My 11th Great Grandfather, and Kraków

Since I was already in Warsaw, I took a high-speed train to spend a whirlwind 24 hours in Kraków.  One of the first things I did after dropping off my backpack was to head to the Remah Cemetery.

My 11th great grandfather (yes, you read that right--it helps when you can connect to a rabbinic line) was buried in Kraków in 1640.  Rabbi Joel Sirkis, also known as the BaCh, after his Bayis Chadash writings, served in many communities in the area, the final as a Rabbi in Kraków.  He even has his own page on Wikipedia.

Me at the grave of Rabbi Joel Sirkis

IAJGS2018 - Part 4 (JewishGen Updates)

This is the fourth in a series of posts about IAJGS2018.  You can read other posts I've made from this and other IAJGS conferences here.

JewishGen held an evening event, where many exciting new developments were unveiled.  Avraham Groll opened the session, presenting JewishGen's Volunteer of the Year.

Avraham Groll of JewishGen

IAJGS2018 - Part 3

This is the third in a series of posts about IAJGS2018.  You can read other posts I've made from this and other IAJGS conferences here.

Since I woke up early (thanks, jet-lag!), I walked down the block to the Monument Commemorating the Evacuation of Warsaw Ghetto Fighters.  It was kind of oddly placed, since it's currently right in front of a perfume store.  I then continued walking to see a remaining fragment of the ghetto wall, which is currently in the middle of a parking lot.

Monument Commemorating the Evacuation of Warsaw Ghetto Fighters

IAJGS2018 - Part 2

This is my second post about my time at IAJGS2018.  You can read other posts I've made from this and other IAJGS conferences here.

Sunday evening, I went to Umschlagplatz, from which over 250,000 Jewish Warsaw residents were deported to death camps.

Umschlagplatz in Warsaw

Monday morning started early, at 8AM.  I was fully armed with a large cup of coffee.  The first two talks were DNA-related.  First, Adam Brown spoke about the huge Avotaynu Project he is doing, concentrating on Y-DNA.

IAJGS2018 - Part 1

I'm just back from IAJGS2018 in Warsaw!  I'm extremely jetlagged, but the trip was very worth it.  This will be the first of several posts I plan to make about the trip.  You can read other posts I've made from this and other IAJGS conferences here.

I made a few non-genealogical stops on my way to Warsaw, but I also learned about the Jewish communities in those locations--and their fascinating histories.  My first stop was in Helsinki, Finland.

The Shul (Synagogue) in Helsinki

IAJGS2018 in Warsaw!

IAJGS2018 is coming up in just under a month.  This year it's in Warsaw, and I'll be presenting and mentoring.  If you're a regular blog member who will be attending, please come by and say hi!

Here's where and when I'll be speaking:

IAJGS Conference, Days 2-3

(I'll be blogging about IAJGS2017 all week.  You can see all IAJGS2017 posts here and posts for all IAJGS conferences I've attended here.)

I made the highlights clip for Day 1!  You can see it here (I'm right at the beginning), and you can also see the whole talk if you have a LIVE! subscription.

On Monday (day #2) of the conference, I started off with a FamilySearch breakfast (shout out to them for including boxes of cold cereal & milk, so I was actually able to eat something) where they discussed the potential for FamilySearch and some of the project/SIG leaders to work together.  Some of the SIGs already have agreements for joint projects with FamilySearch.

My Second Talk of the Conference

IAJGS2017, Day 1

(I'll be blogging about IAJGS2017 all week.  You can see all IAJGS2017 posts here and posts for all IAJGS conferences I've attended here.)

Today got off to an early (6:15AM) flight to Orlando.  We were at the hotel by 9:30, and then it was off for registration and to start the day!

All Registered!

IAJGS2017 Coming Up!

I'm off to Orlando for the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies' annual conference!  I'll be doing several different kinds of presentations, including one of which will be livestreamed.  Details are as follows:

IAJGS2016, Day 5

I'll be blogging all week--you'll be able to see all my posts on IAJGS2016 here.

I started off super-early with a bloggers' breakfast.

Then, off to the Chernigov Guberniya BOF, which is the area which includes Nezhin.  The group is going to start a project to transcribe the Chernigov Guberniya records that have been filmed by FamilySearch.

And then I went to hear Vivian Kahn talk about "Hungarian for Family Researchers."

Vivian Kahn teaching basic Hungarian

IAJGS2016, Day 4

I'll be blogging all week--you'll be able to see all my posts on IAJGS2016 here.

First up was Alex Denisenko.  He began by discussing the political geography of the Carpathian area.  Carpathia is literally the geographic center of Europe.  Carpathia rivers separate which rivers run to the Baltic and which to the Black Sea (continental divide).  So it was a center of shipment.  Jews involved in trade migrated there.

