Program:




Intended for everyone -- both novices and experienced researchers – interested in Jewish genealogy, this full-afternoon program, to be held at the JCC in Manhattan, features workshops led by experienced genealogists in two simultaneous tracks: a fundamentals track for beginners and those wishing to review the basics; and a track on special subjects for more advanced researchers.


 The Jewish Genealogical Society, in partnership with the JCC, presents this program intended for all those interested in researching their Jewish roots.











 


 


 


 



Track 1 – Family Research Fundamentals – 3 sessions
- Getting started: Finding and interpreting census and vital records - Randi Koenig
- Discovering immigration and naturalization records - Avrum Geller
- Jewishgen.org, the online home of Jewish genealogy - Avraham GrollTrack 2 – Special Subjects – 3 sessions
- Interpreting autosomal DNA testing for genealogy - Judy Russell
- Tracing the history of NYC buildings for genealogists - Joy Kestenbaum
- What's new in resources for researching Central and Eastern Europe - Hadassah Lipsius, Rhoda Miller, Chuck Weinstein




Register at the JCC Manhattan website (click here) or phone the JCC Registration Desk, 646.505.5708 and provide the registration code in order to receive the JGS member discount. The code can be found on the Members-Only Registration Code page.



 Admission: $18 for JGS members or JCC members, $25 nonmembers



 


 
Program Description






Track 1 – Family History Fundamentals


Getting started: finding and interpreting census and vital records. For both beginners and more experienced researchers wanting a refresher course, this session will address the basics of genealogical research.  What are the first steps?  Where do you find birth, marriage and death records?  What can you learn from federal and state censuses? What’s online and what requires a trip to the archives? 
Randi Koenig, Principal of Legacy Genealogy Services, is a professional genealogist, based in Hudson County, NJ, with over 15 years of professional experience.  Her portfolio of projects ranges from sourcing a single document to birth family reunions and heir searches to providing printed and bound multi-generational lineage histories. Her work outside of the United States spans Europe, South America, Asia, Mexico and the Caribbean.  A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Randi holds a BA in Fine Art & Sociology/ Genealogy and a MS in Technology Management/Management Engineering.





Discovering immigration and naturalization records.    One of the major challenges of Jewish family history research is locating records connecting to the home your family left behind to contribute to creating the America we knew.   This session will help you take your family story back to your immigrant ancestors' departure from the old world, providing methods and clues for finding and interpreting immigration, ship manifest, and naturalization records, and offering tips for tracking down the place of birth and residence of immigrant ancestors, even those who may appear to have left few footprints. 
Avrum Geller, a professional genealogist, is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Jewish Genealogical Society (past member, Executive Council), the NY Genealogical and Biographical Society (member, Family History Advisory Committee), and is the leader of the NY Genealogy & Technology Group.  He is a consultant to genealogists for his expertise in New York area resources.  He has conducted family history workshops in assisted-living facilities, synagogues, and service organizations. In former years, Avrum was VP of Marketing Services at Block Drug Company, Inc.





Introduction to JewishGen.org, the online home of Jewish Genealogy: This presentation will discuss common challenges that people encounter when researching their Jewish family history, and how JewishGen, the largest online resource for Jewish genealogy – with 20 million records covering Jewish populations throughout the world -- can be helpful in resolving many of those issues.
Avraham Groll is the Director of JewishGen.org, the premier online resource for Jewish genealogy. He spent two years studying in Israel at Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim, and holds an MBA, an MA in Judaic Studies, and a BS in Business Administration. Avraham is frequent lecturer on a variety of genealogical and historical topics.








Track 2 – Special Subjects


Interpreting autosomal DNA testing for genealogy.  The DNA field today is experiencing a veritable explosion in both the number of test takers and the number of companies offering testing and working to make DNA results more useful and more meaningful. Autosomal DNA testing is the new kid on the block. Learn more about this exciting addition to the toolkit of 21st century genealogists. What's in it for you, and how can you make the most of this test?
The Legal Genealogist Judy G. Russell is a genealogist with a law degree who writes and lectures on topics ranging from using court records in family history to understanding DNA testing. She serves on the faculty of several genealogy research institutes, as well as Boston University’s Center for Professional Education. She holds credentials as a Certified Genealogist® and Certified Genealogical Lecturer℠ from the Board for Certification of Genealogists where she serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. Her award-winning blog is at http://www.legalgenealogist.com.





Tracing the History of New York City Buildings for Genealogists: In our efforts to reconstruct the lives of our ancestors, genealogists often overlook the historical records of the buildings in which their ancestors lived and worked. This session offers an overview of the sources and methods for researching the history of New York buildings and illustrates, through examples associated with Jewish families, how this research can enrich our family history.
Joy Kestenbaum, a professional genealogist, is Vice President of Programming of the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. She has served as an art and architectural librarian and faculty member at several New York area colleges and universities, as well as a consultant for historic preservation and research projects. She has contributed to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects and Long Island Country Houses and their Architects, 1860 –1940, among other publications, and is the creator of two JewishGen KehilaLinks. She holds graduate degrees in both library and information science and art and architectural history and a certificate from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.



What’s new in resources for researching Central and Eastern Europe.  Ever increasing numbers of records of life in Eastern and Central Europe are discovered, indexed and digitized each year and all researchers need to be kept abreast of these developments.    Focusing on Jewish records in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, this session will highlight the important records documenting our ancestors’ lives that have most recently become available and will brief us on upcoming developments.
Hadassah Lipsius is a board member of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland and the Database Manager for the Warszawa Research Group. She serves as the Archive coordinator for the Tomaszow Mazowiecki and Warszawa PSA Archive.  Hadassah has travelled many times to Poland to pursue her family research and takes pride that her family were city dwellers (Warszawa and St. Petersburg) for over 200 years
Rhoda Miller, Ed.D., CG® has been a Certified Genealogist since 1998 specializing in Jewish research and Holocaust studies. Rhoda is a Past President of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island (JGSLI) and continues as a board member. With JGSLI, she led the award-winning project of publishing the Images of America book, Jewish Community of Long Island. Rhoda presents regularly at the annual IAJGS conferences as well as at libraries and community organizations.
Chuck Weinstein began researching his family in 1992 and discovered JewishGen less than a year later.  Starting as a moderator on the JewishGen Discussion Group in 1995, Chuck became the Project Director for what later became KehilaLinks from 1998 to 2004.  He is currently Towns Director for Ukraine SIG, and served as a co-chair for the 36th Annual IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Seattle.  He is also a Past President of JGS Long Island, and publishes its award-winning newsletter, LIneage.