Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois offers ways to research Jewish ancestry

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 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 and is affiliated with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

JGSI members have access to useful and informative online family history research resources, including a members' forum, more than 65 video recordings of past speakers' presentations, monthly JGSI E-News, quarterly Morasha JGSI newsletter, and much more. Members as well as non-members can look for their ancestors on the free searchable JGSI Jewish Chicago Database. Other useful research databases are on the JGSI website at https://jgsi.org/research_items.

At each JGSI monthly meeting, usually held on a Sunday at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois, the JGSI "help desk," staffed by volunteer expert genealogists, will operate from 12:45 to 1:50 p.m. 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 and maps of interest to Jewish family historians. Many are available for borrowing by JGSI members for a limited time. All are available for perusing from 12:45 to 1:50 p.m. at each regular monthly meeting.

A schedule of coming events, both in person and online, hosted by JGSI can be viewed at https://jgsi.org/Events-calendar.

"Navigating the Center for Jewish History Catalog" will be presented online by Moriah Amit, senior reference services librarian and genealogy coordinator at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, for the Sunday, March 26, 2023, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Her online talk will begin at 2 p.m. CDT via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois. She will highlight the online collections of greatest value to Jewish genealogists - including the records of New York orphanages, American soldiers in World War II, immigrant aid organizations, and German-Jewish families - and demonstrate how to access them through the center's catalog.

Register for the 2 p.m. CDT online Zoom webinar at: https://jgsi.org/event-5038583.

RSVP for the 12:45 p.m. CDT in-person meeting at Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, Illinois, which includes access to the JGSI research library and genealogy help desk at: https://jgsi.org/event-5143719.

For more information, see https://jgsi.org or phone 312-666-0100.