When most people talk about using DNA for genealogy research, they are talking about autosomal DNA, which is DNA that one inherits from both parents. It can be challenging to use autosomal DNA for genealogy because the matching segments can […]
About Randy Schoenberg
How to use Y-DNA and Geni.com to Improve Your Family Tree <
A New Genealogy for Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise
In the past years, a wealth of 18th and 19th century Jewish genealogical resources have become available for Bohemia, the western half of Czechia (the new name for the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia). As a result, a large number of […]
The Bohemian Origins of Justice Louis Brandeis
On the 100th anniversary of his appointment as the first Jewish Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Jewish Journal devoted four pages to the towering figure in American legal history, Louis D. Brandeis, recounting his unprecedented advocacy for free speech, […]
Privacy Issues with Online Trees
The right to privacy is a relatively recent legal construction, and one that is still evolving. As genealogists, people whose goal is to learn and write about personal details of other people, we often hear complaints about invasion of privacy. […]
My 5th-Grade Family Tree Project
My son Joey’s fifth-grade class at Sinai Akiba Academy is participating in the worldwide “My Family Story” competition sponsored by Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, on the campus of Tel Aviv University. The kids have to start […]
Opinion: Is Our Tree Better Than My Tree? The Benefits and Pitfalls of Collaborative Genealogy
Until recently, we began by building our own individual family trees. We started with our parents, siblings, children, spouses and continued to fill in as much as we could. When we reached a branch where we did not know the […]
Opinion: On Certainty in Genealogy
In June, I wrote an article on collaborative genealogy for Avotaynu entitled “Is Our Tree Better Than My Tree? The Benefits and Pitfalls of Collaborative Genealogy,” In recent articles, two Avotaynu authors have responded by raising concerns about collaborative genealogy, […]