Nov. 22, 2020, JGS of Illinois virtual meeting to focus on FamilySearch's Jewish records
“Using FamilySearch for Jewish Research” is the topic of a webinar by expert genealogist W. Todd Knowles for the Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois virtual meeting. His live streaming presentation, which will begin at 2 p.m. Central Time, will be preceded at 1 p.m. by a genealogy question-and-answer discussion time.
To receive the Zoom link for this event, please email events@jgsi.org. 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.
For more information, see https://jgsi.org or phone 312-666-0100.
The Family History Library has an extensive collection of Jewish records. Understanding what is there and how best to access it is vital to having a successful search, Todd says. The Jewish records in the collection of FamilySearch can best be obtained through the Family History Library Catalog. There are multiple ways to search the Family History Library catalog to find the records, and in this presentation, we will learn how best to do that.
This year FamilySearch is celebrating 125 years of preserving the records of humanity. Founded in 1894 as the Genealogical Society of Utah, the purpose remains the same, to help people connect with their ancestors by providing access to historical records and to work together to document and preserve their own family histories.
W. Todd Knowles, AG, is a member of the staff at the Family History Library, where he has been for 22 years. He currently serves as deputy chief genealogical officer at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. After being introduced to family history at the age of 12, he soon discovered his Jewish roots. The journey to find these Polish Jews has led to the creation of the Knowles Collection, six databases that as of Oct 1, 2020, contained the genealogical records of more than 1.4 million people. Todd has spoken throughout the world and his articles have been widely published.
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors. JGSI, a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, is a resource for the worldwide Jewish community to research their Chicago-area roots.
The JGSI motto is “Members Helping Members Since 1981.” The group has more than 300 members.
JGSI members have access to useful and informative online family history research resources, including a members’ forum, more than 50 video recordings of past speakers’ presentations, the free searchable JGSI Jewish Chicago Database, monthly JGSI E-News, quarterly Morasha JGSI newsletter, and much more.
