Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain Blog

News from Galicia Jewish Museum: The Galicia Jewish Museum’s mobile application aims to present the wide and complete spectrum of photographic projects dedicated to Polish Jewry. With one image at a time, we would like to broaden the knowledge of the work of great photographers who directed their lenses at Jewish Poland, but first of all – knowledge of Jewish history in Poland. Regularly published photographs will be accompanied by captions, placing them in their historical and social context. With time, this carefully curated collection will become a visually powerful statement of Polish-Jewish history, allowing for an insightful look into Jewish past and present in Poland beyond the stereotypes and misconceptions. The application will be online soon, so stay tuned so you won’t miss its launch! It will be accompanied by a program of online lectures and webinars, which will start in August and will run through December. More information about upcoming Galicia Jewish Museum applica...

Dear All Library Reopening The JGSGB Library has been closed since the start of lockdown in March and now it would be possible for it to be reopened on a limited basis and with face masks and social distancing arrangements in place. The numbers attending would be limited and places would have to be booked in advance. To enable Council and the Library Committee to estimate the level of demand from members based on the current situation, and to consider whether we should reopen and, if so, upon what basis, it would be helpful to have comments on the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk /r/Y7C3DLP Best wishes, Martin Hill Secretary, JGSGB     [If you're viewing this post via the summary email and the links don't work, please go to https://jgsgbnews.blogspot.com/]

Rudi Leavor was born in May 1926, in Germany. As a young boy growing up in Berlin, he experienced a number of antisemitic incidents. He was at home when the Gestapo forced their way into his house and arrested his parents. They were later released and after much perseverance, managed to obtain British entry visas. He travelled to England on a German cruise liner alongside his parents and sister. He settled in Bradford, where he followed in his father’s footsteps and became a dentist. Rudi’s love of music stems from the teacher he had as a young boy in Berlin and it has played an important part throughout his life. You can read an abridged version of his memoirs, including many photos, at https://www.ajrmystory.org.uk/people/Rudi-Leavor Other stories are available at https://www.ajrmystory.org.uk/the-books   [If you're viewing this post via the summary email and the links don't work, please go to https://jgsgbnews.blogspot.com/]

Do you, or someone you know, have information about St Annes Hebrew Congregation from 1939 to 1945? Hilary Thomas is currently researching the community for Connecting Small Histories, a National Heritage Lottery-funded project jointly organised by Jewish Small Communities Network and Swansea University. It seeks to rediscover and reconnect the hidden – and sometimes displaced – Jewish histories of six localities across England. Hilary is concentrating on St Annes, Lancashire, and would like to hear from anyone who was part of the Jewish community there during World War II, especially if they have memories of the evacuees and refugees who came to the town. To share your story or to find out more, contact Hilary via  hiltone@talktalk.net .     [If you're viewing this post via the summary email and the links don't work, please go to https://jgsgbnews.blogspot.com/]

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is an Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group Meeting by Zoom. Date: August 23rd 2020 Time: 14:30 London Title: “Jews in Georgian Society - The Laras of London” Speaker: Pearl Foster Description: The extraordinary lives of the Laras of London during the Georgian period. Abraham collaborated with Pitt the Younger's government to reduce the National Debt. Esther's husband was a good friend and benefactor of Horatio Nelson. Benjamin was the perpetrator of a huge lottery swindle and his brother, Moses, accumulated a huge fortune. Charlotte Dacre and her father the Jew King were personalities of the day. Their life stories are absorbing and entertaining: drawn from letters, court proceedings and other contemporary sources. Jews in Georgian Society is rich in detail and full of remarkable insights into the commonplace and exceptional circumstances of this extended family. About Pearl Foster Pearl Foster was born in London and m...

JewishGen announcement: "We are pleased to announce a partnership between JewishGen.org and Dr. Dan Hirschberg, resulting in the Dr. Dan Hirschberg - Kraków Collection.   As a result of this agreement, records that have been transcribed and compiled by Dr. Hirschberg will be made freely available to JewishGen researchers.   All of the records are from Kraków, Poland (in the Austrian province of Galicia before WWI), including Kazimierz and Podgórze (today, districts of Kraków). Thus far, more than 160,000 records have been uploaded, which include census records, vital records, marriage intentions/banns records, along with progressive and religious marriage records.   Images of most of the records are available online, although search results do not currently link to the images. Prof. Hirschberg's website ( https://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow ) contains many images and links to images on other websites. Vital records can also be viewed on the Polis...

Sephardic World Meeting - Sunday 16th August 2020   Many of the records of the Jamaican-Jewish community were lost in a fire in 1882. Using the last wills and testaments composed by Jamaican Jews between 1673 and 1815, Stanley Mirvis has recovered much of this history. Jews were seen as white by enslaved people but as 'other' by the Christian elite. In his talk he will explore the social and familial experiences of Jamaican Jewry. Jamaica’s Jews put down roots as traders, planters, pen keepers, physicians, fishermen, and metalworkers. He reveals how their presence shaped the colony as much as they were shaped by it. Many Jamaicans have Jewish ancestry. Topic: The Jews of Eighteenth-Century Jamaica Time: Sunday Aug 16th, 2020 07:00 PM London (This is 7pm British summer time; GMT +1, which is 2pm in New York) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82238357454   Our supporters on Patreon help cover our costs. If you can make a small monthly donation, it would be much...

