Explore Jewish family roots

FAMILY TIES—Jan Miesels Allen’s maternal grandmother brought this family photo with her when she emigrated to the U.S. Allan uses the picture as a logo for the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County, and as a reminder about the importance of maintaining connections to one’s family history. Photo Courtesy of Jan Meisels Allen With their belongings packed in small bags and hoisted over their shoulders, Jewish immigrants arrived at Ellis Island motivated by dreams of a better life in America. The descendents of many of these immigrants eventually settled in Ventura County and their stories are a part of a rich web of local family histories.

For those who want to know more about their family histories but don’t know where to begin, a new genealogical society is coming to the area.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV) will hold its first meeting, “Researching Your Relatives that Came Through Ellis Island,” from 2 to 4 p.m. Sun., Sept. 25 at Temple Adat Elohim, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. Guest panelists will be three local experts in genealogy.

“We are fortunate to have a number of excellent and accomplished local genealogists,” said Jan Miesels Allen, interim president of the JGSCV.

The panel will include Hal Bookbinder of Oak Park, a past president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

Debra Kay Blatt of Simi Valley who has been researching her family history for six years, contributes to the journal for the genealogical group Kielce-Radom, and volunteers for JewishGen, an online genealogical database.

Werner Frank of Calabasas is the founder of GER-SIG, a significant German interest group of JewishGen and a past editor of Stammbaum, a German-Jewish genealogy journal.

The panelists will discuss how to research Jewish ancestors who came through Ellis Island and Castle Island.

The panel will also explain how name changes occurred. Immigrants’ names could not have been changed at Ellis Island, said Allen, because the ship’s manifest, the passenger list, was created in the home country and had to match the passengers’ names when they disembarked in the U.S.

Many immigrants, in fact, changed their names to assimilate better into the population. For example, Allen’s grandfather changed his last name from Frejer to Flower, the last name of the then-current governor of New York.

The society hopes to serve the growing Jewish population in the area and provide links to the past.

“This society is for anyone interested in Jewish genealogy,” said Allen, adding that those interested do not need to be Jewish. They can have a Jewish inlaw or know someone who is Jewish and want to know more about Jewish ancestry.

“It’s very important to know where you came from. (JGSCV) helps people in the area learn how to search for their roots,” said Allen. “(Genealogy) gives you a better appreciation of the stocks that you came from.”

Currently there are 80 worldwide Jewish genealogical societies, mostly in the U.S.

“Genealogy is the most popular hobby right now,” said Allen.

There is no charge to attend the meeting. Annual membership dues are $25 for individuals or $30 for families, two people in the same household.

For more information about the society or the upcoming meeting, please call Allen at (818) 8896616.