Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

JGS Toronto - Free Webinar Hosted by Daniel Horowitz
2020-07-02 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Toronto)
Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage continues his free lectures for JGS Toronto. Click here for details.

JGS Toronto - Free Webinar with Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage
2020-07-09 10:00 - 11:30
Daniel Horowitz continues his lecture series by webinar for JGS Toronto. See details for the appropriate date and how to attend by clicking here.

JGS Event - Free Webinar by Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage
2020-07-16 10:00 - 11:30
Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage continues his free webinars at 10:00 am. Click on this link for details for July 16.

Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus SIG
2020-07-22 19:00 - 20:30
The next meeting of the Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus Special Interest Group will take place on July 22nd at 7:00 pm. A eBlast will be sent out for members of the group to register for this Zoom meeting.

JGS Toronto - Daniel Horowitz of My Heritage - Free Webinar
2020-07-23 10:00 - 11:30
Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage continues his free webinars for JGS Toronto at 10:00 am. Click on this link for details and registration.

JGS Toronto - Free Webinar hosted by Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage
2020-07-30 10:00 - 11:30
The final lecture the MyHeritage webinars hosted by Daniel Horowitz is at 10:00 am. Please click on this link for details for July 30 and for registration procedures.

Special Notice 40th IAJGS International Conference Birds of a Feather and Special Interest Group meetings at No Charge
2020-08-09 08:00 - 2020-08-13 22:00
Special Notice to All JGST 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 at No Charge.
If you have not registered for the conference and want to have access to SIG and BOF meetings and other free events, go to https://s4.goeshow.com/iajgs/annual/2020/registration_form.cfm and register for the Virtual Limited Access Conference. Select your choices, then be sure to continue to the end of the registration to save them.
The Canada BOF/SIG will meet virtually on Wednesday, August 12, from 10:00 am – 11:00 am, U.S. Eastern time. (7:00 am – 8:00 am Pacific, 3:00 – 4:00 pm UK, 5:00 – 6:00 pm Central Europe, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Israel, 12:00 – 1:00 am next day Australia).
Please join us for networking, research updates and information about Canadian records, the JGS of Montreal https://www.jgs-montreal.org/ research dashboard and more! The meeting is open to all with connections to Canada; you do not have to be a paid conference attendee to join in. However, whether or not you’ve paid for the conference, you do need to register to attend this and other “Free Access Sessions.”
PAID CONFERENCE ATTENDEES:
Go to the Attendee Service Center on the conference website (https://s4.goeshow.com/iajgs/annual/2020/asc_login.cfm, sign in, and select “Update Your Info.” Then click “Edit” and page through your registration until you reach the listing of free sessions. Select your choices, then be sure to continue to the end of the registration to save them.

Belarus Special Interest Group - Zoom Meeting (Las Vegas JGS)
2020-09-13 12:00 - 13:30
BELARUS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) ZOOM MEETING PRESENTED BY THE JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
Belarus: Jewish History & Research Strategy in Belarus Archive
Speaker: Yuri Dorn – live from Belarus
Sunday, September 13th at 12 noon ET (1 p.m. ET, 10:00 a.m. Las Vegas time)
To register, write to info@jgssn.org

JGS Program The 10 Most Important Research Techniques
2020-09-23 19:30 - 21:00
Author Ellin Bessner discusses the 10 most important research techniques that she used when writing her book Double Threat.

This will be a Zoom webinar. More information will be coming from the Program Committee.

Time will be either 7:00 pm EDT or 8:00 pm EDT.

JGS Event What's New in JRI Poland
2020-10-28 19:30 - 21:30
Stanley Diamond of JRI Poland returns to deliver this Zoom lecture. 2 Parts:

What’s New in JRI Poland
Ask and Learn Workshop

Details to follow.

JGS Event - My Roots Trip to Northern Romania and Moldova
2020-11-25 19:30 - 21:30
Harry Bolner leads this Zoom Event sponsored by JGS Toronto.

Details to follow.

