IAJGS Day 1

We started the day at 9:00 with breakfast in the Sheraton. Not terribly thrilled with $22 buffet. We didn’t want to use the grab and go choices at the cafe. Hopefully, there will be more à la carte options during the week.

Scott went off with a friend to tour the Eastern State Penitentiary and I headed to the Share Fair, where many organizations share their missions and information. I stopped at the table where E. Randol Schoenberg (Randy) was wearing three hats: geni.com, Jewish Genealogy Portal and the Austria-Czech Research division of JewishGen. Randy has Viennese roots as I do, so I really wanted to gift him a copy of my book. If his name sounds familiar, he is the lawyer who helped to regain ownership the of the Klimt painting, The Woman in Gold, for the original owners.

I also spent some time chatting with the representative of the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center. I gifted them a copy of the book as well. Then I visited the Gesher Galicia table, where I got a few tips on searching for the sibling who may be the only surviving member of my great-grandfather Sigmund’s family.

As I was leaving the hall, I ran into my friend Peri and her relative who lives in Chicago. She gave me a few tips on how I might obtain a mugshot for Scott’s great-grandmother, Catherine C. FitzAllen (more on that below!)

I took a break from my “schmoozing” and while walking, I found a table laden with tchotchkes from Ron Arons’ collection. Ron, a well-known Jewish genealogist, and an integral part of planning the annual IAJGS conferences, passed away suddenly this year. To honor his memory, according to the sign next to the table, we were to choose an object we liked, and then give a donation to the charity in his name.

Ron’s book, Mind Maps for Genealogy, was an important tool in helping me untangle the life of Scott’s great-grandmother. Ron also spoke and wrote about the lives of his “black sheep” ancestors. Hence the plethora of black sheep oriented items on the table. I chose a black sheep necklace as my memento. I plan to wear it when I share the story of Catherine, who is the protagonist in my forthcoming book, Opulent in Aliases. (It will be at least a year in the making, so stay tuned!) In Scott’s family, she was undeniably the black sheep (or black ewe, as Ron dubbed the female version.)

But, by far, the best thing was running into Mike Karsen as I was returning from the Ladies Room. If you have followed my blog for a long time, or attended any of my talks, you may have heard me mention Mike’s name. In 2013, i attended my first IAJGS conference in Boston. One session I attended was Mike’s talk on writing and the importance of sharing information. That session changed my life. At that point, I had been researching for years, but had no idea what I was going to do with the information I collected. I was an information hoarder. Mike’s advice changed my life.

It’s better to share some information now than all information never.

~Mike Karsen, 2013

The moment I heard Mike’s words, I decided to start this blog. That was 11 years ago this week. I started blogging and never looked back. Now, I am a published author!

At 1:00 I went to my first session, “From Fact to Fiction: One Family’s Journey.” Esther Safran Foer related the story of how she solved a family mystery: Who was the family that hid her father, during the war, thereby saving his life? I found the following quote interesting:

History is the end of something. Memory is the beginning of something.

The presentation detailed her journey from solving the mystery to writing a book about the experience.

The next session I attended, ” Mining the Manifest,” was given by Susan Weinberg. Susan thoroughly reviewed four case studies, explaining how to use ship manifest to prove (or disprove) information found in other records. I’m looking forward to using some of the tips she outlined, all of which I hope are in her handout, since I didn’t take very good notes!

After dinner, Scott and I walked to WAWA so I could buy some stuff for breakfast and avoid another expensive breakfast. We ended up missing the turn we were supposed to take so the .2-mile walk got extended. But, as usual, “they” (my ancestors) had a reason. Because of the accidental route, we happened upon the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial. Thank you to whoever sent us that way. I would have been sad not to have seen. it.

Later in the evening I went to the Dessert Reception. Let’s just say the best part of that experience was connecting with a few more people I hadn’t seen. And, I didn’t eat many calories. Also, I brought back fresh fruit I will eat for tomorrow’s breakfast!

On tap tomorrow is an 8:30 meeting with the blogging group. I’m really looking forward to that. Scott is heading to the Philadelphia Mint with his new buddies.

Meanwhile, we are praying for those at home in the Seymour, Oxford, Woodbury, and Southbury areas. Massive flooding came out of nowhere and a state of emergency has been called for in at least Southbury and Woodbury. Our daughter and her family, and our niece are all safe thankfully, but dealing with some major damages to property.