Southern California: "Genealogy in the Round," July 17

"Genealogy in the round: Share your successes, failures, artifacts and brick walls" is the theme of the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV), on Sunday, July 17.

The meeting begins at 1.30pm. JGSCV meetings are co-sponsored by, and located at Temple Adat Elohim, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. Meetings are free.

Come and share a genealogical success, failure, brick wall, or genealogical artifact!

This is YOUR meeting—We all learn from one another—take this opportunity to share your genealogical story—success or failure, ask questions about your brick walls, and more!

Each presenter will have 5-10 minutes to share, depending on the final number of presenters.

To participate in the program, contact JGSCV president Jan Meisels Allen.

For more information or to present at the meeting, contact Jan Meisels Allen.

New Mexico: Genealogy 'superstars' to speak, April 2-3

New Mexico family history researchers are in for a treat when two major genealogy superstars will speak on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3.

Bennett Greenspan (left) - founder and CEO of FamilyTreeDNA.com - and Dr. Steve Morse - of One-Step pages fame - will be in Albuquerque next weekend to speak at two major events, co-sponsored by the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society, which is revamping and expanding its genealogy programming. The NMJHS is now a member of the IAJGS.

-- Saturday, April 2, from 10.30am-3.30pm, the Rio Rancho Library's Loma Colorado main branch will host a free "Blast Into Your Past" - a general program aimed at beginners and recent family history researchers, athough the entire genealogical community is invited to attend.

-- Sunday, April 3, from 11am-1pm, the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque will host both speakers for sessions spotlighting Jewish issues and topics in genetic genealogy with Bennett, and One-Step helpful tools, such as demystifying the Jewish calendar, with Steve. The program is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

See below for more information on each event.

Judging from responses already received by organizers, attendees will be coming from many areas of the state for both sessions.

"Blast Into Your Past" will provide a good basic introduction to family history with the superstars and local experts. Beginning at 10.30am and running through 3.30pm - attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch - there will be an introduction to genetic genealogy with Bennett Greenspan, followed by Steve Morse's intro to the more than 200+ tools on his site.

After a short lunch break, there will be three additional sessions:

-- Michael Barger will present genealogy basics.
-- An ethnic research panel (Hispanic, Jewish, and others) will field questions from attendees and supply information on how to find additional information. Lionel Rael of the Hispanic Genealogy Society will be on this panel, along with others.
-- Social media for family history researchers will be presented by Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

There will also be an overview of genealogical resources at the library, including databases and subscription sites available in the computer lab or accessible at home for library card holders.

There will be time for Q&A.

On Sunday, April 3, both men will speak at the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque from 11am-1pm. Bennett will address genetic genealogy through a focus on Jewish history and share stories of discoveries, while Steve will focus on One-Step tools that may assist Jewish family history researchers, such as demystifying the Jewish calender.

Again, the library program is free and its general topics are aimed at beginners and those who are recent to family history research. The JCC program - with more of a Jewish genealogy focus - is free for NMJHS members, and $5 for others (the fee may be applied to a one-year NMJHS membership).

We believe that many attendees on Saturday will want to know more about these topics and will also attend the Sunday program, which is open to the public.

The NMJHS, the Library and New Mexico genealogical community is looking forward to this "superstar" weekend. I'm looking forward to greeting Tracing the Tribe readers at both events.

For more information, click on the NMJHS website, or send an email.

Carnivals of Genealogy past and future

Jasia at Creative Gene does an excellent job organizing our Carnival of Genealogy. She has just posted the index of COGs past and future through 2009.

This list is most helpful for readers who wish to understand how many geneabloggers address these different topics according to their own experiences, and also to learn what's coming up in the future.

In the past, each edition has elicited numerous entries. For geneabloggers, it provides an impetus to write on topics which we may not have previously addressed, while our many blog readers get to see varying opinions, origins, events and the styles of many gen writers.

For the click-ons for COGs already posted, view here.

