Upcoming Meetings and Events - Future Events View

This is our annual "show and tell" event where TJGS members share recent discoveries and/or tips. You can also bring your research questions and/or brick walls. (Please write them up in advance--make it a succinct question--and send to DebbieTheTeacher@gmail.com).

This workshop is designed to help participants discover their own ancestors using the rich resources of the Apex FamilySearch Center—a local branch of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, the world’s largest family history library.

FamilySearch holds one of the most extensive collections of Jewish genealogical records anywhere. Todd Knowles, Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch and a leading expert in Jewish family history, emphasizes that knowing what’s available—and how to use it effectively—is key to uncovering meaningful connections.

Attendees will receive personalized guidance from experienced staff, including Jim Heddell, retired professional genealogist and founder of one of the world’s largest family history firms. Jim, who has worked for several years with FamilySearch and previously with Ancestry.com, will demonstrate proven strategies for finding records across those platforms and the 20+ premium genealogy websites available free of charge at the Center.

Participants are encouraged to submit their specific research projects several weeks in advance, allowing Jim and the FamilySearch Center staff time to identify the best approaches and resources for each case.

Using case studies based on Lithuania Latvia, Poland, and Belarus, we explore how to connect a wide variety of
records and make use of many search engines. With these tools we cross the ocean from US records to locate
ancestral towns and family within them. Much as with any journey, we identify where we are going, who we are
going to visit, how we will communicate and how we assure we have the right luggage. Or in genealogy
parlance, what is our ancestral town, who are the family members who resided there, how do we decipher
documents, and how do we assure the people we are searching for are our family? This talk also addresses how
to create finding tools to decipher records in Russian handwritten Cyrillic.

Landsmanshaftn or immigrant mutual aid societies were organizations formed by immigrants from a common ancestral location. They provided to their members social benefits, raised funds for the needy back home and memorialized their towns after the Shoah. These “shtetl satellites" flourished wherever immigrants were found, especially in North America and Israel but also in Argentina, South Africa and Australia. Their study is an essential part of ancestral town research. Records kept by these organizations often reveal genealogical information not found elsewhere. Here one may learn about the activities and life of an ancestor or discover a lost or unknown branch of a family tree. This session will survey landsmanshaftn and their activities and acquaint the researcher with their records.

The JRI-Poland data collections can help genealogists draw a more complete picture of their ancestors‘ lives. Come learn how we are exploring whatever traces we can find of our ancestors‘ presence in the current or former territories of Poland. Robinn‘s session will highlight the breadth and depth of the JRI-Poland database including vital records, population and legal records surviving from the Kingdom of Poland, the Russian, Prussian and Galician Empire. Join us for a glimpse into the past! A question-and-answer session will be included in this lively session.

Landsmanshaftn or immigrant mutual aid societies were organizations formed by immigrants from a common ancestral location. They provided to their members social benefits, raised funds for the needy back home and memorialized their towns after the Shoah. These “shtetl satellites" flourished wherever immigrants were found, especially in North America and Israel but also in Argentina, South Africa and Australia. Their study is an essential part of ancestral town research. Records kept by these organizations often reveal genealogical information not found elsewhere. Here one may learn about the activities and life of an ancestor or discover a lost or unknown branch of a family tree. This session will survey landsmanshaftn and their activities and acquaint the researcher with their records.