Category Uncategorized

6
May

WHAT IS FORENSIC GENEALOGY?

Sunday, May 6, 2012 – 2:00PM

Wilshire Boulevard Temple – Irmas Campus
11661 Olympic Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90064

jgsla_forensic_genealogyForensic scientists and genealogists share the same goal–to find out who was who, and who did what and when. In explaining how to analyze photographs, to mine databases, and to use DNA analysis to reveal family history, Forensic Genealogy emphasizes the creative parts of an investigation over the mechanics.

24
Apr

Jews in the News: Historical Newspaper Research For Genealogists Pamela Weisberger

Monday, April 23, 2012 ~ 7:30PM
Newspaper links__Jews in the News Handout

Toyota Automobile Museum
19600 Van Ness Ave.

Torrance, CA 90501

 

jgsla_newspaper_fannie_besser-89x150

Some of the most exciting resources for genealogists are the online databases and microfilms of old newspapers and journals. From the scanned and digitized New York Times, Los Angeles Times,

17
Apr

Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library – the day before the 1940 Census is released to the public!

UPDATE, APRIL 16, 2012: Here are the handouts that were provided at this meeting:

1940_census_poster-105x150Dear JGSLA Members:

You won’t want to miss our next half-day program at the Los Angeles Family History Center so mark your calendars now!  After a 72 year wait the 1940 U.S.

14
Mar

“The Pianist of Willesden Lane” and For the Sake of the Children: Letters Between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 ~ 7:30PM

Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Irmas Campus 
11661 W. Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90064

Mona Golabek, celebrated American pianist and author, will offer a brief preview of the upcoming world premiere of her one woman show, “The Pianist of Willesden Lane.” This is the true story of pianist Lisa Jura, who traveled to London through the Kindertransport to escape Nazi persecution on the eve of WWII.

27
Feb

Searching for Rohatyn’s former Jewish Past: Material Culture & the Preservation of Memory Speaker: Marla Raucher Osborn

Sunday, February 26, 2012 ~ 2:00PM – 3:30PM

Los Angeles Family History Library
10471 Santa Monica Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90025

More than 65 years after the end of WWII, the physical artifacts of the once-flourishing Jewish community in the Galician town of Rohatyn (Galicia/Poland/Ukraine) can still be found: in the abandoned headstone fragments remaining around town today, ripped by the Nazis out of the Jewish cemeteries and used to pave roads and sidewalks;

17
Feb

Jews in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Polish Republics: Discontinuity and Reinvention

Thursday, February 16, 2012 — 7:30PM

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles 90049

For much of contemporary history (1795-1918, 1939-1989), Poland – home to the world’s, and then Europe’s, largest Jewish population –  did not exist as an independent country. The two periods of foreign occupation separate what is known as the three Polish republics (even if before 1795 Poland was an electoral monarchy).

7
Feb

Putting Flesh on the Bones: New & Improved! with Ron Arons

Tuesday, February 6, 2012 — 7:30PM

Toyota USA Automobile Museum
19600 Van Ness Ave., Torrance, CA 90501

Why limit your self to simply expanding your family tree by looking for names, dates and places?  Beyond the questions Who?,When?, and Where?, it is possible to explore the far more interesting questions, WHY? and HOW?  Why did our ancestors behave the way they did?   How did they have an impact on us?

10
Jan

The Trotskys, the Bronsteins and the Kievskys: A Search for Identity in Russian-Jewish History

Monday, January 9, 2012 — 7:30 PM
Skirball Cultural Center (see map)
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles 90049
Speaker: Boris Kievsky

Growing up being called a Jew by Russians, a Russian by Americans and not quite fitting in with any of them, Ukrainian-born actor/filmmaker, Boris Kievsky, grew up with a confused sense of identity. Five years ago, in a desire to better understand who he was, Boris began to ask questions about his family history.

18
Dec

What’s in a Name? Introduction to Jewish Given Names & Surnames presented by Warren Blatt

Sunday, December 18  – 12:30PM – 4:00PM
University Synagogue – 11960 Sunset Blvd. West Los Angeles
Double lecture & Hanukah Party with Refreshments!

Our ancestors each had many different given names and nicknames, in various languages and alphabets. This presentation will teach you about the history and patterns of Jewish first names, and how to recognize your ancestors’ names in genealogical sources.  Learn why “Mordechai Yehuda” is also “Mortka Leib” is also “Max”!

13
Dec

ONE-STEP WEBPAGES: A HODGEPODGE OF LESSER-KNOWN GEMS with Stephen P. Morse

Monday, December 12 – 7:30 PM
Long Beach JCC – 3801 E. Willow Street, Long Beach, CA

The One-Step genealogical 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 200 web-based tools divided into 16 separate categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on e-bay.

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