Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

FOR MEMBERS ONLY: How to Use the #JewishGen Discussion Group Effectively Presented by Phil Goldfarb... A Member Exclusive Virtual Event Wednesday 7 April at 7:30 p.m. -- TONIGHT To Register, check out your latest weekly member eblast from JGS Toronto.

Being persistent by reaching out, using DNA, photographs, and scouring paper records can lead to the discovery or confirmation of previously unknown or confusing family relationships. Fascinating story!

MyHeritage Announces the Second Annual 24-Hour Genealogy Webinar Marathon : April 8-9, 2021. It’s free too! https://blog.myheritage.com//join-us-for-the-second-annua/

To learn more about Ukraine, its history and its culture, a free 1 hour online course is available in English for the first time from the Ukrainian Institute. The course was developed in cooperation with the Ukrainian online education studio EdEra and academics from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, one of Ukraine’s top universities. Comprising five modules, each dedicated to a specific historical period, the course sums up the millennium of Ukrainian history ...from the Kyivan Rus times to the 1990s, when Ukraine regained its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. The lectures cover some of the country’s most defining periods and events including the Cossacks’ military organization and their role in European wars, Ukraine’s struggles under the reign of two empires during the 19th century and Soviet occupation. https://www.udemy.com//ukraine-history-culture-and-identi/

Online Lecture: Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names and Other Genealogical Sources at Yad Vashem Israel Genealogical Research Association’s next Show & Tell session will be January 11 at 9 pm Israel time (2 pm EST) in English. The topic is The Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names and Other Genealogical Sources at Yad Vashem. The speaker will be Serafima Velkovich of the Reference and Information Department of the Yad Vashem Archives. More than 4.8 million of the... six m-ill-ion Jews murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices are commemorated in Yad Vashem's online Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names. The lecture will highlight new features and materials, as well as "tips" on using the database to the fullest. It will also include guidance on the use of other Yad Vashem sources online that are relevant for genealogists. Register at https://tinyurl.com/IGRALectureYV. See more

Pharmacogenetic and Genealogy Pioneers, #FamilyTreeDNA and #MyDNA Merge for Historic Partnership https://prn.to/2Lsv1hF #genealogy #DNA

The Canadian Jewish News' break from publishing meant many notable deaths of 2020 were left off our record, but most were noted elsewhere. So, here’s a review of some obituaries from the yeareach involving connections that are both Canadian and Jewish.https://mailchi.mp//the-obituaries-we-mostly-missed-in-the

These photographs are a fascinating look at life in Soviet Moldova.

Great use of multiple sources to break through a brick wall.

To commemorate Remembrance Day, Ancestry Canada is offering free access to its global military collections November 1-11 until 11:59 PM ET. Registration is required, but no credit card information is necessary, just your name and e-mail address. If you try to access the collections after the free period ends, you will only be able to view the records using a paid Ancestry membership. Go to: https://www.ancestry.ca/cs/remembranceday.

New York’s Centre for Jewish History has a Genealogy Coffee Break series that is available live and free of charge every Tuesday at 3:30 PM ET at facebook.com/centerforjewishhistory/videos. You can also watch all of their past episodes at cjh.org/GenealogyCoffeeBreak.

2021 February 25 to 27: RootsTech Connect: A Free Online Conference Experience. For the first time ever, the world’s largest family celebration event will be entirely virtual and completely free. You can register now. A full schedule of classes, speakers, and events will be available in coming months. After the conference, all videos and recordings will be available online for at least a year at RootsTech.org. Classes will be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German..., French, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, and Russian. As the event gets closer, more languages might be added. Additional information, including how to register is at https://tinyurl.com/FSRootsTech2021

2021 February 25 to 27: RootsTech Connect: A Free Online Conference Experience. For the first time ever, the world’s largest family celebration event will be entirely virtual and completely free. You can register now. A full schedule of classes, speakers, and events will be available in coming months. After the conference, all videos and recordings will be available online for at least a year at RootsTech.org. Classes will be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German..., French, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, and Russian. As the event gets closer, more languages might be added. Additional information, including how to register is at https://tinyurl.com/FSRootsTech2021

NEXT JGS TORONTO VIRTUAL EVENT - free and open to all. Wednesday, 28 October 2020 at 7:30 p.m. Stanley Diamond, President of JRI-Poland, will present a talk in two parts: Part 1: What’s New in JRI-Poland... Part 2: Ask and Learn Workshop Register at https://zoom.us//regi/tJYude-vrz0jH9CbaZbrUKsUAkP3BSUBAIEH

Check out member Bill Gladstone's #genealogy and #familyhistory website with many posts on topics of interest to Jewish genealogists with roots in Toronto. This page was updated in 2019 and contains a database of Toronto Jewish Marriages for the years: 1905-1911, 1920, 1926-1936. Background: This is an index of 3,754 records of marriages that took place in Toronto in varied years ranging from 1905 to 1936. The main source is the York County Civil Marriage Records at the Ontario Archives. Also included are some 400 marriages performed by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart. http://www.billgladstone.ca/toronto-jewish-marriages/

Tonight, at sundown, Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - begins. To those of you who are observing Yom Kippur: ! G'mar Hatimah Tovah! May you and your loved ones be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of health, happiness, family, and goodness.

