This 7 p.m. Central Time Zoom session is for JGSI members only.

This special online-only event will feature a short talk, "Jewish Waldheim Cemetery: Stories of a Chicago Community" by Abby Cohen Schmelling, followed by  discussion. 

Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

Jewish Waldheim in Forest Park had its first burial in 1873. It is among the largest Jewish cemeteries in the United States with over 250 sections representing various family groups, synagogues, vereins, landsmanshaften and other organizations. These sections were established by Jewish Immigrant groups who settled in Chicago. Through primary source materials, Abby Schmelling has established a historical timeline of the life of Jewish Waldheim from its beginning.

Abby Cohen Schmelling is a longtime member of JGSI and former board member. She has been doing genealogy for more than 40 years and has visited the shtetls of her family in Lithuania. Abby is currently writing a book about Jewish Waldheim, where many of her family members are buried. She has an active Facebook group site, "Jewish Waldheim—Stories and Memories."

If you are not a JGSI member and would like to participate in this discussion, please consider purchasing a JGSI membership for as little as $25 a year.  See the details at: https://jgsi.org/Membership.