Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain Blog

Due to the bank holiday, there is no JGSGB meeting on Sunday 1st May, but our next weekday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a specialist talk from the Chilterns Regional Group by Zoom on an Oriental theme. Please note the earlier start. Date: Tuesday 3rd May 2022 Time: 19.00 London, 14:00 New York, 11:00 San Francisco, 21:00 Jerusalem  Title: From Tashkent to Paris - the story of a Bukharian Jewish family’s triumph over adversity  Speaker: Eve Weinberg  Description: A true story about Revolution, occupation and survival. This memoir about Aron and Adina Abramoff, the author’s maternal grandparents, depicts their tranquil life in the early 1900s in Kokand and Tashkent, Central Asia; their escape from Stalin’s Russia in the 1930s and their miraculous survival from Nazi persecution in France during WWII. Eve feels privileged to be able to give you a glimpse into their turbulent lives, and although the book makes poignant reading, it is also life-affirmi...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB Eastern European Special Interest Group (EE SIG) by Zoom and in person at the Jewish Museum, Camden, London.  Here is the information for the meeting: • Date: Sunday Apr 24th 2022 • Time: 14:00 London (note; 09:00 New York, 16:00 Jerusalem, 07:00 Salt Lake City) • Title: “The Dvorkins of Brest-Litovsk” • Speaker: Leigh Dworkin • Venue: Zoom details below, and/or in-person at the Jewish Museum London, Albert Street, London, NW1 7NB • Essential: To attend in person please email programme@jgsgb.org.uk to avoid paying Museum entrance. • Description: The speaker finally gets around to researching his own surname! Instead of his usual Polish research, attempts to crack the tricky archives of Belarus were met with frustration, a rapidly emptying wallet and many brick walls. This is the story of Harris (Tzvi Hirsch) Dworkin who fled the pogroms to come to the UK. Learn how chance findings in the Bialystok archives l...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a Specialist Talk by Zoom or in person at the Jewish Museum in Camden, London – our first Hybrid meeting. Date: Sunday 10 April 2022 Time 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 07:00 Salt Lake City Title: Thoroughly Modernising Millie - What the Dickens? Speaker: Bernard Miller Venue: Zoom or Jewish Museum London, Albert Street, London, NW1 7NB Essential: To attend in person please book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/296370450997 on Eventbrite to avoid paying Museum entrance. Description: Bernard will speak about his mother, one-time Mayor of Camden and MP, Millie Miller and her many interesting relatives. From the 1950s to the '70s the name Millie Miller was widely known in London, particularly in local government and Parliament. To mark the beginning of what would have been her 100th year, 45 years after her death, her son, JGSGB member Bernard Miller has been researching Millie’s genealogical connections, ...

Our Sunday after next meeting in the JGSGB Programme is an outside visit in person (!). • Date: Sunday April 3rd 2022 • Time: 15:00 London • Venue: Imperial War Museum (IWM), Holocaust Galleries • Address: Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ • How to get there: IWM London is a short walk from Lambeth North (7 minutes), Elephant & Castle (10 minutes) Underground stations or Waterloo National Rail stations (14 minutes), and is served by the 344 and 360 bus routes, as well as the 59 and 159. The C6 Cycleway runs past the museum from Elephant & Castle. At present there is limited parking around the museum. • Description: The Holocaust Galleries at IWM London offer an account of the events that came to be known as the Holocaust and tell the personal stories of some of the six million Jewish people who were murdered. How did persecution turn to mass extermination? Drawing on a rich collection of objects, from a teddy bear taken on the Kindertransport, through to the typewriter used to type...

Our next Sunday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a specialist talk on a digital theme by Zoom. • Date: Sunday 27 March 2021 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: "Digitising Your Archives" • Speaker: Harry Sassoon • Description: Harry will be speaking on the importance of digitising your archives, including topics such as sharing, security and the age-old question - where do I begin? In this discussion, we will be talking about different forms of archives, such as documents, photos, tapes and more, the processes for digitising and organising them, best practices as well as how to keep everything safe and future-proof. About Harry Sassoon Harry Sassoon lives in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, is 28 years old; a cybersecurity professional, co-founder of The Scannery and a self-proclaimed advanced amateur genealogist since 2016. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for Q&A on the talk. The invitation to register...

