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Yitzhak Berchunsky
ca 1880 |
Welcome to the Orange County Jewish Genealogical Society! The OCJGS is your resource in Orange County, California, for all things related to finding your Jewish roots.
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned expert, you will find our monthly meetings stimulating and informative. In addition to meetings, hands-on workshops, and special events, members also have access to an excellent library of books and magazines pertinent to Jewish genealogy. The Orange County Jewish Genealogical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We are a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Remember the Days of Old; Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will explain to you. (Deut. 32:7)
זכר ימות עולם בינו שנות דור ודור שאל אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו לך פרשת האזינו |
Calendar of EventsWorld-Class Speakers!We have a lineup of truly world class speakers coming to you wherever in the world you are, from wherever in the world they are. We normally meet the 4th Sunday of each month.
Virtual meetings are via Zoom. You must register in advance by clicking the link for the meeting you want to attend. Registration only takes a few seconds. Our physical meetings (when we get back to them) are at: Temple Beth Sholom 2625 N Tustin Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm Attendance at virtual meetings is free to OCJGS members. If you are not a member, please consider joining. Otherwise, the charge for non-members is $5. Please visit the Membership page to join or pay your $5 fee. January 24 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Direct from Paris! Alexander Beider: What's in a name? Unravelling the Mystery of Jewish Migrations Through Onomastics 
Alexander Beider was born in Moscow in 1963. He studied mathematics and theoretical physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, from which he received a PhD in applied mathematics (1989). Since 1990, he has lived with his family in Paris, France. In 2000, he received his second PhD in Jewish studies from Sorbonne.
Dr. Beider uses onomastics and linguistics as tools to unravel the history of the Jewish people. He has written the definitive series of reference books dealing with the etymology of Jewish surnames, all published by Avotaynu Inc. His books cover Jewish surnames from the Russian Empire (1993, 2nd revised edition in 2008), Prague (15th-18th centuries) (1994), the Kingdom of Poland (1996), Galicia (2004), Maghreb, Gibraltar, and Malta (2017), and Italy, France and “Portuguese” Communities (2019). His Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names (2001) is considered the new standard work in the domain. Beider is also the designer of the linguistic part of the Beider-Morse Phonetic Matching method of computer-based searches for equivalent surnames. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvcu6rqzkuHtxRJ7MSu1jkHGbCnIZjTZk5 February 28 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Gary Mokotoff & Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus: In conversation... 
And now for something a little different... introducing our Pioneers of Jewish Genealogy series, conversations with the folks who have dedicated their lives and their work to advancing the state of Jewish genealogy.
And what better way to kick off this series than with a conversation with Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus. You know them as the publisher and editor (respectively) of AVOTAYNU, The International Review of Jewish Genealogy. Gary created the JewishGen Family Finder (how many of you remember getting the printout every few months, long before the Internet changed everything). He and Sallyann also co-authored Where Once We Walked, and Gary is co-creator of the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex system. A former president of IAJGS, Gary is an author, lecturer and researcher. Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus co-founded the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy. She and Gary co-founded AVOTAYNU, and she participated, along with Gary, in the founding of AJGS (which became IAJGS). She was founding president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington. She has chaired or co-chaired seven of the annual conferences on Jewish genealogy, authored seven books of use to genealogists and has consulted on numerous projects. And she is a happily retired clinical psychologist. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIoc-mtqzosHtN4XB7LYM2PSIWjRnJQvc5l March 21 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Todd Knowles: What's New at FamilySearch 
Back in the day, anyone dealing with genealogy eventually found themselves ordering microfiche and microfilms from the "Mormon Library" in Salt Lake City. Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints provides all of their genealogical records and tools for free at FamilySearch.org.
This presentation will focus on new features at FamilySearch, and techniques you can use to help find your Jewish ancestors. Todd Knowles is an accredited Genealogist who specializes in English and Jewish research. For the past 20 years he has been a member of the staff at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, where he currently serves as a Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer. He is past President of the Utah Jewish Genealogy Society (UJGS). Todd has lectured all over the world and his articles have been widely published. His own genealogical search began at the age of twelve with the desire to find more about his family. His quest to find more about his G-G-Grandfather, a Polish Jew, has led to the creation of the Knowles Collection, six databases that contain the records of the Jewish people. It currently (as of Jan 2020) contains the records of over 1.4 million people. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkduGtrjgvHdZpp5-qRkMYjIIhKHFJSvF1 April 25 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Ellen Kowitt: Strategies for Ukraine Research 2021 
Online access to collections for researching Ukraine continue to grow at an astonishing rate due to efforts by Alex Krakovsky, FamilySearch, Ukraine National Archives, and others including locals, academics, and nonprofits. This lecture explores challenges in language, developing a research plan, and a 2021 overview of sources, including JewishGen, Ukraine SIG, blogs, Facebook groups, the global genealogy giants, resources in Israel, WWII military databases, Cantonist material, and more.
Ellen Kowitt is Director of JewishGen’s United States Research Division, and National Vice Chair of the DAR Lineage Committee's first-ever Jewish Task Force. She is past president of JGS Colorado and JGS Greater Washington DC, and has served on the IAJGS board of directors. Ellen publishes articles in Avotaynu and Family Tree Magazine, and she's a member of the Colorado Association of Professional Genealogists. For information, visit www.EllenKowitt.com. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtcuCopj8rH9NaVh6gmi0U9-xLnZbdrMrs May 23 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Miriam Weiner: Exciting new additions at RoutesToRoots 
Miriam Weiner, researcher, genealogist, author, world traveler. Speaking of Pioneers of Jewish Genealogy... We'll have a little conversation, and then Miriam will take us on a guided tour of the many additions and improvements that she recently released on the RoutesToRoots website.
Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvdeuqrjMjHNV_-lT96XtJWmk_YFsLqh7r June 13 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Gil Bardige: Help! I just got my DNA results and I'm confused. 
At the “instruction” of his mother, Gil Bardige began his genealogy adventure in 1979 with 54 people in his tree. Today his family tree, including mishpocha, is over 2,000 people tracing 4 branches back to his 5th great grandfathers born about 1740. His families arrived in Chicago in the early 20th century in the early 1900s.
Gil currently manages three Y-DNA projects at Family Tree DNA as a Volunteer Administrator. He loves to help people manage their expectations and begin to remove confusion from the DNA results, whether it’s, Y-DNA, mtDNA, or Autosomal DNA. A member of the Columbus Jewish Historical Society, Gil had spoken at a number of local events and international conferences, including at IAJGS in Orlando, Cleveland and Virtual San Diego. Gil is a firm believer that you can use DNA results as a tool in your genealogical research as it generates clues that can help people confirm/deny relationships. His speaking style is high energy (you won’t be bored) and he loves to take questions. People have said of his presentations, “Thank you, Gil, I am no longer confused!” Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvcOmgrjssGNPuSsU1kvvw8rMQvRARn8qL July 25 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Megan Lewis: Using online resources at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum for researching Holocaust records 
Megan Lewis is a reference librarian at the USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). The last time Megan spoke at one of our meetings, she got on an airplane to fly from Washington DC. Online via Zoom is SO much easier. We know from experience that Megan is a great speaker!
Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYocu2orDgjHd34jzQQQnJV80tgaICJINgg But wait, there's more...Mark your calendars for these upcoming speakers:
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