Upcoming Monthly Meetings
Available to JGSSN meeting attendees: private access to the resources of the FamilySearch Center!
The FamilySearch Center resources will be available for JGSSN use after the meeting until 4:00 pm. Those resources include free access to a variety of genealogy programs, such as Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, Newspapers.com, and many others. In addition, the library will make their document, photo, slide, audio and video scanners available. Bring in your family memories and convert them to digital files. See the attachment for a list of the resources. Library staff will be available to assist.
The FamilySearch Center resources will be available for JGSSN use after the meeting until 4:00 pm. Those resources include free access to a variety of genealogy programs, such as Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, Newspapers.com, and many others. In addition, the library will make their document, photo, slide, audio and video scanners available. Bring in your family memories and convert them to digital files. See the attachment for a list of the resources. Library staff will be available to assist.
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SATURDAY, December 13, 2025: JGSSN Holiday Brunch
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Sahara West Library at 9600 West Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89117
Members Only: To RSVP, click here
Please note that our brunch is on a Saturday this year.
Sunday, January 18, 2026: Guest speaker, Susan Dubin, will present: "No Way Out" & "Liberation and After"
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas FamilySearch Center, 509 S 9th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
To RSVP: click here
No Way Out
One of the most common questions asked about the Holocaust is, “Why didn’t they leave?” This talk explores that heartbreaking reality—from the perspective of those facing impossible choices. It looks at the everyday lives of Jewish families who sensed danger but had nowhere to go, no country willing to take them in, and no certainty about the future. This presentation invites understanding of the fear, hope, and desperation that shaped their decisions to stay or try to flee.
Liberation and After
When the war ended and the camps were finally liberated, freedom did not come with clear answers or open doors. This talk examines what happened in the days and months that followed: where could the survivors go when their homes were gone, their families lost, and the world still uncertain? They were liberated—but were they truly free? Through this lens, the presentation reflects on the challenges of rebuilding life after unthinkable trauma, and the complex meaning of survival.
About Susan Dubin:
Susan Dubin is the library and education consultant to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center located in Las Vegas. This position led her to work with the World Federation of Jewish Child Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, Generations of the Shoah International, and Association of Holocaust Organizations in organizing their international conferences. As a library and education consultant, she provides classes for Clark County School District teachers and students in Holocaust education. In addition, she organizes community events that feature authors, artists, and musicians. Kol Isha: Poems in the Voices of Women from the Bible was her first book. She has five other titles which include Book of Ruth, A Passover Haggadah in Poems, Katzele and the Silver Candlesticks, Jewish Stories and Poems All Around the Year, and The Story of Esther. Susan was the recipient of the Dorothy Schroeder Award and Fanny Goldstein Award for contributions to the field of Judaica Librarianship as well as the Milken Family Foundation Distinguished Educator Award. In 2020, she was named Jewish Educator of the Year for the state of Nevada. She is listed in Who’s Who in Education and Who’s Who of American Women
Friday, February 27, 2026: Guest speaker Daniel Horowitz from MyHeritage will present two lectures!
Times: 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas FamilySearch Center, 509 S 9th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
To RSVP: click here
10: 30 a.m.: What's My DNA Telling Me? Demystifying Genetic Genealogy
A DNA test can contribute immeasurably to your family history research. Learn to leverage MyHeritage’s basic and advanced tools, and discover the importance of integrating your family tree with your DNA information to help you gain a deeper understanding of your origins.
12:00 p.m.: Old News, New Tricks: How AI Breathes Life Into Newspaper Historic Headlines
Explore how MyHeritage is using AI to digitize and unlock 400 million newspaper pages through its new platform, OldNews.com. Discover how historical headlines, obituaries, and announcements become searchable genealogical gold — and how this groundbreaking technology is transforming the way we uncover our family stories.
