IAJGS 2014 Salt Lake City- Call for Papers

The call for papers for the 2014 IAJGS conference to be held in Salt lake City, Utah is now open. More information can be found at http://conference.iajgs.org/2014/.

Belgium Civil Registration at FamilySearch

One of the most important records for all family historians has always been the government records of Birth, Marriage and Death. These Civil Registration documents can provide very important information not only for the person of record, but also parents, siblings and spouses.
Now, FamilySearch has just updated some of the Civil Registration records for Belgium. The areas that have been updated and the years covered are;

• Belgium, Antwerp            1609-1909
• Belgium, Brabant             1582-1912
• Belgium, East Flanders    1598-1906
• Belgium, Hainaut             1600-1911
• Belgium, Limburg            1798-1906
• Belgium, Liege                 1621-1910
• Belgium, Luxembourg      1608-1912
• Belgium, Namur                1800-1912
• Belgium, West Flanders    1582-1910

The records can provide a good amount of information. The example below is the death record of Jacob Meyer Cohen, who died on 17 August 1853. This record comes from the Belgium, East Flanders collection. The top image is the index, and the bottom image is the original record. 
 

The records are part of the Historical Collections at www.familysearch.org and are free to all.

IAJGS 2014 Salt Lake City - A Great Hanukkah Gift

With Hanukkah  quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to give those you love a great gift. Help your family members and friends become rededicated to family and give them a trip to Salt Lake City for the 2014 International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Conference.

Remembering all Veterans

On this day, as we remember all those who have served their countries in hopes that one day peace may be enjoyed everywhere, we say THANKS.

Happy 250th Birthday Touro Synagogue

Much has been written on this blog about the important Jewish history of the Caribbean, both in it's influence throughout the world and in the incredible people who called it home. Another great example of this can be found in Newport, Rhode Island at the Touro Synagogue.
In the 1650's, fifteen families from Barbados became the first Jewish families in Newport. Like so many other Caribbean families they were descended from families who came from Amsterdam and London and had found new homes in places such as Suriname, Jamaica, Barbados and Curacao. They quickly formed  "Yeshuat Israel" the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. The congregation prospered and grew, until such time that they built what is today "America's Oldest Synagogue", the Touro Synagogue which was dedicated in 1763. On December 1st of this year, the synagogue will be re-dedicated as part of its 250th birthday celebration.

The incredible history of this treasure can be found at tourosynagogue.org. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOURO SYNAGOGUE

The Jews of Turkey

Recently, I posted about the records of Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954, available at www.familysearch.org.  In those records, well over 400 list themselves as being Jewish and having been born in Turkey. In addition, when one searches the records of border crossings into the United States from Canada and Mexico, there are also a good amount of people who come from Turkey.
The fact that Turkey had such an influence should not be surprising, as the Jewish history of Turkey is very long. As far back as biblical times, the people of Turkey were trading partners with the Israelites. During the time of the expulsion the Sultan Bayazid II of the Ottoman Empire offered refuge to the the Sephardic Jews being driven out of Spain and Portugal,  where they would be free from persecution. In fact, over hundreds of years before the expulsion, Jews fleeing many countries found refuge in the land. Some of them included;

• Early 1300's. Karaites from Europe.
• 1370's. Jews expelled from Hungary.
• 1390's. Jews expelled from France by Charles VI.
• 1400's. Sicilian Jews who were expelled.
• 1530's. Jews from Italy arrived

  For hundreds of year after the expulsion, the Jews of the Ottoman Empire were able to flourish, perhaps like they had never flourished before. The majority of the Jews lived in four major cities, Istanbul, Izmir, Safed and Salonica. By 1500, there were more than 1,500 Jewish households in the city of Istanbul and by the middle of the 1500's that number was more than 7500. The Jews became prominent in medicine, politics, business, arts and literature. In fact the Jews established the first printing press in the Ottoman Empire in 1493.
 The country of Turkey became an independent state in 1923, and have been able to maintain its history of neutrality and of being a refuge for those that need help. During World War II, Turkey became a safe haven for those fleeing the Nazis. Today the Jewish population of Turkey, which is over 90% Sephardic, numbers about 20-25,000. The majority are in Istanbul, but smaller communities are in places such as Izmir.
The Knowles Collection - Jews of Africa and the Orient is now beginning to add some records from Turkey. The records of Altindag Jewish Cemetery in the city of Izmir, are now being entered. These incredible records, thousands of them will soon be available.

IAJGS Jewish Genealogy Facebook page

For those wanting to keep up on the latest news with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) take a moment and join the IAJGS Facebook page. It is the best way to keep current on all things related to Jewish Genealogy Societies.

Jewish Inhabitants of Gibraltar, 1791-1792.

The Knowles Collection - Jews of Africa and the Orient database has been growing of late. In addition to cemetery records from Turkey, the additions have also come from Gibraltar. The Inhabitants of Gibraltar, 1791-1792 have now been added to the collection and will be available after the next update.
This Collection (FHL film #1729538 item 8) was filmed over 20 years ago from manuscripts in the Archive of the Government of Gibraltar. Included are almost 800 people.