JGS - SIG Meeting: Ukraine
2020-11-29 10:30 - 23:30
The next Ukraine SIG meeting takes place Sunday Nov. 29th @ 10:30 AM via Zoom

The meeting will cover resources, which could be useful for your research into ancestors from Ukraine. Most of these resources, which are primarily online, have been made available or are easier to use with new interfaces, since we last discussed resources in our December 2019 meeting. There will be a presentation that describes these resources and how to use them. Attendees are also encouraged to share information about relevant resources that they have used or are familiar with.

click here to register:

JGS - SIG Meeting: Poland
2020-12-03 19:30 - 20:30
The next meeting of the Poland Special Interest Group takes place via Zoom on Thursday Dec. 3rd @ 7:30 pm.
We will have a round table discussion on new discoveries, research hints, interpreting life cycle documents and share information with each other of our family roots and travels.
Here is the link to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpdeqvqzIsH9bV8tohhJ2PUAx0QYonMqWP

JGS - SIG Meeting: Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus
2020-12-09 19:30 - 20:30
The next Lithuania, Lativia, Belarus Special Interest Group meets via Zoom on December 10th @ 7:30 pm.. We will have a round table discussion on new discoveries, research hints, and share information with each other of our family roots and travels

Here is the link to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0sfuCtqTkjH9SB2rTk2jzQekBln6ttu48Q

Ukraine Training - not JGS sponsored( Recording Available if You Cannot Attend)
2020-12-16 19:00 - 20:30
There is an online training class coming up for anyone who is interested.
It is sponsored by the Ukrainian History and Education Center.
Ukrainian Jewish Genealogy 101 Dec. 16, 2020 7:00 PM
The newest member of the Nashi Predky team Lara Diamond will present this webinar about genealogy resources available for Jewish genealogy, particularly if your family history traces back to within today’s borders of Ukraine.
https://www.ukrhec.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=115
7:00 pm, December 16th (North America Eastern time)
4:00 pm, December 16th (North American Pacific time)
Midnight, December 17th (London time)
11:00 am, December 17th (Sydney, Australia time)
This is a free event, but registration is required. If you can’t attend in real time, this event will be recorded and will be made available to watch at another time.

JGS Sponsored Event - live via Zoom - The Genealogical Importance of Gravestones and JOWBR
2020-12-16 19:30 - 21:00
The Genealogical Importance of Gravestones and
The Toronto JOWBR InitiativeSpeaker: Steven BrockVIRTUAL MEETING: View from home
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
at 7:30 p.m.

For those tracing their family tree, gravestones can be an incredible source of information. They can provide the researcher with key details relating to their ancestors, including names, dates, places and references to previous generations. In this presentation, JGS-Hamilton member Steven Brock will discuss Jewish gravestones and their importance in genealogy. He will speak to the origins of the Matzevah and how to read and interpret the information carved into the memorial. He will then address The JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR); how to use it and JGS-Toronto / Hamilton’s contributions to this remarkable database.
Steven Brock has been researching his family roots in Poland and Russia for over 20 years and has traced his ancestors back to the late 1700s. He has been a member of the Hamilton Jewish Genealogical Society since its inception in 2004 and served on its Board of Directors as Treasurer for 12 years. In addition to his own research, he has been involved in several projects including the Jewish Records Indexing – Poland, the Canadian Naturalization Database Indexing, and the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR).
To register, please go to
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtc-6rpjIqGdWYHA9wLzft6lmeFHEHTdXY
You will then receive an immediate acknowledgement plus the link to access the event.

JGS Toronto Event - DNA: Tools for the Next Steps
2021-01-31 10:30 - 12:00
Speaker: Nancy Trimble of Ontario Ancestors (formerly, the Ontario Genealogical Society). This will be a virtual Zoom event presented by JGS Toronto.

Ukraine SIG Virtual Meeting
2021-02-03 19:30 - 21:30
A Practical Guide to Using Ukrainian Archive Documents to Trace Your Roots
Speaker: Howard Goldstein
Alex Krakovsky is a Ukrainian from Kyiv who is working to reform the Ukrainian archives system and to get more archival records digitized and placed online. He has personally scanned thousands of pages of archival documents which have never before been scanned or microfilmed, has facilitated the acquisition of scanners for use by the Ukrainian Archive branches to scan documents, and has taken the Ukrainian archives to court (and won!) for their refusal to allow people to scan images there. Every single scanned page is made available online to the public … for free!
Unfortunately for many, all of the records are in Cyrillic and very few of the records have yet been indexed or translated, which makes the task of searching them quite daunting. In this presentation, Howard will review the documents which are available, where to find them, and how to use them. He’ll provide practical tools and tips for searching the scanned records and show how — with a little persistence — you, too, can find the records pertaining to your ancestors.
A handout with resources and links will be provided after you register for the SIG meeting.
To register, please go to http://oldsite-2022-10.jgstoronto.ca/register

Lithuania-Latvia-Belarus SIG
2021-02-11 19:30 - 21:30
Patrick Munits will be presenting and the program will include:

Immigration and Naturalization records in Latvia from the interwar period
Recent developments with regards to accessibility of documents stored in Latvian archives for the years between WWI and WWII.
Overview of period passports, and other types of documents from Latvia and nearby countries that can be found in the archive and are now accessible on the web.
Presentation of techniques to identify and confirm possible missing relatives.

