The Jewish Special Interest Group (J-SIG) of St. Louis Genealogical Society began in June 2005 as a revival of the Jewish Genealogical Society of St. Louis, formerly associated with United Hebrew Congregation. It took a hiatus for 2016 through 2018 but returned as an active SIG in 2019, assisted by the Center for Jewish Learning/Jewish Federation of St. Louis. The St. Louis Genealogical Society’s Jewish SIG continues to be a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

Meetings in 2022 for the Jewish SIG

Until it is safe for everyone to meet together in person, meetings for 2022 will be scheduled as online webinars. All meetings will be livestreamed and recorded. If you are on the Jewish SIG mailing list, you will get a reminder to preregister for a livestreamed meeting. If you are not on the list and would like to be included, please send an email to publications@stlgs.org.

 

Sunday, 6 February 2022, 1:00 p.m. (Central)

How Jews Helped Create Missouri

This presentation will examine the history of Jews in the state from before the Louisiana Purchase through World War I. Jews were in just about every township in the state and were influential on the state’s development

Featured speaker: Mara W. Cohen Ioannides, teacher at Missouri State University and president of the Midwest Jewish Studies Association, as well as an author of numerous articles and books

All Jewish Special Interest Group meetings are free and open to the public. However, you need a link and a passcode to join the meeting, so it is necessary to preregister.

To preregister for this meeting, click on the Registration Button below and follow the simple instructions that appear on your screen. Once you have filled in the registration form, an invitation with a link and a passcode to attend the meeting will be sent to the email you provided.

Meetings for the Rest of 2022

As of now, all meetings are scheduled via Zoom. Once it is safe to meet together again, we will announce locations and instructions for attending either virtually or in person. All Jewish SIG meetings for 2022 will be from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Central time.

 

Sunday, 15 May

St. Louis Jewry: A Dynamic Two-Century History

Our presenter, Bob Cohn, will focus on a portion of this fascinating history by discussing the decades from about 1880 to 1940. He will offer his insights to the deep cultural divide between the German Jewish population and the Russian Jewish population and how it impacted not only where Jews chose to live and worship but all aspects of their lives. Many Jewish St. Louis institutions which operate today developed their roots during this period.

Featured speaker: Bob Cohn, editor emeritus of the St. Louis Jewish Light

 

Sunday, 21 August

Spelling Doesn’t Count: Tips for Tracking Those Ever-Changing Names

Multiple alphabets and inconsistent pronunciations add to the hand-wringing we experience as we try to work out what the “real” spelling of our names and villages could be. Whether your ancestors spoke Yiddish, Russian, Polish, German, or some other first language, knowing how immigrants’ names were often misinterpreted and/or changed and how to search more effectively for them will help you find them in U.S. records.

Featured speaker: Ilene Murray, StLGS Publications Director and Jewish SIG co-leader

 

Sunday, 4 December

Placing Your Ancestors into Historical Context

Among the first things one does as a family history researcher is find out who your ancestors were, when they lived and died, as well as everything else about their lives you can find. But life is—and was—about so much more than dates. Putting your ancestors into their historical context allows you to flesh them out. By researching and then placing your ancestors into their historical context, you can learn more about the social, religious, economic, and political backgrounds in which they lived.

Featured speaker: Diane Everman, archivist and Jewish SIG co-leader

Recorded Meeting from Sunday, 5 December 2021

How to Navigate the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire

Featured speaker: Dr. Hillel Kieval, Goldstein, Professor of Jewish History and Thought, Department of History and Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University, St. Louis

Watch the recording here. Password for recording is X51TLf5?

 

Recorded Meeting from Wednesday, 25 August 2021

Techniques to Determine Ancestral Origins

Featured speaker: Ilene Murray, StLGS publications director and Jewish SIG co-leader

Watch the recording here. Password for recording is d=s&M0*9

The handout for this meeting is here.