2006

Edition 1 Technology 6/04/2006
Edition 2 Ethnic Genealogy 6/18/2006
Edition 3 Immigration 7/02/2006
Edition 4 Family Reunions 7/17/2006
Edition 5 Historical Fiction 8/03/2006
Edition 6 Genealogical Societies 8/18/2006
Edition 7 Writing a Family History 9/04/2006
Edition 8 Family Photos 9/17/2006
Edition 9 Genealogy Vacations 10/03/2006
Edition 10 Tombstones 10/17/2006
Edition 11 Family Get Togethers 11/05/2006
Edition 12 Solving Technical Problems 11/19/2006
Edition 13 Genealogy Bloopers 12/04/2006
Edition 14 Genealogy Gift Giving 12/17/2006

2007

Edition 15 Genealogy New Year's Resolutions 1/02/2007
Edition 16 Family Food & Recipes 0/16/2007
Edition 17 Thanks & Acknowledgement 2/04/2007
Edition 18 5 Best Tips for Specific Research Areas 2/18/2007
Edition 19 Family Homes 3/03/2007
Edition 20 A Tribute to Women 3/17/2007
Edition 21 Funny, Foolish, Family! 4/04/2007
Edition 22 Carousel Edition (mixed topic) 4/18/2007
Edition 23 School Days 5/04/2007
Edition 24 Mothers 5/18/2007
Edition 25 Who inherited the creative gene in your family? 6/04/2007
Edition 26 Dads 6/19/2007
Edition 27 What America/Independence Day means to my family 7/03/2007
Edition 28 Surnames 7/18/2007
Edition 29 Moral or legal dilemmas in genealogy or blogging 8/02/2007
Edition 30 Genealogical conferences and seminars 8/18/2007
Edition 31 Proving or debunking family myths 9/04/2007
Edition 32 Family war stories 9/18/2007
Edition 33 Weddings 10/04/2007
Edition 34 Halloween and the supernatural 10/18/2007
Edition 35 A family mystery that might be solved by DNA? 11/04/2007
Edition 36 Carousel Edition (mixed topic) 11/18/2007
Edition 37 Genealogy wish lists 12/03/2007
Edition 38 The New Millennium (2000) 12/18/2007

2008

Edition 39 New Year's Resolutions 1/04/2008
Edition 40 Living-relative connections 1/18/2008
Edition 41 Dinner with 4 ancestors 2/04/2008
Edition 42 Best of the est, iGene Awards edition 2/18/2008
Edition 43 Technology Tips for Genealogists 3/04/2008
Edition 44 A Tribute to Women 3/18/2008
Edition 45 Cars as Stars of Our Family History 4/04/2008
Edition 46 Inherited Traits 4/18/2008
Edition 47 A Place Called Home 5/04/2008
Edition 48 Mom, How'd You Get So Smart? 5/18/2008
Edition 49 Swim Suit Edition 6/04/2008
Edition 50 Family Pets 6/18/2009
Edition 51 Independent Spirit 7/04/2008
Edition 52 Age 7/18/2008
Edition 53 Carousel Edition 8/04/2008
Edition 54 The Family Language 8/18/2008
Edition 55 Show and Tell 9/04/2008
Edition 56 Essential Books in Your Genealogical Library 9/18/2008
Edition 57 I Read It In The News! 10/05/2008
Edition 58 Fact or Fiction, Haunting Stories 10/18/2008
Edition 59 Politics and Our Ancestors 11/04/2008
Edition 60 Alzheimer's Disease 11/18/2008
Edition 61 Traditions 12/04/2008
Edition 62 Wishes! 12/18/2009

