JGSO News 2 July 2025
Welcome to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon blog and our weekly newsletter!  We hope you find something here that helps you with your research.

We are happy to provide information to the genealogy community all over the world.  Our newsletter is a curated list of free presentations and articles focused on or in some way relevant to Jewish genealogical research.

Members of JGSO receive the newsletter in their Inboxes every Wednesday.  If you find the information here useful, please consider joining JGSO or supporting us with a donation. Go to our site, https://jgsoregon.wixsite.com/home, and click on Get Involved.

Our Next Program

The Changing Borders of Eastern Europe, Hal Bookbinder
Sunday, 13 July 2025, 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free

As Russia expanded west, it absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jews.  This talk examines Russia’s efforts to limit the movement of these Jews into Old Russia by creating the Pale, an area of expanded western Russia Jews where Jews were permitted to reside.  The talk also addresses the significant border changes as Russia advanced to the west and as Poland was partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary in the late 1700s, not to reappear until the end of World War I. With these border changes, town names, record-keeping, and archive locations might change.  This overview may help researchers determine where records might be located and their format and languages.

Hal Bookbinder is a retired information systems professional and university instructor.  He has been actively researching his genealogy for more than three decades, identifying more than 4,000 relatives and tracing two lines to the mid-1700s in modern Ukraine.  He is a past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles and of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Hal publishes a series of monthly articles on safe computing which are freely available at https://www.tinyurl.com/SafeComputingArticles.  He and his wife, Marci, were raised in the Catskills of New York State, in the famed “Borsht Belt.”  After Hal attended New York University and served a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, they have lived in the Los Angeles area.  In 2018, he made a journey to Ukraine, visiting various areas of the former Volhynia and Podolia in which his family lived for hundreds of years.

Registering for this program will place you on the JGSO mailing list, and you will receive our newsletters. Each newsletter has instructions on how to unsubscribe.

All our programs feature closed captioning.

Program details and registration links for 2025 are on our Events page.
https://jgsoregon.wixsite.com/home/events-1/

New on our YouTube channel:

Using Social Media for Genealogical Research, Robin Meltzer
This recording will be available until 11 July 2025.

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Register early for presentations. Space may be limited.
If it says "Join at" the time of the meeting, no registration is required.

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JEWISH GENEALOGY EVENTS and NEWS

Euro-African Jews of the Colonies, Dr. Douglas Schar
Monday, 7 July 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Israel Genealogy Research Association

Hebrew Reading Crash Course Level 1 (five sessions), Florence Wiener
Mondays, 7, 14, 21, 28 July and 4 August, 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
National Jewish Outreach Program

Jewish Journeys to the Far East:  China, Pablo Faivel Levinton
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Walnut Street Synagogue
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jewish-journeys-to-the-far-east-china-tickets-1263091543809

The Challenges of the Montefiore Censuses for Research on Jews in 19th-century Eretz Israel (in Hebrew), Dr. Michal Ben Ya'akov
Monday, 21 July 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Israel Genealogy Research Association
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_Lq8GHOfTCiMdO6PVmZH_A

Echoes of Exile:  A Family's Odyssey through the Holocaust and Cold War, Daniela Spenser
Wednesday, 3 September 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
JDC Archives

A Nation of Refugees:  Russia's Jews in World War I, Polly Zavadivker
Wednesday, 11 November 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
JDC Archives
https://archives.jdc.org/a-nation-of-refugees/

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Jews of Kurdistan:  10 Facts, Dr. Yvette Alt Miller
Aish

San Francisco's The Hebrew newspaper (1864–1906) digitized
California Digital Newspaper Collection

Our Digital Archive Is Threatened by State Budget Cuts, Sue Fishkoff
23 April 2025
The Jewish News of Northern California

JewishGen Discussion Group
JewishGen has an e-mail list where people share information about resources, request help with translations and identifying photos, post about upcoming presentations, and generally indulge in family history on a regular basis.  Register for a free account.
https://tinyurl.com/yp7ce6zj

JDays Worldwide Jewish Event Calendar
Calendar of upcoming programs with focuses on Jewish family history, history, and heritage.
L'Dor V'Dor Foundation
https://ldvdf.org/jdays/

