JGSGB members: Program is free. Members do not need to register. You can find the Zoom link by logging in to your JGSGB Membership account. Once logged in, use the "What would you like to do" dropdown to locate the Members-only Page for the Zoom link. You will also receive an email with the Zoom link … Continue reading Thomas MacEntee – Two Lectures: Google for Genealogists & The Genealogy Do-Over™: A Year of Learning from Mistakes →

Program is free for non-members, but registration is required. Members will receive the link the morning of the program JGSGB members:You can find the Zoom link by logging in to your JGSGB Membership account. Once logged in, use the "What would you like to do" dropdown to locate the Members-only Page for the Zoom link. You … Continue reading Beginners Workshop on Jewish Genealogy →

Between the 1870s and the 1920s, almost 2,500,000 Jewish immigrants arrived in the United States with most of them settling in New York City. While New York shaped the contours of Jewish life both in the city and in the rest of the country, Jews also profoundly influenced the culture, politics, and economics of the … Continue reading Daniel Soyer – New York Jews in the Immigrant City, 1880-1924 →

While identifying family names is basic to doing genealogical research, Jewish family names are anything but simple. Different rules governed the adoption of names in different countries and in Ashkenasic and Sephardic communities. Some names were chosen, others were assigned, and some were evaded to avoid harsh consequences. They vary in origins, meanings and can … Continue reading Sallyann Amdur Sack – What You Need to Know About Jewish Family Names →

Join us for our next Virtual Research Sunday for individual research help via ZOOM Video Conferencing. Register for one 30-minute appointment with a knowledgeable consultant or translator for one of the following services: Consult with an experienced researcher for help with a specific research question Work with a strategist to plan your next steps Get … Continue reading Research Sunday →

Explore Vilna, known as “the Jerusalem of Lithuania,” once European Jewry's intellectual, spiritual, and political capital. Daniel Gurevich will begin the program with a brief overview of Lithuanian history and Vilnius’ place in it. Then through a virtual tour of Vilnius, including many personal stories, our journey will focus on the city's dynamic, painful, and … Continue reading Daniel Gurevich – Vilnius, The Jerusalem of Lithuania →

Almost five of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices are commemorated in Yad Vashem's online Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names.  Yad Vashem, a living memorial to the Holocaust, houses a huge collection of materials. Ms. Velkovich will highlight new features and materials of the Database, as well as offer … Continue reading Serafima Velkovich – Tips for Using Genealogical Sources at Yad Vashem →

Please note that this program will not be recorded. Jewish Resources Comparison of the Giants: Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, JewishGen, & MyHeritage Enjoy this comparative overview of Jewish record collections and research tools found on the global powerhouse websites referred to as “Genealogy Giants.” Comparing Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, and MyHeritage, this lecture includes many substantive record … Continue reading Ellen Kowitt – Two Lectures – Jewish Resources Comparison of the Giants: Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, JewishGen, & MyHeritage and Creative Strategies for Ukraine Research →

Researchers often underutilize information found in the census. This case study follows the presence of Jewish names in the U.S. census from the first decennial census in 1790 to the last available one in 1940. The talk explores each census in order to make the most use of the information that is found in it. This … Continue reading Meredith Hoffman – “Solomon Cohen” through the Censuses, 1790-1940: The Census as Evidence and History →

The Routes to Roots Foundation, established by Miriam Weiner more than 25 years ago, identified archival records from thousands of towns in Eastern Europe. Its archive database at www.rtrfoundation.org lets people search their ancestral towns and see which records are present in the archives. In this talk, Miriam introduces two new surname databases containing more … Continue reading Miriam Weiner – Routes to Roots Foundation: New Surnames Databases, Maps, Town Images and More! →

Have you taken a DNA test to learn about your ancestry? Are you confused by the results? In this workshop, David Ellis will cover the biology behind genetic genealogy, the kinds of DNA tests available, the major DNA testing services, the differences among them, and how to interpret your results and get the most out … Continue reading David Ellis – DNA and Genetic Genealogy Workshop →

Under the auspices of the Technion (Israel's MIT), the Avotaynu DNA Project is a landmark scientific study that has tested over a thousand men in far-flung Jewish communities from China to Surinam. Project Administrator Adam Brown will describe what the Project has learned thus far about Jewish origins, as well as the latest discoveries about … Continue reading Adam Brown – The Genetic Origins and Migrations of the Jewish People →

Endogamy, marrying and having children predominantly within one's group, allows DNA matches to appear to be more closely related to each other than they actually are. Alec Ferretti will teach us the current rules of thumb for weeding through endogamous matches, including learning how to visualize matches in ways to both help understand and analyze … Continue reading Alec Ferretti – Strategies for Analyzing Endogamous DNA →