Patrick is a first-generation immigrant. He was born in Riga, Latvia during the Soviet period and for a few decades was the only kid in town with such a name. Patrick researches his Ashkenazi and Latvian ancestors. Much of his family information was lost and obscured during the Holocaust and Stalin’s purges. Over the recent years Patrick was able to uncover many facts previously unknown to his family, all thanks to newly-accessible archives on the Internet. Patrick finds joy whenever he is able to use his native Russian speaking ability together with his professional IT skills to link records from Eastern Europe to immigrant families in North America and elsewhere.

Poland SIG - Jewish Cemeteries
2021-02-18 19:30 - 21:30
Jewish cemeteries in Poland and the pandemic – an update direct from Poland
Witold Wrzosinski, Director of the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland

Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto Poland SIG – Thursday evening, February 18th, 7:30pm ET

In recent decades a huge increase of interest in the Jewish past has taken place in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern and Central Europe. It has taken many forms, ranging from thousands of private genealogy projects, to preservation and digitization efforts, to museums, TV shows and conferences, to a notable growth in heritage tourism.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto Poland SIG will present direct from Poland, Witold Wrzosinski, to discuss his efforts in preserving our Jewish history by preserving our Jewish cemeteries. As the co-founder and co-director of the Foundation for the Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland he has been indexing epitaph inscriptions from Polish Jewish cemeteries for the last 14 years and run an open access, searchable online database with more than 110,000 photographs and transcriptions from more than a 100 cemeteries.

Join us as we explore his efforts during Covid-19 , especially in these trying times when travel is hardly possible and people rarely leave their homes? How do we even start finding the right people? What is the future of local projects already undertaken by descendants in cooperation with residents in dozens of remote Polish towns? Are Jewish cemeteries bound to deteriorate now for good? How are the relevant institutions in Poland dealing with this challenge? Let’s try to get answers. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kgiH8_3eNIzWL-4CGbHDl8IU0aD3K6Ej/view?usp=sharing

Register today at: Clicking Here or https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYod-6tpz4vEtVLYIJz4MdO2Be1k0wmSwQP

To our guests, consider joining our membership for only $40.00 per year by Clicking Here or consider a donation by Clicking Here to assist us in continuing our mission providing a forum for the exchange of genealogical knowledge and information. ( Canadians receive a CRA tax receipt)

Mel Fishman – President

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JGS Event -- Identify Unnamed Ancestors for Genealogical Research
2021-02-28 10:30 - 12:00
This is a Zoom event presented by JGS Toronto.
Using Facial Recognition Tools to Identify
Unnamed Ancestors for Genealogical Research
Speaker: Scott Genzer
VIRTUAL MEETING: Join from Home
Sunday, 28 February 2021, at 10:30 a.m.
Photographs have always been a genealogical challenge because, unlike more conventional sources such as vital records, they do not impart clear data. Most often we simply attach the pictures to our trees and then leave them there. However in early 2019 Genzer developed a new technique that shows how to implement facial recognition via artificial intelligence/machine–learning methods to identify unknown people in photographs using large libraries of passport-like images currently available online. Facial recognition enables genealogists to use never before available technology to generate new clues with statistical probabilities from old photos. His presentation will be an elaboration and detailed demonstration of this technique previously published in the fall issue of Avotaynu [PDF copy of the article will be available).
Scott Genzer is an amateur genealogist who has spent two decades researching his family tree, particularly his paternal branch from Mielec, Poland. During the day, he is a data scientist at RapidMiner, a software company based in Boston. Scott lives in Norwich, Vermont, with his wife and two daughters.
Attendees can register by clicking on News and Events on the menu bar on the front page of this site and drop down to Register for Programs

Please keep the acknowledgement email when you receive it as it contains your personalized link to join the Zoom meeting sign in information.

