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NOTE: Please note that all attendees of our JGSCO events must register for each event they are attending to receive handout(s) and the Zoom meeting link, if applicable. Handouts will be uploaded here after the event.

Members can access handouts, recording, and chat, if available, from prior meetings by switching to Calendar View at below right and selecting the meeting date of interest. Event titles have been slightly modified as followed:

  • [H] event name = handouts are available
  • [R] event name = a recording is available
  • [C] event name = chat is available
  • [H,R] event name = handouts and a recording are available
  • Event name = handouts and recording are not available

Reminder recordings are large files, so they can take some time to start playing.

If you are logged in then you will see Past Events below Upcoming Events, else you will not.


Upcoming events

    • April 16, 2023
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • On ZOOM
    Register

    College Archives: Overlooked Treasure Chests for Jewish Genealogists

    Cynthia Gensheimer 

    Sunday April 16, 2023

     10 AM to 12 PM

      9:30 AM to 10 AM Schmear, Schmooze, and Share

      On ZOOM 

    Many Jewish immigrants sent their children to college as soon as they could—and these colleges and universities now hold valuable untapped resources for the genealogist. 

    Learn what you might be lucky enough to find, even if your ancestors didn’t graduate. Hear about treasures that Cynthia discovered in her nationwide archival research—treasures unearthed in student records, college yearbooks, and student publications—as well as alumni records and publications. By visiting archives, you may find photos, student and alumni correspondence, or even a scrapbook or diary. Explore these resources to learn more about an ancestor than cold statistics. 

    BIO:

    Cynthia Francis Gensheimer is a PhD economist who began her career analyzing tax policy at the Congressional Budget Office and then taught economics at Vassar College. When she headed a strategic planning process at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, she decided to look to the past to try to understand how to motivate Jews to be more philanthropic. Drawn in this way to the study of American Jewish history, she has focused most recently on the educational lives of late 19th and early 20th century Jewish women and is now writing a book about the first Jews who attended the Seven Sisters colleges. She has published in American Jewish History and the American Jewish Archives Journal and spoken widely, including for a Zoom program hosted by JewishGen.


    Members: no charge

    Non Members $5

    On ZOOM 

    Register at JGSCO.org

    All members and non-members must register!



    • May 07, 2023
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • ZOOM
    Register


    "How a N.Y. pediatrician and a French-Israeli volunteer solved the mystery behind my 92-year-old mother's post-war penpal”

    Speaker Abigail Klein Leichman


    Sunday May 7 2023

    Program 10 AM to 12 PM Mountain Time

    9:30 AM to 10 AM Schmear, Schmooze, and Share

    On ZOOM 

    Description: After we located the grave of Henri, my mother's French penpal in Israel's national military cemetery, it took a lot of detective work to dig up facts about his life before and after the Holocaust.  A letter from my mother was in the pocket of his uniform when he was killed in Israel's war of independence, leading us to believe he was the sole survivor of his family. 


    Bio:

    Abigail Klein Leichman is a writer and associate editor at ISRAEL21c. Prior to moving to Israel in 2007, she was a specialty writer and copy editor at a major daily newspaper in New Jersey and hasfreelanced for a variety of newspapers and periodicals since 1984.

    • May 11, 2023
    • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
    • Temple Emanuel Denver Colorado
    Register



    Please Join

    Temple Emanuel and 

    the Jewish Genealogy Society of Colorado



    DNA Testing for Genealogy:  What Is It and How Can I Use It?