Russia to Digitize Public Vital Records Back to 1926 Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson of the IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee, reports that Russia will spend about $22 million (1.7 billion rubles) to digitize and translate all of the Russian public vital records dating back to 1926. As some of the records are not in Russian, they must be translated into Russian before converting them into an electronic document. No information was given as to when this project would be completed. The announcement can be found at https://tass.com/societ

Now it's my great pleasure to make a statement that full collection of 1875 Kyiv gubernia Jewish census is finally available online for free instant access. Wit...h fresh load of docs 640, 642, 643, 646, 647, 651, 652, 666, 667, 669, 670, 671, 672, 674, 675, 676, 689 (mostly towns from Kaniv and Cherkasy povits) the job is over. Mission accomplished. Nearly 40Gb and 20565 files. There is also family index available in original Russian so you can instantly find your family. Thank you all. Let the health be with you. There will be more huge updates soon. Really lots of 1897 Kyiv gubernia census, various Jewish recruit lists of 19th century and many other collections will be available online soon. It's time to have a drink and move on. There's still lots of various lists available to publish. Enjoy! https://uk.wikisource.org//%/%D0%94%D0%90%D0%9A%D0%9E/12/3

This Wednesday, October 21, JGS Pittsburgh is sponsoring a virtual (online) programme on DNA Basics for Jews of Ashkenazi heritage. The terrific Jennifer Mendelsohnn is the speaker. $5.00 USD for non-members.

The Canadian Jewish Literary Awards is honouring nine outstanding books for 2020. Now in its sixth year, the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards recognizes and rewards the finest Canadian writing on Jewish themes and subjects. Free online event on Sunday 25 October at 2:00 pm EST.

For those with German-speaking ancestors, Aufbau may be a useful resource.

It's always worth finding out what the locals may know in what were your ancestral towns. Here's how I learned more about my Tolchinskys and the Jewish community of their village--and how you could potentially do something similar.

With #everynamecounts you are helping us record information from the prisoner registration forms of Dachau concentration camp. Prisoner clerks filled out these ...forms with the professions, addresses and additional information about newcomers to the camp. Our e-Guide explains how the documents were used and whether other concentration camps had them as well. With sample documents and clickable fields, the e-Guide provides useful information about the various documents stored in the Arolsen Archives. You can learn more about the prisoner registration forms in our e-Guide here: https://eguide.arolsen-archives.org/en/archive/details/3/ #jederNamezählt

Vera Miller’s Find Lost Russian and Ukrainian Family most recent blog is about the exciting new resources for genealogical research being made available by the Russian State Public Historical Library. The historical library has more than 200 genealogical references on topics ranging from coats of arms to lists of mischief that causes people to be expelled from Moscow. They are offering free genealogy scans of these documents. Read Vera Miller’s excellent blog covers what ...is available and explains how you can learn to use these resources without fear...or at least with less fear and more skill! https://lostrussianfamily.wordpress.com//russian-state-pu/

This event on Facebook next Tuesday at 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm is of interest to any genealogist researching their immigrant ancestors to Canada. Of particular interest will be the discussion of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) Immigrant Records, 1937 - 1961 - one of Ancestry's largest Canadian record collections for immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe.

September Programme: The 10 Most Important Research Techniques That I Used When Writing My Book ‘Double Threat’. Speaker: Ellin Bessner. VIRTUAL MEETING: Join from Home Weds, 23 Sept 2020, at 7:30 p.m. Free to members. ... If you wish to join JGS Toronto you can do so easily online: https://jgstoronto.ca/membership/. #genealogy See more

Are you looking for an ancestor's address? Sure, census records and city directories are great, but here are a total of 14 different places that you may be able to find their address. https://www.theancestorhunt.com//14-ways-to-find-your-ance.

Mystery photos found Coxwell & Gerrard area of Toronto, of a Bertha & David (Marlene's brother), Sep 1944. One pic shows mother & son standing outside what was at the time, the Beth Jacob Synagogue (also known as the Henry Street Shul); today Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church.

