We're excited to re-launch Success! Stories
(http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen/testimonials/) as a more-or-less
monthly webzine, featuring edited stories of ancestor and family
connections made through JewishGen.

This time around we're highlighting the kinds of success stories
that we read about almost every day on the JewishGen mailing lists
and discussion groups.

These stories emphasize the "who-knows-who" approach that list
members make possible, including nearly 5,000 readers of the
JewishGen Discussion Group, thousands more who read the SIG mailing
lists, and around 86,000 users of the JewishGen Family Finder.

Allan Karan reconnected with cousins and connected with an entire
new family line >from a single posting of names and a photo to the
JewishGen Discussion Group.

Michelle Essers was just starting her research when she sent a query
to the LitvakSIG mailing list in hopes of solving a family mystery.
A reader working with another researcher "thinks outside the box"
and recognizes a possible connection, and the sleuthing pays off.

Rita Redlich listed her great-grandfather's shtetl in the JGFF and
not only discovered cousins all over the world but also met a
Holocaust survivor of the same shtetl who showed her where her
family's business had been on a map of the town.

Meredith Hoffman and Nancy Siegel have worked with the authors to
edit these pieces for publication. In addition, the Heard on the
Lists column features emails that capture an entire story, or an
exciting research moment, in one page. Be sure to read this month's
terrific story-in-an-email by Israel Pickholtz. We're sure you'll
be inspired by these stories and we encourage you to send Meredith
and Nancy your own success stories for possible future publication
(their email is success@... )

Phyllis Kramer
VP, Education, JewishGen, Inc
phylliskramer1@...

We're excited to re-launch Success! Stories
(http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen/testimonials/) as a more-or-less
monthly webzine, featuring edited stories of ancestor and family
connections made through JewishGen.

This time around we're highlighting the kinds of success stories
that we read about almost every day on the JewishGen mailing lists
and discussion groups.

These stories emphasize the "who-knows-who" approach that list
members make possible, including nearly 5,000 readers of the
JewishGen Discussion Group, thousands more who read the SIG mailing
lists, and around 86,000 users of the JewishGen Family Finder.

Allan Karan reconnected with cousins and connected with an entire
new family line >from a single posting of names and a photo to the
JewishGen Discussion Group.

Michelle Essers was just starting her research when she sent a query
to the LitvakSIG mailing list in hopes of solving a family mystery.
A reader working with another researcher "thinks outside the box"
and recognizes a possible connection, and the sleuthing pays off.

Rita Redlich listed her great-grandfather's shtetl in the JGFF and
not only discovered cousins all over the world but also met a
Holocaust survivor of the same shtetl who showed her where her
family's business had been on a map of the town.

Meredith Hoffman and Nancy Siegel have worked with the authors to
edit these pieces for publication. In addition, the Heard on the
Lists column features emails that capture an entire story, or an
exciting research moment, in one page. Be sure to read this month's
terrific story-in-an-email by Israel Pickholtz. We're sure you'll
be inspired by these stories and we encourage you to send Meredith
and Nancy your own success stories for possible future publication
(their email is success@... )

Phyllis Kramer
VP, Education, JewishGen, Inc
phylliskramer1@...

We're excited to re-launch Success! Stories
(http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen/testimonials/) as a more-or-less
monthly webzine, featuring edited stories of ancestor and family
connections made through JewishGen.

This time around we're highlighting the kinds of success stories
that we read about almost every day on the JewishGen mailing lists
and discussion groups.

These stories emphasize the "who-knows-who" approach that list
members make possible, including nearly 5,000 readers of the
JewishGen Discussion Group, thousands more who read the SIG mailing
lists, and around 86,000 users of the JewishGen Family Finder.

Allan Karan reconnected with cousins and connected with an entire
new family line >from a single posting of names and a photo to the
JewishGen Discussion Group.

Michelle Essers was just starting her research when she sent a query
to the LitvakSIG mailing list in hopes of solving a family mystery.
A reader working with another researcher "thinks outside the box"
and recognizes a possible connection, and the sleuthing pays off.

Rita Redlich listed her great-grandfather's shtetl in the JGFF and
not only discovered cousins all over the world but also met a
Holocaust survivor of the same shtetl who showed her where her
family's business had been on a map of the town.

Meredith Hoffman and Nancy Siegel have worked with the authors to
edit these pieces for publication. In addition, the Heard on the
Lists column features emails that capture an entire story, or an
exciting research moment, in one page. Be sure to read this month's
terrific story-in-an-email by Israel Pickholtz. We're sure you'll
be inspired by these stories and we encourage you to send Meredith
and Nancy your own success stories for possible future publication
(their email is success@... )

Phyllis Kramer
VP, Education, JewishGen, Inc
phylliskramer1@...

