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41111=r, —aal
Dick Jaeger works on genealogy at his computer.
Family Sleuth
Genealogist traces his ancestors
back 2,500 years.
It drives the next
generation of
technology.
I
Stacy Gittleman
Contributing Writer
I
President Obama views Mobileye in action— see video at afhu.org/CGA2
On his recent state visit to Israel, President Obama received a demonstration of
Mobileye from Amnon Shashua, the Sachs Family Professor of Computer Sciences at
The Hebrew University of
Mobileye, an Advanced Driver Assistance System,
saves lives and boosts automotive safety.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
is an engine of innovation and
discovery for Israel and our
global community.
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Share in the vision of Albert
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for research and learning that
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our world.
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85
deductions and annuity payments
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Age
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gust 21 • 2014
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f Dick Jaeger of Farmington Hills
were to draw his family tree on a
piece of paper, he would need a
wall tall enough to display thousands
of years of history and ancestors, includ-
ing politicians, rabbis, cartographers
during the Age of Exploration and
maybe Queen Esther herself.
Jaeger's journey in genealogy started
in 1993 when, at 55, he felt a need to
pass on family history to his children.
He turned to the Jewish Genealogy
Society of Michigan (JGSM), connected
with cousins he never knew he had and
together they started digging and piecing
together a family history.
Two decades later, he is a vice presi-
dent of the JGSM and author of the self-
published book Those Who Made A
Difference (Amazon's createspace, 2013),
a compilation of 27,000 family members
spanning nearly 2,500 years.
Through his research, Jaeger learned
he has both Sephardic and Ashkenazic
roots. He can "comfortably" say that the
earliest relatives he uncovered date back
to 1452, when members of his family
lived in Spain, were expelled to Portugal
and then the Netherlands. He still has
cousins there as well as in England,
Australia and New Zealand.
One of Jaeger's many notable ancestors
was rabbi, cartographer and philosopher
Abraham Zacuto, who, in the late 1400s,
created the navigation charts to be used
first by Christopher Columbus and then
the Portuguese explorers.
Jaeger's family tree also contains
American politicians. His great-great
grandfather served as an alderman for
the Lower East Side neighborhood in
New York City in the 1880s. Family
members also include Judah Benjamin,
the first Jew to serve as a U.S. senator for
Louisiana in 1852.
Though separated by several genera-
tions, Jaeger has followed the examples
set by his ancestors for his interest and
involvement in politics in order to do
good for his community. Inspired by
an encounter with then-Sen. John E
Kennedy in 1960, he is an active mem-
ber of the Democratic Party. Right now,
he is advocating for several bills in the
U.S Congress, which support funding
for cancer research and palliative care.
A delegate to the Michigan Democratic
Party since 2005, last year he lobbied
Congress for continued funding for NIH
research and Centers for Disease Control
diagnostic and preventative programs for
breast and colorectal cancers.
"It is not only important to secure
funding for cancer research, but also to
fund support for the physical and mental
well-being of cancer patients as well as
their caregivers during and after their
treatments:' said Jaeger, a two-time can-
cer survivor and an active member of the
American Cancer Society/Cancer Action
Network since 2006.
When researching family history,
sometimes people discover unexpected
twists. For example, Jaeger and a
Californian cousin, after retrieving fam-
ily birth records, realized that his mater-
nal grandmother had a first husband.
"I was in my 60s before I learned that
my grandmother had a first husband,
my mother's father, who died when she
was only 2," Jaeger said. "When you
research family history, you may find
some unusual secrets:'
After digging up his family tree for
two decades, Jaeger has some advice and
tips to offer beginner genealogists.
First, check out the JGSM, which
has monthly meetings at the Holocaust
Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.
For more information, go to www.
jgsmi.org.
Jaeger admits that because his fam-
ily came to America through England,
his family records were better pre-
served than those that may have been
destroyed in Eastern Europe during
WWII.
Most of all, Jaeger advises genealo-
gists not to become discouraged. If one
relative's branch reaches a dead end,
Jaeger says to go back and trace another
relative. Looking up last names on
social media sites like Facebook is also
a helpful way to find long-lost relatives.
"Even if you think you have reached
a stone wall, there are ways to get over
and under that wall:' ❑