Guide to the Sallyann Sack Papers
undated, 1962-1972, 1978-2007

P-917

Series I: Ephemera and Publications, undated, 1980-2002.

Arrangement:

This series is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

Series I contains Sallyann Sack’s ephemera and publications. It consists of one manuscript box (Box 34), with an additional folder of material in Box 35 (folder 11) and one medal located in Box 46. In terms of ephemera, this series contains Dr. Sack’s handwritten notes and datebook, newspaper clippings about her and her work (from Jerusalem Post Magazine and Washington Jewish Week), mailing lists and business cards that she collected, as well as her nametags from seminars. (Card) Box 46 contains an original box which houses an Israel State Medal. One side has an image of Sigmund Freud on it, which is dated 1856-1939, along with some Hebrew. The other side reads Israel Psychoanalytic Society, 1933-1983, with a “50” indicating its 50th anniversary. It was found in Dr. Sack’s papers. Publications included are “Teaching Genealogy,” “Jewish Genealogy on the Eve of the 20th Century” (including a draft), and “That We May Remember: A Guide to Genealogical Research in Jerusalem,” which Dr. Sack co-authored with Naomi Levin Gershan.

Series II: Correspondence, undated, 1979-2005.

Arrangement:

The series is divided into three subseries. Sallyann Sack arranged her letters geographically and this order has been maintained.

Scope and Content:

Please note that the correspondence within this collection will not be accesible to researchers until after the death of Sallyann Sack. The correspondence series consists of fifteen manuscript boxes, ranging from Boxes 1 through 15, with material also in Box 39. It contains both incoming and outgoing letters, many of which are typewritten on onionskin paper while others are handwritten. It is primarily in English, with some material in French, German, Hebrew and Russian.

When Dr. Sack corresponded frequently with a person, she created an individual file for them. These files have also been maintained and appear at the beginning of the section for their state or country of origin. Letters pertain to Jewish genealogy research, including many requests for guidance in navigating the research landscape. Correspondents include academics, archivists, certified genealogists, historians, hobbyists, librarians, rabbis and translators. These requests are not only made in incoming letters but also in outgoing letters, by Dr. Sack, as each correspondent has access to unique regional archives and resources. They form a genealogical research network.

Please note: photocopies of research and family trees sometimes included. There are also more personal pieces of correspondence like greeting cards and postcards.

Subseries 1: National Correspondence, undated, 1979-2004.

Arrangement:

Letters are arranged alphabetically and chronologically. States with fewer letters of correspondence have been grouped together.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence from 40 states. Letters can be found in Boxes 1-5 as well as in Box 14. Dr. Sack created folders for particular individuals with whom she corresponded. They are: Roberta Wagner Berman (President of the San Diego Jewish Genealogical Society) of California; John Henry Richter (former librarian at the Library of Congress and the University of Michigan) of Michigan; Rabbi Malcolm Stern (known as “The Founding Father” or “The Dean” of Jewish Genealogy) of New York; Harry D. Boonin (founding president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Philadelphia) of Pennsylvania; and Walter Cohen of Texas. Also included is Gary Mokotoff (co-publisher of AVOTAYNU), whose correspondence occurs largely between him and others, but also includes notes written between him and Dr. Sack.

Each of these correspondents has a folder of material, while Gary Mokotoff has two (Box 14, Folders 3-4) and Harry D. Boonin has five (Box 4, Folders 4-7 as well as Box 14, Folder 9). This reflects the great extent to which Dr. Sack collaborated with these gentlemen.

Furthermore, Gary Mokotoff’s work can be found in the Audio Series: “Internet for Greenhorns” (Card Box 2, Cassette 23) and “It Ain’t No Sin to Make a Profit” (Card Box 3, Cassette 25). Harry D. Boonin’s work can also be found in the Audio Series: “Role of Rhineland Jews for Ashkenazic Jewry” (Card Box 1, Cassette 2) and “The Gantze-Megila: Research, Printing and Publishing a Book About Your Russian-Jewish Family” (Card Box 2, Cassette 25).

Please note: Box 2, Folder 5 contains a brief letter typewritten (and signed by) Elie Wiesel, dated September 6, 1990. Some material is in Hebrew (specifically in Box 14, Folder 6).

Subseries 2: International Correspondence, undated, 1981-2005.

