Submitted by Jacob Heisler of the American Jewish Archives
(IAJGS) — Jacob Heisler of Cincinnati, Ohio has been selected as a presenter at the 43rd Annual IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, in London. Hundreds of genealogists from the US, Great Britain and all over the world are expected to descend on London. The conference hotel is a stone’s throw from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
This is the first time since 2019 that the conference will be held in person and the first time since 2001 that professional and amateur genealogists will have gathered in London.
Jacob will present on Eastern European Jews who immigrated to America before 1881. While it traditionally understood that they only started coming to America after that year, there was in fact a thriving community of Jews from Krakow living in New York City as early as 1850. The session will explore the lives of this pioneering community through two of its members, one a successful store owner in Brooklyn and the other a poor cigar maker from what would later become the Lower East Side. Jacob has been an active genealogist for over a decade and works as an archival assistant at the American Jewish Archives.
“We are excited to be able to have an in-person conference once again and host it in an international city,” said Chuck Weinstein, lead Conference chair.
The Conference is hosted by IAJGS, an umbrella organization of nearly 90 Jewish genealogical organizations worldwide. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain is the local co-host. Leigh Dworkin, chairman of the Great British Society, is the Conference local co-chair. “We are excited to be hosting this year’s Conference in London for the first time since 2001. As an international city with a vibrant Jewish history and population, London offers genealogists a wide array of resources such as archives, museums, libraries, synagogues, and cemeteries relevant to furthering visitors’ family history research.
The IAJGS coordinates and organizes activities such as its annual International Conference on Jewish Genealogy and provides a unified voice as the spokesperson on behalf of its members.
The IAJGS’s vision is of a worldwide network of Jewish genealogical research organizations and partners working together as one coherent, effective and respected community, enabling people to succeed in researching Jewish ancestry and heritage.
The JGSGB aims to promote and encourage the study of and research into Jewish Genealogy and is the only Jewish Genealogical Society in the United Kingdom.
