Upcoming events

Switch to Calendar View

• “Stories, Secrets, and Mistakes” with Terry Taylor (Members Only)

  • When
    07 Jan 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    From the convenience of your home device

  Register

  Did you ever hit a brick wall because your family had a story they didn't want to tell?  What if you knew there were contradictions or puzzles that you really wanted to solve?  How do you find out what they won't tell you? This presentation highlights one such situation and the various sources and data that helped fill in some of the blanks.
  
  After Terry's short presentation, please share any situations you have confronted in your family research.
  

  Terry Taylor has been doing genealogy for many years and is a member of the JGSI Board.

  Members, please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

  If you are not a JGSI member and would like to participate in this discussion, please consider purchasing a JGSI membership for as little as $25 a year.  See the details at: https://jgsi.org/Membership.

  Show details
• "Illinois Digital Resources" by Tina Beaird

  • When
    26 Jan 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois
  • Spaces left
    263

  Register

  Researching genealogy using Illinois online resources is Tina Beaird’s lecture topic for Jan. 26, 2025, JGSI hybrid meeting

  “Illinois Digital Resources” will be the lecture topic of genealogist and librarian Tina Beaird for the Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Tina will be speaking in person at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois, and online via Zoom. Her talk will begin at 2 p.m. Central Time. 

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, get help with family history websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program begins at 2 p.m.

  Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

  There are several Illinois websites for finding your Land of Lincoln ancestors. From CARLI to IDA, Tina will show you in her talk how to find maps, newspapers, phonebooks, company magazines, yearbooks and more. Illinois has it all! Learn how to dig into these online resources and get to know your Illinois ancestors.

  Tina Beaird is the owner of Tamarack Genealogy and is the Genealogy/Local History Librarian at the Plainfield Public Library. She lectures nationally on military research, genealogical methodology, Scottish records, and archival preservation. She is a First Vice President of the Illinois State Genealogical Society and a board director for the Oswegoland Heritage Association.

  Tina volunteers her time with several local historical and genealogical societies scanning and indexing historic records. Occasionally, Tina finds time to research her own family tree, which she has been pursuing for over 30 years. A rabid baseball fan, Tina has visited 26 out of 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and can’t wait to finish the last four.

  Be sure to come to our pre-meeting on Jan. 26, 2025, from 12:30 through 1:45 p.m.: Free consultations for JGSI members and non-members alike! Wondering how to begin your family tree search? Have a brickwall? Need assistance with a DNA test—which company to test with or need help interpreting results? Need help navigating a website such as Jewishgen? Need assistance in writing your family history? Several of our experts will be on hand to assist you.

  Let us help. Prior to our scheduled 2 p.m. Sunday program at Temple Beth-El, we will meet from 12:30 until 1:45 to devote our attention to you and your situation. Located in the social hall, lower level.

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, including our collection of maps; get help with family history websites, ask genealogical questions, or just chat, before the main program begins at 2 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged. 

  For more information on the JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

  Show details
• “Help! I Got My DNA Results and I’m Confused—Part 2.5—Next Steps…” by Gil Bardige

  • When
    23 Feb 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois
  • Spaces left
    298

  Register

  DNA expert Gil Bardige to share genetic genealogy tips for the Feb 23, 2025, JGSI hybrid meeting

  “Help! I Got My DNA Results and I’m Confused—Part 2.5—Next Steps…” will be the lecture topic of genetic genealogy expert Gil Bardige for the Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. His talk will begin at 2 p.m. Central Time via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois.

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, get help with family history websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program begins at 2 p.m.

  Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

  This presentation will offer proven methodologies to prioritize your DNA matches with the highest probability of finding a common relative on a family tree or the ones you should ignore and stop wasting your time.

  Gil Bardige’s previous comprehensive talk for JGSI, given on Aug. 27, 2023, was titled “Help! I got my DNA Results and I’m Confused!—Part1.” His new talk, an intermediate-to-advanced-level presentation, is primarily for people with Jewish ancestry who have viewed Gil’s Part 1 talk and have run into new brick walls or want to productively expand their search parameters. Gil will provide you with actionable processes to use in your genealogy research, including new criteria for each DNA testing company.

