Members Helping Members Since 1981

Are you researching Jewish family history and looking for a Chicago area network of experts and enthusiasts?

We help members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors and serve as a resource for the worldwide community to research their Chicago area Jewish roots.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois (JGSI) is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization established in 1981 and now with over 300 members.

A great honor in memory of Peggy Morrow: Morasha, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois newsletter formerly edited by the late Peggy Morrow z"l and now edited by Dale Amdur, has won the first-place award for newsletters in the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors’ 2020 Excellence in Writing Competition. Congratulations to all JGSI volunteers who regularly contribute to Morasha!

JGSI members are invited to write articles for Morasha, JGSI's newsletter. If you have an interesting family story or genealogical find, please send an article about it to morashaeditor@jgsi.org. 

Genealogist Deborah Long to speak on Holocaust research on Aug. 30

Deborah H. Long, founder of the Triangle Jewish Genealogical Society in Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C., will speak on “Out of the Whirlwind: Finding Your Family Lost in the Holocaust” during the Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois virtual meeting. Her presentation, which will begin at 2 p.m. CDT, will be preceded at 1 p.m. by a genealogy question-and-answer discussion time.

This event is free and open to the public; however, Zoom will limit attendance to 100. To join the live streaming session, at the meeting time go to https://tinyurl.com/y3svjpcq. This webinar will be recorded so that JGSI’s paid members who are unable to view it live will be able to view the recording later.