Prior Meetings

January 8, 2012:   "Ethics, Sensitivities, Sensibilities and Property Rights" - Panel Presentation  

December 11, 2011:   "From DNA to Genetic Genealogy: Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask" - Stephen Morse   (handout: From DNA to Genetic Genealogy;  Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly article)  

November 7, 2011:   "How To Begin Your Genealogy" - Jan Meisels Allen  

October 10, 2011:   "Finding Your Jewish Ancestors on Ancestry.com" - Crista Cowan  

September 12, 2011:   "U.S. Immigration and Naturalization" - Hal Bookbinder   (handout: 2011-09_Genealogy Tip of the Month)  

July 17, 2011:   "Genealogy in the Round: Share Your Successes, Failures, Artifacts and Brick Walls" - JGSCV members  

June 5, 2011:   "Wrongful [Jewish] Wraskals of the West" - Ron Arons  

May 1, 2011:   "The First Massive Jewish Deportation: To Camp de Gurs in 1940" - Werner Frank  

April 3, 2011:   "Jews of the Pacific Coast" - Ava F. Kahn   (handouts: Jews of the Pacific Coast, 31st IAJGS International Conference)  

March 6, 2011:   "Assisted Research Afternoon at the L.A. Family History Library (FHL)"  

February 13, 2011:   "Why Did Our Ancestors Leave a Nice Place Like The Pale?" - Hal Bookbinder   (handouts: JewishGen, Why Did our Ancestors Leave a Nice Place Like the Pale?)  

January 9, 2011:   "Authors! Authors! Authors!" - Warren Blatt, Werner Frank, Erica Miller, Ph.D., Helene Rosen, Mark Abbott Stern & Sara Applebaum  

December 6, 2010:   "Genetic Genealogy Demystified -- Understanding and Interpreting Your DNA Results" - Elise Friedman   (handouts: Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Understanding and Interpreting Your DNA Results, FTDNA Hanukah Promotion; online slides: Jewish Genealogy By Genetics (JewishGen) )  

November 8, 2010:   "An Introduction to Polish-Jewish Genealogical Research" - Warren Blatt   (handout: Polish Lecture - 2007; online slides: Polish-Jewish Genealogical Research (JewishGen) ).   Also: "Preserving Heirlooms for Future Generations" - Phoebe Frank  

October 4, 2010:   "Ost Meets West: Immigrant Film Moguls, Émigré Directors, and the Rise of Film Noir" - Vincent Brook  

September, 2010: No Meeting Due to High Holidays

August 1, 2010:   "One Foot In America! The Jewish Emigrants of the Red Star Line and Eugeen Van Miegham" - Erwin Joos  

July, 2010: No Meeting Due to IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy

June 27, 2010:   Two presentations: "Genealogical Resources in Latin America" and "MyHeritage Research - Genealogy Super Search Engine", both by Daniel Horowitz   (handout: Jewish Genealogical Resources in Latin America )

June 6, 2010:   "Current Trends and Recent Discoveries in Sephardi and Converso/Bnai Anousim Research" - Schelly Talalay Dardashti   (handout: Resources Online for Sephardic Genealogy )

May 2, 2010:   "Genealogy in the Round: Share Your Successes, Failures, Artifacts and Brick Walls" - JGSCV members

April 11, 2010:   "Hitler’s Hidden Holocaust" - A Documentary by National Geographic Channel. Also: "Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Services", Bob Rich, American Red Cross of Ventura County

March 7, 2010:   "Annie’s Ghosts" - Steve Luxenberg    (handouts: Archival Records at the National Personnel Records Center, Recent Archival Accessions, Microfilm Unit Records Onsite Review )

February 1, 2010:   "Mapping Madness" - Ron Arons   (handout: Mapping Madness Link List)

January 10, 2010:   "How to Begin Your Genealogy" - JGSCV Board Members Debra Kay Blatt and Jan Meisels Allen

December 6, 2009:   "Hodge Podge of Lesser Known Gems" - Steve Morse and Annual Chanukah Party

November 8, 2009:   "Searching for Jewish Treasures" - Rabbi Shimon Paskow

October 5, 2009:   "Remembering the Victims: The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Project" - Daniel Patrick Brown

September, 2009: No Meeting Due to High Holidays

August 30, 2009:   "Jewish Given Names", Warren Blatt, Managing Director, JewishGen. Also: "Klutzmer" Band (Eastern European) music concert.  (handout: Jewish Given Names;   presentation slides @ JewishGen)

July 12, 2009:   "Facebook: The Ins & Outs of the On-Line Social Networking Way to Find Relatives and Others" - David Oseas  (handout: JGSCV Facebook presentation)

June 7, 2009:  Genealogy in the Round: Share Your Successes, Failures, Artifacts and Brick Walls 

May 3, 2009:  Documentary Film: "The World Was Ours, The Jewish Legacy of Vilna"  

April 5, 2009:  Assisted Research Afternoon at the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center (LARFHC)  

March 1, 2009:  "Town Wide Research - Recreating Our Ancestral Shtetl: Ariogala, Lithuania" - Sonia and David Hoffman   (handout: Town-Wide Research: Bringing Your Shtetl to Life )

