From: IsraelP Subject: Genealogy #86 Reply-to: IsraelP@pikholz.org Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:21:13 +0300 Dear Cousins, It's a busy time on many fronts and I have a few things I want to tell you about. First of all, Family Tree DNA is having a sale from now until Tuesday. The Family Finder, which is what I generally want from people, is $20 off. The more expensive tests have larger discounts. I have asked some of you specifically but I'll also be happy for any others who wish to test. Remember, you can test under any name you choose, so there is no real concern for privacy. We now have over fifty Skalaters who have tested and fourteen Rozdolers plus three more who have ordered kits. We have three Y-DNA kits from Skalat who all match one another and four from Rozdol who also match one another. Plus two from further east whose Ys do not match either Pikholz group or each other. I wrote to you in my previous holiday message about finding the family of a woman named Mollie Weinstein Wilder (b. 1902) whose mother was Sheva/Sadie Pickholtz from Nemerow in Podolia. That is a bit east of Galicia. Nellie Pickholtz Rochester is also from Nemerow and I expect she and Sheva/Sadie are sisters..I haven't yet been able to get full details from this family, but I hope to meet with Mollie's daughter and granddaughter when I'm in the US during the summer. We have another "new" family - or mostly new. Some time ago, I ran across a woman named Sadie Stern, born 1889 to Markus Stern and Ester Pickholtz. Sadie's husband Ben Francis, is related to some of the Pickholtz cousins in Denver. More recently, I made contact with the granddaughter of a sister of this Sadie and learned of several others in that family. The relevant surnames are - aside from Stern - Zudin, Patlin and Genser. If anyone recognizes any of these names as relatives, I'd be pleased to hear. I haven't a clue who this Ester Pickholtz Stern is, though she appears to be from Skalat. As I wrote earlier, I went to the US during the winter to participate in the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City. They have on the order of 26,000 genealogists participating. While I was in the US, I arranged to give ten lectures, though we lost Philadelphia due to the big snowstorm. I spoke at Jewish Genealogical Societies in Connecticut, Boston, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Palo Alto, Oakland, Denver and Northbrook Illinois. Also the New England Historic Genealogical Society in downtown Boston. For the most part turnout was excellent. Tucson has twenty-two members, but had fifty-five people show up despite its being SuperBowl Sunday. Denver set up for forty-five and needed another two dozen chairs. And most of these were weekday programs. Salt Lake City was the evening before RootsTech and some of the Conference participants - including the director - came to hear me. Next up is the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference in Toronto at the beginning of June. I'll be giving several presentations there, including one brand new one. I'll also be speaking to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto. On the way, I'll be stopping in London for a joint program of the JGS of Great Britain and the Guild of One-Name Studies. (I am a member of that organization and have an article in their most recent quarterly magazine.) As you can imagine, I like breaking out of the "Jewish research" mold and enjoy groups that are mixed Jewish and non-Jewish. In the summer, I'll be in the US again. The schedule includes a week course in advanced genetic genealogy at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and three presentations at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference in Seattle. In between I have speaking engagements in Baltimore, Fairfax County Virginia, Durham NC and Cincinnati. So far. I'll also be meeting with two genetic genealogy gurus in their homes for some personal mentoring. A few months ago, I ran across references to two Pickholtz I do not recognize. One is Joseph Pickholtz married to Rachel Weisinger. The other is Gussie Korn Pickholtz Beckerman. Does anyone know these people? I am quite sure they are no longer living, but I do not have ages, descendants or other information.. There is a website with dormant Swiss bank accounts that you might want to have a look at. I think it was Steve who brought that to my attention. Find it at https://www.dormantaccounts.ch/narilo/ You might be interested in a blog I wrote a few weeks ago about the intracacies of Jewish DNA. Find it at http://allmyforeparents.blogspot.com/2016/04/diamond-endogamy.html Let me close by wishing everyone a happy and kosher Passover. May this season of redemption bring us some much needed relief from the problems of the past few years. Israel P. -- End --