IAJGS Jewish Roots Calendar
https://www.iajgs.org/calendar/

The Hub
Listings of mostly online Jewish events and classes, several of which are useful for family history.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-hub/

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SEPHARDIC et al.  EVENTS and NEWS

Hebrew Reading Crash Course Level 1 (five sessions), Florence Wiener
Mondays, 7, 14, 21, 28 July and 4 August, 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
National Jewish Outreach Program

The Challenges of the Montefiore Censuses for Research on Jews in 19th-century Eretz Israel (in Hebrew), Dr. Michal Ben Ya'akov
Monday, 21 July 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Israel Genealogy Research Association

From Selanik to Thessaloniki:  Researching the Records of the Salonika Jewish Community in the Interwar Years, Jonathan McCollum
Monday, 15 September 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Israel Genealogy Research Association

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Jewish Algeria, Chantal Clabrough
recorded 22 June 2025
Sephardic Genealogical Society

JewishGen Discussion Group
JewishGen has an e-mail list where people share information about resources, request help with translations and identifying photos, post about upcoming presentations, and generally indulge in family history on a regular basis.  Register for a free account.
https://tinyurl.com/yp7ce6zj

Jewish Mendoza Family of London
This project will create a migration map as a test for a larger project.  
If you are a descendant of the London Mendoza family, please join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/jewishmendozafamily

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HOLOCAUST and WWII EVENTS and NEWS

Free First Sunday
Sunday, 6 July 2025, 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, in person, free
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
724 NW Davis Street, Portland, Oregon
https://www.ojmche.org/

Spaces of Treblinka (book talk), Jacob Flaws
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Wiener Holocaust Library

Born in a Concentration Camp, Holocaust survivor Hana Berger Moran
Friday, 11 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Arizona Jewish Historical Society

Hidden in Plain Sight:  A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia, Julie Brill
Sunday, 13 July 2025, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Jewish Community Library

Lives in Limbo:  Jewish Refugees in Portugal, 1940–1945, Dr. Marion Kaplan
Tuesday, 15 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Holocaust Museum LA

An American Reporter Who Watched the Rise of the Nazis to Power in Germany, Pamela Toler
Tuesday, 22 July 2025, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Echoes & Reflections

Thoughts of a Jewish WWII Veteran, Dr. Gerald Weiner
Friday, 8 August 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Arizona Jewish Historical Society

What History Teaches 2:  The Rule of Law and the Erosion of Democracy
Wednesday, 13 August 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Holocaust Education Resource Organization of Buffalo

Echoes of Exile:  A Family's Odyssey through the Holocaust and Cold War, Daniela Spenser
Wednesday, 3 September 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
JDC Archives

What History Teaches 3:  Scapegoating and the Politics of Othering, Dr. Beth Griech-Polelle
Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Holocaust Center for Humanity, Seattle

What History Teaches 4:  Universities, Education, and the Role of Intellectuals
Wednesday, 29 October 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center

What History Teaches 5:  Between Terror and Resilience—Jewish Life in Nazi Germany, Jordanna Gessler
Thursday, 13 November 2025, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Holocaust Museum LA

What History Teaches 6:  America & the Holocaust—Isolationism & Immigration
Tuesday, 9 December 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

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Kindertransport train/ferry list, summer 1939
If you have a relative who might have been on these lists, send a message to Dr. Amy Williams, amy.williams2011@my.ntu.ac.uk

World Jewish Relief Case Files 1930s and 1940s

Free AncestryDNA Kits for Holocaust Survivors or Their Children
The Center for Jewish History has partnered with Ancestry.com.

Holocaust Reunion Project, reuniting survivors with family
Free DNA tests for survivors and descendants
https://holocaustreunions.org/

Living Links
Nationwide organization for grandchildren of Holocaust survivors
https://www.wearelivinglinks.org/

Austrian Gesture Payment for Living Survivors from Austria
Austria resolved to provide additional support to all living victims of National Socialism from Austria.
National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism
https://www.nationalfonds.org/gesture-payment

Share Your History:  Preserve Films and Help Save Holocaust Evidence
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is seeking home movies from before, during, and immediately after the Holocaust.  The museum will restore and digitize the films.
https://engage.ushmm.org/donate-collections

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DNA EVENTS

YDNA Free Get Started Course, Diahan Southard
Attend on your schedule, online, free
Your DNA Guide
https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydna-free

