Vol 34-1 Spring 2017
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Jourcnahl orf thoe Jenwisihc Gelneealos gical Society of Greater Philadelphia דברי הימים Chronicles - Volume 34-1 Spring 2017 Journal of the Jewicsh Ghenrealogicnal iSoccieltye ofs Greater Philadelphia JGSGP Membership Editorial Board Membership dues and contributions are tax-deductible Editor - Evan Fishman - editor@ jgsgp. org to the full extent of the law. Please make checks Graphics & Design - Ed Flax - ejflax@ gmail.com payable to JGSGP and mail to the address below. Associate Editors: Please include your email address and zip+4 / postal Felicia Mode Alexander - fmode@ verizon.net code address. Elaine Ellison - ekellison@ navpoint.com Marge Farbman - margefarb@ aol.com Annual Dues (January 1 - Dec. 31) Stewart Feinberg - stewfein@ gmail.com Individual............................................................. $25 Ann Kauffman - kauffmanj982@ aol.com Family of two, per household...............................$35 Cindy Meyer - cfrogs@ aol.com Officers Membership Applications / Renewals and Payments President: Fred Blum president@ jgsgp. org to: JGSGP • 1657 The Fairway, #145 Vice President - Programs: Jenkintown, PA 19046 Mark Halpern - programs@ jgsgp. org Questions about membership status should be Vice President - Membership: directed to membership@ jgsgp. org Susan Neidich - membership@ jgsgp. org Vice President: Editorial Contributions Walter Spector - educonser@ comcast.net Submission of articles on genealogy for publication in Treasurer: chronicles is enthusiastically encouraged. The Barry Wagner - barryswagner@ comcast.net editorial board reserves the right to decide whether to Immediate Past President: publish an article and to edit all submissions. Please Mark Halpern - mark@ halpern.com keep a copy of your material. Anything you want re - Trustee: Joel Spector - jlspector@ aol.com turned should be accompanied by a self-addressed Trustee: Harry D. Boonin - harryboonin@ gmail.com stamped envelope. Committee Chairs Hospitality: Judy Becker - jbecker209@ gmail.com While email and other electronic files are highly pre - New Member Orientation ferred, the editors will be happy to work with you and Lois Sernoff - jglois@ verizon.net your material in any form. If you have an idea, please Publicity: Jack Weinstein - jwtv@ juno.com contact Evan Fishman of the Editorial Board by email: Russian Special Interest Group editor@ jgsgp. org or by phone at 856-667-2077. David Brill - brilldr@ comcast.net South Jersey Affiliate: Subscriptions - Address Change Bernard Cedar - [email protected] chronicles (ISSN 0893-2921) is the quarterly Speakers Bureau: publication of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Shelda & Stan Sandler - stanshel@ msn.com Philadelphia. It is free to JGSGP members and to JGS’s Webmaster: Jim Meyer - webmaster@ jgsgp. org in the newsletter courtesy-exchange program. Printed and l m t h . r o o d p e r / k r o w / y r o t s i h / m o c . n i l l e y l e u m a s . w w w / / : p t t mailed back issues are available at $4.00 each in the US h 9 2 9 1 . a c , L F , s e l a W e k a and $7.00 outside the US. Chronicles is published quar - L , r e w o T k o B e h t m o r f r o o D é s s u o p e R e z n o r B • A P , a i h p l e d a l i h P , t e e r t S d a o r B . N 2 3 - 7 1 3 t a d e t a c o l s i ) g n terly and distributed electronically in PDF format. Please i - d l i u B s s e r P e h t a / k / a g n i d l i u B n o i t a r o p r o C r o t o M d r a k c a P e h supply the Vice President - Membership with your up - T l m t h . d r a k c a p / k r o w / y r o t s i h / m o c . n i l l e y l e u m a s . w w w / / : p t t dated email address to ensure on-time delivery. h 4 2 9 1 - A P , a i h p l e d a l i h Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved. P , g n i d l i u B d r a k c a P t a s e c n o c s & s e t a g n o r i t h g u o r W No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or • transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording : k r o w s ’ n i l l e Y l e u m a S f o s e l p m a x E - 3 1 # z i u Q P G S G or otherwise without the prior written permission of The Jewish Genealogical J Society of Greater Philadelphia. http:// www. jgsp. org/ Chronicles - Volume 34-1 Spring 2017 2 Table of Contents Reflections from Commentary Your Chronicles Team 2JGSGP Contact Information id you ever sit back and reflect on 3 Reflections from Your Chronicles Team which individuals, objects, or pho - 4 President’s Message tographs sparked your exploration 5 Welcome to New Members of an unknown relative or led you to try to Tips, Techniques & Tools D understand the significance of that object to 5 Overview of the RootsMagic Program generations of your family? I’m always in - Summarized by Stewart Feinberg from the trigued by stories that delve into the process Original Article by Dick Eastman which leads to uncovering new perspectives of members or 7 A Genealogy Website Causing A Potential Privacy Issue branches of our respective families. James Gross, MSLIS I recently discovered Australian Jewish genealogist, Eli Ra - Discoveries & Visits to Ancestral Homes binowitz’s story about how a single photograph generated 10 Chasing Louis Freedberg his efforts to unravel the mystery surrounding an uncle: Barry Benowitz 12 37th IAJGS International Conference http://www.avotaynuonline.com/2016/08/from-one-photo - on Jewish Genealogy Announcement graph-to-journeys-of-research-and-discovery/ 13 Trip to the Wittenberg Home Villages Note: If you’re not already familiar with Avotaynu Online, in Hungary – August 2003 here’s part of its mission statement: “The objective of Donald Wittenberg Avotaynu Online is to bring to genealogists the best writing 15 The Bearded Man in the Top Hat - Sequel in our field, with a special focus on Jewish genealogy. We Evan Fishman are particularly interested in original thinking that will im - 17 Visas for Life: Seven Refugees Journey to Safe Haven prove genealogical practice and teach us something about Chapter 2: Antonina Altszuler Jewish family history.” Mark Halper n Meeting Summaries Hannah Pressman, a member of the affiliate faculty for the 20 January Meeting Summary University of Washington Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, wonders about a family heirloom which taught her about her Linda Ewall-Krocker ancestors and mysterious parts of her Jewish history. She 22 February Meeting Summary eloquently shares her journey in the following piece: Evan Fishman 23 March Meeting Summary http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and- Marilyn Mazer Golden religion/222801/my-sephardic- Miscellaneous inheritance?utm_source=tabletmagazinelist&utm_campaig 25 South Jersey Trip Thank You n=e1ecc36933-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_15&utm _medium=email&utm_term=0_c308bf8edb-e1ecc36933- 26 JGSGP Quiz #13 - David Brill 206893405 26 JGSGP Speakers Bureau 27 2017 Membership Application & Renewal Several of the articles in this issue demonstrate the power 28 JGSGP Calendar & Reminders of photographs and incomplete stories about colorful rela - tives. Barry Benowitz has long been intrigued by his enig - Cover Photo: Courtesy United.States Holocaust Memorial Mu - matic great grandfather, Louis Freeberg, and traces the seum See article on p. 5 for complete credits. process through which he confirmed family lore that Louis 3 Chronicles - Volume 34-1 Spring 2017 was a composer whose compositions can be found at the Library of Congress. I was delighted with the results of my ef - forts to unravel the mystery behind the photograph of a bearded man wearing a top hat on a 1914 postcard. Mark Halpern shares the second installment of his session at last year’s IAJGS conference entitled “Visas for Life: Seven Refugees Journey to Safe Haven.” The accounts included in his talk stemmed from an album of photographs of six women and one man who were refugee passengers on a rickety ship from Vladivostok, Russia to Tsuruga, Japan enroute to ultimate safety in the United States or elsewhere. In his latest “tech” piece James Gross heeds us to be wary of the genealogy website, www.FamilyTreeNow.com, which has been known to compromise identity security. In a similar vein the Jewish Genealogical Society of Conejo Valley and Ventura County listed the following link (http://www.jgscv.org/pdf/Practicing%20Safe%20Computing%20Articles.pdf) to eighteen, single page articles by Hal Bookbinder which provide very practical and timely advice on protecting research imbedded in our computers. Fred Blum explains the backdrop behind our cover photo in his latest “President’s Message.” His skills as a private in - vestigator were instrumental in uncovering this woman’s background, but he emphasizes how the use of social media proved to be the piece de resistance to his search. As usual, we recapture the fascinating presentations given by speakers at recent meetings. We invite you to submit original material so we can maintain our tradition of member-generated content. Please send it to [email protected] by Sunday, July 16. ❖ Evan Fishman, Editor President’s Message s we do our own research, we should always remember that the skills we have obtained can be of help to others.