JGSI Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois upcoming events

"Early Jewish Settlement in Illinois" by Suzanne Hoffman (17 May 2026)

Sun, 17 May 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Suzanne Hoffman to speak on early history of Jews in Illinois for May 17, 2026, JGSI hybrid meeting

“Early Jewish Settlement in Illinois” will be genealogist Suzanne Hoffman’s lecture topic for the Sunday, May 17, 2026, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Her talk will begin at 2 p.m. CDT via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois. She will be speaking in person at Temple Beth-El.

Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. CDT for those who want to use genealogy library materials, get help with family history websites or ask genealogical questions before the main hybrid program begins at 2 p.m. CDT.

Suzanne Hoffman is the immediate past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, current president of the Illinois State Genealogical Society, a member of the JGSI board, and a professional forensic genealogist. She also volunteers at the Wilmette FamilySearch Center and serves as Advocacy Chair for Illinois with the Records Preservation and Access Coalition. This year, she will be presenting at the NGS Conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; serving as a keynote speaker at the “Beyond the Family Tree” Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and presenting at GeneaQuest in Schaumburg. Genealogy is her passion.

In her May 17, 2026, lecture for JGSI, she will follow the history of Illinois settlement and identify the impact of early Jewish settlers on the development of the state both prior to and post statehood. Illinois was developed from west to east and from south to north, and Suzanne will describe the allure and opportunities in the state for early Jewish settlers. We will learn the impact that early Jewish merchants and politicians had on defining the state and how they earned their place in history. She will briefly touch on the more notable early Jewish settlers in Chicago, but the focus will be on Illinois as a state emerging from the Northwest Territory.

For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

“Central Illinois Jewish Communities Archives” by Amanda Riggenbach (Members Only) (09 Jun 2026)

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

This 10 a.m. Central Time Zoom session is for JGSI members only.

Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

Topic: The focus of this special program is the Central Illinois Jewish Communities Archives (CIJCA), which was established in 2021 by an initial donation of historical materials documenting the Jewish community in Danville, Illinois, given by Sybil Mervis, Neal Ehrlich, and John P. Wolgamot. Created to document the legacies of small Jewish communities in Central Illinois, the collection has expanded to include communities from Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington, Decatur, and Springfield as well. The CIJCA also includes an oral history collection to complement the archival materials and highlight community members.

The speaker: Amanda Riggenbach is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Master of Science in Library and Information Science program. She currently works as an academic hourly for the Central Illinois Jewish Communities Archives (CIJCA), which is part of the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections in the University of Illinois Main Library. From 2024-2026, she was the graduate assistant for the CIJCA. In both these roles she has worked to make the CIJCA accessible to researchers and the public through the arrangement and description of archival materials, exhibit curation, development of an oral history project, and other related projects. Prior to attending graduate school, Riggenbach worked as an oral historian in various capacities from museum projects to a Fulbright grant.

Genetic Genealogy Open Discussion for DNA Questions and Answers (Members Only) (25 Jun 2026)

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This 7 p.m. Central Time Zoom session is for JGSI members only. This special online-only event will feature JGSI DNA maven Gil Bardige.

This is a time for an open discussion about genetic genealogy (DNA). Bring your genetic genealogy questions and brick walls, and help answer questions of others. JGSI members are invited to share their DNA discoveries and quandaries related to using genetic tests for researching family history and discovering previously unknown cousins.

Gil Bardige and Alvin Holtzman are experts on DNA and long time JGSI members.

Be sure to register for the Thursday, June 25, 2026, JGSI members-only DNA discussion by clicking the button at left on this web page.

If you are not a JGSI member and would like to participate in this discussion, please consider purchasing a JGSI membership for as little as $25 a year. See the details at: https://jgsi.org/Membership.

"Kvell and Tell" JGSI hybrid meeting on Sunday, June 28, 2026 (28 Jun 2026)

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Jewish genealogists to share family history discoveries and tips in JGSI ‘Kvell and Tell’ hybrid session on Sunday, June 28, 2026

Several JGSI members will take turns sharing family history discoveries and research tips as part of the annual “Kvell and Tell” session on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in a hybrid meeting at Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, Illinois. This meeting also features a brief annual report from JGSI's president, Doug Bank.

Please register/RSVP by clicking the button at left.