February 8, 2009:  "Secret Jews: History and Culture of Crypto-Jews and Their Research For Jewish Roots and Identity" - Arthur Benveniste  

January 4, 2009:  "The Musical 'Chicago' and all that Genealogical Jazz" - Ron Arons   (handout: Websites for Jan2009)

December 8, 2008:   "One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools" - Steve Morse  

November 10, 2008:   "Abraham's Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People" - Jon Entine  

October 5, 2008:   "Roundtable Discussions"   (handout: Practicing Safe Computing)

September 7, 2008:   "Jewish Surnames", Warren Blatt, Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief, JewishGen.org. Also: "Klutzmer" Band (Eastern European) music concert.  

June 29, 2008:   Peter Landé, volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Genealogical Records from the Holocaust – The Breakthrough?  (handouts: Addresses2 and Rabinowitz)

June 1, 2008:   Genealogy In The Round: Share Your Successes, Failures, Artifacts and Brick Walls  (handout: Captured WWII Nazi Still and Aerial Photographs)

May 4, 2008:  Commemorating Yom Hashoah Day (Holocaust Memorial Day) Holocaust documentary: "Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust"  (handout: Pages of Testimony submission form)

April 6, 2008:  Exclusive Research Day at the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center   (handout: Preparing For the Exclusive Research Afternoon at the LARFHC)

March 2, 2008: Eric Gordon, President, Workmen's Circle, Los Angeles, 100 years of the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring 

February 10, 2008: Robert Sherins, M.D., Using Maps In Genealogical Research  (handout: Using Maps in Genealogical Research)

January 6, 2008:  Marian L. Smith, historian, U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).  (handout: Immigration and Naturalization Records)

December 9, 2007: Using the Internet Beyond JewishGen & Steve Morse's Website (handout: The Internet Beyond JewishGen & Steve Morse's Website)

November 11, 2007: "How The Jews Won The West"

October 14, 2007: "How To Begin Your Genealogy Research-Part IV: How  to use Family History Centers and Microfilms in your Research?"  (handout: How to Use a Family History Center)

August 19, 2007: "Highlights of the 2007 IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy".

July 2007: No meeting due to IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy

June 10, 2007: "Jewish Genealogy and DNA Testing" (handout: Family Tree DNA Order Form)

May 6, 2007: "Genealogy In the Round: Share Your Successes, Failures, Artifacts and Brick Walls".

April 15, 2007: "There Once Was A Town" - award winning PBS documentary on a visit to an ancestral shtetl narrated by Actor Ed Asner.

March 18, 2007: "Navigating the New York and Federal Censuses with Fewer Tears" - Joel Weintraub, Steve Morse Associate and One-Step Database Manager.

February 11, 2007: "Lesser Known Resources at the National Archives and Records Administration" - Randy Thompson, Archivist, NARA

January 7,2007: "How To Begin Your Genealogy Research--Part lll" (handout: Newspaper and Yizkor Book Sources)

December 10,2006: "Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky - The Men Behind the Flamingo Hotel" - Ron Arons  

November 15,2006: "Genealogist as Detective: Solving Mysteries Using HIAS Case Files" -  Valery Bazarov, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) (handouts: HIAS Location and Family History Department and HIAS Search Form)

October, 2006: No Meeting Due to High Holidays

September 17, 2006: "Our Heritage and Our Health" - Gary Frohlich

August 13-20, 2006: IAJGS Conference in New York City. No JGSCV meeting.

July 9, 2006: “Detecting Faults and Errors in Genealogical Sources” – Werner Frank

June 11, 2006: “The Wayfarers” – Stuart Tower (handout: Romanian Sources)

May 7, 2006: “The Changing Borders of Eastern Europe” – Hal Bookbinder (handout: The Changing Borders of Eastern Europe)

April 9, 2006: “How To Begin Your Genealogy Research, Part II - Using the Internet” – Jan Meisels Allen, Debra Kay Blatt and Warren Blatt (handout: Military Records Sites and City Directories on the Internet)

March 5, 2006: “The Children of Terezin” – After a showing of this film, its producer Stewart Bernstein will discuss the making of the documentary

February 5, 2006: “Jewish Treasures in the Ventura County Museum” – Charles Johnson, Librarian and Associate Director, Ventura County Museum

January 8, 2006: “How To Begin Your Genealogy Research” – Jan Meisels Allen, Debra Kay Blatt & Hal Bookbinder (handouts: How Do I Get Started and Suggested Questions to Ask During Interviews)

December 4, 2005: “Putting Flesh On The Bones” – Ron Arons

November 13, 2005: “Jewish Life In China During the Past Thousand Years” – Werner Frank

October 23, 2005: “An Introduction to JewishGen Databases” – Warren Blatt

September 25, 2005: “Researching Your Relatives That Came Through Ellis Island” – Hal Bookbinder, Debra Kay Blatt & Werner Frank (handout: Entities Shown on Ship Manifests as Required by USA Government.  presentation: Basic Information Sources)