Dear JewishGen Community:
Please join us for our upcoming virtual JewishGen Talk:
No, Your Ancestors’ Names Were Not Changed at Ellis Island
Speaker: Caitlin Hollander Waas
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Time: 2:00-3:30 PM, EST (New York)
Registration: Free with a suggested donation. Click here to register
Photo Credit: Landing at Ellis Island. (1902). Ellis Island, New Jersey, New York, 1902. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
It is the most persistent myth in American family history: the overwhelmed or malicious clerk who unilaterally altered a family’s identity at the port of entry. Whether framed as a clerical error or an act of xenophobia, historical records show that this scenario was not only unlikely—it was impossible. Join Chief Genealogist Caitlin Hollander Waas as she deconstructs this legend by examining the administrative mechanics of the immigration process and the specific records created at the port of entry. This session moves beyond the myth to explore the genuine legal, social, and economic motivations behind name changes, revealing how immigrants navigated their new identities, not as victims of a clerical error, but as active participants in their own American narratives.
This program will be recorded and uploaded to JewishGen’s YouTube channel.
Registration: Free with a suggested donation. Click here to register
Please note that you do not have to create an account and can register as a guest.
Donations will be made to the Museum of Jewish Heritage and credited to JewishGen.
About the Speaker:
Caitlin Hollander Waas is JewishGen’s Chief Genealogist, as well as being on staff at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. She has been a professional genealogist for over a decade, beginning in the world of forensic genealogy specializing in high value estate cases, as well as researching for private clients and consulting for books. In addition, her citizenship reclamation work has been featured in Family Tree Magazine, The Times of Israel, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, among other publications. She holds a degree in Anthropology, as well as additional certificates in Jewish Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Upcoming JewishGen Talks:
The Dash: Finding the Person in the Papers
2:00-3:30 PM, EST, Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Registration: Free with a suggested donation. Click here to register
