Search for a Photo of a Bride Wearing Her Wedding Veil

A friend of mine, Sheri Fenley, is looking for a photograph of a bride wearing her wedding veil.

While I'm sure the bride was beautiful, what's actually more important here is her veil.

The bride was Jeanette Augusta Meier.  She was the daughter of Abe Meier and Minnie Eisig, and the granddaughter of Aaron Meier and Augusta Hirsch.  Aaron Meier started the Meier & Frank stores in Portland, Oregon in 1857.  The family was Jewish and from Bavaria.  They were early pioneers of Portland and prominent socially.

Jeanette married Walter David Heller on November 14, 1922 in Portland.  He was the son of Moses Heller and Adele Walter, and the grandson of Martin Heller and Babette Kuper.  Martin Heller was a Bavarian Jew who came to San Francisco in the 1850's.  He was president of Congregation Emanuel in San Francisco from 1876 until his death in 1894.  The Heller family was also socially prominent.

The veil that Jeanette wore on her wedding day has been worn by 48 members of the family and extended family at their own weddings.  Jeanette's granddaughter is helping her mother put together a scrapbook that will stay with the wedding veil as it continues to be passed down through the generations.  They have a photograph of every single bride who wore the veil — except for Jeanette Augusta Meier Heller.

So I am helping spread the word about the search for a photo.

Since the bride was from Oregon and the groom from California, Sheri has been trying to cover both areas.  She has searched these newspaper collections online:
• Chronicling America, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
• Historic Oregon Newspapers, http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
• California Digital Newspaper Collection, http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc/
• ProQuest Historic San Francisco Chronicle online

She found several articles about the wedding, but no photos.  She has also contacted the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, the Oregon Jewish Museum, and the Oregon Historical Society, and no luck there either.

The best remaining possibility would seem to be the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft Library on the University of California at Berkeley campus.  Among the items in the collection are a card index for the Emanu–El newspaper and the complete historical run of the paper.  I'm sure the wedding was reported in the newspaper; maybe there's a photo?  That index would be really convenient to check, but the staff at Bancroft said that, "Unfortunately the materials are as yet unprocessed and there's no way of telling whether this collection contains the photo you are looking for."  Well, the index has been catalogued and some parts of the collection have been processed; many of us have been waiting patiently for several years for the rest of the Magnes Collection to be accessioned at Bancroft, i.e., made accessible for researchers.  The Bancroft staff apparently have been busy with lots of other things and somehow just haven't gotten around to finishing this task.

There are a couple of other possibilities for the Emanu-El newspaper.  According to the Chronicling America database, both the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the New York Public Library have the newspaper for 1922, JTS in hard copy and NYPL on microfilm.  Neither has an index, of course, but they could be searched manually.  But access is difficult for us, as Sheri and I are both in California.

And there's always a small chance that someone out there who was connected with the Heller and/or Meier families has a photo in a collection at home.  The more people who share this story, the better the odds that anyone who might have a photo hears about the search.

So here goes my shot in the dark.  Let's see where it lands.

Reception to Celebrate New Emma Goldman Book

Emma Goldman c. 1911

Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was an important anarchist well known for her political activism and writing.  She was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Russia but became a committed atheist.  The Emma Goldman Papers Project at the University of California at Berkeley has collected, organized, and edited thousands of papers by and about Goldman since 1980.  This Sunday, November 18, the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life will host a reception to honor the project's publication of the third volume in the four-part series Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years, 1890-1919 (Stanford University Press, November 2012).  There will be readings of Goldman's work.  The reception is open to the public.

The reception will be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, California.

February ZichronNote Sent to Members

The February issue of ZichronNote has been sent by postal and electronic mail to San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society members.  This issue includes an excellent article by Israel Pickholtz about one method of deciding when you have accumulated enough circumstantial evidence to make a decision about a family relationship.  Other articles are an update on the Ger Mandolin Orchestra, how to be an efficient 21st-century researcher, the opening of the new Magnes Museum in downtown Berkeley, and the premier of the new Society logo.

