Archives Grant Helps Group to Digitize Jewish Historical Records

Posted on June 22, 2011

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Archives has awarded the latest $1,000 dollar grant to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State (JGSWS). The grant funds will allow the organization to begin a project to digitize the Jewish Transcript, a newspaper which holds a wealth of information on the Washington State Jewish Community. This is an endeavor they've wanted to begin for many years, but never had sufficient resources before today.

The Jewish Transcript (now called JT News) has been in publication for 120 years. The pages hold vital records, like birth, marriage, and death announcements, Bar and Bat Mitzvah information, and a record of historical and community events. The bound volumes are currently held in the Seattle Public Library. JGSWS would like to digitize the newspaper pages, and make the records searchable online, which will make them more easily accessible to the public.

Archives is pleased to contribute to this project which will clearly have a positive impact on anyone researching their family history in Washington State.

JGSWS President Nancy Adelson notes, "Because of this grant, Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State will be able to start an important project that we've wanted to do for over seven years... Thank you so much for choosing us and our project! I can't tell you how much this means to the members of JGSWS and how it will help make Jewish genealogical research a bit easier."

JGSWS is a non-profit volunteer organization whose mission is to collect and preserve information on Jewish family history, assist and promote Jewish genealogy research, and offer instruction to the community. You can visit their website at www.jgsws.org.

Congratulations to JGSWS! Archives makes a monthly $1,000 grant award to help individual or community projects related to family history or historical preservation. Learn more and apply for a grant here.