IAJGS 2016 Speaker profile: Henry G. Blumberg

Henry G. Blumberg is a Barrister in Toronto and his firm`s Managing Partner. He is presently on the Board of Governors of JewishGen, Past President of Latvia Special Interest Group (SIG) for three terms and founder of Latvia Jewish Connections.

He has presented genealogy papers at the last eleven IAJGS conferences and was a speaker in Riga at the Names and Fates Project in June 2008, the 8th International Conference on Jews in a Changing World in 2011 and in 2014.

He is particularly interested in Latvian, Lithuanian and South African genealogy and has visited Latvia and Lithuania many times

“Family Migration from Latvia to SA via Mississippi: A Fascinating Journey of Discovery” (Mon-165), 10:30-11:45 A.M.

This presentation traces the migration of my family from approximately 1750 in Liepaja (Latvia), to New York, Mississippi, South Africa, Israel and Canada.

In its methodology, this presentation examines not only the main sources of Latvian genealogical material but also important secondary sources that are often forgotten, but may also yield rich treasure troves of data. These include: records from archives in Latvia, ITS at Paderborn, Yad Vashem, the Washington, DC United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Family History Library at Salt Lake City and the South African National Archives in Cape Town.

Furthermore, this presentation reviews the many internet resources and social networks visited. The search and methodology is illustrated by the use of Power Point.

Topics: Holocaust research
Immigration and migration over the ages
Jews of the Southwest United States