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Jewish Genealogical Society of
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JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(FAQS)
updated 08 December 2005
1. Please tell me about JGSGB.
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) was formed in 1992 with
beginners and experienced researchers joining forces to:
- Help one another to learn and discover more about genealogy
- Encourage genealogical research
- Promote the preservation of Jewish genealogical records and resources
- Share information amongst members
The Society is open to all those interested in Jewish genealogy.
The scope of our members' interests covers all Jewish Communities world-wide although,
as you would expect, we are the 'Centre of Excellence' for UK Jewish Genealogy.
Our members are particularly interested in Eastern Europe, from where many of
our ancestors can be traced.
2. What are the main benefits of JGSGB Membership?
- Valuable expert guidance in research
- Regular gatherings to meet others interested in genealogy.
- Access to our growing library (only Members of JGSGB may access the Library).
- SHEMOT (our quarterly Journal). Shemot contains a variety of articles of
interest to genealogists, book reviews, abstracts of overseas genealogical
articles, practical research tips and useful addresses. We are keen to publish
members' own articles.
- Newsletter (published quarterly) giving news about the Society, forthcoming
events, international genealogical affairs, computer activities, library notes,
and members' letters and queries.
- Our website www.jgsgb.org.uk has a
'Members' Corner' (for members only).
- Use of Jewish genealogical databases available at our library.
- Participation in our Online Discussion Group.
- Access to our Family Finder Service giving family names being researched
by our members
3. What Programme of activities do the JGSGB offer?
- Members Meetings (usually monthly) where we have specialist speakers, demonstrations
or members talking about their projects/research.
- Visits to places of genealogical interest.
- Family History workshops.
- Training courses in genealogy, and using computers and the Internet for
genealogical research.
- Annual all day seminars - London and Manchester
4. I do not live near London - What about the Regions?
The Society has a number of Regional Groups that hold regular local meetings and
activities. There are Regional Groups for the following areas:
- South West London
- East of London and Essex
- Oxford
- South Coast
- Manchester
- Leeds
5. Does the Society have any Special Interest Groups (SIGs)?
The Society has the following SIGs:
- Anglo-Jewish
- Dutch
- German
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland/Galicia/Ukraine
- Sephardi
- South Africa
These groups meet regularly and support members researching ancestors in these
geographical areas. Members can find further details on Members' Corner
6. Does the Society have a Library? What can I find there?
The Society has a significant library containing the following:
- Several hundred reference books, maps and leaflets. Library
- Microfilms and microfiches, including copies of many of the major Anglo-Jewish
genealogy collections.
- Research papers.
- Journals from other Genealogical Societies around the world.
- One of the largest collections of Yizkor (Memorial)
books in the UK, covering many of the destroyed communities of Europe.
List of these books is contained in the Library
catalogue
- Many family trees - indexed by principal surnames.
- Computers (with printers and a scanner) and a selection of genealogical
CD-ROMs and other genealogical databases.
Please note that access to the Library is restricted to JGSGB members only. If
you are not a Member of JGSGB then you may arrange research/lookups to be undertaken
on your behalf at the Library by a professional researcher who is a member of
the Society. See question 16 below.
7. Does JGSGB have an Online E-mail Discussion Group?
- Yes. This is a service for members only. Many members find this a valuable
way getting general research questions answered quickly and keeping up to
date with the latest genealogical developments. Most questions posted are
answered within 24 hours.
*All the messages go into a searchable archive that is an invaluable research
source.
8. How can I join the JGSGB and how much does it cost?
Membership of the society is open to anyone who is interested in Jewish Genealogy.
For details either contact the Membership
Secretary or you can join on line at member1.shtml
9. What genealogical data does the Society hold?
The Society holds three main categories of databases:
- Data and databases accessible at our Library (such data is normally only
accessible in person by Members of the Society).
- Publicly available databases viewable and/or downloadable from our public
website www.jgsgb.org.uk
- Members Only access databases available from the Members' Corner area of
our website.
10. Is there a JGSGB Website? And what can I find there?
The Society Website is www.jgsgb.org.uk.
It is accessible to both members and non-members and is continually up-dated.
The site contains various databases including:
- Birth, marriage, death and burial details for parts of London,
Oxford and Manchester
- Miscellaneous files relating to the Holocaust and genealogy in other countries.
- Details of our programme of activities
- A catalogue of library holdings (and details of Library opening
hours).
- A list of useful Internet links for Jewish genealogical research.
- A "Search our Site" facility ( type in a surname or town name of interest)
There is also a Members only section of our website called Members' Corner with
special benefits and data for Members. The database includes over 35,000 records
including:
- West London Synagogue Birth
Register 1 (1842-1905)
- Edmonton Cemetery Section S
- Salford Police Register of Aliens
- UK Civil Birth Certificates
- Central Foundation Girls School
- Congregation of Jacob Synagogue
- Jews' Hospital
- Death & Stone Setting Announcements from the
Jewish Chronicle 1993-2004
- Rabbi Rabinowitz Memorial Publication Fund
- US Seatholders Lists
- Boer War - 1899-1902
11. Do you have a Family Finder Service?
Details of our Family Finder Service, and the full database, can be accessed via
our website. Family Finder. Both Members and
non-members can access the database.
12. Does JGSGB have a "Mentor" or "Buddy" System
Members are offered participation in a Mentor scheme and, on request, will be
assigned a Mentor. Informal 'buddy' arrangements often develop between Members
with similar research interests.
13. My family name is xxxxxx. How can I trace my ancestors? Is my family or
family name Jewish?
