2026-2027 PROGRAMS

We are excited to offer the following programs for 2026-2027, with a theme of “Tracing Our Moving Ancestors.”  All are free and open to the public. A printable flyer of our 2026-2027 programs is available here.  All times listed are United States Eastern Time. Registration links for virtual events will be posted here a few weeks prior to the event.

• October 30, 2026 – Meet Your Mishpocha! We’ll begin the year with a program in conjunction with Shabbat services at Congregation Achduth Vesholom in Fort Wayne.  Pam Friedman will be the featured speaker. Services begin at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.
• November 15, 2026 – “The Last Ships From Hamburg” – Join us virtually in November for a presentation by historian Steven Ujifusa, about his third book, The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia’s Jews on the Eve of World War I.  The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 
• February 10, 17 and 24, 2027 – Records of Immigration and Naturalization with Alec Ferretti – Alec Ferretti, a well-known professional genealogist and immigration expert, will present three virtual programs for us in February.  These Wednesday afternoon programs will begin at 2:00 Eastern time and will include The Laws (and records) of Immigration, The Laws (and records) of Naturalization, and The Five Families of Records of the USCIS Genealogy Program.  The programs will be presented in conjunction with the ACPL Genealogy Center.
• April 11, 2027 – Changing Borders – Jill Whitehead will join us virtually from Great Britain to present two programs of Changing Borders, Empires and Peoples, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.   The talk looks at the different empires and peoples occupying Central and Eastern Europe from 1659.  Jill is a retired social research manager and local historian.
• May 2, 2027 – From the Shtetl to Indiana – We’re excited to present a full day of in-person programming with Tobias Brinkmann, professor of Jewish Studies and History at Penn State University.  He’ll begin at 10:30 a.m. at the ACPL Genealogy Center with From the Shtetl to Indiana: Retracing the Paths of Jewish and Other Migrants from Eastern Europe after 1860.  At 2:30 p.m., he and Mike Brown, from the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, will discuss the IJHS Archives, Joe Levine, and more.  And in between the two programs, tours of the Genealogy Center will be offered, to encourage attendees to pursue their family histories.   Both programs will be available virtually for those unable to attend in-person.

Looking for more programs? The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies has an online calendar of JGS events. Our very own Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center also offers many virtual programs.