We're excited to re-launch Success! Stories
(http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen/testimonials/) as a more-or-less
monthly webzine, featuring edited stories of ancestor and family
connections made through JewishGen.

This time around we're highlighting the kinds of success stories
that we read about almost every day on the JewishGen mailing lists
and discussion groups.

These stories emphasize the "who-knows-who" approach that list
members make possible, including nearly 5,000 readers of the
JewishGen Discussion Group, thousands more who read the SIG mailing
lists, and around 86,000 users of the JewishGen Family Finder.

Allan Karan reconnected with cousins and connected with an entire
new family line >from a single posting of names and a photo to the
JewishGen Discussion Group.

Michelle Essers was just starting her research when she sent a query
to the LitvakSIG mailing list in hopes of solving a family mystery.
A reader working with another researcher "thinks outside the box"
and recognizes a possible connection, and the sleuthing pays off.

Rita Redlich listed her great-grandfather's shtetl in the JGFF and
not only discovered cousins all over the world but also met a
Holocaust survivor of the same shtetl who showed her where her
family's business had been on a map of the town.

Meredith Hoffman and Nancy Siegel have worked with the authors to
edit these pieces for publication. In addition, the Heard on the
Lists column features emails that capture an entire story, or an
exciting research moment, in one page. Be sure to read this month's
terrific story-in-an-email by Israel Pickholtz. We're sure you'll
be inspired by these stories and we encourage you to send Meredith
and Nancy your own success stories for possible future publication
(their email is success@... )

Phyllis Kramer
VP, Education, JewishGen, Inc
phylliskramer1@...

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.

would like advice on printing a yizkor book

do I want isbn and copyright applications filed. I am thinking yes,
but welcome advice. not essential, but maybe good to have just in case

may have asked, but do I want to list on amazon, etc.
my primary audience is famiulies who come >from the town, but
might reach people who don't know about our research group or
have some other reason for interest.

may have asked, who have people used for printers,

how many copies did you have printed and why that number.

Tony Hausner
Silver Spring, MD 20901
(primary email address: thausner@...)
MODERATOR NOTE: Private replies only.

would like advice on printing a yizkor book

do I want isbn and copyright applications filed. I am thinking yes,
but welcome advice. not essential, but maybe good to have just in case

may have asked, but do I want to list on amazon, etc.
my primary audience is famiulies who come >from the town, but
might reach people who don't know about our research group or
have some other reason for interest.

may have asked, who have people used for printers,

how many copies did you have printed and why that number.

Tony Hausner
Silver Spring, MD 20901
(primary email address: thausner@...)
MODERATOR NOTE: Private replies only.

Despite the chuckle in an earlier post, consider an average of about 3 miles per
hour on a flat, dry road; maybe 4 mph under optimum conditions and short distances,
1 - 2 mph under poor conditions.

My father lived in a Jewish farming community in eastern Alberta, Canada, that was
about 8 miles >from the nearest town where provisions could be found. It was around
a 3 hour trip each direction, plus time to buy the provisions -- an all-day
excursion! In the winter with fresh snow on the ground or a blizzard in progress,
they just stayed at home and "toughed it out"!

Shel Bercovich,
Calgary, AB, Canada

From: Steve Orlen <sorlen@...>

Despite the chuckle in an earlier post, consider an average of about 3 miles per
hour on a flat, dry road; maybe 4 mph under optimum conditions and short distances,
1 - 2 mph under poor conditions.

My father lived in a Jewish farming community in eastern Alberta, Canada, that was
about 8 miles >from the nearest town where provisions could be found. It was around
a 3 hour trip each direction, plus time to buy the provisions -- an all-day
excursion! In the winter with fresh snow on the ground or a blizzard in progress,
they just stayed at home and "toughed it out"!

Shel Bercovich,
Calgary, AB, Canada

From: Steve Orlen <sorlen@...>

Dear fellow Genners,

I am in search of my husband's paternal g-g-grandparents, Juan
Francisco PUJOLS b. about 1820-1825 in Cataluna (tilde over the n),
Spain, and Celestina BERNIER, b. about 1820-1825 somewhere in France.
This I know because we have obtained the death certificate of one of
their daughters Cecilia Curtis Pujols Bernier, b. about 1847 in
Guayama, Puerto Rico, and died in 1937 also in Guayama.

My husband, who was born Protestant, converted to Judaism a few years
ago because he said he "always felt it in his bones" that he was
Jewish. I understand that many descendants of Conversos harbor those
same feelings, and he decided to have his Y-dna tested to see if there
was a possibility that he might be descended >from Jewish people. His
test results show that he belongs to the J2 haplogroup which had its
beginnings in the Fertile Crescent, Mediterranean, etc. I have read
that about 40% of J2's are of known Jewish ancestry.