Finding Your Family with DNA Testing, Richard Hill
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Utah Genealogical Association

GEDmatch.com:  Taking Your DNA Results to the Next Level, Patti Williams
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Pikes Peak Genealogical Society

Solving Maternal Surname Mysteries with DNA, Kate Penney Howard
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Contra Costa County Genealogical Society

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GENERAL GENEALOGY EVENTS and NEWS

We list only events and news that have some relevance to Jewish genealogy research.  Unless a presentation is particularly important to let you know about, we will not list talks from Legacy Family Tree, Salt Lake City FamilySearch Library, BYU FamilySearch Library, Lehi FamilySearch Center, or Los Angeles FamilySearch Center because there are so many.  See our blog for links to those organizations and other resources:  https://jgsojewishgenealogyportland.blogspot.com/p/resources-and-links.html.

Pre-Revolutionary Wars and Records (prerecorded), Craig R. Scott
View Friday, 5 July 2025, 9:00 p.m. through Sunday, 6 July 2025, 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time, online, free
North Carolina Genealogical Society

8 Steps to Organizing and Preserving Your Family Photos and
Google Images and Beyond:  Places to Find Family Photos, Maureen Taylor
Saturday, 5 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Orange County California Genealogical Society

Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, and Death)
Saturday, 5 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
California Genealogical Society and Los Californianos

Use AI to Transcribe and Summarize, Julia McIntyre
Monday, 7 July 2025, 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Charlotte County Genealogical Society
Send message to President@ccgsi.org

GFO Free First Monday
Monday, 7 July 2025, 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., in person, free
Genealogical Forum of Oregon, 2505 SE 11th Avenue Suite B018, Portland, Oregon
https://gfo.org/

Sanborn Maps, Brittany Fox
Monday, 7 July 2025, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Backlog

Levels of Research—Getting a Handle on Where You Are with Respect to Each Ancestor, John Tracy Cunningham
Monday, 7 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
East Cuyahoga County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society,

No OMPF?  No Problem!  20th Century Military Research, Sara Cochran
(OMPF = Official Military Personnel File)
Monday, 7 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Oklahoma Genealogical Society

2025 New York State Family History Conference:  What to Expect, Jennifer Davis and Susan R. Miller
Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

Publishing Your Family History in Forms, Reports, or Books, Katherine Willson
Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Chemung County Library District

The History of Photography for Genealogy, Vicki Ruthe Hahn
Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Rock County Genealogical Society

No Easy Button:  Using Immersion Genealogy to Understand Your Ancestors, Lisa Alzo
Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Champaign County Genealogical Society

Deeper Dive into an Online Resource or Database:  American Ancestors, Barb LaClair
Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Topeka Genealogical Society Foundations of Family History SIG

Using Indirect Evidence
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Fountaindale Public Library District

Genealogy Tasks You Can Do in 15 Minutes or Less
Wednesday 9 July 2025, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Midwest Genealogy Center, Mid-Continent Public Library

Family Search Labs:  Full-Text Search, Kelli Bergheimer
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 5:28 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Warren County Genealogical Society

Finding Missing Ancestors in Institutional Records, Part 2, Madeline Yanov
Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
California Genealogical Society

Using a Potluck to Spark Family Storytelling, Cynthia Nims
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Projectkin

Top Repositories for Researching Upstate New York, David Allen Lambert
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, Zoom, free
New England Historic Genealogical Society

Fishing in Every Pond:  Cousin Baiting, Christine Cohen
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Appleton Public Library

Finding Separated Family, Jen Nelson
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Peoria County Genealogical Society

Preserving Burial Grounds:  Methods in Documenting and Mapping Cemeteries, LaDonna Garner
Thursday, 10 July 2025, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Georgia Genealogical Society

New York Stories:  "Echoes of New York"
Submission deadline Friday, 11 July 2025
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

Focus Your Genealogical Research, Seema Kenney
Friday, 11 July 2025, 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Rodgers Memorial Library

Paleography:  Handwriting Studies for Genealogy, Shannon Combs-Bennett
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Florida Genealogical Society – Tampa

The AI-Powered Genealogist:  Working Smarter, Not Harder in Family History Research, Jennifer Zinck, CG
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Falmouth Genealogical Society