Alex Denisenko

IAJGS2016, Day 3

I'll be blogging all week--you'll be able to see all my posts on IAJGS2016 here.

Ukraine SIG meeting.  Janette Silverman talked about the massive amounts of documents that Ukraine SIG has recently procured from the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP).  She talked about the wonderful response of her request for donations to help fund acquiring these documents.

Janette Silverman Updating about Ukraine SIG

IAJGS2016, Day 2

I'll be blogging all week--you'll be able to see all my posts on IAJGS2016 here.

I started the day bright and early at 7:30 (after being awake since 4AM).  I'm a member of IAJGS's Membership Development Committee, which had invited conference attendees who do not have a local Jewish Genealogy Society (JGS) to come talk about the possibility of creating one local to each.  A similar meeting at the Boston conference in 2013 led to creation of JGS Maryland, so hopefully there will be some new societies forming from there!

Then off to my first talk of the day--listen to Schelly Talalay Dardashti talk about "The 'Other' Side of Jewish Genealogy: Sephardic Research."

Schelly Talalay Dardashti Presenting

IAJGS2016, Day 1

I'll be blogging all week--you'll be able to see all my posts on IAJGS2016 here.

My IAJGS conference started on an exhausted note, as I had a 5:30AM flight from Baltimore--and I couldn't fall asleep the night before.  I did manage to get on an earlier flight for the Houston-Seattle leg, but boy was I tired (still am).

Are We There Yet?

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 5

Day 5 of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

UkraineSIG has procured many new vital records, transcribed many others, etc.  Janette Silverman gave an overview of the great work in records procurement that has been done this year,

New records including lists of Courland Jews traveling to Kherson agriculture communities in 1837 and 1840. There is a volunteer translator already working on these.  12,000 records are already done and there should be 12,000 to 18,000 more.

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 4

Day 4 of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

Israel Pickholtz spoke about "Beyond a Doubt: What We Know vs. What We Can Prove."

He clarified that the question is where there are repeated first names, if you truly believe that one person's father is Reuvain, do you record that as the father?  Record it with a question? Or have two separate individuals that can be merged later?

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 3, Part 2/2

Here is the summary of the second part of day 3 of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

We had a quick photo opportunity for JGS-Maryland members at the conference (minus one). Are you from the Baltimore area?  Check out JGSMD!

 

Tammy Hepps of Treelines then spoke on "The Marvelous Moonshiners from Minsk."  Her ancestors sold a butter substitute as butter and paid for it.  The family moved to Pittsburgh, before some of the family moved to Brooklyn. She never understood why they moved--until she uncovered her family saga.

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 3, Part 1/2

This is a summary of the first part of day 3 of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

First up (after a drizzly walk to Starbucks) was the Hungarian SIG meeting. Vivian Kahn covered the current projects' status.

1) Vital Eecords

2) Maramaros Project

3) Holocaust Memorials

4) 1848 Census

5) 1869 Census

6) Other Census

7) Miskolc Cemetery Project

There are currently 1739 subscribers to the H-SIG list and many indexing/transcription projects. They are promoting new KehillaLinks pages.

They hire people to film the record books and cemeteries.  53,000 vital records including from Maramaros including more than 18,000 birth records (including from images on FamilySearch).  They are on FamilySearch as Jewish Vital Records and will be on JewishGen shortly.

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 2, Part 2/2

Day whatever of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

And onto the second part of day 2!

I then attended a forum titled "Internet Collaboration: How Do We Share Our Family Trees Online?"  Sallyann Sack-Pikus was the moderator.  It began with each panel member giving his or her individual perspective for 15 minutes.

 

The first speaker was Adam Brown.  He stated that everyone in the room is related because we all are Jewish and DNA testing has demonstrated that fact. He therefore uses geni to try to see how we all connect.  Geni allows collaborative work. People can add what they know and include photos and information that only they know.  Lots of people working together can be powerful and can correct information.  In other tools, there can be multiple versions of the same tree. Geni doesn't have that--there are ways to resolve conflicts.  Geni is alive and can continually be corrected and updated.  Because trees can be merged, geni can identify potential other branches of your tree automatically.

IAJGS2014 Conference - Day 2 Part 1/2

Day 2 of the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  My entire summary, day by day, here.

Today has been jam-packed, so this blog post will be divided into two separate posts.

Due to jetlag, I woke up early, so I was at the Family History Library when it opened.

I already have gone through the microfilms that the library has for my ancestral towns so I didn't look through films, but the breadth of material the library has is unmatched.  I spent a bit of time going through the library but was told to head back later when the library's Eastern Europe expert would be there.

Next up was a talk by Ava "Sherlock" Cohn, the photo genealogist (and fellow Shpikov descendent) who spoke on "Clued In: Petticoats and Puttees: Identifying the Clothing in WWI Family Photographs."  She has a background in art history and costume history.