Getting started - How to research your roots

Most books about genealogy and doing genealogical research are in the CS section. General books on researching Jewish genealogy are in the CS 21 section. Books on Jews from specific countries or regions are in CS 41-2209. To research the origins or meanings of family names (or baby names!) look in the CS 2300-3090.

To find books in the catalog do a subject browse search under Genealogy

Websites - Jewish

JewishGen : the home of Jewish genealogy
"JewishGen®, Inc. is the primary internet source connecting researchers of Jewish genealogy worldwide. Its most popular components are the JewishGen Discussion Group, the JewishGen Family Finder (a database of 350,000 surnames and towns), the comprehensive directory of InfoFiles, ShtetLinks for over 200 communities, and a variety of databases such as the ShtetlSeeker and Jewish Records Indexing-Poland. JewishGen's online Family Tree of the Jewish People contains data on nearly three million people."
http://www.jewishgen.org/

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
"The IAJGS is a non-profit umbrella organization coordinating the activities and annual conference of more than 75 national and local Jewish genealogical societies around the world. "
http://www.jewishgen.org/iajgs/

Sephardic Genealogy
This site has many articles, research hints, and searchable databases on Sephardic Jewry and genealogy.
http://www.sephardicgen.com/

Macher's list of genealogical websites
An annotated list of genealogical websites.
http://www.machers.com/directory/Jewish_Geneaology/

Yizkor (Memorial) books / New York Public Library, Dorot Jewish Division
Hundreds of Yizkor books are available in PDF format through this site.
http://yizkor.nypl.org/

Jewish Genealogy in Italy
This site includes a history of Jews in Italy, census lists, Jewish family heraldry, and name database. http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/genealogy.html

Websites - General

RootsWeb.com
Billing itself as "The Oldest & Largest FREE Genealogy Site," RootsWeb includes search engines and databases, family trees (over 70 million names), surname and geographical mailing lists, and message boards. The site also hosts other volunteer projects such as the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild and Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. Although it remains free to users, RootsWeb is now sponsored by Ancestry.com, whose databases (both free and pay) can also be searched from this site.
http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/
Subjects: Genealogy -- Directories
description Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org.

The WorldGenWeb Project
This online resource for international genealogists "is a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access." Divided into eleven world regions, it is searchable by countries, provinces, states, and other administrative divisions.
http://www.worldgenweb.org/
description Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org.

Census Finder: A Directory of Free Census
Records Over 10,000 links to census information for those researching family histories. Primarily containing sites with U.S. data, the site also has some links to Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Types of sites provided included county/parish/province archives, message boards, and maps. Other features include a guide to historical museums in the U.S. and a section for Native American information. Note that not all areas of the countries covered are represented.
http://www.censusfinder.com
Subjects: Genealogy... Created by smb
description Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org.

PolishRoots: The Polish Genealogy Source
Searchable directory of "materials of interest to those researching their Polish ancestry." Although the site focuses on genealogical resources (for example, surname search, online forum, databases), it will be of interest to anyone looking for information about Polish history, customs, geography, and heraldry. Includes links to information in both English and Polish.
http://www.polishroots.org
Description copyright 2003 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org.

Names and their meanings

Hebrew Baby Names / Jewish Family Guide
You can search for the meaning of many Hebrew names. This site also includes descriptions of the naming traditions of different Jewish groups
http://www.tricityjcc.org/resources/parenting/babynames/

Babynamer
A database of over 23,000 names for your baby. Information can include source, meaning, popularity, alternate spellings, teasing nicknames, and pronunciation. Search by sex, popularity, notable names of famous and infamous people, meanings, and specialized lists from panelists. Searches can be customized by beginning letter, language, number of syllables, or degree of popularity. A discussion forum and a FAQ are also available.
http://tools.oxygen.com/babynamer/
Description copyright 2003 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org.

While the Library thinks that these sites are useful, their content is not under our control and may express views that are not shared by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

If you have any further questions about finding information on this, or any other topic, ask your local HUC-JIR librarian or email us using the form on the campus library homepage.