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 -

Good news! Access to the recent release of George G. Morgan's webinar "Genealogy Orienteering: Using Maps to Find the RIGHT Place" remains free thru Feb. 27. Webinars by George and Drew Smith — the Genealogy Guys — are now housed at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, with new content being released every month. If you want to take advantage of their previous -- and future -- webinars, including those from other experts, membership is $49.95 for a year. You can join here .

Added to the Members Only Research Resources is a link to a blog with a list of more than 100 important databases for Russian and Ukrainian genealogy, including searchable databases. The blog is listed under "Russian and Ukranian websites".

FamilySearch recently expanded its online archives with more than 168 million new records from 35 different countries, including records from: Belgium Italy New Zealand United States Wales Philippines Sweden Honduras Read more and find links to these records here .

The Israel Genealogy Research Association has added a webinar in English available without a membership (others are available only with a membership -- outside of Israel, $45). You can find "Using Russian and Ukrainian Language Internet Resources for Jewish Genealogy" here . Those available for members include “Tombstones – The Stories They Tell” and “Family History Research at the Yad Vashem Archives: A Lesson from the Past for the Future.” Find out more about IGRA here .

A research website with databases has been added to the Members Only Research Resources page: Historical Jewish Press, the newspaper collection of the National Library of Israel, contains millions of pages and hundreds of newspapers available to read and search through online. Modified is the link to and information about Ukrainian Archives to reflect that this site, the Tsal Kaplun Foundation, has archives for Jewish communities in former Soviet republics, including links t

The society's 2026 genealogy all-day seminar takes place on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Largo Public Library, 120 Central park Drive. The seminar, which starts at 8 a.m., includes sessions on: Same Name Evidence Analysis; Ancestors Lives in Small Bites; breakout topics on Internet Archive and Befuddled by the Records?; Practical Approach for AI, and Elusive Southern Ancestors. Save $10 by registering by Feb. 17. Additionally, PGS member registration fee is $10 less than non-members

RootsTech by FamilySearch runs from March 5-7 and you can still register for FREE for the virtual event, which includes over 500 classes to choose from. You can see the full schedule here and add the classes you want to view to your online schedule. Click a day, select Online for how to watch, click the plus sign (+) next to the class you want to add and if you haven't signed into your FamilySearch account, it'll prompt you to do so and your schedule will be saved. Classes

Dr. Serafima Velkovich, head of the Family Roots Research Section at Yad Vashem Archives will speak at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, at The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg. Her talk will be about how family memories can help families reconstruct their sense of belonging and identity through stories passed down across generations, fragments of documents. "In the aftermath of the Holocaust, when so many lives and entire communities were destroyed, family memory became

Gesher Galicia has added searchable summaries of Jews prosecuted by the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the Soviet agency overseeing internal security and political repression in the USSR. From Gesher Galicia: These files cover arrests by the NKVD between September 1939 through 1941, with the content of the files extending further through interrogations and deportations to labor camps. The additions bring the total number of records to 3,700. Records includ

Yad Vashem has recovered the names of five million Jews of the six million murdered in the Holocaust new technologies like AI and machine learning. There are still an estimated one million names of Jewish victims who are unknown and many will likely remain so forever.  The names are compiled in Yad Vashem's  Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names .

In his Halloween edition of his blog "AI Genealogy Insights," Steve Little, AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society, offers 16 AI prompts designed to "to conjure better AI responses."  Overall headings of these prompts are analysis, condensation, meta-prompts, specialized and advanced. Little points out what we all have to remember about using artificial intelligence: "Remember: AI is a tool, not a truth oracle." Get his prompts here . Check out his AI Gene

Get Artificial Intelligence links, Facebook group links and more in the Research Resources portion of the Members Only section of this website. Not a member but want to take advantage of these links? Join here .

Family Tree Maker Genealogy Community Ambassador Mark Olsen will showcase the latest edition of Family Tree Maker at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at Riverview Public Library, 9951 Balm Riverview Road. Olsen will give interactive demonstrations and have a Q&A session highlighting the software. Registration is not required. The event will take place in the James B. Jim Johnson Community Room 109 A & B. For more information, click here .

Registration has opened for RootsTech 2026, which will be held in Salt Lake City from March 5-7.  In-person, early bird prices are $99 for a three-day pass (standard price is $129) and $69 for a one-day pass. Online registration remains free. Hosted by FamilySearch, classes  will include Avoiding Research Pitfalls; Finding Records Using the Resources on FamilySearch 2026; Effective Search Strategies on FamilySearch; Seeking the Identity of Unknown Parents; Arriving at the Por