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Milton Rubincam (26 March 1909 – 9 September 1997) was an American genealogist who served as a member of The
American Society of Genealogists The American Society of Genealogists is the scholarly honorary society of the genealogical field. Founded by John Insley Coddington, Arthur Adams, and Meredith B. Colket, Jr., in December 1940, its membership is limited to 50 living fellows. ASG pu ...
, as well as its president from 1961 to 1964.“Fellows > Past Officers.” American Society of Genealogists, 3 Nov. 2019, https://fasg.org/fellows/past-officers/. He was also a notable member of the
National Genealogical Society The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is a genealogical interest group founded in 1903 in Washington, D.C. with over 10,000 members. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia. The goals of the organization are to promote genealogical skill ...
, serving as president of the organization from 1945 to 1949 as well as 1953 to 1954.Wilcox, Shirley Langdon. “History of NGS 4.0.” Ngsgenealogy.org, National Genealogical Society, 31 Oct. 2003, https://bh9qf7dyqmpb4rk14s84y90-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/NGS-History/history_of_ngs_4.0.pdf.


Biography


Early life and education

Milton Rubincam was born on March 26, 1909, at 5330 Catherine Street in
West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, the only child of Milton and Minnie Rubincam. He was educated at the Harrity-Lee School and the
Anna Howard Shaw Junior High School The Hardy Williams Academy, formerly the Anna Howard Shaw Junior High School is an historic junior high school building which is located in the Southwest Schuylkill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Regist ...
, and later going to the Wesley Avenue and Central Avenue Schools in Ocean City,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, but childhood illnesses hindered his progress. He went to high school at the
Ocean City High School Ocean City High School (OCHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Ocean City, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Ocean C ...
, graduating in June 1930. During his childhood, he would gain an interest in genealogy from his uncle, who told him stories about the Rubincam family. In September 1930, he would begin studying journalism at
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
, but he left the university before graduating.


Career and Genealogical Research

In 1934, Milton Rubincam moved to Washington, D.C., with Priscilla Teasdale, his future wife, and the next year he started working as a clerk-typist on a
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
project, the start of his career as a federal employee. In 1938, he joined the
National Genealogical Society The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is a genealogical interest group founded in 1903 in Washington, D.C. with over 10,000 members. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia. The goals of the organization are to promote genealogical skill ...
, serving as corresponding secretary from 1938 to 1942, associate editor from 1941 to 1957, vice president from 1943 to 1944, councilor from 1944 to 1945, as president for two terms, 1945-48 and 1953–54, and as an editor from 1957 to 1962. In 1957, he was also elected as a fellow of the group. In 1941, Milton was chosen as a fellow for the
American Society of Genealogists The American Society of Genealogists is the scholarly honorary society of the genealogical field. Founded by John Insley Coddington, Arthur Adams, and Meredith B. Colket, Jr., in December 1940, its membership is limited to 50 living fellows. ASG pu ...
, serving as vice president of the organization from 1946 to 1949 and 1959 to 1961, secretary-treasurer from 1951 to 1952, and president from 1961 to 1964. In 1972, Rubincam retired from his position as chief of security for the foreign operations office at the Commerce Department to become a full-time genealogist. During his lifetime, he contributed approximately 150 genealogical articles to journals such as the National Genealogical Society Quarterly,
The American Genealogist ''The American Genealogist'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on genealogy and family history. It was established by Donald Lines Jacobus in 1922 as the ''New Haven Genealogical Magazine''. In July 1932 it was renamed ' ...
, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, as well as many other periodicals.


Marriage and children

Milton Rubincam married Priscilla Teasdale in 1935, and they had three sons: John (1941–2015), Milton III (1944–2019), and
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(born 1947).


Death and afterward

Milton Rubincam died in Washington, D.C., on September 9th, 1997, at the age of 88. He was buried in
Arlington Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
,
Drexel Hill Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.


Works

*Rubincam, Milton. ''Pitfalls in Genealogical Research.'' Turner Publishing Company, 1987. () *Rubincam, Milton. ''Evidence, an Exemplary Study: A Craig Family Case History.'' United States, National Genealogical Society, 1981. () *Rubincam, Milton. ''Genealogy: A Selected Bibliography.'' United States, Banner Press, 1983. () *Rubincam, Milton. ''Miscellaneous Papers Relating to the History of the Rubincam-Revercomb Family.'' Washington D.C, 1959. ()


See also

Milton Rubincam: ''A Bibliographical Record, 1935-1960.'' United States, Pennsylvania Historical Junto, 1960. (, )


Recognition

In 2003, Milton Rubincam was elected to the National Genealogy Hall of Fame.


See also

*
American Society of Genealogists The American Society of Genealogists is the scholarly honorary society of the genealogical field. Founded by John Insley Coddington, Arthur Adams, and Meredith B. Colket, Jr., in December 1940, its membership is limited to 50 living fellows. ASG pu ...
*
National Genealogical Society The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is a genealogical interest group founded in 1903 in Washington, D.C. with over 10,000 members. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia. The goals of the organization are to promote genealogical skill ...


References

1909 births 1997 deaths American genealogists Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists 20th-century American people {{Improve categories, date=June 2022