Arrangement:

Letters are arranged alphabetically and chronologically. Countries with fewer letters of correspondence have been grouped together.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence from 37 countries and letters can be found in Boxes, 5-11, 14, 15 and (3 folders in) 39. Dr. Sack created folders for particular individuals with whom she corresponded. They are: Ruben Weiser of Argentina; Sophie Caplan (Holocaust survivor and contributor to AVOTAYNU) of Australia; Marcel Apsel (contributor to AVOTAYNU) of Belgium; Egon and Frieda Wolff (researchers who escaped Naziism in 1936 by relocating to Sao Paulo and later Rio de Janeiro) of Brazil; Michael Marrus (historian and professor at the University of Toronto); David Jacobs (founder of the East End Museum) of England; Dr. Anthony Joseph (Chairman of the Birmingham Branch of the British Jewish Historical Society) and his wife Judith (or Judy) Joseph of England; Alexander Beider (academic in the field of Jewish Onomastics) of France; Dr. Ernst Lustig (researcher) of (West) Germany; Jurgen Sielemann (founder of Germany’s first society for Jewish Genealogy and co-author of Uberseeische Auswanderung und Familienforschung, which can be found in Box 36) of Germany; Erno Lazarovits (Holocaust survivor and professor at the University of Budapest) of Hungary; Rabbi Shmuel Gorr (genealogist and worldwide consultant) of Israel; Esther Ramon (President of the Isarel Jewish Genealogy Society and contributor to AVOTAYNU) of Israel; Ruth Rigbi of Israel; Aleksandrs Feigmanis (historian and researcher) of Latvia; Jose Maria Abecassis (Sephardic genealogist) of Portugal; Slomovitz Calman of Romania; Dr. Ladislau Gyemant (professor at Babes-Bolyai University) of Romania; Dan Regenstreif (contributor to AVOTAYNU) of Romania; I.L. (Leslie) Meyerowitz of South Africa; Rene Lobe (President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Switzerland and contributor to AVOTAYNU); Leyla Ipeker of Turkey; and last, Stella Kent (of the Roots Committee) of Turkey.

There are also institutions with their own folders. Included are the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center at Beth Hatefutsoth of Israel and the Society for the Jewish Family Heritage of Israel. Dr. Sack served as a Member of the Advisory Board for the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center from 1986-1989.

Box 39, Folder 5 contains letters from Zachary Baker (Reinhard Family Curator of Judaica and Hebraica Collections at Stanford University), Dr. Rolf Lederer (President of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Toronto and contributor to AVOTAYNU) and Lawrence Tapper (archivist at the Public Archives of Canada and contributor to AVOTAYNU).

Sophie Caplan (aforementioned Holocaust survivor and contributor to AVOTAYNU) sent Dr. Sack photographs. They are housed with the other photographs in the collection and can be found in Box 38, Folder 2.

Alexander Beider’s (aforementioned academic in the field of Jewish Onomastics) work can be found in the Audio Series of the collection: “Questions and Answers: Beider’s Surname Books” (Card Box 3, Cassette 17).

Subseries 3: Miscellaneous, undated, 1980-1998.

Arrangement:

Letters are arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

Unfortunately this subseries contains material that is largely lacking information. The emails contained within this series include American Jewish Genealogical Society Board digest; emails sent to archivists and genealogists, as well as to JewishGen, an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Series III: Conferences and Seminars, 1981-2006.

Arrangement:

This series has been arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

The Conferences and Seminars series consists of 8 boxes (beginning with Box 16) with some material spilling over into Box 24. Conferences and seminars were held by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS), a non-profit “organization of organizations” to which the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) is a member. The first seminar was held in the summer of 1981 in New York City and it was followed by three more national summer seminars before the first international seminar was established in 1984, much to Dr. Sack’s credit. The most recent material in this series ends is the 27th International Conference which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The IAJGS has a website (www.iajgs.org) and they continue to hold conferences, including, most recently, its 31st, in Washington, D.C., in 2011.

Note that some conference and seminar binders had tabs that divided them into sections, like: Foreword, Hotel Information, Activities, Reference, Speaker Bios, Sessions Summaries, Speaker Materials (this is from the 26th Conference, 1 of 3), and they have been maintained.

Also note that the Audio Series represents the real genealogical content of these conferences and seminars. There are 2 CDs for the 27th International Conference which can be found in Box 37; a booklet containing 7 CDs for the 26th International Conference which can also be found in Box 37; 5 cassettes for the 22nd Conference which can be found in Card Box 1; 34 cassettes for the 19th Annual Conference which can be found in Card Boxes 1 and 2; and last, 59 cassettes for the 15th Annual Summer Seminar which can be found in Card Boxes 2, 3 and 4.

Series IV: Projects, undated, 1980-2000.

Arrangement:

Arranged into four subseries.

Scope and Content:

Series IV contains papers which chronicle the projects Dr. Sack spearheaded and/or documented. Material can be found in Boxes 26-38 as well as in three folders in Box 34 and one folder in Box 39. Included are AVOTAYNU; The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) and its publication MISHPACHA; The Russian Consular Records Project; and last, Dr. Sack’s Project Proposal for Family History Curriculum Component. Series IV also contains a subseries devoted to projects submitted to Dr. Sack. Arrangement: Arranged into four subseries.

