 |
Family tree of Theodor Herzl
Database of the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center,
Beth Hatefutsoth
How to get started?
-
Write down what you know about your family. Start with
you and your close relatives: parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse,
children, and grandchildren. Then add uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws,
etc. Interview elderly relatives or other family members who might know
more about the family history.
-
Look for documents at home – birth, marriage and death
certificates, family bibles or prayer books, old photos, ketubbot, old
passports, immigration papers, newspapers clippings and so on.
-
Visit or ask family members to visit the graves of
deceased relatives and note down the inscriptions as they may contain
valuable information.
-
Broaden your search to include municipal and state
archives, libraries, and Jewish community records. Keep in mind that
sometimes you will need help from experts as old handwritten documents
generally are difficult to read and in some cases might be written in
languages that you do not understand.
-
Remember that most Jews started using
family names only during the last
two hundred years or so. Therefore tracing back relatives that lived
before the introduction of hereditary family names could be very
challenging. Nevertheless understanding the meaning of family names could
provide valuable clues in disclosing family's roots, its former places of
residence, the occupational and social status of its members and more. To
order a search for the meaning and origin of your family name
click here.
-
Search the Internet for genealogy
sites. Some have valuable genealogical databases online, for a
genealogical search of the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center's
database fill out our
Search Order online.
-
Ask for advice and guidance at your local
Jewish genealogical society. They may be
instrumental in providing further assistance on how to search your family
and where to find specific sources of information in your area and around
the world.
-
Use a genealogy software program to record all data and
organize your family tree. We recommend the use of a program that can
generate GEDCOM files, like
ILANOT, Beth Hatefutsoth's exclusive
Jewish genealogy software program.
-
Once you have gathered all the information, you can
record it in the database of the Douglas E.
Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center.
|