  Through case studies and examples, he will explain pileup areas and segment triangulation, and for those who have tested at Ancestry.com, Gil has added how he used Pro Tools, ThruLines and shared matches to find seven DNA matches that he would have missed without these techniques, and nearly four dozen new relatives to add to his tree.

  Gil is a firm believer that you can use DNA results as a tool in your genealogical research to generate clues to help people confirm or deny genetic genealogy relationships.

  Gil Bardige, born and raised in Chicago, lives in the Columbus, Ohio, area. A graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, Gil retired in 2019 after a long career in air conditioning and refrigeration, most recently as a National Business Development Leader for Trane.

  Be sure to come to our in-person pre-meeting on Feb. 23, 2025, from 12:30 through 1:45 p.m.: Free consultations for JGSI members and non-members alike! Wondering how to begin your family tree search? Have a brickwall? Need assistance with a DNA test—which company to test with or need help interpreting results? Need help navigating a website such as Jewishgen? Need assistance in writing your family history? Several of our volunteer genealogy experts will be on hand to assist you.

  Let us help. Prior to our scheduled 2 p.m. Sunday program at Temple Beth-El, we will meet from 12:30 until 1:45 to devote our attention to you and your situation. Located in the social hall, lower level.

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, including our collection of maps; get help with family history websites, ask genealogical questions, or just chat, before the main program begins at 2 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged.

  For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

  Show details
• "Retracing Jewish Journeys: Moving from Lithuania and Galicia to America Before 1914" and "Closing Doors and Permanent Transit: Migrant Journeys After 1914" by Tobias Brinkmann

  • When
    23 Mar 2025
  •  
    12:30 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois

  Register

  Expert on history of Jewish migration to speak at joint JGSI-CJHS hybrid meeting on Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Northbrook

  Penn State University Associate Professor Tobias Brinkmann, an expert on the history of Jewish migration, will give two lectures on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at a special joint hybrid meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois and the Chicago Jewish Historical Society. He will be speaking in person at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois, and online via Zoom.

  Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. CDT for sign-in and socializing before the lectures begin at 1 p.m. Central Time.

  Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

  At 1 p.m. CDT, Professor Brinkmann will speak about “Retracing Jewish Journeys: Moving from Lithuania and Galicia to America Before 1914.” This talk will explore the actual journeys of Jewish and non-Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe. Surprisingly little is known about seemingly mundane journeys of migrants. Why did migrants have to hire smugglers to get across the Russian border with Germany? Why did so many migrants from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires travel through Bremen and Hamburg? What was the role of Jewish aid associations? How long did the journey take and what happened if migrants got sick or were rejected at Ellis Island? Professor Brinkmann will discuss the answers to these questions and more through his extensive research including first-person accounts of people such as Chicagoan Bernard Horwich.

  At 2:30 p.m. CDT, Professor Brinkmann will speak about “Closing Doors and Permanent Transit: Migrant Journeys After 1914.” The First World War marked a decisive turning point in the history of Jewish migration within and from Eastern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were displaced, many permanently, during the war and its violent aftermath. They could not return to their homes, and America was out of reach for many. America’s restrictive national origins quota bills were designed to not so implicitly exclude Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe. What options did “normal” Jewish migrants have? And how did they travel through Europe? How did Jewish migrants manage to reach the United States, and which alternatives existed? Professor Brinkmann will bring our ancestors’ experiences to life through his presentations.

  Tobias Brinkmann is the Malvin and Lea Bank Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History at Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, and director of the Jewish Studies program. His publications include “Between Borders: The Great Jewish Migration from Eastern Europe” (Oxford University Press, 2024) and “Sundays at Sinai: A Jewish Congregation in Chicago” (University of Chicago Press, 2012), a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award 2013. He is also the editor of “Points of Passage: Jewish Transmigrants from Eastern Europe in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain 1880-1914” (New York: Berghahn, 2013).