2009

Edition 63 New Year's Resolutions 1/04/2009
Edition 64 Winter Photo Essay 1/18/2009
Edition 65 Genealogy Happy Dance 2/04/2009
Edition 66 Second Annual iGene Awards 2/18/2009
Edition 67 Nobody's Fool 3/04/2009
Edition 68 Women's History Month: One Woman 3/18/2009
Edition 69 What if: Rewriting History 4/04/2009
Edition 70 Uncle! Uncle! 4/18/2009
Edition 71 Local History 05/04/2009
Edition 72 Honoring Mothers 5/18/2009
Edition 73 The Good Earth: Family Ties to the Land 6/04/2009
Edition 74 Second Annual Swim Suit Edition 6/18/2009
Edition 75 Justice and Independence 7/04/2009
Edition 76 How I Spent My Summer Vacation 7/18/2009
Edition 77 Disasters Our Ancestors Lived Through 8/04/2009
Edition 78 Ride Em Cowboy: Let's See Your Pony Pictures! 8/18/2009
Edition 79 Family Reunions 9/04/2009
Edition 80 Research An Event Your Ancestor May Have Attended 9/18/2009
Edition 81 Blog Obituary 10/04/2009
Edition 82 Weddings! 10/18/2009
Edition 83 Musical Instruments 11/04/2009
Edition 84 "Harvest": What it meant to your family 11/18/2009
Edition 85 Orphans and Orphans 12/05/2009
Edition 86 Holiday Theme 12/18/2009

My recent post on Blog Obituaries - If your blog died today... - prompted Jasia to suggest it as the topic for the 81st COG in October 2009.

Happy reading! Thank you, Jasia, for your work!

Turkey: Jewish Culture Day

All over Europe, Jewish communities in more than 30 countries celebrated the European Day of Jewish Culture on the first Sunday in September. This year's theme was music.

It was celebrated for the sixth time in Istanbul, according to this story.

Among the programs were a simulation of a traditional Jewish wedding. Programs on Jewish historical and cultural heritage were held in Galata Square, which was the 19th-early 20th century Jewish residential area.

The Neve Shalom, Italian and Ashkenazi synagogues were open to the general public.

Some 11 concerts were performed during the day, including Turkish-Sephardic music, Klezmer music, and liturgical music. These included Turkish composer/pianist Tuluyhan Uğurlu and Israel-born percussionist/composer Yinon Muallem's ensemble.

Neve Shalom Synagogue was the setting of a Jewish wedding. The bride and groom, Cenk and Izzet Rofe, who were celebrating their first anniversary, re-enacted their ceremony.

First the groom's family came forward with religious hymns being sung in the background. Then the bride entered holding her father's hand. The groom signed the marriage contract and gave the wedding ring to the bride's father. After the marriage, the groom stepped on a glass.

The couple stood under the chuppah (wedding canopy) while rabbis sang hymns in Hebrew and, at the end, the couple and their families turned their backs to the crowd and showed their respect to a scroll of their holy book, the Torah, which was rolled up and placed behind a door that was in turn covered by a curtain under the Star of David.

Jewish artists held exhibits in several places: Neve Shalom Cultural Center, Schneidertempel Art Center, the Quincentennial Foundation and the Jewish Museum of Turkey.

Jewish history lectures included "The Star of David in Anatolia," by Ersin Alok, and "A Musical Search for Jewish Identity and Its Expression in the Diaspora," by Cem Mansur and Cihat Aşkın.

A conference hosted by Mesut Ilgım, who has been researching Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's 1933 university reforms and the contribution of German-Jewish scientists to Turkish universities after their escape from the Nazi regime in Germany, documented a short history of these scientists' lives in Turkey.

California: CGS September calendar - Updated

The California Genealogical Society has published its September 2008 calendar of events, including meetings of the Jewish Genealogical Society of San Francisco Bay Area (SFBAJGS) and other area genealogical societies.

Click here for the complete schedule.

Jetlag caused me to miss the link to gen-blogger colleague Steve Danko's San Francisco Bay area gen calendar here. Apologies to Steve.

1pm, Saturday, September 13
Ron Arons: Best Bet Web Sites for Genealogical Research.
Click here for CGS details.

