"Ellis Island and the Names That Did Not Change There" with Marlene Katz Bishow

The long-standing myth is that surnames were changed during the processing of immigrants at Ellis Island and the many other ports of entry to the United States. This is particularly common in discussions about those Jewish immigrants who entered our country in the early 20th century from eastern Europe and Russia. Extensive research has proven that this was not the case, but so many family names did change from what they were before the emigration that background is important to understand how, where, and why these changes took place. This presentation will deal with providing a foundation for understanding these events. Marlene Katz Bishow is a genealogist, lecturer, educator, and author specializing in Jewish Genealogy. A native New Yorker, she lived for more than 20 years in the Pittsburgh area and earned a Masters in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Marlene is the past president of the Jewish Genealogy…