Thank you for registering for the online course, Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy!
Today there are an estimated 7.6 million Jewish Americans living in the country, the majority of whom descend from diaspora Jewish populations from Central and Eastern Europe. Learning how to trace your Jewish ancestry is not without its challenges: changing surnames, locating your ancestor's home village or shtetl, and access to overseas records are just the tip of the iceberg. This four-week online seminar will provide you with the key records, repositories, and strategies for making real headway in your family history research. We will look at the historical context of your ancestor's arrival in the United States, strategies for uncovering your ancestor's exact origins using American records, an overview of key records and websites of the old country, and finally, researching family who perished in or survived the Holocaust.
This course includes four 90-minute classes and access to handouts. Original broadcasts March 2022.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Class 1: Coming to America: History of Jewish Immigration to the United States
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
In this first class, we look at the three main waves of Jewish immigration to what is today the United States—where they came from and where they settled. We also discuss the many push-pull factors and how they changed over time, the important role of immigrant aid societies, and how we can start to trace our ancestor’s movements using passenger lists.
Class 2: Finding Origins in American Records
Presented by: James Heffernan
Before researching our ancestors in the old country, we must first discover their origins—as exact as possible. For this we turn to American records. This class provides an overview of key U.S. records that may list your ancestor’s hometown, offers several tools on how to triangulate and sometimes decipher the information found in these records, and demonstrates several case studies and strategies for making the leap.
Class 3: Accessing Records in the Old Country
Presented by: Melanie McComb
With your ancestor’s origins in hand, it’s time to start looking at records in the old country. In this class we review what types of records exist, how to use them in your research, and how to access them. We will pay special attention to resources that can be accessed from home, online.
Class 4: Researching in Holocaust Records
Presented by: Carolyn Kohlman, JGSGB
If you have Ashkenazic or European origins, you have relatives who were impacted by the Holocaust. Class four explores the major repositories for Holocaust research, how to access these records online and how finding both family who perished and those who survived the Shoah can be a resource for your family research.
COURSE HANDOUTS
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Coming to America: History of Jewish Immigration to the United States
Live Broadcast: March 2, 2022
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running Time: 1:33:36
Class 2: Finding Origins in American Records
Live Broadcast: March 9, 2022
Presented by: James Heffernan
Running Time: 1:11:53
Class 3: Accessing Records in the Old Country
Live Broadcast: March 16, 2022
Presented by: Melanie McComb
Running Time: 1:23:19
Class 4: Researching in Holocaust Records
Live Broadcast: March 23, 2022
Presented by: Carolyn Lee Kohlman
Running Time: 1:06:00
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
James Heffernan, Genealogist has been with American Ancestors since 2015. He is a graduate of Boston College, where he worked in the conservation department at the John J. Burns Library. His previous work experience also includes an internship at Plimoth-Patuxet in Plymouth, Massachusetts. James is a frequent contributor to American Ancestors magazine, the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and Vita-Brevis blog. In his spare time, James scours Ebay looking for family heirlooms.
Carolyn Kohlman, Co-President JGSGB (Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston). The main focus of her family research is Germany, particularly in the Palatinate, the city of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein regions, as well as Holocaust research. Carolyn has been a board member of her congregation, Temple Beth Elohim and when not doing genealogy, Carolyn, a retired clinical social worker, is a hospice and pastoral care volunteer.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years. She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine, and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of twelve books including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding your Famous and Infamous Ancestors and Digitizing Your Family History. She is the editor of the newly released 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research. Her areas of expertise include, immigration and naturalization, late 19th- and early 20th-century urban research, missionaries, State Department Federal records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software and online trees.
Melanie McComb, Genealogist, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities.