Expert family historian to present update on Chicago Jewish genealogy research tools

"Resources for Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland - What's New" will be the topic of a presentation by genealogist Mike Karsen for the Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021, virtual meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. His talk, which will begin at 2 p.m. CST, will be preceded at 1 p.m. by a members-only genealogy question-and-answer discussion time.

Registration/RSVP at https://jgsi.org/event-4118903.

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

This event will feature JGSI past president Mike Karsen giving his annual update covering various resources available to discover your Jewish roots in Chicagoland. He will include a wide range of records and research resources, including cemeteries, death certificates, death notices/obits, marriage records, birth records, and city directories. How to locate your ancestor's naturalization records, which are essential for any genealogical research project, will also be covered along with some uniquely Jewish resources. Today, with so many records available online, you hardly have to leave your home to research your Chicago roots. Case studies will be utilized to demonstrate the research process.

A professional speaker, Mike Karsen is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and is a past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. He has presented over 300 talks on genealogy topics locally, nationally, and internationally, including for the Newberry Library and the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago. Mike is the author of the JewishGen website's "Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland" and has published articles on genealogy.

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.