Subseries 1: AVOTAYNU, undated, various, 1991-1997.

Arrangement:

This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

AVOTAYNU, meaning “Our Forefathers” in Hebrew, is a journal that Dr. Sack co-founded with Gary Mokotoff in 1985. It is “the world’s largest circulation magazine devoted to Jewish genealogy,” and is considered “the voice of Jewish genealogy.” AVOTAYNU papers include correspondence, both general as well as letters sent to the editor and to the Ask the Experts column (to which readers submit genealogical inquiries); correspondence related to submissions (including the submissions themselves, which are generally essays and stories); correspondence and planning related to the AVOTAYNU Guide to American Jewish Genealogy; and last, general papers related to AVOTAYNU. Please refer to http://www.avotaynu.com/journal.htm for more information.

Subseries 2: The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW), undated, 1980-2000.

Arrangement:

Dr. Sack’s intellectual arrangement has been maintained, with the addition of chronological order.

Scope and Content:

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) was founded by Dr. Sack in 1980. According to their website (www.jewishgen.org/jgsgw/society.html), Dr. Sack founded the non-profit organization, “focused on promoting genealogy and education…with the encouragement of Rabbi Malcolm Stern, known as the ‘father of Jewish Genealogy.’” (Please note this collection contains restricted correspondence with Rabbi Stern, and it can be found in Box 3, Folder 4). The JGSGW papers in this series include the society’s agendas, correspondence, meetings, new member lists and research directories. The JGSGW is a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and continues to hold meetings, maintain a library and publish a newsletter.

MISHPACHA, meaning “family” in Hebrew, is a quarterly publication of the JGSGW. Free to members of the JGSGW and members “are encouraged to submit their genealogical research experiences, successes, failures, problems, amusing anecdotes, and suggestions for publication in MISPACHA” (from Winter 1999, Volume 18, No. 4). The publications contained within the collection span from Volume 1, Number 1 published in Summer 1981, through Volume 20, Number 3, published in Fall 2000. They can be found in Box 27, Folders 2-5 as well as Box 39, Folder 6.

Subseries 3: Russian Consular Records Project, undated, 1980-1993.

Arrangement:

Dr. Sack’s intellectual arrangement has been maintained, with the addition of chronological order.

Scope and Content:

The indexing of the Russian Consular Records was performed by Dr. Sack and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW). The index contains approximately 70,000 entries. From the undated project proposal (contained in Box 28, Folder 9): “The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) proposes a project to preserve, catalog and develop a publishable, computerized index of information contained in records impounded by the United States government in 1933 from Imperial Russian consular offices.” The index was to be “made public to the general public, genealogists and scholars,” and included partnerships with The Latter Day Saints (LDS), who microfilmed the records, and The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which also has microfilm of the records in its holdings and played a role in supervising the arrangement and preparation of the material for access.

Please note there are photocopies of material that is originally dated 1919 and 1921 and these copies were presumably made in the 1980s or 1990s.

Please also note there is a reel contained in the Audio Series titled Russian Consular Records Power Plant Tape, dated 1986. It can be found in Box 37.

Subseries 4: Dr. Sack’s Project Proposal for Family History Curriculum Component, 1995-1996.

Scope and Content:

This subseries consists of one folder. It contains correspondence about “fight[ing] the alarming trend toward assimilation…” by “hav[ing] a serious family history component in each year of religious school, starting with kindergarten” (from a letter to Arthur Kurzweil, dated 1996). Also contained in this folder is a children’s activity book titled Grandparents and Grandchildren: A Whimsical, Joyful Sharing Book by Sunny Shulkin and Wendy Leebov Gollub, presumably to be used as an introduction to family history.

Please note: there is a reel contained in the Audio Series titled Russian Consular Records Power Plant Tape, dated 1986. It can be found in Box 37.

Subseries 5: Projects Submitted to Dr. Sack, undated, 1994-2000.

Arrangement:

This subseries has been arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains two folders with material related to the Ratno Memorial Books Project and the Jewish Cemetery Project, as submitted to Dr. Sack. Rhonda Shafner submitted a proposal to Dr. Sack to translate books about the former Ukrainian shtetl of Ratno. The Jewish Cemetery Project contains Instructions for Identifying and Recording Jewish Burials by Aaron M. Ross, of Boy Scout Troop 18, Maryland. This reflects Dr. Sack’s being a touchstone in the field of not only Jewish Genealogy research, but Jewish history at large.

Series V: Research Material, undated, various, 1962-2007.

Arrangement:

Series V is arranged into six subseries.

