From JewishGen: The site added approximately 8,500 records and 7,300 photos from 61 new organizations / memorials and updated sets. The database includes the data from memorial plaques and Yizkor lists from synagogues and other memorials and lists. The information available from these sources vary from source to source. This mid-year update brings the memorial plaques holdings to more than 368,000 records and 250,000 photos from 950 synagogues, institutions and memorials re

Read here to see the list of newspapers added to Newspapers.com, including papers from England, the Netherlands, Canada and several states in the U.S.

From GEDmatch: The new GEDmatch is open at https://beta.gedmatch.com You'll notice left-hand navigation, a searchable catalog of every tool, and "I want to…" cards on the dashboard. You can pick your language and the site updates in real time. GEDmatch has been English-only until now. Also new: My Clipboard (Tier 1) lets you build a working set of kits once and use it in every tool, instead of retyping kit numbers. It replaces multi-kit analysis. Folders (Tier 1), favorit

The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) has updated its All Israel Database search tool to show the number of potential matching records found on JewishGen and Gesher Galicia websites. IGRA's release explains: This update utilizes an API (Application Programming Interface) connection to display record counts across platforms, allowing researchers to see if additional relevant data exists on the other sites, without transferring or sharing records between the organiza

JewishGen's Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) database has added approximately 214,000 new records and 30,000 new photos. The database is adding and/or updating 251 cemeteries. That brings JOWBR’s holdings to more than 7.2 million records and 2.6 million photos from approximately 12,500 cemeteries/ cemetery sections representing 150 countries. You can access the database here. JewishGen recommends new database users to first watch brief informational videos here.

From the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference team: The 46th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be held virtually, April 4–6, 2027. This fully global virtual conference is being designed with the same spirit you know from past conferences, just in a new format. Live sessions will run from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET, with 90 days of on-demand access to every recorded session, so you can join live or catch up on your own tim

From the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies: "The IAJGS recognizes that Special Interest Groups, JewishGen Research Districts, Birds of a Feather, and Research Groups are all important parts of the Jewish genealogical community. With members scattered throughout the world, our annual conference has been a logical and convenient place for these groups to hold annual meetings and to organize programming of interest to their members. "Because our next con

Miriam Weiner, founder of the Routes to Roots Foundation website, which includes Jewish and civil records in Eastern Europe, has announced that she will be donating her entire archives to the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa, Okla. which hosts the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tulsa, the only JGS in the state. Read more about her donation and why she chose Tulsa here. There will be no changes to her website except the usual updates and additions.

The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) has added two new databases and updated another five, for a total of over 26,620 new listings, many of them with images. That brings the association's searchable databases to over 4 million unique records. Those databases: Burials Sepharadim Jerusalem – (images available) update Gdud Haavodah (Labour Battalion) 1921-1927 – images available Marriages and Divorces 1921-1948 Palestine British – (images available) updated Freemason

Genealogist Ellen Shindelman Kowitt, director of JewishGen's USA Research Division and cousin of JGSTB member Scott Mandel, will interview Arthur Kurzweil, a leading voice in Jewish genealogy, on Jewish ethics and genealogy. The virtual interview will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3. From the JewishGen announcement: "Genealogy in Judaism is more than a historical account; it connects individuals to a collective story, reinforcing duties toward family, community, and

A member of Philadelphia's Jewish genealogical society passed along these search tips from Crista Cowan on finding and searching Jewish records on Ancestry: Go to: Ancestry.com/Jewish Don't fill out search fields yet. Scroll down to the bottom past the search fields to see a list of available records. You can click on a specific database to search only that one. Or, When searching all collections, consider using the asterisk (*) for first or last name to increase your chance

Three resources have been added to the Members Only Research Resources page. To access, go to Members Only, input the 2026 password and select Research Resources. Look for the blue label "NEW!" to find the recently added resources.

Genealogist Ellen Shindelman Kowitt, cousin of JGSTB member Scott Mandel, recently gave a presentation sponsored by JewishGen on Jewish institutional records and other resources available to aid in genealogical research. Kowitt, director of JewishGen's USA Research Division, spoke about how to trace Jews in the United States using Jewish community and institutional records such as Jewish newspapers, synagogues, Jewish hospitals and orphanages, and where to find them. You can

Genealogist Jarrett Ross gave a great presentation to the JGSTB in April on Jewish DNA and endogamy. He has generously agreed to give access to his PowerPoint slides and handout to members. So whether you were able to attend the presentation and want to refer back to it and get links to his suggested resources or you missed it and want to review it, you can find them here . If you want to access these resources as well as past presentation handouts but you're not a member, y

FamilySearch has expanded its free online archives with over 30 million new records from 28 different countries, including 3.6 million public records from the United States as well as records from: Australia Belgium Brazil Dominican Republic England France Hungary Ireland Italy Philippines Read more and find links here .

The IAJGS Board has rescheduled the 2026 conference to April 4-6, 2027, and that will be virtual. The next in-person conference will be in 2028. In her email announcing the moves, IAJGS President Susan Weinberg explained: "Moving the timeline gives us the runway we need to fundraise properly, plan thoughtfully, and build something we can all be proud of." She added that "we are not going dark in 2026. We have programming planned, including a free AI-focused virtual summit on

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of one of our founding members, William "Bill" Israel. Bill played a vital role in the creation and growth of JGSTB. Through his vision, dedication, and generosity of spirit, he helped build our organization into the one we all value today. His contributions and presence will not be forgotten. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Members received an email about his passing

From GEDMatch: Ready to transform your GEDmatch research? Join us at the end of March for a special, free webinar featuring expert genealogist Ryan Russell! This "RootsTech Special" session is completely free for all GEDmatch members and will focus on getting started with our Tier 1 tools! We will dive into essential strategies to help you discover unknown relatives and expand your family tree . Even better, this exciting event officially kicks off a brand-new monthly webi

The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society is offering a number of free, online classes related to New York research. Click on the link to read more and to register: New York State and New York City Birth, Marriage, and Death Records -- March 16, 7 p.m. Making the Most of FamilySearch for New York Research -- April 13, 6 p.m. Searching New York Records on Ancestry -- July 20, 6 p.m. Preserving Your New York Story: New York City Municipal Archives Collections -