My questions now are, where can I begin to look further? How can I
check marriage records? Where would be a good place to start, Spain or
France? Where can I get passenger lists >from Spain and/or France to
Puerto Rico? I know that their daughter was born in Guayama, Puerto
Rico so they had to have traveled either >from Spain or France to get to
the Island.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions of where to focus my
search. In addition to finding out which area of Cataluna Juan
Francisco PUJOLS came >from and where he and Celestina married, I also
want to try and find out where in France I can begin looking for
Celestina BERNIER.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed!

Very sincerely,
Lynn (Troyansky) Arroyo
Largo, FL
Researcher #44353

Searching: PUJOLS, Cataluna, Spain, France, and Guayama, Puerto Rico
BERNIER, Cataluna, Spain, France, and Guayama, Puerto Rico
ARROYO, Guayama, Puerto Rico

MODERATOR: please upper case the surnames

Dear fellow Genners,

I am in search of my husband's paternal g-g-grandparents, Juan
Francisco PUJOLS b. about 1820-1825 in Cataluna (tilde over the n),
Spain, and Celestina BERNIER, b. about 1820-1825 somewhere in France.
This I know because we have obtained the death certificate of one of
their daughters Cecilia Curtis Pujols Bernier, b. about 1847 in
Guayama, Puerto Rico, and died in 1937 also in Guayama.

My husband, who was born Protestant, converted to Judaism a few years
ago because he said he "always felt it in his bones" that he was
Jewish. I understand that many descendants of Conversos harbor those
same feelings, and he decided to have his Y-dna tested to see if there
was a possibility that he might be descended >from Jewish people. His
test results show that he belongs to the J2 haplogroup which had its
beginnings in the Fertile Crescent, Mediterranean, etc. I have read
that about 40% of J2's are of known Jewish ancestry.

My questions now are, where can I begin to look further? How can I
check marriage records? Where would be a good place to start, Spain or
France? Where can I get passenger lists >from Spain and/or France to
Puerto Rico? I know that their daughter was born in Guayama, Puerto
Rico so they had to have traveled either >from Spain or France to get to
the Island.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions of where to focus my
search. In addition to finding out which area of Cataluna Juan
Francisco PUJOLS came >from and where he and Celestina married, I also
want to try and find out where in France I can begin looking for
Celestina BERNIER.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed!

Very sincerely,
Lynn (Troyansky) Arroyo
Largo, FL
Researcher #44353

Searching: PUJOLS, Cataluna, Spain, France, and Guayama, Puerto Rico
BERNIER, Cataluna, Spain, France, and Guayama, Puerto Rico
ARROYO, Guayama, Puerto Rico

MODERATOR: please upper case the surnames

Dear friends,
Our family has recently reestablished contact with a cousin my mother lost contact
with over 60 years ago and I have the good fortune of going to Israel in a couple
of weeks to visit her and her family.

I've attached a link to a letter that has been published several times in Israel.
It's a yiddish letter my cousin's mother wrote to her >from the Exodus 47 ship. She
threw it off the ship and someone caught it and mailed it to my cousin. I would be
grateful if someone could translate it for me. I posted it here:
http://www.biz-link.com/priv/photos/yiddishletter/YiddishLetter.jpg

Thanks in advance and Shana Tovah to all

Jeff Wolkove

MODERATOR NOTE: Please reply privately with the translation

Dear friends,
Our family has recently reestablished contact with a cousin my mother lost contact
with over 60 years ago and I have the good fortune of going to Israel in a couple
of weeks to visit her and her family.

I've attached a link to a letter that has been published several times in Israel.
It's a yiddish letter my cousin's mother wrote to her >from the Exodus 47 ship. She
threw it off the ship and someone caught it and mailed it to my cousin. I would be
grateful if someone could translate it for me. I posted it here:
http://www.biz-link.com/priv/photos/yiddishletter/YiddishLetter.jpg

Thanks in advance and Shana Tovah to all

Jeff Wolkove

MODERATOR NOTE: Please reply privately with the translation

Go west, genealogists!

The website for the 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish
Genealogy is now live! Come visit us at:

http://www.jgsla2010.com

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles is your enthusiastic
host for this event, taking place >from July 11-16, 2010 at the JW
Marriott Hotel at L.A. Live, downtown Los Angeles' new entertainment
and cultural complex.

Are you passionate about genealogy, but haven't attended a conference
before? Have you been going for years and wonder what's special about
this one?