JGS Event - Hungarian Jewry: History, Holocaust and Genealogy
2021-03-21 10:30 - 12:00
“Genealogical Resources for Researching Hungarian Jews”

Hungarian Jewry: History, Holocaust, and Genealogy

Speaker: Karesz Vandor

VIRTUAL MEETING: View from home

Sunday, 21 March 2021
at 10:30 a.m.
Karesz Vandor’s presentation will include:
• A short history of Hungary Including maps, border changes, and the Holocaust timeline.
• How to do genealogy research in Hungarian-related areas such ascurrent day Slovakia, the Transylvanian part of Romania, Northern Serbia, Subcarpathian Ukraine, Burgenland Austria, and Hungary proper.
Karesz Vandor is a professional Jewish Hungarian historian and genealogist. Karesz lives in Budapest where he has been researching and running Jewish Heritage tours for nearly 20 years. His work often includes threading clients’ genealogical research into their tours; guiding them through historical landmarks related to their families; and, for some,taking them to the site of their family’s roots including relevant towns and cemeteries. As a genealogist he has been commissioned to research family origins for the descendants of Hungarians whose ancestorsmigrated around the world.
To register, please go to

Please keep the acknowledgement email when you receive it as it contains your personalized link to join the Zoom meeting.

JGS Event - Exploring City Directories
2021-04-28 19:30 - 21:00
This is a JGS virtual Zoom event.
EXPLORING CITY DIRECTORIES
A Family Tree Magazine Webinar
Followed by Questions and Answers
with Sunny Jane Morton

VIRTUAL MEETING: View from home

Wednesday, 28 April 2021, 7:30 p.m.
EXPLORING CITY DIRECTORIES
A Family Tree Magazine Webinar

Followed by Questions and Answers
with Sunny Jane Morton
VIRTUAL MEETING: View from home
Wednesday, 28 April 2021, 7:30 p.m.

Sunny Jane Morton is a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine, contributing editor at YourDNAGuide.com, editor of Ohio Genealogy News and a blogger for FamilySearch.org.

City directories are indispensable locating tools for genealogists, but they go far beyond connecting an ancestor to a certain place in time. They lead to a multitude of sources, contain information of genealogical value beyond the individual listings, and present a fuller picture of our ancestors’ lives.

Although the webinar is focused on U.S. city directories, many of the same principles apply in Canada. A PDF with links to major online Canadian city directories will be made available to all attendees.

To register, please go to the link on the Home Page

Please keep the acknowledgement email when you receive it as it contains your personalized link to join the Zoom meeting.

JGS Event - DNA Special Interest Group
2021-05-13 19:30 - 21:00
This is a JGS event for members only. Jerry Scherer will be presenting “DNA a Refresher” by way of Zoom.

Begins at 7:30 pm

JGS Event - Poland Special Interest Group
2021-05-20 19:30 - 21:00
POLAND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) MEETING
WITH DAVID PRICE
THURSDAY, 20 MAY AT 7:30 p.m.
David Price writes:
Suppose from age 15 you survived five years in a half dozen concentration camps and you came out thinking all your family was murdered. You have trouble even remembering what your parents looked like. If only you had a photo…
Chaim Prajs died a few years ago at age 90, never having found a living relative or even a photo. Two years after he died, his son, Chaim, e-mailed Judy Golan, who he found on JewishGen to be another PRAJS of Kielce, Poland. Judy said there were two unrelated PRAJS families from Kielce. She did not recognize Chaim’s family. By chance, Judy was a JRI-Poland volunteer working on a Kielce project with the other PRAJS of Kielce, namely me, David Price. She passed along Chaim’s e-mail to me. I recognized every name and I had photos!
Note: the JGS SIGs are restricted to members only. This meeting will be conducted through Zoom. An email with a link will be available in the coming days.

JGS Toronto Event - Sharing Data on Genealogical Websites: Uses and Abuses; Risks and Rewards
2021-05-26 19:30 - 21:00
This is a virtual Zoom event presented by JGS Toronto. Henry Blumberg who sits on the Board of Directors is the featured speaker.
Sharing Data on Genealogical Websites
Uses and Abuses
Speaker: Henry Blumberg
VIRTUAL MEETING: Join from Home
Wednesday, 26 May 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

In an age of burgeoning technology, genealogists have concerns that relate to genealogy websites, their uses and possible abuses. These include issues of privacy, user agreements, facial recognition, data mining, ownership of data, sharing DNA information with testing companies, surveillance capitalism, and genealogical manipulation and fraud.