Our Jewish Ancestors moved around and changed their names, often with great
frequency. To answer this question you need not just names but times and places.
Try to find out which towns, or at least regions, your ancestors lived in. The
best way to identify if a person or family was Jewish is to work backwards to
see if you can find records associating them with a Jewish event such as marriage
in a Synagogue or burial in a Jewish cemetery. Other clues, but usually not conclusive,
can sometimes be ascertained from the name, occupation or place of residence.
- The best way to proceed is to join a Genealogical Society such as JGSGB
(or one more local to you if you are outside the UK) where you can learn various
research techniques. If you live outside the UK but you are interested in
researching Jewish Genealogy or ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland
or Wales then you will probably find overseas membership of JGSGB useful.
- Purchase a book introducing you to Jewish Genealogy (see FAQ 18)
14. Does the Society have a Genealogical Enquiries Officer or "Panel of
Experts" who can answer my
specific query?
- For non Members The Society has a Genealogical Enquiries Officer who answers general
genealogical enquiries and can often provide suggested sources for your research.
Contact Genealogical Enquiries Officer.
It is important to note that neither the Society
nor the Genealogical Enquiries Officer is able to undertake detailed or
specific family
genealogical research for you. Should you require a professional
researcher please see
FAQ 16 below
- For Members of the Society only: The Society operates a
"Panel of Experts". Your enquiry
will be routed to an appropriate experienced Member of the Society who will
work with you
to identify approaches and sources to address a specific area of research (but
they are
unable to undertake research for you). Members of the Society also have
access to the
Genealogical Enquiries Officer and will receive a priority response.
15. Are there other good ways to get my questions answered?
- The Society has an e-mail based Discussion Group. This
is Members only service. About 300 Members participate. You may post your question to the Group and
in most instances you will usually receive multiple helpful responses within
a few days (sometime only hours!). You will be sent details of this service
when you join the Society. If you already a Member you may e-mail the Moderator
- For non-members, we offer to post your query on our Discussion Group. This
opportunity is offered once only for non-members. We request any Members who
can assist with your query to e-mail you directly. If you wish to take advantage
of this service please e-mail your query to the Moderator
(Quoting Reference - Free Trial Posting). Please submit your query as a plain
text e-mail with no formatting or HTML. Please note - the moderator reserves
the right to edit your query to ensure it conforms to our Discussion Group
posting guidelines. Non Members are asked to consider making a donation for
this service
- Our Newsletter has a classified section where you can post your query. This
is distributed to all our Members. Members are entitled to a free entry once
a quarter (space permitting). Non Members may pay for a classified insertion
(a donation of £10 for an insertion up to 150 words). For further details
contact the Newsletter Editor
16. I am prepared to pay for a professional Researcher. Can the JGSGB help?
- JGSGB's Register of Professional Researchers and Translators is available
on request. Send a stamped self-addressed envelope (overseas enquirers
should send two International Reply Coupons) to The Newsletter Editor, JGSGB,
33 Seymour Place, London W1H 5AU. Alternatively, if your computer can read an Adobe Acrobat file,
send an e-mail requesting
a document in that format.
17. Can you recommend any other websites?
You may wish to try the following to help your research along:
18. Can you recommend any books, publications or CDs
The Society's publications include:
- Beginner's Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Great Britain
- Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Germany and Austria
- Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Latvia and Estonia
- A Guide to Organising your Family History Records
- A Guide to Reading Hebrew Inscriptions and Documents
- A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Lithuania
- A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in the United Kingdom
Order by post from:
Publications Department
JGSGB
PO Box 180
St Albans
Herts. AL2 3WH
England, UKFor further details on these publications see our website
www.jgsgb.org.uk/shopping.shtml
Payment by cheque payable to 'The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain'.
Alternatively payment may be by Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard or Maestro) by
stating Card Number, Expiry Date and Card Holders Name. (For Maestro we need the
start and expiry date.)
Other publications particularly relevant to UK Jewish Genealogy are:
- Records for the New Synagogue on CD
- Genealogical Resources within the Jewish Home and Family: a book;
- The Jewish Victorian - Genealogical Information from the Jewish Newspapers
1871-1880: a book
- The Jewish Victorian - Genealogical Information
from the Jewish Newspapers 1861-1870: a book
- Great Synagogue Marriage Records 1791-1850: a book
For further details on these publications see our website
www.jgsgb.org.uk/shopping.shtml
19. How can I make a donation to the Society?
If you consider we have assisted you and you would like to make a donation please
contact the Membership Secretary
20. How can I find out what other Members of the Society are researching?
For Surnames/Families being researched use the JGSGB Family Finder (see FAQ 11).
For a list of other research projects (e.g. occupations, geographical areas, translations,
transcriptions) details are published in Newsletter. This database is available
in the 'Members Corner' of our website.
21. I am interested in researching Jewish ancestors or Communities in the UK.
Do you provide any special Discussion Forum relating specifically to this particular
geographical area?
Our sister website Jewish Communities and Records
UK (Otherwise known as JCR-UK) includes an e-mail
based Discussion Forum which is free for anyone to join. We discuss Jewish
records available in the UK, research techniques, and share information
and tips. Anyone who joins the Forum may post a query about general research in
this geographical area or about their specific Jewish family research in this
area. To join the Forum use the Special Interest Group sign-up page at http://www.jewishgen.org/listserv/sigs_add.htm
and follow the procedure selecting United Kingdom: Jewish Communities and Records
(in step 2).
22. Who do I contact for further information?
For further information contact:
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In addition, certain items on the website may also be
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'JGSGB is a UK Registered Charity No.1022738'
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