My Jewish Past

29/03/2017

Here's the second bio I've done on the stones vandalized at Stone Road. William Silverstein knew a lot more tragedy than some thugs in a cemetery!

In doing genealogy, I've always marveled at the inner strength people in previous generations must have had. Aside from all the upheaval and...

21/03/2017

I finally got started on a project I've been thinking about for a week or two. I'm hoping I can write a brief biography of each of the people whose gravestones were toppled in Rochester. Some fascinating stories are out there, beginning with the one that started me thinking. Comments always welcomed!

13/11/2016

It's easy to think that more things divide us than unite us. But we actually have much more in common with other groups of people than we think.

26/10/2016

Amazon has a very good selection of genealogy books and a surprisingly large amount of them are available "free" to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

27/09/2016

A lonely Jew reassembles her vanished family through a combination of genealogical sleuthing, genetic testing and cousin-fishing

21/09/2016

Remember when this test cost hundreds of dollars? What a deal!

With our premier suite of DNA tests and the world’s most comprehensive matching database...your DNA has met its match!

19/09/2016

One of the more underestimated factors in learning about your family.

An important and serious approach to learning more about your family history is by doing an interview with a relative. Techniques and questions to be successful and lead into another interview.

01/07/2016

This is a BIG deal!

Geni.com, host of the online World Family Tree, and Family Tree DNA, a global leader in genetic genealogy, announced today that they have partnered to integrate Family Tree DNA test results into Geni’s World Family Tree. Today the partners activated a …

22/06/2016

I have been mulling over the idea of "Existential Genealogy," that doing genealogical research is very much a way of explaining our existence or the substance of our existence. So many people, particularly young people, could benefit from thinking about their roots, or lack thereof. It's a big part of why I love doing and teaching genealogy.

Identifying with your cultural origins isn’t what it used to be.

14/06/2016

Something genealogists will understand: I spent last Sunday going to cemeteries and ended up helping with a burial. Is that strange?