The 2010 conference will offer rich content, unparalleled learning and
networking opportunities, and the intangible experience of connecting
with others as obsessed as you are about tracing their family trees.
Whether you are a seasoned pro or absolute beginner, there will be a
slate of workshops, lectures, films and panels on global Jewish
history, resources and methodology that will educate and engage you
for five and a half days.

Our website provides program, travel, and venue information, plus an
FAQ section which should answer most of your early queries. The Call
for Papers begins on November 15th and registration will open on
January 15th, but hotel reservations can be made now. Take a stroll
through our site to learn more.

If you really want to be in the loop with breaking news, sign up for
our conference newsletter at:
http://www.jgsla2010.com/about/sign-up-for-the-announcements-newsletter/

Although the JewishGen conference discussion group doesn't open in
January 2010, until then we will provide updates via this listserv.
You can also keep up with our website blog and Facebook accounts.

We value your opinions and encourage you to contribute and/or
volunteer to make this the best conference ever. Go to the "Contact"
or "Volunteer" or "Sponsor" links on the site to reach us. Consider
making this a true vacation by arriving early or staying late and
traveling the length of our beautiful state and throughout the west.

And remember: the number one reason to attend an IAJGS conference is
the people - friends and colleagues, learning and collaborating in a
unique, collective experience. For Jewish genealogists, there's
nothing like it.

Join us in 2010!

2010 IAJGS Conference Co-Chairs
Pamela Weisberger
Sandy Malek
Ann Harris
Lois Ogilby Rosen
info@...

Note: A huge expression of thanks goes to JGSLA member, Brooke
Schreier Ganz, our tireless, creative webmaster who designed and
programmed our website.

Go west, genealogists!

The website for the 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish
Genealogy is now live! Come visit us at:

http://www.jgsla2010.com

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles is your enthusiastic
host for this event, taking place >from July 11-16, 2010 at the JW
Marriott Hotel at L.A. Live, downtown Los Angeles' new entertainment
and cultural complex.

Are you passionate about genealogy, but haven't attended a conference
before? Have you been going for years and wonder what's special about
this one?

The 2010 conference will offer rich content, unparalleled learning and
networking opportunities, and the intangible experience of connecting
with others as obsessed as you are about tracing their family trees.
Whether you are a seasoned pro or absolute beginner, there will be a
slate of workshops, lectures, films and panels on global Jewish
history, resources and methodology that will educate and engage you
for five and a half days.

Our website provides program, travel, and venue information, plus an
FAQ section which should answer most of your early queries. The Call
for Papers begins on November 15th and registration will open on
January 15th, but hotel reservations can be made now. Take a stroll
through our site to learn more.

If you really want to be in the loop with breaking news, sign up for
our conference newsletter at:
http://www.jgsla2010.com/about/sign-up-for-the-announcements-newsletter/

Although the JewishGen conference discussion group doesn't open in
January 2010, until then we will provide updates via this listserv.
You can also keep up with our website blog and Facebook accounts.

We value your opinions and encourage you to contribute and/or
volunteer to make this the best conference ever. Go to the "Contact"
or "Volunteer" or "Sponsor" links on the site to reach us. Consider
making this a true vacation by arriving early or staying late and
traveling the length of our beautiful state and throughout the west.

And remember: the number one reason to attend an IAJGS conference is
the people - friends and colleagues, learning and collaborating in a
unique, collective experience. For Jewish genealogists, there's
nothing like it.

Join us in 2010!

2010 IAJGS Conference Co-Chairs
Pamela Weisberger
Sandy Malek
Ann Harris
Lois Ogilby Rosen
info@...

Note: A huge expression of thanks goes to JGSLA member, Brooke
Schreier Ganz, our tireless, creative webmaster who designed and
programmed our website.

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.

We are delighted to announce our second on-line ShtetLinks class,
taught by Mark Heckman and beginning Thursday October 15, 2009.
This course is designed for those who have a lot of genealogical
material to share and want to put it on the JewishGen ShtetLinks
web site, but don't know how.

Have you waited for someone to create a ShtetLinks site for your
town, but no one has? Do it yourself! In this 6 week class you
will learn how to create web pages for ShtetLinks. Creating web
pages is not difficult. We will use a free, downloadable,
simple-to-use web page editor that runs on both PCs and Macs.
If you have basic computer skills, such as knowing how to click
on hyperlinks and how to "copy and paste" text using a computer
mouse, then you can learn to create ShtetLinks web pages.

The specially reduced fee for this course is only $36.

For a full description, requirements and enrollment please go to
www.JewishGen.org/education . For questions, please email
JewishGen-Education@...

Phyllis Kramer, V.P. Education, JewishGen, Inc
Mark Heckman, Instructor
Susana Leistner Bloch, V.P., ShtetLinks, JewishGen, Inc.