The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) is a society for the study and encouragement of Jewish

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The society is a member society of the

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Inc. (IAJGS) is an independent non-profit umbrella organization coordinating the activities and annual conference of 84 Jewish genealogical societies worldwide. History The IAJGS was ...

Purpose

The society's mission is to promote and encourage the study of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

genealogy, and assist all those tracing the

family history Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family a ...

of their Jewish ancestors. It encourages Jewish genealogical education and research and promotes the indexing, transcription and preservation of old records. It encourages research and promotes the preservation of Jewish records and resources, sharing information amongst its members.

Services

The society offers Family History workshops, training courses in genealogy, a library and computers for genealogical research, an online discussion group, and in-person support provided by mentors and a genealogical Enquiries Officer. The society also hosts meetings for

Anglo-Jewish British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

and Dutch, German, and Eastern European Jewish special interest groups. Regional groups meet regarding the Jewish communities of South East London,

South West London South West London may refer to several things related to London, England: *SW postcode area *South West (London sub region) (2008–2011), a regional planning designation *Western part of South London *South West (London Assembly constituency) (fro ...

, East of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Library

The society's Genealogical Resource Library contains information and resources including more than a thousand books relating to genealogy, computers and a selection of genealogical CD-ROMs and other genealogical databases. It also has a large collection of maps, leaflets, microfiches and microfilms, including copies of many of the major Anglo-Jewish genealogy collections. The library also holds the largest collection of Yizkor (memorial) books in the United Kingdom. There is a collection of genealogical magazines from societies all over the world, including ''

Avotaynu ''Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy'' is a magazine that focuses on Jewish genealogy and family history published by Avotaynu Inc. (New Haven, Connecticut). It was established in 1985. An index to the first 24 volumes is avail ...

'', the world's largest circulation magazine devoted to Jewish genealogy.

Publication

The society publishes the journal ''Shemot'' (Names) quarterly. The journal contains a variety of articles of interest to genealogists, book reviews, abstracts of overseas genealogical articles and practical research tips information.

References

External links

Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
(official website)
All United Kingdom Database
joint project with

JewishGen JewishGen is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 as an international electronic resource for Jewish genealogy. In 2003, JewishGen became an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York Ci ...