Genetic genealogy tests to be explained at May 30 Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois meeting

Genealogist Alvin Holtzman will present "A DNA Discussion with a DNA Devotee" at the Wednesday, May 30, 2018, meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Ill. His presentation starts at 7 p.m. Registration, networking, and the JGSI genealogy help desk and research library will open at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to this free event.

In his presentation, Holtzman, a long-time JGSI genealogy help desk volunteer, will share what he has learned from testing more than 30 relatives and would-be relatives. One of the first to DNA test (kit No. 60) with FamilyTreeDNA, and a DNA tester with AncestryDNA and 23andMe, he will touch on the strengths and weaknesses of each genetic testing service. Plus, he'll review MyHeritage.com and GEDmatch.com.

Genealogy has been a favorite hobby of his since 1979. Holtzman has attended the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies annual conference at least 12 times since 1999. His research has taken him around the world, visiting with relatives discovered through his research efforts.

Professionally, he is a former owner of a printing and copying service in downtown Chicago. Prior to that, he worked for 19 years as a marketing manager for Sears, Roebuck and Co.

While this program is free, those who join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois have access to several valuable members-only resources on the JGSI website. They include video recordings of more than 30 presentations from past JGSI events, valuable informational handouts from past speakers, and access to past Morasha newsletters containing informative articles about Jewish genealogy. To learn more about the benefits of joining the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, go to http://jgsi.org/membership_benefits.

At each regular JGSI monthly meeting, a genealogy "help desk" will operate prior to the main program. Member volunteers will access online databases and answer genealogical questions one-on-one for members and visitors as time allows.

The JGSI library has more than 800 volumes of interest to Jewish family historians. Many are available for borrowing by JGSI members for a limited time. All are available for perusing at each regular monthly meeting before the main program begins.

For more information about the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois or the JGSI schedule of future events, visit http://jgsi.org/ or phone 312-666-0100.