London, England 18 - 23 May, 2011

This is actually only a very short stay in one of my favorite places, London, England. I am here to attend the annual meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. I arrived around 9 AM this morning after not having to much success sleeping on my overnight flight.

Since I was unable to check into my hotel until 2 PM, I took the opportunity to walk around the Hyde Park area. I am glad I did, because a block away from ny hotel I happened by a beautiful old synagogue, the New West End Synagogue. It is a beautiful old building and situated so close to Hyde Park, it makes for a very peaceful walk. The front of the synagogue is in the picture at the left.


This is not the first time that I have been to London, in fact I am very lucky to be able to come quite often. It never gets old to come here. London is a city that is a great mix of old and new. While it is constantly updating and there seems to be no short of new construction it still is very much a city full of history. I take any chance given me to just walk around and take it all in. I did just that today, and the picture below is of St. Martin's in The Fields church, which is just off of Trafalgar Square.

I must say that the highlight of this trip was the receiving of the 2011 Roll of Honour award from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. I truly love my friends there, and could not possibly put into words how overwhelmed I feel about this recognition.

I thank them again, with all my heart.

NGS 2011 Charleston, South Carolina

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) held its annual Family History Conference form May 11-14th, 2011 in Charleston, South Carolina. The timing was perfect as this year marks the 150th Anniversary of the start of the United States Civil War.

This conference was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends, and enjoy hundreds of wonderful presentations. I was asked to present one of the ICAPGEN sponsored lectures. It was a lot of fun for me to present "Finding Jews in the Records of the Southern States".

For those who couldn't make this year conference, there is always next year. The conference in 2012 will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, the home of The American Jewish Archives. Hopefully Ill see a lot of friends there as well.

Las Vegas April 2011

While visiting Las Vegas for a few days, I stopped at the new Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino. I was thrilled to see a clothing store named for a tailor shop in Spitalfields. The store had hundreds of antique sewing machines, most likely just like the ones that our Jewish ancestors used. Another highlight was seeing a beautiful synagogue. The picture below shows

the Israeli Cultural Center or Bamidbar Synagogue. It was a wonderful place to visit.

Los Angeles July 2010 30th IAJGS Conference

This week has been the 30th International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference in Los Angeles, California. Held at the new JW Marriott hotel next to the Staples Center, the conference was a great success.
I was able to spend most of the time working with Dan Schlyter in the booth representing Family Search. It is always a lot of fun to be able to visit with Jewish researchers from all over the world. In my free time I was able to renue aquaintances with people from, Canada, England, Australia, Israel, and all parts of the United States. Last week, the Knowles Collection was expanded to over 115,000 people. At the conference I was able to teach a class on how to use it. It was nice that within 24 hours of teaching that class 5 people had already sent me there own families for inclusion.
This year the conference was sponsered by the Los Angeles society and they did an excellent job. Next year we move to Washington D.C., which should be a great location.

Australia 2010

In March of 2010, I had the chance to visit Australia. I had known about the trip for some time, but nothing could prepare me for the incredible experience it was. I was there to speak at The Second Conference on Jewish Genealogy. The conference was to be held in Melbourne. The flight from Los Angeles was the only downer of the entire trip, and only because it took so long, otherwise I have nothing but good memories.

My first day in Australia, I tried to act like a native and went on a walkabout. Big mistake. I started by walking toward the nearest beach, which would take me through the old Jewish areas of town. It was a nice walk and I did indeed see a lot of Jewish history, the problem was as I got to my destination and was walking along the beach, I noticed the sky was getting very dark. I started for my hotel, which was about an hour or so walk from where I was. As I was about half way home, walking as fast as I could, and taking many shortcuts, I made a mistake. I walked through an area of town that was sealed off as they prepared for the Formula 1 race that was a few weeks away. As I stopped to look at a few of the cars being unloaded, I soon found that the local police officials didn't approve of me being there. A few apologies later, I received a ride to the park entrance in the back seat of one of the police cars. A great way to start my visit. As I got to the gate, I noticed that the storm clouds had caught me while I was detained. I soon found

myself caught in what the newspapers called the "100 Years Storm". I walked as fast as I could ducking under or behind anything I could find to keep out of the rain, it didn't work. I soon found myself arriving at my hotel, soaking wet.

The Conference itself was a truly remarkable event, one of the best organized conferences I have ever attended. The organizers, The Australian Jewish Genealogical Society did a marvelous job. I met a lot of new friends, reacquainted with a few old ones and even had an opportunity I will never forget.

I was invited to speak at a beautiful Synagogue, The North Shore Synagogue, just outside Sydney. Following my talk, I was able to meet some cousins I had never met before. The nicest part was they seemed to be the best of people, I really enjoyed visiting with them.

I was able to visit some wonderful places and make many new friends. I can't wait to return and I hope its very soon.

London 2009

In October of 2009, I was able once again to visit London, England. This is the fourth year in a row that I have been able to attend the one day conference of The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. The conference was held again at the West London Synagogue of British Jews at Upper Berkeley Street. As usual it was an incredible conference. We enjoyed a day full of speakers discussing Jewish genealogy and history. The society is full of wonderful leaders and some of the nicest people anywhere. It is always a great experience for me when I am there. I am very proud of my membership, and of the friendships I have developed there.

The monday following I returned to a place that has been very special to me, Willesden Cemetery. As always, I jumped on the bus and travelled the 20 minutes or so from my hotel.
I love riding the double decker buses, because from the topside you can see everything. It seems as though there is history on every corner. Willesden is a very peacefull place where so many of the British Jews are buried. Everytime I go there I seem to find so much information that I have been looking for

This time was no different. I was able to tie up some loose ends on a family that are most likely my relations, the Kino family. To walk the grounds of this beautiful place is an amazing experience. I have now been here three times, and each visit has left me wanting to return. The building at right sits in the center of the cemetery. Pictures can not truly show how beautiful this place is.

Something, I enjoy doing when I travel, is going for walks around areas I have never been before. It helps me get to know the city and is a great way to work through the jetlag. On this trip as I walked around I came to a beautiful London synagogue.
The Great Prescott Street Synagogue.