    With professional genealogist 

    Greg Liverman

    and

    JGSCO Member Sue Black

    Thursday May 11 2023

    7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

    In Person Only

    Temple Emanuel

    51 Grape St 

    Denver CO 80220


    Greg Liverman’s program and bio::

    DNA testing has become very popular to determine your ethnicity, facts about health risks and to find cousins. It has been used by adoptees and foundlings to find their biological parents and to solve cold cases. This lecture will provide information about what type of DNA test to take and what to do with the results once you get them 

    Presentation Outline 

    •  Types of DNA tests and what each can be used for 
    •  Review of testing companies – what does each offer 
    •  Survey of DNA test results, drawing samples from the major testing companies 
    •  Ethnicity Reports – how accurate are these?
       Finding cousins and more distant relatives – what can I do with this information?
       Specific issues and techniques for Jewish testers
       Case studies with examples from real tests

    Bio 

    Greg Liverman, Ph.D., began tracing his family history in the 1990's with an old Macintosh computer and a copy of Family Tree Maker. At that time, family and career pursuits did not leave much time for genealogy work. He was finally able to return to charting his family history in 2009. Greg quickly realized that he could bring to bear all the analytical and problem solving skills he had developed in over forty years of working as a journalist, scientist and business manager. 

    Living on a ranch on the western slopes of Pikes Peak means there are few libraries nearby, so Greg has become adept at using online resources for both domestic and foreign research. He has researched his family history "on the ground" in libraries, cemeteries and records offices in seven states, with more on the list to visit. He has experience in using various techniques, based on the careful application of reason and logic, to successfully break down “brick walls”. 

    Greg and his wife Wendy added genetic genealogy or DNA testing to their brick wall demolition toolkit in 2013 and have immersed themselves in the details of DNA tests and evaluation methods. They have answered several questions about their family history using DNA evidence. 

    Greg recently launched Pinewood Genealogy to help people with their genealogy research and genetic genealogy analysis. 

    Email 

    greg.liverman@live.com 

    Website 

    www.pinewoodgenealogy.com 


    Sue Black’s program and bio:  

    Now that you've located new relatives from DNA testing and filled in your family tree on Ancestry.com, what's next?  How about all those boxes of old family photos in your basement?  Sue Black, who is not a professional genealogist, has been the one person in her family to save all the old family photos and memorabilia.   During the pandemic, she decided it was time to finally do something with it all.  She spent the last few years sorting through the boxes, calling relatives she had never met to ask them for their photos, and then assembling it all into an easily digestible, user-friendly format.  She will share ideas and examples of her work for others who may be thinking of wading into this time-consuming but very rewarding project with their own family history.


    Bio:

    Sue Black has worked a variety of jobs in the Jewish community including Admissions Director of Solomon Schechter Day School of Albuquerque, Hebrew and Sunday School teacher at her former congregation, and Volunteer Coordinator at Kavod Senior Life here in Denver.  She also ran the Sisterhood giftshop in her former congregation for 10 years and was on the board of Temple Emanuel's Sisterhood for several years.  She has had a life long interest in genealogy and family history.  Sue has two grown children - Elana who is married and lives in New York, and Ethan who lives in Denver.  Last but not least, Sue is married to Rabbi Joe Black!



    We recommend the following DNA testing companies.

    If you have not been tested we suggest you do so in time for the event.  


    Why MyHeritage

    MyHeritage has the largest data base of Eastern European Jews.  They are an Israeli company. They have a great breakdown of ethnicity estimate.  i.e. they detected Iberian Peninsula in my DNA which did not show up in other tests.

     

    MyHeritage has given us free shipping.  

    https://www.myheritage.com/dna?utm_source=partner_jgsco&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=DNA&tr_funnel=mhdna


    Why Family Tree DNA

    FTDNA is a Jewish company and the only company that tests for your paternal-line relatives in their Y-DNA database.  Please note only men can use this test Y-DNA.  But you can purchase their regular DNA test that can test both men and women.

    https://www.familytreedna.com


    Why Ancestry

    ancestry.com has the largest data base therefore more possibilities of connecting with family members.  


    Everyone must register at JGSCO.org

    Temple Emanuel Members will be provided a special code 

    JGSCO Members are free 



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The Jewish Genealogical Society (JGS) of Colorado is a leader in education, research, information exchange forums, and resources for Jewish genealogy.

Mailing Address

Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado
P.O. Box 460442
Denver, Colorado 80246

Email: info@jgsco.org

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JGSCO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.