There are many resource guides that will help you begin your research.   Below is a brief guide.

  1. Interview your family (aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents), friends and neighbors.  Start with your elders. Ask for copies of all photos and documents pertaining to vital life events, immigration, naturalization and education. Take notes and record the interview on video or audiotape. Listen to these recordings, create a transcript and list important relevant information.
  2.  Gather documents, photographs, heirlooms, and artifacts across generations.  These may include wedding invitations and photographs, metric documents (birth, death, marriage certificates), naturalization and citizenship information, ship manifest, passports, social security information, military papers, school reports cards, obituaries, diplomas, etc.  Make sure to preserve these valuable documents in archival quality ink, acid-free paper and speciality plastic.
  3. Organize your information.  Begin making a family tree either using an online website or print one of our forms below.  Remember to be thorough and record the source of each document you find even if you have multiple conflicting information.

Upcoming Events

December 17, 2023, 1pm Pacific Time Zone

Speaker: Lisa Alzo, Genealogist Specializing in Eastern Europe

 Finding Immigration and Naturalization Records: Advanced Strategies and Techniques

Click here for the full program  

Sunday, January 7, 2024, 1pm Pacific Time Zone

Speaker: Glenn Dynner, PhD, Jewish Studies Scholar

 Ukraine: The Cradle of East European Jewish Civilization

 

Click here for the full program  

Sunday, January 28, February 18, and March 17, 2024, 1pm Pacific Time Zone

Speaker: Rhoda Miller, ED, Certified Genealogist

 Jewish Genealogy 101: Overview (1.5 hrs each) plus a group mentoring study session with an expert researcher. (limited seating)

Click here for the full program  

Sunday, March 10, 1:00 pm Pacific

Speaker: Patrice Dabrowski, PhD, Harvard Professor and Historian

 The East-Central European Jewish Homeland in Historical Perspective

Click here for the full program  

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