MyHeritage offer: free access to two popular photo tools —  MyHeritage Photo Enhancer and MyHeritage In Color™ — for a whole month, until September 10, 2020. Normally, these features can be used by non-subscribers on up to 10 photos each, while users with a Complete plan enjoy unlimited use. But now, for a whole month, anyone can enhance and colorize as many photos as they’d like for free!      

The 2020 AGM was to have been held on 10th May but, as a consequence of  the Covid-19 lockdown and in accordance with guidance issued by the Charity Commission, the Society’s Council agreed to its postponement. Council had hoped that it would be possible to hold a face-to-face  annual meeting by the autumn but now accept that this will not be possible. It has, therefore, decided to hold a virtual meeting using Zoom. The AGM will be held on Tuesday, 15th September at 7.30pm. The purpose of the meeting is: • to elect the officers of the Society (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and up to 6 ordinary members of Council. Nomination forms may be obtained from the Secretary ( secretary@jgsgb.org.uk ); • to consider a proposal by Council to amend the Constitution to allow for participation in general and Council meetings by electronic means. Papers will be circulated to all members in advance of the meeting. If you wish to register in advance for the JGSGB AG...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a General Meeting by Zoom. Date: August 16th 2020 Time: 14:00 London Title: BWBU: The JGSGB Brick Walls and Brush Up Workshop Experts: JGSGB Mentors will be on hand Description: We will hold our well-received workshop under the title ‘BRICK WALLS & BRUSH UP’. BW = where you feel that you can’t go any further ... but more than likely, you can. BU = for those who may have lapsed with their researches in recent times, thus feel that they need a boost. We will supply the jump leads. The Society’s mentors – and on occasions other well clued up members – will endeavour to point one and all in the right direction. All regions covered. If you have any specific questions regarding your brick walls, please send a brief summary to Raymond Montanjees at eesig@jgsgb.org.uk and he will brief the relevant expert before the meeting. But it is fine to just turn up on the day and we will answer with the best advice we can muster. The in...

"The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) is proud to collaborate with SephardicGen and announces today The Jeff Malka SephardicGen Database Collection a Sephardic collection commemorating Jeff Malka, Mathilde Tagger and SephardicGen . We are grateful to Jeffrey S. Malka, M.D. for making part of the extensive SephardicGen collection available to IGRA to incorporate it in the AID – All Israel Database. The scope of this collection, 43,000 records in total, offers an amazing resource to all Sephardic Jewish researchers. A list of the SephardicGen databases that will be accessible through the IGRA database search is included on the List of SephardicGen Databases page. To search these databases, you can search the IGRA Database and results from these databases will now be part of the search results." You can search the IGRA database after registering (free) at https://genealogy.org.il/AID/ .

Willesden Jewish Cemetery gears up to reopen (after COVID closure) as multifaceted place of public heritage: an example of how Jewish cemeteries can be integrated into tourism while respecting the sanctity of the place. With a new “House of Life” web site, visitors’ center, and mini-documentary, the historic Willesden Jewish cemetery in northwest London is gearing up to reopen (when COVID-19 regulations allow) as a multifaceted visitor destination. These the latest steps in the development of the cemetery, which was opened in 1873 and today includes nearly 30,000 graves, as a place of public heritage — an active venue that respects its sanctity as a burial site but enables visitors to explore Jewish history and heritage, as well as learn about the lives of the many Jewish personalities buried there and engage with issues related to death, funeral traditions, and funerary art. See https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2020/08/04/uk-willesden/ [If you're viewing this post via t...

After the excitement of the Limmud and The Together Plan conferences on 2nd Aug, our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a General Meeting by Zoom. Date: August 9th 2020 Time: 14:00 London Title: “ Geni.com ; The Good, The Bad and The Utterly Ghastly” Speaker: Bernard Miller Description: When Bernard Miller spoke on 12 July about some of the remarkable family stories that had emerged from his volunteering to be a guide at the Anne Frank exhibition last year, he mentioned his use of geni.com . Geni.com is the Marmite of genealogy programmes. Several members had questions about how he uses it, some talked of their bad experiences. Bernard has spent more years than he cares to remember involved in research, including periods at the UN and the UK Parliament and the European Parliament and finds it a valuable tool which he uses and hates, but not as much as he hates some of the other genealogy programmes, one in particular. He has offered to speak about how he uses g...

From MyHeritage: How to Take a Heritage Tour Without Leaving Your House : It’s true that there’s nothing like the experience of standing on the same ground where your ancestors once stood. But this article will show you how modern technology can still help you explore and learn a great deal about the places your ancestors once lived from the comfort of your home. Using City Directories on MyHeritage : This Facebook Live session with Thomas MacEntee will guide you through the 545 million aggregated records consolidated from 1.3 billion records in the huge collection of historical U.S. city directories published between 1860 and 1960. How to Add Photos and Media on MyHeritage Family Tree Builder : In this brief how-to video, you'll learn how you can add photos, documents, and other media to your family tree using the free software MyHeritage offers you for Mac or Windows. See the complete Knowledge Base here: https://education.myheritage.com/