About Daniel Horowitz
Daniel is the Expert Genealogist from MyHeritage. He speaks at genealogy conferences around the world. He has been dedicated to genealogy since 1986. He was the teacher and the study guide editor of the family history project “Searching for My Roots” in Venezuela for 15 years. Daniel is involved in several crowdsource digitization and transcription projects and holds a board level position at the Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA).
Sunday, March 22, 2026: Guest speaker Steve Morse will present THREE lectures!
Times: 1:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas FamilySearch Center, 509 S 9th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
To RSVP: click here
One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools (1:30 - 2:30 p.m)
The One-Step website started out as an aid for finding passengers in the Ellis Island database. Shortly afterwards it was expanded to help with searching in the 1930 census. Over the years it has continued to evolve and today includes about 300 web-based tools divided into 16 separate categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on e-bay. This presentation will describe the range of tools available and give the highlights of each one.
One-Step Webpages: A Hodgepodge of Lesser-Known Gems (2:45 - 3:45 p.m.)
There are too many utilities on the One-Step website to be covered in a single talk, so many of them found their way to the cutting room floor when the Potpourri talk was being edited. However, several of those are quite useful. This talk describes those gems that you might not otherwise be aware of. They range from problems with genealogical searches and cursive writing to problems with accentuated characters to problems with large numbers. And many other gems as well.
Case Study: Genealogy of Renee Kaufman (4:00 - 5:00 p.m.)
This lecture presents a case study using the One-Step Webpages as well as other websites to develop a family history. It illustrates how, with a minimal amount of initial information, an entire genealogy can be obtained. It also shows how to obtain records in spite of name misspellings, and how to avoid accepting wrong information.
About Steve Morse
Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Website for which he has received both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Contribution Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society, first-ever Excellence Award from the Association of Professional Genealogists, and two awards that he cannot pronounce from Polish genealogical societies.
In his other life Morse is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. He has held various research, development, and teaching positions, authored numerous technical papers, written four textbooks, and holds four patents. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today's Pentium processor), which sparked the PC revolution more than 40 years ago.
April 19, 2026: Guest speaker, Terri Conway will present: "The National Archive and Record Administration: Invaluable Resources for Genealogists"
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas FamilySearch Center, 509 S 9th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
To RSVP: click here
The National Archive and Record Administration: Invaluable Resources for Genealogists
Discover the power of the National Archives for your family history journey. This session explores when and how to access NARA online, which genealogical resources are available, and how to navigate the nation's recordkeeper effectively. Learn to obtain immigration and naturalization records, sign up for free case-study newsletters, access expert help and instructional videos, consult search guides, and download organizational charts and forms—all at no cost.
About Terri Conway:
Terri is a returning instructor with the Jewish Genealogy Society. With ancestors from Galicia, Poland, and Ukraine, she has researched naturalization records to learn about the origins of her family. After retiring from a career in international human resources, Terri earned her professional certificate in genealogy from Boston University. She volunteered at the Family Search Center from 2021 to 2023 and continues to help anyone looking for their ancestors from Eastern Europe, particularly Poland and Galicia.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Sunday, June 14, 2026: Guest speaker, Dr. Peter Morgan, will present: "How Jews came to Britain fleeing Nazi persecution in the 1930s"
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom
To RSVP: click here
How Jews Came to Britain Fleeing Nazi Persecution in the 1930s
The talk will cover how Jews came to Britain, fleeing Nazi persecution in the 1930s, and some of the reasons why they were able to take refuge there. Whilst recognizing the very positive aspects of the story, it will also address the more difficult issues regarding internment, restriction, and deportation. This will be illustrated with examples from the Wiener Library document collections and the experiences of the individuals they refer to.
About Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan was a secondary school history teacher for 21 years after graduating with a history degree from the University of Leeds in the UK. Since leaving mainstream teaching, he completed a PhD at the University of Brighton on British Representations of the Armenian Genocide, which was published this year (2025) by Routledge. Since January 2024, he has been the Education Officer at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London.
Finding the Las Vegas FamilySearch Center and where to park:
Click here for directions.
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