If you don't use JewishGen, the premier website for Jewish genealogical research, you are missing out. Go to www.jewishgen.org. Here is how they describe their mission: JewishGen serves as the global home for Jewish genealogy. Featuring unparalleled access to millions of records, it offers unique search tools, along with opportunities for researchers to connect with others who share similar interests. Award-winning resources such as the Discussion Group, Family Finder, and ...ViewMate, are relied upon by thousands each day. In addition, JewishGen's extensive informational, educational and historical offerings, such as the Jewish Communities Database, Yizkor Book translations, InfoFiles, and KehilaLinks, provide critical insights, first-hand accounts, and context about Jewish communal and familial life throughout the world. Offered as a free resource, JewishGen.org has facilitated thousands of family connections and success stories, and is currently engaged in an intensive expansion effort that will bring many more records, tools, and resources to its collections.

KLULTURA COLLECTIVE Online lecture by Yvette Manessis Corporon, author of Something Beautiful Happened on Thursday, September 10th at 8 p.m. Free registration at VirtualJCC. https://www.kulturacollective.com//something-beautiful-ha/... Seventy years after her grandmother helped hide a Jewish family during World War II, her granddaughter tracked down their descendants. Yvette Manessis Corporon grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about how the people of the small Greek island Erikousa hid a Jewish familya tailor named Savvas and his daughtersfrom the Nazis during World War II. Nearly 2,000 Jews from that area died in the concentration camps, but even though everyone on Erikousa knew Savvas and his family were hiding on the island, no one ever gave them up, and the family survived the war. But.... Years later, Yvette couldn’t get the story of the Jewish tailor out of her head. She decided to track down the man’s descendantsand eventually found them in Israel. Their tearful reunion was proof to her that evil doesn’t always win. But just days after she made the connection, her cousin’s child was gunned down in a parking lot in Kansas, a victim of a Neo-Nazi out to inflict as much harm as he could. Despite her best hopes, she was forced to confront the fact that seventy years after the Nazis were defeated, remainders of their hateful legacy still linger today Free registration at VirtualJCC https://www.kulturacollective.com//something-beautiful-ha/

MyHeritage is continuing its free series of ASK THE EXPERT sessions throughout the end of 2020, now via Zoom & Facebook. The upcoming sessions will take place every Thursday (TOMORROW) at 1:00 PM EDT, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions live. To learn more and register, visit https://bit.ly/MyHAskTheExpert. If you missed any of the previous sessions, or you just want to view it again, we are posting the recordings on http://education.myheritage.com/, where you can find a wealth of additional resources on genealogy and DNA.

Tonight, at sundown, Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - begins. To those of you who are observing Yom Kippur: ! G'mar Hatimah Tovah! May you and your loved ones be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of health, happiness, family, and goodness.

September 2020 FREE ONLINE GENEALOGY CLASSES at the Family History Library, including a class in introductory Jewish genealogy in the USA. genealogybargains.com/free-stuff/

Ancestry completes Arolsen Archives Collection with 19 million Holocaust records available for free. genealogyalacarte.ca/?p=32903 #genealogy #archives

This is family history for many Canadian Jewish cooks!

Special Notice to All JGS Toronto Members: You are invited and can take part in the special Birds of a Feather and Special Interest Group meetings at this weeks 40th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy. It is free of charge. Watch your e-mail from us for instructions.

https://www.wdl.org/en/item/17348/ Perhaps someone viewing this photograph will recognize a family member at the Jewish Community School in Warsaw, Poland in 1921.

JewishGen has published a new Holocaust database for Polish Jews who were found in Hungary (April 18th 1946) This is a small collection, put together by the World Jewish Congress, with 639 names of Polish Jews found in Hungary immediately after the end of the war. Some of them had fled from Poland to Hungary to escape deportations to death camps in Poland. In other cases, there is no explanation as to how/why they ended up in Hungary. The material consists of surname and... given name, year and place of birth and residence in 1939. An unusual addition to this list is the mother’s given and maiden name. https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Holocaust/

A tip on a Facebook group led me to an 1858 record for my family--and possibly a new ancestor. Here's the story:

This should be of great interest to anyone who is doing genealogical research into ancestral families who lived in Ukraine. FamilySearch International wants to scan not just birth, marriage and death records, but also revisions, censuses, court and police records, 19th and 20th century newspapers with obituaries and other news, church prayer lists, Nazi occupation card-indexes, the filtration documents used to document Ukrainian forced laborers of Germany who were called Ostarbeiters and prisoners of WWII. https://lostrussianfamily.wordpress.com//familysearch-on/

Toronto Jewish genealogy!

https://blog.myheritage.com//security-alert-malicious-phi/