After our Education Webinar on Visiting Archives on17th Mar at 7.30pm, our next weekday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a specialist talk from the Chilterns Regional Group by Zoom on an haute couture theme.   • Date: Tuesday 22nd March 2022 • Time: 19.30 London, 15:30 New York, 12:30 San Francisco, 21:30 Jerusalem • Title: "The Clothes on our backs: how refugees from Nazism revitalised the British fashion trade". • Speaker: Anna Nyburg • Description: Jews had long been active in the clothing trade in Europe, excelling in design and production. However, in the UK, clothes production was mostly conservative and design was not a concept. After 1933, many Jews found asylum in Britain and British companies started to recognise what the refugees could offer including Pringle of Scotland who hired an Austrian refugee designer, who thought up the twinset which became a huge commercial success and Kangol, who made berets for the British Army. The refugees brought new...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a speaker meeting from the JGSGB Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group (Anglo SIG) by Zoom. Here is the information for this meeting: • Date: Sunday 13 Mar 2022 • Time: 14:30 London (note, 09:30 New York, 16:30 Jerusalem, 15:30 Switzerland) • Title: Unfortunate Incidents in the History of the Southport Jewish Community: Broiges & Consensus • Speaker: John Cowell • Description: The talk will cover details on the individuals involved from his book on the Southport Jewish Community, Philanthropy, Consensus and Broiges , and some of the many disputes that arose between them. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for Q&A and discussion on the talk. Following a quick tea break, we will return for a workshop where we will offer help for any genealogical problems and listen to your genealogical successes. Beginners always welcome.  About John Cowell John Cowell is a retired librarian. Born in Blackpool, he attended the...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a German Special Interest Group Meeting by Zoom. • Date 6 Mar 2022 • Time 14:00 London • Title: “New developments and recent discoveries in German-Jewish genealogy” • Speaker: Jeanette Rosenberg OBE • Description: We will discuss new developments and recent discoveries in German-Jewish genealogy. As ever, the presentation from the meeting will be made available after the meeting. If you have questions about your research that you would have asked in person at the meeting, you will still be able to ask them, but for this meeting, you will need to email them in advance to jeanette.r.rosenberg@googlemail.com and hopefully either I or others attending our virtual meeting will be able to help you and answer them. For 2022 the future meeting dates are Sundays 12 June, 4 September and 4 December. Please add them to your forward calendar. Jeanette R Rosenberg OBE Convenor of German SIG The invitation to register is below, but please k...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a General Meeting on a Tasmanian/Australasian theme by Zoom. • Date: Sunday 27 Feb 2022 • Time: 10:00 London; 05:00 New York; 12:00 Jerusalem; 21:00 Hobart • Title: “Hobart Synagogue Digital Archive” • Speaker: Jeff Schneider • Description: The history of Hobart's tiny Jewish community is long and remarkable. It is a curious story of survival that is reflected in the Hobart Synagogue, Australia’s oldest synagogue still in use (1845). We will explore the stories found in the synagogue's online collection, which feature a variety of digitised documents that date back to 1838. There will be a special emphasis on the British roots of the congregation and how these connections were still a significant part of Tasmania's Jewish community identity well into the 20th century.    About Jeff Schneider Jeff Schneider is a Collections Analyst who works with cultural institutions to build and share digital collections. He is pre...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB Dutch & Sephardi Special Interest Group (D&S SIG) by Zoom. • Date: Sunday 20 February 2022 • Time 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 07:00 Salt Lake City • Title: “Vincent Van Gogh and an Amsterdam Jewish cemetery (or two, or three....)” • Speaker: Ruth Ellen Gruber • Description: Ruth Ellen Gruber follows the footsteps of the great Dutch painter to an abandoned Jewish cemetery in Amsterdam, plus two other Jewish cemeteries, including the famous Portuguese Jewish Cemetery in Ouderkerk. Ruth is an award-winning writer, the author of "Jewish Heritage Travel" and coordinator of the Jewish Heritage Europe website.   About Ruth Ellen Gruber Ruth Ellen Gruber has written on Jewish heritage, revival and tourism for more than three decades. Currently she coordinates the website www.jewish-heritage-europe.eu , a project of the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe. With her 2002 book Virtually...

