphone
or tablet. Where you can turn back time to erase mistakes you made even
a thousand changes ago. Where you can arrange for your tree to be passed
on to a relative of your choice along with your Family Tree Maker license
to ensure your legacy lives on. We saw all this and much more in this session.
In addition, all attendees became eligible for a discounted price on
Family Tree Maker by ordering through a special link that was provided during
the program, and a complimentary copy of Family Tree Maker was presented
to a member of the JGS of Cleveland that attended the session, in a virtual
drawing at the conclusion of the webinar.
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August 5, 2020
|
The Benefits, Limitations and
Ethical Challenges of Genetic Testing in Health and Genealogy Settings
Dr. Aaron Goldenberg
Vice Chair & Associate Professor
Department of Bioethics
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
As commercial genetic testing becomes cheaper and more available, many
individuals and families are using these technologies to explore their own
health, as well as their ancestry. However, the use of genetic testing also
raises many ethical and social questions regarding the accuracy of genetic
ancestry tests, the impact that genetic information may have on one’s identity,
and the potential misuse of personal genetic data. This presentation explored
the benefits, limitations, and ethical challenges of genetic testing in
health and genealogy settings.
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July 8, 2020
|
The Problem of “Grave” Errors in our Cemeteries
Rabbi Akiva Feinstein
The use of words, names and phrases on Jewish headstones is an ancient
way of remembering a soul when they can no longer speak for themselves.
Jewish custom is rich with traditions, insights and guidance on how to write
these expressions. The presentation included a review of the common expressions,
naming conventions, calculation of dates and certain other aspects while
focusing on the need for accuracy and completeness. Our speaker, who worked
as a chaplain for many years, shared his concerns and offered possible solutions
to preserve this beautiful tradition for those unfamiliar with Hebrew names
and conventions. Many examples were cited to highlight important laws and
customs. Rabbi Feinstein demonstrated how even those who do not have a strong
Hebrew background can learn how to decipher Hebrew names and dates on headstones.
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June 3, 2020
|
FamilySearch.org: A Mid 2020 Review
Betty Franklin
Betty Franklin described many of the enhancements that have been
made to the FamilySearch.org website.
She explained that the goal is to have as many items free and available
online as possible. In addition the spaeker described the site's learning
centers, community groups, activities to involve the whole family and new
ways to add sources to Family Tree or to merge individuals. The discussion
included the changes that have been made, and some of the upcoming changes
to FamilySearch.org.
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May 13, 2020
|
Getting Started as a Search Angel:
Solving Mysteries to Reunite Families
Robin Selinger
Robin Selinger discussed her volunteer work as a “search angel”. A member
of the JGSC, Robin got started in family tree research as a hobby in 2007.
As a search angel, she helps others locate long-lost parents, children and
other family members. In just one year, she took on and solved three such
cases including a woman whose father used a false name and disappeared when
she was only four-years old. Robin discovered the father’s true identity
and found two half-siblings who welcomed their long-lost sister into the
family.
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April 29, 2020
|
Ask Us Anything. . .About Genealogy!
Three experienced JGSC genealogists gave answers to questions
that members raised while conducting family research in a virtual interactive
meeting. Topics propsed in advabce included these:
- What would you like to know how to do, or do better?
- What frustrates you most when doing genealogical research?
- How do you deal with languages you don’t know?
- Where can you look for information beyond the obvious vital
records, census data and immigration/naturalization sources?
- How do you track people after name changes, immigration,
marriage, etc.?
- How do you make a family tree and why would you do this?
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March 4, 2020
|
Jewish Ballplayers in Major League Baseball
Scott Longert
Scott gave us a look at Jewish ballplayers and those that played or were
part of the Cleveland Indians organization, including a discussion of some
of the experiences of ballplayers that came from minority groups who faced
a difficult time from rival players, fans and even teammates.
The presentation covered ballplayers like Jonah Goldman, Cleveland’s
first Jewish shortstop, Harry Eisenstat, Al Rosen and Hank Greenberg, who
served as the Indians general manager starting in 1948, plus others such
as Max “Lefty” Weisman, Indians trainer for twenty-seven years and Max Rosenblum,
the leading supporter of amateur baseball in Cleveland.
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February 9, 2020
|
Reflections on the 2019 Katz Family Reunion:
Lessons Learned
or
the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
Deborah A. Katz, JD, PhD
Reunion Organizer
|
 |
Dr. Katz described the process, pifalls, and results of her activities
as the organizer of a reumion of members of the Katz Family.