Henry Blumberg is a barrister in Toronto. He is on the Board of JGS Toronto, has served three terms as convener of the Latvia SIG, and two terms on the Board of Governors of JewishGen. He has presented at twelve IAJGS conferences and was a speaker in Riga at the “Names and Fates Project” in June 2008, as well as at International Conferences on “Jews in a Changing World” in 2011 and in 2014.
To attend this event go to the Register for Programs button on our home page.

Annual General Meeting
2021-06-02 19:30 - 21:30
Virtual Event

JGS Toronto Event - Break Throughs and Brick Walls
2021-06-16 19:30 - 21:00
Kenneth Golish raises the question: “Why Did My Grandfather Return to Poland After Settling in America”? Before his father’s death, Kenneth heard the story of his grandfather’s return to the Kielce area of Poland. Never knowing the real reason behind the return, he spent several years researching this question until the truth was finally revealed.
Kenneth is the son of Holocaust survivors, Chaim and Miriam, who emigrated to the Bathurst Manor neighbourhood in Toronto. He has been working on his family tree for over twenty years. Kenneth is a lawyer who lives in Windsor with his family.
Howard Goldstein presents “From Silver to Slapak”, a very recent discovery that was forty years in the making. One document finally pulled all of the pieces together, providing evidence of the original surname, the town of origin and connections to family in Montreal and Massachusetts.
Howard is a third generation Montrealer who began his research in 2013 in the areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Romania. He serves both as Secretary of the JGS Hamilton and Co-ordinator of the JGS Toronto Cemetery Project.
Marla Waltman shares “A Twenty Year Question Mark Resolved”, a major breakthrough on her maternal line, the Organik-Organkiewicz-Organ family from small towns in the Kielce-Radom region of Poland. Marla recently discovered a DNA link that could not be connected with the necessary paper trail. After working on her family tree for decades she has now found proof that led her to discover a large maternal branch in the USA.
Marla is an active researcher and writer who has served on the Executive Committee and the Board of JGS Toronto. She has also served as President of our Society.
Henry Blumberg tells the story, “The “Elusive” Crazy Uncle”, a deep dive into a rabbit hole, taking five years to emerge and discover the true relationship.
Henry is a barrister in Toronto and has been an avid genealogist searching and connecting with family all over Europe, America, the UK and South Africa. He has presented at a dozen conference and JGS meetings. Henry is a Board member of JGS Toronto and has served as convener of the international Latvia SIG for three terms.
To register, please go to jgstoronto.ca/register
Please keep the acknowledgement email when you receive it as it contains your personalized link to join the Zoom meeting.

JGS Event - Prague, Budapest, and Vienna
2021-07-14 19:30 - 21:00
Prague, Budapest, and Vienna: History and Jewish Research. This is a Zoom Virtual Event. Our speaker will be Henry Wellisch who was born in Vienna and survived the War. Hernry, is President Emeritus of JGS Toronto and is a well known speaker on Central European Jewish History.

VIRTUAL MEETING: Join from Home

Wednesday, 14 July 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

These three cities were, before World War I, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the 19th century, thousands of Jews moved to these cities from the provinces to look for a better life. Once there, they became an important part of their new homes; some became leaders of society and distinguished themselves in the fields of science, literature, medicine, theatre, politics, etc.

The presentation will cover a period of several hundred years until World War I. For those who had relatives who may have resided there, Henry has prepared a register of research materials. These will be found on the website of the JGS Toronto and will consist of searchable birth, marriage, death records; and cemetery records, city directories and others. Also provided is an extensive list of books on the history of these communities.

Henry Wellisch was born in Vienna and escaped from there in 1940. He spent the war years in a British Internment camp on the island of Mauritius and in 1944 volunteered for the Jewish Brigade. In 1948 he joined the Israeli army and participated in the War of Independence.

Over 25 years ago, he began to investigate his family background, concentrating his research on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was able to trace his family back into the middle of the 18th century. He has published numerous articles on Jewish family research, has lectured on various genealogical subjects, and was president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto from 1993 to 1998.

To register, please go to ………

You will then receive an immediate acknowledgement plus the link to access the event on 14 July.

The presentation will be recorded. It will be available to JGS Toronto members in the “Members Only” section of the Society website, a few days after the event. It will also be available to non-member registrants for one week after the event

info@jgstoronto.ca www.jgstoronto.ca Tel: 647-247-6414
twitter: jgsoftoronto facebook: Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

JGS Event - David Price
2021-09-19 10:30 - 12:00
Click on this link for the details of David Price’s presentation
