California: South Africa resources, June 16

South African research is the program focus at the next meeting of Los Altos Hills branch of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS).

Southern Africa Special Interest Group (SA-SIG) vice president Roy Ogus will speak at 7pm, Monday, June 16, at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills.

South Africa’s Jewish community is large and important. Although we may not know it, many of us have South African connections because our ancestors’ siblings or cousins emigrated there. During the great wave of emigration from Eastern Europe (1881-1930s), many Jews, especially Lithuanians, left for the economic opportunity and freedom of South Africa. Following the recent emigration of many South African Jews during periods of political unrest in the country, the end of apartheid in 1994 has revitalized our cousins’ homeland.

The program is a summary of key sources of documentation and genealogically valuable information of genealogical value that can be found in South Africa, and how to access them. It will also provide an overview of South African history for the discussion of Jewish migration.

For more information, click here.

California: Win 2 free Jamboree tickets!

Are you still thinking about attending the 2008 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, June 27-29, at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center?

This may help sweeten the deal: Win two free tickets from FamilyLink.com (parent of WorldVitalRecords.com), a Jamboree sponsor.

How to enter:

Describe a favorite experience you have had while researching your ancestors on WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilyLink.com, or We’re Related on Facebook. Email your entry to Whitney at Whitney@familylink.com

The winner will receive two free tickets ($180 value) to the SCGS Jamboree – the largest genealogy conference on the West Coast. Entries are due 8pm (MST) Friday, June 20, and the winner will be notified Monday June 23. If the winner has already registered for Jamboree, he or she will be reimbursed. Note: All submissions become the property of FamilyLink.com, Inc. and may be used for promotional purposes.

Don’t want to enter the contest but still want to attend? Sign up now as pre-registration closes June 15; until then, also register for special events, such as the Friday night banquet with Megan Smolyanek Smolyanek, the Saturday dinner with Dick Eastman, etc.

This year’s program offers speakers and topics of interest to researchers of Jewish, Eastern European and German roots. These include Peter Lande on “Holocaust Records as a Source for All Genealogists,” which includes how to obtain records from Bad Arolsen; Steve Morse on “One-Step Webpages,” and other familiar faces from past IAJGS International Conferences on Jewish Genealogy, such as Pamela Weisberger, Stephanie Weiner and others.

Well-known professional genealogists will speak about online and traditional resources, tech applications for genealogy, including several DNA talks, German ancestry, genealogy applications for today, such as family health histories, dealing with family secrets and black sheep, finding living relatives, and more.

I am looking forward to participating in the first-ever Blogger Summit, chaired by Leland Meitzler (GenealogyBlog.com), along with Dick Eastman (Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter); Steve Danko (Steve’s Genealogy Blog); George G. Morgan, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (Megan’s Roots World and RootsTelevision) and Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings).

For full descriptions of speakers, lectures, evening events, and registration details here. Read the Jamboree blog here.

California: South Africa resources, June 16

South African research is the program focus at the next meeting of Los Altos Hills branch of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS).

Southern Africa Special Interest Group (SA-SIG) vice president Roy Ogus will speak at 7pm, Monday, June 16, at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills.

South Africa’s Jewish community is large and important. Although we may not know it, many of us have South African connections because our ancestors’ siblings or cousins emigrated there. During the great wave of emigration from Eastern Europe (1881-1930s), many Jews, especially Lithuanians, left for the economic opportunity and freedom of South Africa. Following the recent emigration of many South African Jews during periods of political unrest in the country, the end of apartheid in 1994 has revitalized our cousins’ homeland.

The program is a summary of key sources of documentation and genealogically valuable information of genealogical value that can be found in South Africa, and how to access them. It will also provide an overview of South African history for the discussion of Jewish migration.

For more information, click here.

California: Win 2 free Jamboree tickets!

Are you still thinking about attending the 2008 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, June 27-29, at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center?

This may help sweeten the deal: Win two free tickets from FamilyLink.com (parent of WorldVitalRecords.com), a Jamboree sponsor.

How to enter:

Describe a favorite experience you have had while researching your ancestors on WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilyLink.com, or We’re Related on Facebook. Email your entry to Whitney at Whitney@familylink.com

The winner will receive two free tickets ($180 value) to the SCGS Jamboree – the largest genealogy conference on the West Coast. Entries are due 8pm (MST) Friday, June 20, and the winner will be notified Monday June 23. If the winner has already registered for Jamboree, he or she will be reimbursed. Note: All submissions become the property of FamilyLink.com, Inc. and may be used for promotional purposes.

Don’t want to enter the contest but still want to attend? Sign up now as pre-registration closes June 15; until then, also register for special events, such as the Friday night banquet with Megan Smolyanek Smolyanek, the Saturday dinner with Dick Eastman, etc.

This year’s program offers speakers and topics of interest to researchers of Jewish, Eastern European and German roots. These include Peter Lande on “Holocaust Records as a Source for All Genealogists,” which includes how to obtain records from Bad Arolsen; Steve Morse on “One-Step Webpages,” and other familiar faces from past IAJGS International Conferences on Jewish Genealogy, such as Pamela Weisberger, Stephanie Weiner and others.

Well-known professional genealogists will speak about online and traditional resources, tech applications for genealogy, including several DNA talks, German ancestry, genealogy applications for today, such as family health histories, dealing with family secrets and black sheep, finding living relatives, and more.

I am looking forward to participating in the first-ever Blogger Summit, chaired by Leland Meitzler (GenealogyBlog.com), along with Dick Eastman (Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter); Steve Danko (Steve’s Genealogy Blog); George G. Morgan, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (Megan’s Roots World and RootsTelevision) and Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings).

For full descriptions of speakers, lectures, evening events, and registration details here. Read the Jamboree blog here.