Category: Jewish Genealogy

How to Trace Your Ashkenazi Jewish Genealogy

Take a step back in time to discover your ancestor's shtetl in Eastern Europe. Learn how with this in-depth guide to Ashkenazi Jewish genealogy.

A Timeline of Jewish History in Eastern Europe, 1772–1919

Find your ancestor's hometown with this Jewish history timeline covering Eastern Europe.

Must-Read Jewish Genealogy Books

Having trouble finding books that will help you with your Jewish genealogy research? Look no further! This list will have you breaking down your brick walls in no time.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

While most people are aware of Rosh Hashanah, many don't know what is actually being celebrated. Let's take a closer look at the Jewish New Year!

Holocaust History Timeline

When you're tracing Jewish ancestors during the Holocaust, knowing the history of the era can help you figure out where your relatives might be. This timeline will get you started.

Holocaust Records Genealogy Guide

Many Jewish families had loved ones vanish in the Holocaust. Surviving records can help you discover the fates of the missing.

free family tree chart

The Well-Dressed Couple Again and Solving a Group Photo Mystery

Last week I showed you a picture of an unknown well-dressed couple circa 1905. Where there's one unidentified photo there are usually more. That's true for Amir Evenchik's collection of images. He owns several other pictures of the same couple taken a few years later. Unfortunately, no one can identify...

A Well-Dressed Couple

Old pictures have a tendency to turn up unexpectedly. For Amir Evenchik, this photo was recently found at his parent's house. It's the usual story: No one knows the identity of the couple or where they posed for this lovely formal portrait. Dating this photo is the easy part...

Children who died before adulthood, jewish ancestors in poland and irish newspapers

Q. How can I find information on children who didn’t survive to adulthood? A. The answer depends on when the children lived. For families between 1850 and 1940, the US census provides a snapshot of children’s names and ages. If you find a young child named in...

Best Continental European Genealogy Websites of 2013

Avotaynu The new Anthology of Jewish Genealogy here compiles more than 2,900 articles from the journal Avotaynu (1985-2011); access costs $35. Still free here is the Consolidated Jewish Surname Index, a gateway to information about 699,084 surnames in 42 different databases totaling more than 7.3...

Sephardic Genealogy

On a sunny afternoon during my first visit to Barcelona, I stood at the top of Mount Tibidabo. I looked down at the coastline and understood the longing Sephardim took with them on their exile in 1492. Our Talalay family always heard that “This was our name in Spain...

Researching Jewish Ancestors

Until recent decades, many Jews believed it wasn’t possible to trace their heritage. Centuries of persecution, repression and sanctioned violence against Jews—culminating in the atrocities of the Holocaust—led people to assume that records of those persecuted would be equally battered or lost. Today, however, vast Jewish...

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