If you are a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, you have probably already received your issue.  If you are not, you can join by visiting the Society's Web site, and then you too can enjoy these articles and the ones to come during this year.

Grand Opening of the New Magnes Museum

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life will open the doors of its new museum to the public on Sunday, January 22, 2012, at the museum's new home, 2121 Allston Way (between Shattuck and Oxford), Berkeley, California.  Attendees will be able to view the opening exhibitions and the glass-wall open storage, and learn about the role of the Magnes at UC Berkeley.  Curators, artists, and staff will be available to talk with attendees.

The event will run from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.  Festivities will include:

12:00 Ribbon cutting ceremony with UC Berkeley marching band
12:30 Kol Hadov, UC Berkeley Jewish student a cappella group
1:00 Za'atar, Mizrahi ensemble
2:00 Veretski Pass: Music from the Carpathian Bow
3:00 Octopretzel Family Musical Hour

Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

For more information visit the Magnes Web site.  The Magnes Museum also has a Facebook page at facebook.com/magnesmuseum.

Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life

Dr. Lara Michels, the archivist in charge of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at Bancroft Library, recently spoke to the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society about the collection.  Since 2010, when the Judah L. Magnes Museum was absorbed by UC Berkeley and the Bancroft Library, Dr. Michels has been conducting a complete inventory and cataloguing of the Magnes collection, no mean feat for any archive.  Her presentation to SFBAJGS highlighted parts of the collection she thought could be particularly helpful for genealogical research.

One of the most significant parts of the archive is a massive collection of materials relating to Congregation Sherith Israel of San Francisco, dating from early burials in the 1850's (in cemeteries which are now part of Mission Dolores Park) to minutes and membership lists from the mid-20th century and later.  The history of the congregation can be followed in detail over a century and a half.  Another important item is a near-complete name index to The Emanu-El, a Jewish community newspaper that was the precursor to The J of today.  Dr. Michels is almost finished cataloguing the Magnes Collection; by early 2012 she hopes to have the complete inventory listed on the Web site.

Close on the heels of Dr. Michels' presentation, I read about the Magnes Fellowship in Jewish Studies, which was established to support for one academic year graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley whose research would benefit from the use of source materials in the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. Recipients of the Fellowship, designated as Magnes Fellows, must be graduate students enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley who demonstrate high academic distinction and are beyond the first year of graduate study.  The amount of the award will cover fees and stipend for the graduate student for a year.

The applicant's statement of purpose must describe how the research project will make use of the Magnes Collection.  The selection committee, appointed by the Director of the Bancroft Library and including Jewish Studies Program faculty, will determine the recipient based on statement of purpose, transcripts of undergraduate and graduate coursework, and two letters of recommendation from instructors.  The application deadline is by 5:00 p.m. of the first Monday in February.  For 2012 the date is February 6.

All applications and awards will be made within the framework of existing fellowship programs.  For questions call Diana Vergil at (510) 642-3782.  Awards will be announced at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Bancroft Library held in the spring of each year.

For application forms and instructions see http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info/fellowships.html.

International Jewish Genealogy Month

Tonight at sundown International Jewish Genealogy Month (IJGM) began.  It is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, which in 2011 runs from October 29 to November 26.  The purpose of IJGM is to promote the hobby of genealogy and to make people aware that there is a local Jewish genealogical society that can help them get started on their research.  We also honor our ancestors through our family history research.

The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society is holding three events to celebrate IJGM.  The first one is a Jewish family history open house at the Oakland Regional Family History Center (4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602) on Sunday, November 13, from 1:00-5:00 p.m.  Knowledgeable researchers will be on hand to help beginners and those with more experience.  Author and researcher Ron Arons will present "Putting the Flesh on the Bones:  Researching Why Our Ancestors Did What They Did" twice during the afternoon.  A representative from the U.S. Bureau of the census will have informational and promotional materials, and we are also hoping to have someone from the U.S. National Archives regional branch in San Bruno.

