Letters to Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak State 1939-1945

Speaker: Madeline Vadkerty In connection with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27 Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of ordinary people wrote to then President Jozef Tiso of the Slovak State about the so-called “Jewish question.” Some wanted mercy from anti-Jewish persecution, others coveted Jewish property. Why did these individuals write to Tiso? How did the President’s Office process the letters? What fates awaited the Jews who wrote to him? In her talk, Madeline Vadkerty will respond to these questions and describe her research at the Slovak National Archive. She will also read some letters to Tiso and discuss their outcomes, as well ...

Czech Records in the JDC Archives Names Index

Speaker: Jeff Edelstein On January 23rd Jeff Edelstein, Digital Initiatives Manager at the JDC Archives, will give a presentation, Czech Records in the JDC Archives Names Index, following Madeline Vadkerty’s featured talk. He will discuss records of Czech Jews recently added to the JDC Archives Names Index. These include an index of Emigration Service Case Files from JDC’s Prague Office, 1945-1950; a set of index cards from JDC’s Vienna Office of Jews who fled Czechoslovakia during the period of the Prague Spring, 1967-1968; and an index of transmigrants from across Eastern Europe who received assistance from JDC in Vienna and Rome ...

Jewish Resources on the Genealogy Giants

Speaker: Ellen Kowitt Enjoy this updated comparative overview of Jewish record collections and research tools found on the global powerhouse websites referred to as “Genealogy Giants.” Comparing Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage, this lecture includes many substantive record examples. Learn how each site can be helpful for documenting Jewish families, and get tips on each site’s best features or challenges. Current JewishGen partnerships with Ancestry and MyHeritage are featured. Prior to the lecture, the speaker will give an update to JewishGen's USA Research Division. Ellen Kowitt (pronounced KO-witt, like KO-dak) is Director of JewishGen’s USA Research Division and National Vice Chair of the ...

Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Records - Their Importance in Jewish Genealogy

Speaker: Nolan Altman Headstone inscriptions provide one of the most important tools for those researching their Jewish genealogical history, patronymic naming. This presentation will familiarize attendees with the evolution of family surnames and the practice of patronymic naming. Recognizing the components of patronymic naming, participants will learn how to take advantage of these clues to link their family through generations.  Nolan will go through an actual case study using headstone inscriptions and will show participants online resources to help find headstone information worldwide. The next part of the presentation will show examples of headstones and what one will find if one takes ...

Genealogy Gems Hidden in the Polish Archives - Tips and Search Strategies for Persistent Family Historians

Speaker: Jakub Czupryński This lecture is dedicated to researchers with Polish roots who would like to expand their searches to less popular archival resources kept in Poland. Answers to some of the most burning family history questions we all have lie hidden in sources accessed by very few. In this lecture Jakub Czupryński will give practical guidelines on how to search for additional family information not covered in the obvious sources, such as vital or census records. He will discuss how we can break through some of the brick walls we all face using such resources as notary and court records ...

Solving a Genealogical Problem: Three Case Studies

Speakers: Joy Kestenbaum, Lauren Shulsky Orenstein, and Lynn Diamond   The meeting will start at 1:30 PM with open discussion. Feel free to bring questions or a brief statement of a brick wall for the group to address, time permitting. The formal meeting will begin at 2:00 PM. Three members of JGSNY’s Executive Council, Joy Kestenbaum, Lauren Shulsky Orenstein and Lynn Diamond, will each present a case study that demonstrates how they solved a genealogical research problem. Joy, Vice President Programming, will show how she was able to identify a great-great-aunt, who died almost 150 years ago, by researching collateral relatives in American and Galician ...

Strategies for Dealing with Endogamy

Speaker: Paul Woodbury This webinar is a joint program of the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York and the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Endogamy, or the practice of marrying within the confines of a population due to cultural, religious, linguistic, or geographic isolation, presents challenges for autosomal DNA analysis. Individuals from endogamous populations often share multiple ancestors in common with their DNA matches or descend from the same ancestors multiple times, resulting in higher than expected amounts of shared DNA given their closest genealogical relationships. Learn the research and analysis strategies to overcome the effects of endogamy. Paul is a Research ...

A Visit to the New Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

Speaker: David Kraemer The JGSNY will initiate its 2022-2023 season with a visit to the new Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. The Library of JTS is home to one of the finest collections of rare Judaica in the world, housing the world’s largest collection of Hebrew manuscripts, the second-largest collection of fragments from the Cairo Genizah, the most complete collection of Hebrew incunables (early printed books), an unsurpassed collection of Ketubbot, and much more. With its new Rare Book Room and exhibition gallery, it offers access to these collections not only to scholars, but also to students, to visitors from ...

Finding Your Family on the New JRI-Poland Website

Speaker: Robinn Magid The JRI-Poland.org website has a whole new look and feel – developed to help you learn more about your family if they came from the current or former territories of Poland. Designed with the changing geography of Europe in mind, the new JRI-Poland website is packed with new ways to search and view the information you need to find your ancestors and answer your questions about their lives. Join us for an informative tour of the new JRI-Poland website and tips about how to successfully search for your ancestral town and family. Come see how improving the “user experience” ...

Jewish Ukrainian Genealogy Research

Speaker: Lara Diamond In recent years, Ukrainian genealogical resources have become more readily available, both online and in archives. This talk will cover the wide variety of online resources available to research one’s Jewish ancestors who lived in what is modern-day Ukraine, as well as those available to local researchers. Contrary to popular belief, most records were not destroyed, and researching Ukrainian ancestry is very possible. The status of Ukrainian research as of the date of the presentation will also be noted. Lara Diamond began researching her own family around 1989. She has traced all branches of her family multiple generations ...