Exclusive Assisted Research Afternoon at the Los Angeles Family History Library

You’ve waited a long time for the former LA Regional Family History Library to re-open and now JGSLA members will be among the first people to experience the high-tech reconfiguration of the re-named “Los Angeles Family History Library.”

Experienced JGSLA mentors will help you get the most out of the LDS Library’s resources, providing one-on-one computer assistance with many of the popular online genealogical databases including JewishGen, JRI-Poland, Ancestry.com, Footnote.com and Heritage Quest. The Center’s extensive collection of maps and gazetteers, U.S. census and microfilms containing European vital records, naturalization and passport application indexes, city directories, passenger arrival lists, and international census records will be available along with access to JGSLA’s library of reference books.

The following three classes will also take place:

1:15 – 2:30 PM:  Intro to the NEW Family History Library with Barbara Algaze

Discover the new resources at the LAFHL along with the basics of Jewish genealogical research, including how to access LDS and Internet databases and how to tackle research using their re-organized microfilm collection. Find out what’s still at the library and what’s gone. We’ll have a Q & A following the talk to help you climb some brick walls in your research.

Barbara Algaze has been researching her own German-Jewish and her husband’s Sephardic roots since 1983. She is the JGSLA librarian, a member of Jewish Gen’s German and Sephardic special interest groups, and teaches regularly at the LA Family History Library.

2:45 – 3:55 PM:  United Kingdom Jewish Research Online with Gerry Winerman

An introduction to United Kingdom resources, including databases on JewishGen and Ancestry.com, “Find My Past,” “Moving Here,” and The London Jewish Chronicle. Also covered will be indexes on the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain’s website and the UK National Archives. Gerry Winerman has been doing British research for 30 years on her Sephardic ancestors who came to England in 1751. A longtime member, officer and former president of the JGSLA, she has also volunteered at the Family History Library for over 20 years, regularly lecturing on Jewish genealogy and NYC research.

4:00 – 5:00 PM:  It’s Carved in Stone with Madeleine Isenberg

What’s so special about tombstones? Why the passion to keep at it? Why do you need a map of an entire cemetery? For the do-it-yourselfer, learn what methods and reference materials are helpful to decipher and translate matzevot and see samples of the artwork of the engravers and the imagery on tombstones which also provides clues for genealogists. Retired computer programmer and technical writer, fluent in Hebrew and reading capability of German and French, Madeleine Isenberg is also a “Stelaeglyphologist,” i.e., one who reads and deciphers Hebrew tombstones. She has translated more than 3000 tombstones in over 20 cemeteries and has collected collector vital statistics data for the Spis Region of Slovakia.

5:00 – 6:00 PM:  Headstone Reading Workshop with Madeleine Isenberg & Ann Harris

Bring your headstones photographs (in need of translation) and both Madeleine and JGSLA board member, Ann Harris, will help you decipher them. They’ll show you how to calculate the Hebrew year on a tombstone, how to look for the first names/family names and how to interpret what the abbreviations mean.

Important: Only members whose dues are current may participate. If you have not renewed, you can do so at the door. New individuals are welcome to join the society and participate. This is a great opportunity to bring a friend who would like to get started on their family tree.