Genealogist to speak on understanding your DNA test results for Aug. 27 Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid event
"Help! I got my DNA Results and I'm Confused!" will be the topic of genealogist Gil Bardige for the Sunday, Aug. 27, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting.
His talk will begin at 2 p.m. via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, in Northbrook.
Bardige plans to help you understand DNA test ethnicities and matches; how to prioritize them, and how to reduce the thousands of matches to numbers you can research and maybe expand your family tree.
The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:45 p.m. to accommodate those who want to use genealogy research library materials, get help with genealogy websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program.
Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged. Register for the Zoom webinar at jgsi.org/event-5242449.
RSVP for the in-person meeting at jgsi.org/event-5242465.
Event participants may register for both online and in-person events if they are undecided.
This webinar is for beginners and others who are just stuck or don't know what to do next. Maybe you need a restart? Bardige will share his processes and techniques to prioritize matches to get organized and feel like you can accomplish something and know what to do next. In the end, you will be able to say, "Now I understand, I get it, I know what to do."
Bardige, a Chicago native, lives in the Columbus, Ohio, area. A graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, Bardige retired in 2019, after a long career in air conditioning and refrigeration, most recently as a national business development leader for Trane Technologies.
At the urging of his mother, Bardige began his genealogy adventure in 1979, with 54 people in his tree. Today his family tree has more than 2,300 people tracing four branches back to his fifth great-grandfathers, born about 1740. His family arrived in Chicago in the early 1900s.
For more than 15 years, Bardige has expanded his knowledge base to genetic genealogy, testing at each of the four major DNA companies, and currently manages three Y-DNA projects at Family Tree DNA as a volunteer administrator. He loves to help people manage their expectations and begin to remove confusion from the DNA results, whether it's Y-DNA, mtDNA, or Autosomal DNA. He had spoken, in person and virtually, at dozens of local events and international conferences, including at IAJGS conferences in Orlando, Cleveland, San Diego, and Philadelphia.
Bardige is the chairman of the Genealogy Committee of the Columbus Jewish Historical Society. He co-hosts live genetic genealogy Q&A sessions for JGS Illinois and JGS Toronto. He developed and hosts the monthly CJHS Kvell & Kvetch genealogy Q&A in Columbus. He manages the mentoring program for IAJGS and co-hosts the Apple Users and Jewish Genealogy Facebook page and monthly virtual BoF (Birds of a Feather) meeting.
Bardige is a firm believer that you can use DNA results as a tool in your genealogical research as it generates clues that can help people confirm/deny relationships. His speaking style is high energy and he loves to take questions.
JGSI maintains certain procedures for its in-person meetings including: All attendees be vaccinated; face masks are strongly recommended; water and snacks will be available; seating will be set up to allow for social distancing; and if you are sick or not feeling well or recently tested positive for COVID, do not come in person.
At each in-person monthly meeting, its "help desk" 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 of interest to Jewish family historians. All are available for perusing from 12:45 to 1:50 p.m. at each regular monthly meeting.
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors. It 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.
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 more. Members as well as nonmembers can look for their ancestors on the free searchable JGSI Jewish Chicago database. For information, jgsi.org or (312) 666-0100.