JGSLA can help you accomplish your Jewish genealogical research
May 2007
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JGSLA DATES AND UPDATESJEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY of LOS ANGELES May 2007 |
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• Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 7:30 p.m. • Past Perfect: The Jewish Experience in Early Twentieth-Century Postcards |
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Library: The JGSLA’s Spiszman Traveling Library, with its collection of genealogical books and member volunteers to assist you, will be on the Magnin Auditorium mezzanine from 7 p.m. Exhibit: The Ruby and Hurd Galleries will be open until the start of Professor Sabar’s lecture. Come early to look at the exhibit of vintage Israeli travel posters. Refreshments: Enjoy a light dinner from the Skirball’s food cart (salads and sandwiches). Attendance Fees: Free to Skirball and JGSLA Members; $5 for guests. No reservations necessary and parking is free. Presented in association with the Skirball Cultural Center. |
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HELPING HANDS AND WILLING HEARTS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED Nancy Holden, our Roots-Key editor for the past four years, has told the Board that she will be retiring from the editorship of Roots-Key in May. There are articles in the pipeline sufficient for two more issues. But, we desperately need an editor, or more likely, a committee to take on the various jobs in getting Roots-Key published for our membership. Training is available. New members are welcome to participate. If you have ever written or edited, can you help us out, even temporarily? If you know of a member who can help with publishing Roots-Key, please let us know. Contact Sandy Malek at [president@jgsla.org] Your help can be invaluable in keeping this wonderful publication alive. |
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Looking forward to the Conference! Hal Bookbinder, Conference co-chair The time is fast approaching for the 27 th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 15-20. As usual, Californians will be a huge presence at the conference. If you have not yet made your plans to attend, what’s holding you back? Conference registrants will be able to participate in an amazing festival featuring 40 varied films coordinated by our own Pamela Weisberger. The theater is right on the conference floor. (The Conference venues are accessible to all registrants, including the disabled.) Many of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have worked with the conference program committee to create focused half-day programs covering specific interest areas, often including a luncheon. The overall program of lectures, computer labs, luncheons, meetings and films includes well over 200 choices…something for everyone. One special focus will be genetics, with a full day of programming! Want to maximize your research experience at the largest genealogical library the world? Plan your research visit – and ensure that the films you want to review will be waiting at the Library. Also, consider signing up for one or more “Breakfast with the Experts,” which will provide information on the Library’s latest resources and techniques for using them. Want free access to all of the U.S. and International databases offered by Ancestry.com or to conveniently access maps and other geographic materials about your town? The Ancestry Resource Room will provide no-cost access to the huge and growing array of Ancestry databases, and through arrangements with the FHL, a great map resource center will be available. Want to use your own laptop computer to stay in touch or pursue your research? There will be free 24/7 access to the Internet throughout the main conference floor. Don’t have a computer but still want to stay in touch? Use the cyber café to check your mail. Want to hone basic or advanced computer skills? Consider signing up for one of 18 computer labs, including a beginner’s series covering the Internet, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and JewishGen. If more advanced computer training is your cup of tea, check out the dozen specialized sessions (there is a fee and seating is limited). Along with all this, view a museum quality photographic exhibit, visit the Salt Lake City area, or take a guided tour of some of the most breathtaking areas of the U.S. Want to learn more and keep up with conference announcements? Details on all of this can be found at the Conference website, [www.slc2007.org]. Go to the website to register, book your hotel room, plan your research at the Family History Library and the sessions you want to attend, book tours and more. Also, consider signing up for the conference discussion group. This will ensure you the latest in breaking news about the conference and provide you will a convenient forum for asking questions and chatting with others. Sign up for it as you would for any JewishGen-hosted discussion group. |
Canadian Border Crossings Charlotte RuttaAncestry.com has now updated their Border crossings from Canada into Detroit. After six years of searching I was able to obtain a copy of my mom’s arrival to Quebec. They have the actual passenger list, and not a copy of the index card on the database. For all those living in the L.A area one needs only to go to their local library, access the computers that say Database and Catalogs only and get free access to Ancestry.com library edition which I think is the same as the former freebies at the FHC. It now costs 25 cents to get a printout. I would have spent $5.00 to get the copy of my mom’s passenger list. American Jewish Archives Publications Barbara Algaze, JGSLA Librarian The JGSLA Library Collection has just received a donation of 65 issues of American Jewish Archives: A Journal Devoted to the Preservation and Study of the American Jewish Experience (1975 – 2004) and American Jewish History: An American Jewish Historical Society Quarterly Publication. We would like to thank Mr. Merle Hilliard for this most generous donation. These journals are now on our shelves at the Family History Center and available for you to assist in your research. If you are contemplating cleaning out your own book shelves, we are always happy to receive donations of books and journals that would be helpful to our members in their research. Nechama’s List Nancy Goldberg Hilton (formerly Nancy Goodstein) has announced that the full text of Nechama’s List, an update of Jewish Records in the Family History Library Catalog, is now available on line at [www.nechamaslist.com]. Nechama’s List includes 635 new specifically Jewish records added to the FHL Catalog between 1/8/2001 and 11/8/2006. It thus adds to the listing done previously for IAJGS and available on line at [www.jewishgen.org/databases/FHLC]. It is available free of charge. Anyone who wants to order the microfilms identified should go to their local Family History Center. Alternatively, you can request that they be waiting for you at the Family History Library, at no charge. See [www.slc2007.org] for instructions. Websites, websites & more websites Wondering how to spend an afternoon? Barbara Algaze, our tireless Librarian, shares a potpourri of websites to check out: [ahaseminars.livejournal.com] |