There hadn’t been an official Katz family reunion since 1905, and
she hadn’t lived in Cleveland for years. But when the IAJGS annual
conference was announced for Cleveland, she was inspired .The resulting
reunion of over 200 members of her family took place over 3 days,
in various venues in the Cleveland area She explained questions
like, "Why plan a family reunion?", "Is there any value in
bringing our past to our future and at what costs?", and gave examples
of “how-to’s,” next steps and lessons learned.
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January 12, 2020
|
Peter Haas
Abba Hillel Silver Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies
Case Western Reserve University
Speaking on:
Amsterdam, a Photographer and an Amazing Discovery
|
 |
Professor Haas shared the fascinating story of Annemie Wolff-Koller,
a German Jew who fled with her husband Helmuth to Amsterdam when
the Nazis came to power in 1933. There they reinvented themselves
as photographers. With the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, both
tried committing suicide but Annemie survived. After the war she
returned to industrial photography but after a dispute with the
city in 1971, she threatened to destroy all her work. A photo historian
rediscovered her in 2006 and came across registers and hundreds
of posed portraits of German Jewish families taken in 1943-44 on
the eve of deportations. Among the photos are members of Peter’s
family. An historian, An Huitzing began researching the over 400
people that were photographed and published in 2011 the stories
of all those she could identify. It was an amazing insight into
the German Jewish refugee in Amsterdam.
Click here to see a copy of the article published by the Cleveland
Jewish News about the program.
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December 8, 2019
|
Annual Meeting
Election of Officers and Trustees
and
Dr. Sean Martin shared highlights of his sabbatical in Poland.
Dr. Martin taught as a Visiting Professor in the Institute
of History at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, during the spring
2019 semester. He taught in a special, English-language program within the
Institute, Studies in Central and Eastern Europe: Histories, Cultures and
Societies. He taught twentieth century Central and Eastern European survey
courses, with a focus on Jewish history. During his stay in Krakow he also
spent time doing research on Polish Jewish history and re-acquainting himself
with Kazimierz, the city's Jewish neighborhood. Martin told us about Jewish
studies and Jewish life in Poland today and about his travels throughout
the country and region.
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November 17, 2019
|
Kirsten Fermaglich
Author of "A Rosenberg by Any Other Name"
&
Associate Professor of History, Michigan State University.
Two sessions co-sponsored by the Jewish Genealogy Society
of Cleveland (JGSC,The Laura & Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program of
Case Western Reserve University, and the JCC Jewish Book Festival.
Session 1: 1:30-2:30 p.m.
TOO LONG, TOO FOREIGN....TOO JEWISH?: RISE OF JEWISH NAME CHANGING IN NEW
YORK CITY BETWEEN THE WARS
We tend to think of name changing as something that only
immigrants do—or perhaps movie stars—hoping to escape their families and
find their way in a glamorous, rich New World. But beginning in World War
I and intensifying during World War II, thousands of native-born American
Jews in New York City changed their names together as family units. Why
would these ordinary Jewish Americans seeking jobs not as actors or singers,
but as businessmen, lawyers, and secretaries change their names? We discussed
their motivations, their experiences, and their struggles.
Session 2: 3:00-4:00 p.m.
I CHANGED MY NAME: CULTURAL DEBATES OVER NAME CHANGING AFTER WORLD WAR II
How did leaders in the Jewish community respond to name
changing? How did Jewish comedians, writers, and directors respond? How
did name changers' neighbors and co-workers respond? We talked about negative
responses from Jewish leaders after World War II, who tended to assume that
name changers were trying to escape the Jewish community. Quietly challenging
these negative images, however, were the voices of Jewish name changers
who continued to describe themselves as Jews, explaining they changed their
names so that their Jewish identities would not impede their ability to
get through daily life.
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October 2, 2019
|
Getting Our Records Back
Brooke Schreier Ganz
Our guest speaker, Brooke Schreier Ganz, founder
and president of Reclaim the Records, provided an update on her efforts
leading Reclaim the Records, a not-for-profit group that files Freedom of
Information requests to get public data released back into the public. Their
goal is to get these record sets put online for free, open to everyone.
And if the government doesn’t comply, they take them to court. To date,
they have been successful in reclaiming over 25 million records. She reported
Learn about the work of Reclaim the Records, including their most recent
success stories and what is on their “To-Do” list.
Brooke Schreier Ganz is the first genealogist to
successfully sue a government archive for the return of records to the public.