Presenters for the June 28, 2026, JGSI meeting include the following:

“Things My Father Never Told Me” by Neil Blumenthal: A journey spanning pre-internet to 2012 prompted by things found amongst his father’s papers after his death. Discovering and meeting family he didn’t know existed!
“What’s in a Name?” by Perry Shorris: Perry will share incredible stories found buried in a ship manifest.
“Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps” by Barry Finkel: How Barry was able to use Sanborn Insurance maps to help find his Great Uncle Isadore—and then, using those maps to develop a personal “family” map showing the locations of his family, the synagogue, etc., in proximity to one another.
“Food—The Heart of Every Jewish Family” by Sarah Bazer: Her personal genealogy book has many sections. Documents and stories from various sources, family photos, quotations—but most importantly: family recipes.
“Grandfather Lied to Everyone: Good Genealogy Finds the Truth” by Alan Huss: Alan will demonstrate how good genealogy and a dab of new technology helps separate facts from fiction, busts through old brick walls and even adds generations to a family tree.

For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

“JewishGen.org and FamilySearch.org: What Can I Find and Where Can I Find It?” JGSI in person workshop, July 19, 2026 (19 Jul 2026)

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:30:00 GMT

JGSI to hold in person genealogy workshop July 19 at Temple Beth-El in Northbrook

Join us for a special hands-on workshop to learn the ins and outs of JewishGen.org and FamilySearch.org. We will explore the depths of these extensive websites, uncovering their potential for your research. This special Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois in person meeting will take place at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois, on Sunday, July 19, 2026.

Please register/RSVP for this in person only event by clicking the button at left.

JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. CDT for sign-in and snacks before the main program begins at 1 p.m. CDT.

Bring your laptops, computers or phones (or share with your neighbor) to this in person only event. Come with your passwords set, your family names and towns, and a question in mind.

Debbie Kroopkin will lead the JewishGen.org session, and Suzanne Hoffman will lead the FamilySearch.org session. Both speakers are members of the JGSI board and experienced genealogists.

For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here.

“From the Basement of the Shul to the Basement of City Hall: Uncovering the Hidden Records of Oak Park’s Jewish Community” by Michael Zmora (30 Aug 2026)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

History of Oak Park Jewish community to be focus of Aug. 30, 2026, hybrid meeting lecture co-sponsored by JGSI and Chicago Jewish Historical Society

“From the Basement of the Shul to the Basement of City Hall: Uncovering the Hidden Records of Oak Park’s Jewish Community” is the title of a hybrid lecture to be co-hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois and the Chicago Jewish Historical Society on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026.

Michael Zmora will guide us through his research process with a focus on his hometown of Oak Park, Illinois. He will be speaking in person at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois, and online via Zoom.

Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. CDT for sign-ins. Please join us for a social hour at 1 p.m. CDT before the lecture begins at 2 p.m. CDT.

Registration/RSVP will be available here soon.

Jews have been an integral part of Oak Park and River Forest since before these suburbs had their names. These early Jewish pioneers of the western suburbs helped pave the way for an organized community that established itself in the early decades of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1930s, Jews in both Oak Park and River Forest faced community antisemitism and institutional discrimination from the governing bodies of the two villages on their way to establishing two synagogues in the mid-20th century.

Michael Zmora will present this compelling story while explaining how he uncovered documents from unlikely sources, ranging from synagogue correspondence files to real estate board minutes to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds’ archives, in order to reveal this hidden history.

After two years of extensive research, Michael Zmora wrote two articles for Chicago Jewish History (the quarterly journal of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society), on the Jewish communities of Oak Park and River Forest. An attorney by profession, Michael has lived in Oak Park with his wife and two children for the past eight years.

For more information about JGSI, visit our website. For more information about membership benefits, click here. To learn about the Chicago Jewish Historical Society, visit www.chicagojewishhistory.org.

Join us online for the 46th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (04 Apr 2027)

Sun, 04 Apr 2027 05:00:00 GMT

Expert Jewish genealogists will be presenting informative family history talks for the 46th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy from April 4–6, 2027. This IAJGS conference will be totally online.

Presenters will offer a wide range of interesting Jewish genealogy topics for this year's IAJGS conference.

For more information when it becomes available, visit the conference website here: https://www.iajgs2026.org/.