Family history research strategies and resources to be focus of hybrid talk by Sharon Roth at Oct. 19, 2025, JGSI meeting

Discover the secrets to smarter family history research in “Goldmines & Landmines: What to Look for in Genealogy Research” by Sharon Roth on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Sharon will be sharing her ideas with us in person at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois and online via Zoom.

Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

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. CDT. Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged.

In her lecture, Sharon Roth will show you how to sharpen your research questions, avoid common pitfalls, and uncover hidden treasures in U.S. records before chasing elusive overseas documents. Learn to leverage powerful “goldmines” like Hebrew names, naturalizations, ship manifests, newspapers, and city-specific databases, while steering clear of “landmines” that can derail your search. Packed with practical strategies, examples, and insider tips, this presentation will help you find not just the gold—but maybe the Goldsteins, too.

Sharon Roth began her family history journey about eight years ago with the idea that “it might be fun to take one of those DNA tests everyone’s talking about.” A subscription to Ancestry soon followed, and she was off to the races, putting together her own family history with Jewish roots in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, and finding out along the way that she qualified to be a Daughter of the American Revolution on her non-Jewish side.

She brings the skills she learned as a senior vice president of a boutique market research consulting firm to her searches, quickly finding patterns and synthesizing data. As a frequent volunteer on Tracing the Tribe (a Jewish genealogy board on Facebook), she has helped hundreds of seekers trace their own family history. She also brings her background in mathematical methods in the social sciences to working with DNA and has solved adoption and unexpected-parent mysteries for friends and family.

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