Scope and Content:

Series V contains a variety of research material. Material can be found in Boxes 29-34 as well as in both Card Boxes 44 and 46. These papers are related to research trips coordinated by Sallyann Sack; research collections and institutions visited for genealogical research; reference papers (as well as a card catalog) used to navigate the research landscape; research subjects files created by Sallyann Sack; and last, various research papers and books collected by Sallyann Sack.

Subseries 1: Research Trips, undated, 1994-2000.

Arrangement:

This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains papers related to research trips coordinated by Dr. Sack between 1996 and 1997. Trips were taken to Belarus, Latvia and Poland The first folder of material, Box 35, Folder 3, contains material related to UNIGLOBE, a travel agency through which Sallyann Sack made arrangements.

Subseries 2: Research Collections and Institutions, undated, 1962-2002.

Subseries 3: Reference Papers, undated, 1964-1999.

Arrangement:

This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains papers that Dr. Sack used to perform research. Reference papers include notes on languages (often Jewish Genealogy research is not in English, but Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish); a guide; a yearbook; an index to surnames; notes from Introduction to Computers for Genealogical Applications, and a class Dr. Sack took at the Montgomery County Genealogical Club of Maryland. Some papers are undated and the rest range from 1964 through 1999. This subseries also contains an undated card catalog, which can be found in Card Boxes 5 and 6.

Subseries 4: Research Subjects, undated, 1967-1991.

Arrangement:

These papers are arranged by subject and chronological order.

Scope and Content:

Dr. Sack created various research files as she worked on her projects and collaborated with others. These files include Russian Factory Directories from 1895 and 1912, World Jewry newspaper clippings from the 1980s and Jewish Communities in Poland in 1939. Some papers are in Russian.

Subseries 5: Various Research Papers, undated, 1970-2003.

Arrangement:

This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains a variety of research papers, ranging from journals and newsletters to essays and photocopies of research materials, like visas applications and certificates of arrival. Some material is in Hebrew, Polish and Russian. Box 33, Folders 1 through 3 contains Paul J. Jacobi’s family trees for the Azulai and Chalfan families and a genealogy chart for Descendants of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki. Box 32, Folder 4 also contains an ancestor chart for Mabel St. Angelo.

Subseries 6: Research Books, undated, 1970-2003.

Arrangement:

These books are arranged according to their size so that they sit in a stable manner within Box 36.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains 7 books, one of which is in German (Uberseeische Auswanderung und Familienforschung), another in Swedish (Grafskrifter pa Goteborgs Stads Och Nagransande Forsamlingars Begrafningsplatser), while the others are in English. Uberseeische Auswanderung und Familienforschung is co-authored by Jurgen Sielemann, with whom there is correspondence contained within this collection (Box 8, Folder 2).

Series VI: Audio, 1986-2007.

Arrangement:

The cassettes are labeled and some have their own numbering system. For example, for the 19th Annual Conference on Jewish Genealogy, the numbering system begins with “99” because the conference was held in 1999, and the cassette number follows. The cassettes are arranged chronologically. The 15th Annual Summer Seminar is the best-documented seminar of the collection. There is also a syllabus.

Scope and Content:

The audio series contains four card boxes (Boxes 41-44) of cassettes and as well as a reel and CDs which can be found within (manuscript) Box 37. These 98 cassettes and 9 CDs represent the genealogical content of conferences and seminars. Each cassette has a lecture on it, including Dr. Sack’s own work, “Israel: The Shortest Detour to Your European Ancestors” (Card Box 2, Cassette 22). Unfortunately the reel has not been listened to, but it is labeled Russian Consular Records Power Plant Tape and dated 1986, which may mean it is related to the Chernobyl disaster. The CDs contain meetings, sessions and syllabi. For a complete inventory of the cassettes, please refer to this PDF???

Series VII: Photographs, undated, 1972-2004.

Arrangement:

Photographs lacking information are arranged together, as they have no timestamps or notes on them. Photographs with information are arranged together, as they have notes on them or imagery that indicates where they were taken.

Scope and Content:

This series consists of one manuscript box (Box 38). Included are photographs taken at conferences and seminars, as well as travel photographs, which feature archives, cemeteries, museums and synagogues. Additionally there are negatives and slides, some of which can be attributed to Boris Feldblyum. Historical photographs have been kept together in one folder, and they contain reproductions from the Library of Congress, the Leo Baeck Institute, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and again, Boris Feldblyum. There are images of Berlin, Hamburg, Istanbul, Liyepaya, and Sarajevo. Last, this subseries contains papers, including letters, maps, postcards and research printouts. Unfortunately these papers cannot be linked to particular photographs.

Please note that when it’s known who owns a photograph, permission must be obtained to use it.