On Monday, November 14, SFBAJGS treasurer Jeff Lewy will discuss how to create and publish a family history story without having to become a professional author.  In "Book 'em, Danno!  Publishing Your Family's Story", he will explain how he wrote down family stories, filled in some gaps with his own research, added photos, and used an online publisher/printer to make an inexpensive book his relatives are buying and telling others about.  Jeff's talk will take place at Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road Room 5/6, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022.  Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; the program begins 7:30 p.m.

Finally, on Sunday, November 20, Dr. Lara Michels will present "Family History at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life" at Congregation Beth Israel Judea (625 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco, CA 94132).  In 2010 the Magnes Museum became a division of UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library.  Dr. Michels has been inventorying and cataloguing the museum's collections during the past year.  The collection has never before been fully catalogued.  She will provide an update on the Magnes Collection, paying particular attention to the ways in which it can serve the needs and research interests of genealogists and family historians.  Doors open at 12:30 p.m.; the program begins at 1:00 p.m.

All the events are free, and everyone who is interested is welcome to attend.  If you have been thinking about researching your family history, this would be a great time to start, and these talks will help get you going.

Fall Program at Sutro Library

Adolph Sutro

Sutro Library, the San Francisco (and genealogy) branch of the California State Library, will have two evening programs this fall, to be held on the last Thursdays of September and October.  The featured speakers are two National Park Service experts who will share their knowledge of Adolph Sutro:

September 29, 2011
Grounds for Pleasure: The Archaeology of Adolph Sutro's "Merry Way" Amusement Park
Speaker:  Leo Barker, National Park Service Archaeologist

October 27, 2011
My Family Experiences Working at Sutro Baths
Speaker:  Tom Bratton, National Park Service Docent

Both programs are free and open to the public.  Receptions with light refreshments will begin both evenings at 7:00 p.m.; the lectures will start at 7:30 p.m.

Sutro Library is at 480 Winston Drive, San Francisco.  For more information, contact Sutro Library at (415) 731-4477 or Sutro@library.ca.gov.

A flyer is posted online at http://www.library.ca.gov/SutroLectures%20011_Flyer_Final.pdf.

These could be the last talks focused on Adolph Sutro.  Next year the holdings of Sutro Library are scheduled to be integrated into those of the California State University at San Francisco library, and Sutro Library will be no more.  The building and land are valuable and ripe for development.  Accessibility will probably become an issue, because parking at Cal State San Francisco is difficult at best.  The situation reminds me of what has happened to the holdings of the Judah L. Magnes Museum, now the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, part of Bancroft Library at the University of California.

Not a Boring Board Meeting

Today was the quarterly board meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS).  As the society's publicity director, I am a board member and have the pleasure of meeting four times a year with the rest of the board to plan the activities and direction of our group.

One of the most exciting things we are planning for this year is a series of activities in conjunction with International Jewish Genealogy Month (IJGM).  IJGM is a program of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, which this year runs from October 29-November 26 on the secular calendar.  The purpose of International Jewish Genealogy Month is to make the public aware of the hobby of genealogy and the fact that there is a local Jewish genealogical society that can help them get started on their research.

The tentative schedule calls for events on the four Sundays of IJGM.  Our plans are to start on October 30 with an open house where people can come to get a general overview of family history research and help in getting started.  Volunteer genealogists will be available to answer genealogy questions and provide individual research assistance.  Presentations on the following three Sundays will cover an introduction to Jewish genealogy, publishing your family history, and the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library.

Some of the other things we discussed today are a possible transcription project of births, marriages, and deaths appearing in a local Jewish newspaper, and participation in Family History Day and Family History Expo in October.  It looks like a busy year ahead!