WWI Women's Registration Card Collections and
Viewing Events through the Lens of Family History Research, Amber Oldenburg and KB Barcomb
Saturday, 12 July 2025 (rescheduled from 14 June), 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Kinseekers Genealogy Society

Refreshing Your Family History Research, Carol Whitton
Saturday, 12 January 2025, 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
St. Louis Genealogical Society

What in the World Is Find-A-Grave, Elaine Fraser
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Send message to idahogensociety@gmail.com

Access GFO Resources from Home, Laurel Smith
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Genealogical Forum of Oregon

Canadian Ports of Entry:  Ship Passenger Lists & Immigration Records, Kathryn Lake Hogan
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group

Dropsy, Quinsy, or Consumption:  Just Exactly What Did My Ancestor Have? and
The National Road—America's First Highway, Dr. Kimberly Ormsby Nagy
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
San Diego Genealogical Society

Death Records for Genealogy, Sue Mueller
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Montgomery County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society

AI in Genealogical Research-  A Practical Approach, Diana Elder
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Miami-Dade Public Library System

Revolution or Gold:  What Sent the French to 1850s California, Anne Morddel
Saturday, 12 July 2025, 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
California Genealogical Society

Researching in East Yorkshire, panel of speakers
Monday, 14 July 2025, 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time, online and YouTube, free
Society of Genealogists, East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, and East Riding Family History Society

Tracing Twisted Spellings:  Research Tips for Unique Family Names
Thursday, 17 July 2025, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

English Surnames, David Flint
Saturday, 19 July 2025, 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Moreno Valley Genealogical Society 

Ethnic and Cultural Mapping in the United States, Melinda Kashuba
Saturday, 23 August 2025, 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free
Northern Arizona Genealogical Society

Indexes and Databases:  What Indexers, Proofreaders, and Genealogy Researchers Should Know, Ken Ryesky
Monday, 27 October 2025, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Zoom, free
Israel Genealogy Research Association

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Master List of 70+ German Records Websites

New York City Pre-Adoption Birth Records
You may request a pre-adoption birth record if you can prove you qualify.
While waiting for the record, if you have the post-adoption birth certificate number, use that number to find all the births for that day in the correct county.  The pre-adoption record will have the same number.

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CONFERENCES and SEMINARS

Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh
In Person:  Sunday–Saturday, 13–19 July 2025, University of Pittsburgh
Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh
https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/

FEEFHS 2025 Conference
Wednesday–Friday, 6–8 August 2025, online
Foundation for East European Family History Studies
Early registration rate ends 6 July.
https://feefhs.org/conference-2025/announcement1

IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy:  And We Settled Here . . . The Jewish Journey
Sunday–Thursday, 10–14 August 2025, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in person
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
https://www.iajgs.org/conference/iajgs2025/

2025 New York State Family History Conference:  Echoes of New York
Friday–Saturday, 19–20 September 2025, hybrid (Kingston, New York and online)
On-demand sessions 3 September–16 November 2025
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

Genealogy Week Conference
Monday through Saturday, 22-27 September 2025; 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, hybrid (Zoom), free.  Afternoon sessions, 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, will be in-person, free.
Rogue Valley Genealogical Society, Medford, OR, USA
https://rvgslibrary.org/files/GenealogyWeek2025FLYER.pdf

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Visit JGSO online
https://jgsoregon.wixsite.com/home
To join JGSO, click on Get Involved.

JGSO Is a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
https://www.iajgs.org/

For JGSO questions, send a message to JGSOregon@gmail.com

For help with your genealogy (a members-only benefit), contact our Help Desk
genportland972@gmail.com

Visit the Portland KehilaLinks Page
History of the Portland, Oregon Jewish community, 1849–present
https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Portland/
Do you have information to contribute?  Contact us at JGSOregon@gmail.com

JGSO YouTube Channel
recorded presentations we have permission to post online
https://www.youtube.com/@JGSOregon

JGSO Blog is updated every Wednesday night with current news and events:
https://jgsojewishgenealogyportland.blogspot.com/

Shopping at Fred Meyer
Please enroll in the Community Rewards program and designate Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon as your chosen charity.
https://www.fredmeyer.com/i/community/community-rewards

Thank you,

JGSO Board