Boston
The Jewish Heritage Center at the Boston-based genealogical society is not just a resource for people tracing family roots, but a trove of information for scholars researching the Jewish influence on New England’s economy and the history of anti-Semitism. It also preserves the records of Jewish philanthropies and synagogues.
“The information archived here provides some context and shows what part Jewish immigrants played in growing the community,” said Stephanie Call, the center’s manager.
The Jewish Heritage Center oversees the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society-New England, which has collaborated with the New England Historic Genealogical Society for several years. Wednesday’s reception was the formal celebration of the partnership.
The archives have had several homes in the Boston area over the years, but moving them to the genealogical society permanently was a natural fit, because it already is considered the premier national resource for genealogists and family historians.
About 1.2 million documents have been digitized as part of an ongoing project to get the records online and available to the public, said Ryan Woods, the genealogical society’s senior vice president.
The archives play a critical role in preserving the unique history of Jews in New England, said Jonathan Sarna, a professor of Jewish history at Brandeis University and a member of the Jewish Heritage Center’s advisory council.
Boston actually was behind many other cities when it came to Jewish immigration, and the first synagogue in the area wasn’t founded until the 1840s.