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 |
Renew or Join TodayMembership runs through the end of 2026. 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. 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 25, 2026 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Carl Caplan & Vasily Zaitsau The Together Plan: Researching the Belarus Archives 
As many people who are doing their family research know, Belarus remains a difficult research area. The vast majority of Belarus’s archives are not available online.
Learn how The Together Plan’s Archive Services team can assist you with your family genealogy for ancestors who came from the part of the Russian Empire that is now Belarus. We will cover the process for submitting new inquiries, along with some real examples of research for previous clients. With over 100 former and current clients, UK non-profit The Together Plan has successfully found records as far back as the early 1700s surprising, many enquirers who thought that there were no records left to be searched. Carl Kaplan, who lives in Winchester, MA, just outside of Boston USA, is a volunteer caseworker for The Together Plan, a non-profit organization that conducts searches in the archives of Belarus. Carl has been researching his Kaplan-Hoffert family tree for the past 10 years. With the help of The Together Plan he was able to take his Kaplan branch in Minsk back to the 1740s, and his 6th great-grandfather Itska. Carl is a certified historical tour guide for the organization Boston By Foot. As a retired engineer for IBM, Carl enjoys researching various topics of Jewish life, especially during the 3rd wave of immigration to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His most recent work for the organization was updating the Jewish North End of Boston walking tour. Carl is a member of various JGS’s, including Pittsburgh, and has given several presentations at the annual IAJGS conferences. . Vasily Zaitsau, based in Minsk, is a project manager and the Belarus coordinator for The Together Plan. He uses his expertise in the Archive Services group to help people trace their roots and discover their ancestors. In addition, he serves as the Executive Director of The Jewish Religious Union of Belarus and is fluent in both Belarusian and English. Register in advance for this Zoom presentation. Click this link to register.
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