A computer programmer, she is also the creator of LeafSeek, a free open
source records management platform and multi-lingual search engine that
won second place in the 2012 RootsTech Developer Challenge. Her work has
helped non-profit organizations like the Israel Genealogical Research Association
(IGRA) and Gesher Galicia publish over 1.5 million unique genealogical records
online for free use. She also designed and built one of the first public
API’s for records sharing between non-profit genealogical organizations.
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September 4, 2019
|
Report on the 2019 IAJGS conference in Cleveland
Ken Bravo gave a report on the attendance and some of the programs at
the conference. He was followed by Robin Selinger, Feige Stern, and Jaime
Klausner, who each had not previously attended an IAJGS conference. They
each spoke about their experiences and what they considered to be highlights
of the event.
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August 7, 2019
|
Genealogy Activities You Can Do With Your Kids
and Grandkids
Sunny Jane Morton
The best way to TELL family history often involves SHOWING it. In her
presentation, Sunny Morton shared experiences that have inspired her own
kids' interest in history and their family's place in it. These included
activities that teach younger generations the value of their OWN stories;
thoughts about finding the right "hook" for each person; how to tell a good
short story (with an emphasis on SHORT); and hands on experiences that fire
historical imaginations young and old.
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July 28, 219
through
August 2, 2019
|
IAJGS 2019
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
39th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
Hosted by The Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland
Over 1,000 attendees, exhibitors, volunteers, guests, and others, were
hosted by the JGS of Cleveland at the annual IAJGS conference, held
at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. The attendees came to Cleveland from 16
countries on 5 continents, and those from the USA represented 36 states
plus the District of Columbia.
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July 10, 2019
|
A Town Called Brzostek
A Documentary Introduced by Russ Maurer
The program consisted of a screening of the award-winning
documentary, “A Town Called Brzostek.”
This documentary is a compelling tale of a professor from London
who goes looking for his Jewish past In Poland and how a reconciliation
takes place that reverberates around the world.
This one-hour film, which won awards for its beauty
and sensitivity at two Jewish film festivals in eastern Europe,
presented the story of Professor Jonathan Webber, who returns to
the place of burial of his grandfather.
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Upon his arrival, he learns that a vacant plot of
land is the only remnant of the former Jewish cemetery. With the
help of the mayor, priest and local community, the main protagonist
restores the burial site and brings about its consecration. It also
includes the interesting stories of three different families with
roots in Brzostek—from Australia, France and the United States—who
returned to Brzostek for the commemoration ceremonies.
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June 19 & 24, 2019
|
My Parents Were Holocaust Survivors and There Are No Records...
In conjunction with the Kol Israel Foundation, we conducted a two-part
beginner genealogy workshop geared to Second and Third Generation Holocaust
descendants who know very little about their fa mily history.
Topics covered included:
- Learning how to get started
- Locating ship manifests
- naturalization records
- Explore key websites and International Tracing Service (ITS)
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June 5, 2019
|
The Temple Archives—A Valuable Resource for Genealogists
Jane Rothstein, Archivist for the Temple-Tifereth Israel
Jane Rothstein is used to hearing genealogical questions
like “was my ancestor a member?” and she generally answers by saying “maybe.”
The Temple-Tifereth Israel Archives are a relatively untapped treasure for
exploring Cleveland Jewish history and genealogy. Holdings include records
from the congregation’s founding in 1850 through the congregation’s growth
under Rabbi Moses J. Gries and Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, and on to the present.
Jane provided an overview of the Archives’ collection and discussed the
type of records genealogists may find especially interesting.
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May 15, 2019
|
How Jewish Ancestry Impacts Genetics
Sarah Mazzola and Megan Quinlan, two board-certified genetic counselors
with the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare provided
a general overview of common conditions in individuals with Jewish ancestry
such as Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome due to BRCA mutations.
They also provided helpful information for those who are considering meeting
with a genetic counselor, and what to expect from genetic testing.
Sarah's presentation focused on non-cancer related inheritable disorders
such as Gaucher, and also touched on prenatal risk screening. Megan shared
information related to inherited cancer risk in the Eastern European Jewish
population.
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April 3, 2019
|
Tracing Our Ancestral European Roots—A Panel Discussion
Five members of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland
shared their journeys to ancestral villages in Europe in conjunction with
last year’s IAJGS Conference in Warsaw. Helen and Paul Wolf, Muriel Weber,
Anne Lukas, and Henny Lukas Fierman have all gone to great lengths to trace
their families' ancestral roots and identify unknown, missing and lost relatives
over many years, if not decades. They reveaedl some of the twists and turns
in the road that led to some amazing discoveries—not to mention a few surprises.
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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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