  For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

  Show details
• “How to Conduct Ukrainian Genealogy Research Online” by Vera Ivanova Miller

  • When
    27 Apr 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois
  • Spaces left
    300

  Online Ukrainian genealogy research is Vera Miller’s lecture topic for the April 27, 2025, JGSI hybrid meeting

  “How to Conduct Ukrainian Genealogy Research Online” will be the lecture topic of genealogy blogger Vera Ivanova Miller for the Sunday, April 27, 2025, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Her talk will begin at 2 p.m. Central Time via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois. She will be speaking in person at Temple Beth-El.

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, get help with family history websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program begins at 2 p.m.

  Registration/RSVP details will be available soon.

  The Russian war in Ukraine has pushed efforts to modernize Ukrainian genealogy research at an incredible speed, Miller says. So many free records and databases are available online now, thanks to those efforts. Vera will focus on specific databases such as the Ukrainian Martyrologist of the 20th Century, Memory of a Nation 1941-1945, and Babyn Yar Archives. The challenge is how to use the resources without knowing Ukrainian and Russian. Miller will show step-by-step how to use some of these resources with Google Translate so Ukrainian genealogy research is less intimidating and more enjoyable.

  Her presentation also will cover the best forums for Ukrainian genealogy. Don't miss this presentation because Miller will give the latest news on FamilySearch’s efforts to digitize Ukrainian archive records almost nationwide, in addition to other efforts taking place in Ukraine.

  Vera Ivanova Miller, a former newspaper reporter, has been researching her ancestry from Ukraine, Russia and Poland since 2006. Her journey was the inspiration to start in 2011 a blog, “Find Lost Russian and Ukrainian Family" (https://lostrussianfamily.wordpress.com) that was honored as one of the 2023 Family Tree Magazine 101 Best Websites. Her accompanying genealogy group on Facebook, Find Your Lost Russian and Ukrainian Family, has about 6,000 members who speak English, Russian, Ukrainian and other languages to help each other with their genealogy from the former Russian Empire.

  Thanks to learning how to use Russian- and Ukrainian-language resources online, Miller has been able to get her Eastern European family tree researched back to the 1600s. She is the author of “Genealogy at a Glance: Ukrainian Genealogy Research” and “Genealogy at a Glance: Russian Genealogy Research,” publications of Genealogical Publishing Co.

  Since 2021, the mother of two boys has given online genealogy presentations to various organizations. She enjoys making time for projects and photo requests for FindAGrave, her hobby since 2014. She is the daughter of a Russian father and Ukrainian mother.

  Be sure to come to our pre-meeting on April 27, 2025, from 12:30 through 1:45 p.m.: Free consultations for JGSI members and non-members alike! Wondering how to begin your family tree search? Have a brickwall? Need assistance with a DNA test—which company to test with or need help interpreting results? Need help navigating a website such as Jewishgen? Need assistance in writing your family history? Several of our experts will be on hand to assist you.

  Let us help. Prior to our scheduled 2 p.m. Sunday program at Temple Beth-El, we will meet from 12:30 until 1:45 to devote our attention to you and your situation. Located in the social hall, lower level.

  The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. Central Time for those who want to use genealogy library materials, including our collection of maps; get help with family history websites, ask genealogical questions, or just chat, before the main program begins at 2 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged.

  For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

  Show details
• Mark your calendar for the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival on Sunday, June 8, 2025

  • When
    08 Jun 2025
  •  
    11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    TBA
  • Spaces left
    300

  Planning is underway for the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival, scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2025.

  The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois plans to be among the many Chicago-area Jewish community organizations to be represented at this Jewish community event. JGSI member volunteers will staff a table where we can share what we do and answer Jewish genealogical questions for festival attendees.  

  Further details about the festival will be forthcoming at: https://jewishfestival.org/

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• 45th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy

  • Start
    10 Aug 2025
  • End
    14 Aug 2025
  • Location
    Grand Wayne Convention Center and Hilton Fort Wayne

  Expert Jewish genealogists will be presenting informative family history talks for the 45th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, from  Aug. 10 through 14, 2025.

  For more information, visit the conference website here: https://www.iajgs.org/conference/iajgs2025/

  Show details