SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
May 17, 2025
“Finding Ship Manifests of Confused Immigrants”
Presented by: Joel Weintraub
Using a series of case studies, Joel will show how some immigrants going through the naturalization process had trouble providing acceptable documentation on their arrival to the United States. Not just documentation but statements on ships, dates, and ports and their very names that held up the naturalization process. You will be introduced to ‘Preliminary Form For Petition For Naturalization”, ‘unable to verify’ situations, ‘certificates of arrival’, and even ‘certificates of registry’. Join us in a research journey to resolve some ways their initial confusion of facts and documents were resolved and why it’s important for their subsequent family historian descendants.
About the speaker: Joel Weintraub, born and raised in New York City is an emeritus Professor of Zoology at California State University, Fullerton. After early retirement he volunteered at (then) the National Archives branch at Laguna Niguel helping the public access governmental records, especially census forms. From that Joel with the help of Steve Morse and many many volunteers created a database of streets within census districts to help researchers find their census families if their address was known. This utility at the One-Step site has helped countless family historians overcome mangled census names to find their targets. Joel, Steve, and Dave Kehs (now deceased) won the 2022 Shirley M. Barnes Records Access Award. Joel has many census YouTube videos and immigration and naturalization topics at JDW Talks. Here I choose about 9 immigrants who, usually in their own words and statements, had trouble proving their own entrance into the U.S., and why their situations might solve some of your brick walls.
This month we will be offering our speaker’s presentation In-Person ONLY!
NOTE: This webinar will NOT be recorded.
Meeting Place:
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
27976 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