Date: Sunday Feb 13th 2022  Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland Title: “1921 Census: Breakthroughs and Brick Walls!” Speakers: JGSGB Members Description: The 1921 census has been here for a month: you heard from Findmypast in JGSGB's January meeting and by now might have viewed more transcriptions and images that you're beginning to make sense of. Join us to share what you've learned or hear how you could make more of this new resource. Tell us about your experiences! Did you succeed in finding what you were looking for? What is your greatest discovery so far? What is your most annoying mis-transcription suffered? What is your funniest mis-transcription enjoyed? What are your most helpful search tips that found that elusive ancestor? We invite members to feed back your thoughts and feelings about the 1921 census experience so far. In order to keep things moving, please send any parts of images you would like to be displayed as you tell us ...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB DNA Special Interest Group (DNA SIG) by Zoom, open to all JGSGB members. Date: Sunday 6 February 2022 Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland Title: Help! Part 2 -- I Got My Autosomal DNA Results; What are the Next Steps? (Intermediate/Advanced Level) Speaker: Gil Bardige Description: Okay, you viewed Gil’s first presentation and are no longer a beginner; you have followed the formulas and prioritized your matches; you made contact with the matches and added everyone to your tree (probably not). Now, what should you do? What are the next steps? This presentation will guide you through the next steps including modifying Gil’s formulae for prioritization and the next levels of realistic matches. This will include triangulation, applying DNA Clusters, and DNA Painter techniques.* The goal is to assist you in continuing to have a formal process that you can tailor to your own needs to p...

Our next Sunday meeting in our Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB South & West London Regional Group (SWL RG) by Zoom, on a Holocaust theme. Date: Sunday 30 January 2022 • Time 14:30 London, 09.30 New York, 16:30 Jerusalem 15:30 Switzerland • Title: "Four out of six million: my search for my mother’s family in the Holocaust" • Speaker: Simon Fowler • Description: Growing up Simon Fowler knew that his mother had arrived as a penniless 18-year-old schoolgirl in the days before war broke out in 1939. She was always reluctant to talk about her experiences, but since her death Simon has uncovered the fate of her immediate family. Their history is, of course, unique, but at the same time similar to that of millions of other victims. The talk will reveal what he has found, look at the sources used, and discuss some ethical issues that arose from the research. About Simon Fowler Simon Fowler worked at The National Archives for nearly thirty years. For ten years he was a ...

Message from Raymond Montanjees:   Many of you dear Members may be interested in the following come the time, what with the DNA subject being quite popular these days. DETAILS : PBS AMERICA. FREESERVE 84. (Channel number may differ in other regions) Thursday 27th January. 6.30-8.55pm for the first two episodes ' Secrets in our DNA ' and ' The Lost DNA '. Part 2 of the latter, will be shown on Friday 28th at 7.30-8.35pm. Regards, Raymond Montanjees.

Coming soon in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a Zoom meeting from the JGSGB Eastern European Special Interest Group (EE SIG) on a Ukrainian theme.    • Date: Sunday 16 Jan 2022 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: “Zev’s Children – An International Jewish Family” • Speaker: Kenneth Collins • Description: Kenneth Collins, the leading chronicler of Scotland’s Jews, and a medical historian, tells the story of his family from its origins in Ukraine in the first half of the eighteenth century. He follows the descendants of his great-grandfather Zev Kagarlitsky in Russia, America, Argentina, France, Israel, England and Scotland. Zev was born in a village near Kiev in 1854 and died in Tel Aviv in 1931. There is a cast of colourful characters including Marxists in Russia, a Holocaust survivor in France, an unexpected death of a Soviet commercial agent in London, early Zionist pioneers and businessmen in Scotland and America. After ...

