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Orange County Jewish Genealogical Society
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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.
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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

Renew or Join Today

Join today and get the rest of 2024 for free!
​Membership runs through the end of 2025.
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Calendar of Events

World-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.
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.


May 18 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Ava Cohn (a.k.a. Sherlock Cohn, The Photo Genealogist)
Clued In: The stories are in the details
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How often have you looked at a family photograph and wondered how much more you could learn about your family from this photo? Beyond who is in the photo and when it was taken are the subtler clues that give us a deeper appreciation of the people who came before us.

What are the relationships of the people in the photos? What were their personal choices? What does our photograph tell us about a relative’s personality? Why was this photo taken? What messages were they trying to convey when they sat before the photographer? What role does the photographer play in arranging a photograph? What role does provenance play in helping us tell the stories?

There is a wealth of information to be gleaned from the visual records of our mishpocha. Coupled with our handed-down family oral traditions and our found documentation, these photo discoveries can become the basis for our family stories. But is the detail we’ve found in our photo what Sherlock calls a bisl (something insignificant) or the gantze megilla (something that tells us the whole story)? In this informative talk, part of the “Clued-In” series on photo analysis from Sherlock Cohn, The Photo Genealogist, we’ll learn, by example, how to differentiate between a clue that is useful and furthers our study of genealogy and one that gives us little or no usable information.

Ava Cohn, aka Sherlock Cohn, The Photo Genealogist, is an internationally known, go-to expert on Jewish family photographs with an ever-growing list of clients from Europe, America, Israel, Canada, Australia and other countries. A Brandeis University graduate, her background includes the study of decorative arts, photography history, and costume/theatre history. Ava has studied at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Since 2009, she has specialized in accurate dating, locating and identifying individuals in photographs with an emphasis on immigrant and Eastern European culture and traditions. She is a popular speaker and a collector of 19th and early 20th century photographs. Ava has traced her own family to Canada, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in addition to various places in the United States.
 
She can be reached at [email protected]

Register in advance for this Zoom presentation. Click this link to register.

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But wait, there's more...
Mark your calendars for these upcoming speakers:

June 22: Robin Meltzer
How Not to Read a Jewish Tombstone

Click this link to register.

July 27: Marlis Humphrey
What’s New at the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation

Click this link to register.

August 24: Daniel Horowitz
Title: TBD
Click this link to register.

September 28: Zachary Mazur
Rabbis, Innkeepers, And Tricksters: Jewish life in Poland & Lithuania

Click this link to register.

October 26: Jerry Rishe
US immigration law as it affected Jewish Immigration

Click this link to register.

November 23: Ellie Vance
Reading Metrical Records from the Russian Empire
Click this link to register.

December 28: Susan Rosin
J
ewishGen Yizkor Book project
Click this link to register.
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Services offered by our members

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Mentoring by Shmuel Fisher
Our long-time resident mentor is happy to provide one-on-one general assistance to beginners and more advanced help for Polish research.
Contact: ​[email protected]

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Orange County Genetic Genealogy
Full range of services to help you with DNA and genealogical research.
Contact us at: www.theOCGG.com

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Infinite Possibilities
West Coast Genealogy

Basic and comprehensive genealogical services at very affordable prices. We also specialize in Jewish Genealogy. Contact us for a free consultation to learn more:
[email protected]

Are you a member of OCJGS offering a genealogical service? Contact us for your FREE listing.
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