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Member News Hale Porter will be in New York in June to officiate at his son’s marriage. He will then be in Cleveland in early August to deliver a presentation on Yiddish theatre & music into American culture. Please help us acknowledge our members’ glad tidings and major life events, such as births, marriages, illnesses and passings. Let us know of these events via email to Hal Bookbinder, Dates & Updates editor [hal@jgsla.org]. Conference Volunteers Needed We need volunteers for the registration desk and other areas 27 th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Salt Lake City this summer. No experience is necessary. If you can spare two hours or more we will be glad to train you. Please contact Jan Meisels Allen, Conference Registration Chair[jan@slc2007.org] Willing to assist at the Genealogy Jamboree? Planning to attend the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Jamboree? It takes place June 8th (12:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.), June 9th (9 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and June 10th (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) at the Burbank Airport Hilton and Convention Center. They are looking for a Research Consultant to sit at their “information table” and answer questions about Jewish Genealogy for a one-hour stint. If you are willing to help out, please contact Barbara Algaze at [Barbara@jgsla.org] JGSLA at Israel’s 59th Independence Day Festival Stop by the JGSLA booth and say, “Hello,” while enjoying the Festival. It will be held at Woodley Park (between Burbank & Victory Blvds. adjacent to the 405 FWY), April 29, 2007, 10:00am – 7:00pm. Admission is $5 Per Person, Children Under Six (6) FREE. Parking is Free. For more information and photos, see [www.israelfestival.com]. Historical Directories – England and Wales Created and maintained by the University of Leicester, this site is a digital library of local and trade directories from 1750 to 1919: [www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/about.asp]. Massachusetts Births and Deaths The Massachusetts Archives now has the indices to both births and deaths for the years 1841-1910 on-line at its web-site: [www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcsrch/VitalRecordsSearchContents.html Access to Ancestry from the Family History Library As reported last month, access to the [www.ancestry.com] databases has been severely restricted from the Family History Library (FHL), and from local Family History Centers (FHC). Negotiations are proceeding between Ancestry and the Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) to resolve the impasse. But, as this goes to press, the issue remains unresolved. We will keep you posted with further developments. The good news is that many local libraries, including UCLA, maintain library subscriptions which you can continue to use for free. There will be free access to the full resources of Ancestry (US and International) in the Resource Room at the 27 th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Salt Lake City this summer. |
Facts From the Stacks Barbara Algaze, JGSLA LibrarianThe next time you are at the Family History Center looking for books for your research, do not limit yourself to the JGSLA collection. The open stacks contain a number of resources that might help in your research as well. Listed here are a number that I have found. If you find any additional ones, please let me know.36 Questions Often Asked About The Holocaust, Simon Wiesenthal Center 940 F29 swc Aaron Levy: Founder of Aaronsburg by Sidney M. Fish 973 F25sj Black Book of Localities where Jews were exterminated by Nazis, Yad Vashem, 1965 940. F2b Concentration Camp Dachau 1933 – 1945 940.53 F2D Finding Our Fathers by Dan Rottenberg 929.1 R747f Finding Your Jewish Ancestors by Henry Wellisch 929.1 W461fy Guide to Historical Resources in NY County, NY Historical Resources Center, Volume VII – Jewish Organizations 1989 974.71 A3g V. 7 Hebrew Grammar, published in 1873, by William Henry Green 492.45 G827gh Hebrew-English Dictionary by Dr. Reuven Sivan and Dr. Edward A. Levenston 492.4321 Si93s History of the Jewish People by Max L. Margolis and Alexander Marx 956.93 F2mm History of the Jews in Russia and Poland by S.M. Dubnow 940 F2d Vol. 1, 2, 3 Pictorial History of the Jewish People by Nathan Ausubel 956.93 H2a Register of Jewish Survivors: List of Jews rescued in Different European Countries (60,000 names) 940 F2ja Sixth National Summer Seminar on Jewish Genealogy. Salt Lake City, Utah July 1986 929.1 F2s The Jewish People: Past and Present, Central Yiddish Culture Organization, New York 956.93 F2jp Iranian Ancestors Check out burials in Beheshtieh Tehran at Kheyaban Khorasan. There are over 60 Holocaust victims buried at this cemetery. [www.beheshtieh.com/index.html] Manhattan Brides Index 1866–1905 Now Online The Italian Genealogy Group has added to their index of New York City vital records a bride’s index for the borough of Manhattan 1866–1905. They are working on additional years. Check it out at [www.italiangen.org/databaselist.stm] Historical American Newspapers Now Online The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities announced that “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers” is debuting with more than 226,000 pages of public-domain newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia and the District of Columbia published from 1900–1910. The fully-searchable site is at [www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica]. Of particular interest to Jewish genealogists are the New York Sun and various newspapers from Washington, DC. |
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