We have a bit of a special meeting coming up in the new year so I thought I would advertise it early! The much anticipated 1921 census is coming soon and so is a weekday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme. You really need to be at this meeting to enhance your research ... • Date: Tuesday 18 January 2022 • Time: 19:30 London; 14:30 New York; 21:30 Jerusalem; 20:30 Switzerland; 11:30 SFO • Title: "Introducing the 1921 Census of England & Wales" • Speaker: Paul Nixon of Findmypast • Description: The 1921 Census of England and Wales is here. Join Findmypast for an unmissable exploration of the biggest new arrival in family history. Years have been spent digitising and transcribing this unique snapshot of our recent history – discover the stories and secrets contained within. Along with the historical context, tips for effective searching and using it to trace elusive relatives, we'll learn how the 1921 Census will help you understand your ancestors’ lives bett...

Dear all, Thanks for your feedback in the last JGSGB meeting of 2021. We are now having a (hopefully) well-deserved break until the new year. Have a great Christmas if you celebrate or a great belated Chanukah if you don't, and either way a Happy New Year for 2022! Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is from the JGSGB DNA Special Interest Group (DNA SIG) by Zoom, open to all JGSGB members. • Date: Sunday 9 January 2022 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: “Help! I Just Got My DNA Results and I’m confused!” (Updated - Beginner/Intermediate Level) – Part 1 • Subtitle: Prioritize your match lists, get organized and thus reduce the stress and confusion • Speaker: Gil Bardige • Description: Geared to beginners and even more to all those who have tried to make use of their DNA matches but just can't make it work. If you are overwhelmed by the thousands of cousins listed who have different surnames and different ancestra...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a General Meeting by Zoom.     Date: Sunday 19 Dec 2021 Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland Title: “Members’ Feedback on the JGSGB and Social meeting” Facilitator: Leigh Dworkin Description: We invite members to feedback your thoughts and feelings about the JGSGB. Topics to include:  Speaker meetings -     Physical meetings  Virtual meetings  Hybrid meetings  Missing Topics  Social meetings  Volunteering  Writing  Presenting  Council  Committees  Genealogical Data (Preservation of Records)  Publications  Fundraising  Programme  International Conference in the UK  Education  Vacancies  PR  Fundraising  Council  Any Other Feedback  Half way through the feedback session we will take a 15 minute break for coffee. The invitation to register is below, but please ke...

Our next meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a General Meeting by Zoom.   • Date: Sunday 12 Dec 2021 • Time: 14:00 London; 09:00 New York; 16:00 Jerusalem; 15:00 Switzerland • Title: “A Jewish Genealogical Quiz” • Creator: Daniel Morgan-Thomas and the JGSGB Convenors • Quizmaster: Bamber Dworkoigne or Jeremy Dworxman depending who is available • Description: We invite members to a fun genealogical quiz as we approach the end of 2021: a chance to see how much you've picked up in the last twenty months of pandemic, Zoom talks and genealogy! There will be a mixture of questions covering DNA, Sephardi and Ashkenazi heritage and Anglo Jewry - join us to discover who is the Society's greatest egghead! After the Quiz we will break and chat over coffee. The invitation to register is below, but please keep it to yourself! ============================== ============================== ======== Leigh Dworkin invites you to register for a Zoom meeting: Top...

Our next weekday meeting in the JGSGB Virtual Meeting Programme is a specialist talk from the Chilterns Regional Group by Zoom on an Eastern European theme. • Date: Tuesday 7 December 2021 • Time: 19.30 London, 14:30 New York, 11:30 San Francisco, 21:30 Jerusalem • Title: "Moshe Chaim, Czar of Pinsk: Tests, Trees and Truth" • Speaker: Michael Shade • Description: It’s the usual story. Our speaker knew next-to-nothing about his great-grandmother, and nothing at all about her family, apart from the name of her father. Then, a couple of years ago, he took a DNA test, and was playing about with the results, when he realised that half-a-dozen of his matches all matched not only him but each other as well. A Cluster of Cousins! But who were they? Several of them had skimpy trees, but none had names he recognised, and they all seemed to contradict each other. Then gradually it all began to fall into place. Sort of…   About Michael Shade Michael’s grandparents all emigrated from East...