Who The Heck Is Ida Gerskill? The Challenges of Researching Jewish Names

Meredith Hoffman, a professional genealogy researcher,
writer, educator and publisher, holds an M.A. in Linguistics, and a Certificate
from the Boston University Genealogical Research Program.  “Who
the Heck Is Ida Gerskill?  The Challenges
of Researching Jewish Names,” focuses on her specialty, researching 19th
and early 20th century Jewish immigrant names.

While most ethnic
groups deal with name changes, Jewish individuals can have multiple names, even
two or three versions of personal names with spelling variations.  Jewish immigrants often had a Hebrew name, a
Jewish or Yiddish name, and sometimes a name in the language of their native
country.  All of the names can have
different spellings, requiring researchers to know spelling variations within
the different languages.  

Upon immigration
to the United States, they might Americanize or modernize their names. There
are no rules for how these changes occur.  The same person can show up in various records
with four or five different personal names. Similar changes occurred to family
names during immigration.

The speaker will
“provide strategies for puzzling them out using linguistic and commonsense
clues and cues” with examples. Everyone researching Jewish ancestors
will benefit from learning these general principles for dealing with name
inconsistencies.

The Jewish
Genealogical Society of Connecticut, formed in 1988, houses its library at the
Godfrey, which is the only public library in Connecticut solely devoted to
genealogy. JGSCT members can borrow items from the collection of books,
periodicals, and audio and visual resources.

For program information:  Contact Marcia
Indianer Meyers 860-638-3819 or email marciarthur@sbcglobal.net

For more information about the Jewish Genealogical Society of Connecticut,
go to www.jgsct-jewish-genealogy.org