Arons will explore many "best bet" Web sites that allow researchers to find materials online, including historical documents, newspapers and articles, living people, maps and photos, foreign language translators and aids and provide numerous examples of how the Internet has worked for him. He'll slip in some tales from his new book, The Jews of Sing Sing, described as "the true story of Jewish gangsters and other shady characters who served time 'up the river' and the New York Jewish community’s response."

1pm, Sunday, September 21
SFBAJGS panel discussion: - “Post-Conference Review”
Jewish Community High School, 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco
Click here here for SFBAJGS details.

Among the long list of topics presented by regional genealogy groups are genetic genealogy tests, 10-week genealogy class, software sessions, beginner breakfasts, intro to genealogy, land records and homestead papers, book repair group, New York research group, California State Archives, immigration, US naturalization records, German special interest group, city directories and more.

New York: The German Stammtisch

For more than 60 years, a German-speaking group has gathered on Wednesdays in New York City to maintain their ties to German culture. The gathering brings together artistic, literary and intellectual types - Jewish and not.

The Forward's story on "The Longest Running Salon, Still Going Strong," is by Marjorie Backman.

In 1943, two refugees from Nazi regimes — dissident writer Oscar Maria Graf from Germany and his Viennese Jewish friend George Harry Asher — bumped into each other and dined at a German restaurant in Manhattan. They decided to meet weekly, in the style of a Stammtisch, the German and Austrian custom of gathering a group regularly at a certain table in a restaurant, coffeehouse or bar.

“These were people who refused to let Hitler take their language away,” said Janet Gerson, a member of the group.

Graf, a Bavarian Catholic, had famously complained to the Nazis during the book burnings that the authorities should burn his works, too. After he was put on a list of intellectuals to be rescued, Graf arranged the same for Asher.

The group met at several Manhattan restaurants, then at Asher's home and then at the small Yorkville apartment of German Jewish émigré and former jewelry designer Gabrielle Glueckselig.

The group - numbering 9-30 - meets weekly; each brings a supper dish to share or pastries. At the ringing of a bell, newcomers introduce themselves and everyone discusses a topic.

Wiesbaden, Germany invited Glueckselig to return to her hometown to receive a medal for tracing her Jewish family history of gold- and silversmiths back to the 17th century. “Wiesbaden tried to make up for what the Nazis did,” Glueckselig said. Since she couldn’t travel, the town came to her, filling the residence of New York’s German consul with the Stammtisch in attendance. This spring, Glueckselig again celebrated with the Stammtisch, marking her 94th birthday.

The founders - Asher and Graf - are dead. Only Glueckselig is left from the early days. As members aged in the 1980s-90s, younger visitors appeared (writers, journalists, scholars).

In 1995, Yoash Tatari, an Iranian exile working for Cologne television, was so intrigued to discover World War II-era immigrants speaking German in New York that he created a film, “Glueckselig in New York. Der Stammtisch der Emigranten.”

Over the past decade, Austrians and Germans have discovered the group; some are in New York to perform alternative military service. Since 1991, the Gedenkdienst project, or the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, has sent Austrians to help preserve Holocaust history. Some work at New York’s Leo Baeck Institute, which documents German Jewish history, while others in the German program work at Washington Heights' Isabella Geriatric Center, where some survivors live.

The elders of the group befriend the young foreigners, forming an island of intergenerational friendship.

“I would never have a chance to meet a 20-year-old from Austria or Germany,” said member Trudy Jeremias, 82, a jewelry designer. “Here there’s no age gap. We’re all friends.” Jeremias escaped to the United States from Vienna after Kristallnacht when her grandfather, a banker, was able to obtain affidavits for visas.

Other regulars include retired teacher and Theresienstadt survivor Miriam Merzbacher, 81, who attended religious school in Amsterdam with Anne Frank. Hilde Olsen was deported to Poland from Berlin, served as an industrialist's secretary, typed a list of Jews, added her name. She was on Schindler's List and could join the group. Kurt Sonnenfeld, 82, a Jewish refugee from Vienna fled on foot through Switzerland and France and became a social worker in New York.

Read more here.