Boston: New York research, Oct. 3

"New York Research: Not Everything is Online" will be Steven Siegel's program at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston on Sunday, October 3.

This event begins at 1:30 pm, at Temple Emanuel Reisman Hall, 385 Ward Street, Newton.

Although New York genealogical resources are extensive and many can be searched online, locating New York documents in a maze of repositories and websites can be confusing even to a knowledgeable family historian.

The 1898 expansion of New York City from Manhattan and The Bronx into a municipality comprising five boroughs and four – later five – counties led to record-keeping challenges that still perplex today's researchers. Two federal court districts have jurisdiction over the city and its suburban counties, and New York's role as the country's major port of entry produced documents that often point to an immigrant's place of origin.

Steven Siegel, an experienced genealogist and archivist, and a founder and past president of the New York JGS, will offer practical advice for navigating New York's archival treasures and finding the connections between documents that illustrate a family's history.

Siegel was library director and archivist at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA in Manhattan for 31 years until his recent retirement. He initiated and organized the annual Family History Fair (1990-2005) during New York Archives Week. He is a past president of the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York and the 2004 recipient of the Round Table's Award for Archival Achievement. He is president of the Jewish Historical Society of New York, serves on the Jewish Book Council Board of Directors, and is a member of the Cornell Hillel Board of Trustees and the Cornell University Council.

A founder of the New York JGS and president (1985-1989), he currently serves on its board. He has been researching for more than 40 years, focusing on Jewish genealogy, Jewish archival sources and New York City local history. He was co-founder/co-editor of "Toledot: The Journal of Jewish Genealogy" (1977-1982) and compiled the "Archival Resources" volume of "Jewish Immigrants of the Nazi Period in the USA" (1978).

For more information, visit the JGSGB website.