The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston teaches an award-winning course on how to research your Jewish family history. It is designed for beginners and for those who have already begun their family research. Class size is limited to 20 people to permit student participation and one-on-one mentoring sessions. Applicants need to know how to do basic Internet searches, log into websites, and use Zoom. Tuition is $250.
The course is taught on Zoom from January 22 to March 26, 2025, on eight Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm Eastern time with weeks skipped after the third and sixth classes (i.e., no class on 2/12 and 3/12). In addition, there are drop-in sessions (like a professor’s office hours) on Monday evenings from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. Students are free to drop in to ask questions or just to chat.
“Terrific course. Lots of great info useful to all levels of researchers… All the lecturers were well-prepared, engaging and stimulating… I loved having the slides and handouts in advance.” (Student Evaluations) (Pre-Covid photographs.)
Classes are taught by experts from the JGSGB and cover:
- Basic research strategies & skills
- Major online resources & software
- Jewish migration history & changing European borders
- Jewish names & traditions
- Finding immigrant ancestors in U.S. and European records
- Identifying Holocaust victims & survivors
- DNA Testing
Lectures are accompanied by individual help sessions and lessons on using the major genealogy websites and software programs. The course includes free access to Ancestry and MyHeritage for the duration of the course. Registration in the course includes a 1-year membership (or extension) in the JGSGB.
For those who miss classes and as a resource for all students, the course website provides recordings of lectures and copies of slides and class handouts.
Questions? Contact course@jgsgb.org or 866-611-5698.
Winner of the Outstanding Program Award from the
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies