Jewish genealogist to share tips for researching Lithuanian Jewish ancestors in free Oct. 30 webinar
"Researching Your Litvak Family" is the title of a presentation by genealogist Judy Baston for the Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, online meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois at 2 p.m. CDT. Register/RSVP at https://jgsi.org/event-4910643. This free live genealogy webinar will be preceded at 1 p.m. CDT by a JGSI members-only online discussion with separate registration at https://jgsi.org/Events-calendar.
With more than 2.5 million Lithuanian Jewish record translations- mainly censuses and vital records- LitvakSIG's publicly searchable All Lithuania Database provides the primary foundation for Litvak genealogical research. There are also additional online resources for researching your Litvak roots. This presentation will offer a comprehensive overview of the LitvakSIG database and website, as well as other important sources. It will detail the best ways to use Litvak databases and websites to achieve optimum results and enhance knowledge of your Litvak family information.
The presentation will include how to determine what records are available, how to understand search results, and how best to access the information, and what new translations are underway. The presentation will cover LitvakSIG and its All Lithuania Database, as well as numerous other resources from JewishGen, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, YIVO and other sources.
Currently secretary of LitvakSIG, Judy Baston has served for more than two decades on the organization's board and coordinates LitvakSIG's Lida District and Oshmiany District research groups. For more than 20 years, she has moderated the discussion groups of LitvakSIG and JRI-Poland. She has been involved with the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco for 30 years, coordinates their genealogy clinic, and serves as co-president of Friends of the Jewish Community Library. In July 2015, Judy received the IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization's annual Jewish genealogy conference in Jerusalem.
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 320 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 75 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 on the JGSI website.