The Jewish Special Interest Group (J-SIG) of St. Louis Genealogical Society began in June 2005 as a revival of the Jewish Genealogical Society of St. Louis, formerly associated with United Hebrew Congregation. It took a hiatus for 2016 through 2018 but returned as an active SIG in 2019, assisted by the Center for Jewish Learning/Jewish Federation of St. Louis. The St. Louis Genealogical Society’s Jewish SIG continues to be a member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

 

Next J-SIG Meeting: Sunday, 1 December 2024

1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

 This meeting will be hybrid—In-person at the Clark Family Branch, St. Louis County Library, and via Zoom

Jewish Genealogy Resources at the St. Louis County Library

Discover the resources available for tracing your Jewish family in the History & Genealogy Department at the St. Louis County Library, including books, periodicals, newspapers, local history indexes, and more. This meeting will be hybrid.

Featured Speaker: Josiah Schmidt

This meeting will be held at the Clark Family Branch of the St. Louis County Library, 1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, 63131.
A link to a Google map with directions is here.

All Jewish SIG meetings are free and open to the public; however it is necessary to register, if you want to join a Zoom webinar. You do NOT need to register for any in-person meetings or to view the digital recordings that will be posted on this page.

To register for the Zoom meeting, click on the Registration Button below and follow the simple instructions that appear on your screen. Once you have filled in the registration form, an invitation with a link and a passcode to attend the meeting will be sent to the email you provided.

If there is a handout for this meeting, it will be here.

Upcoming Meetings for 2025

Jewish SIG meetings this year will be a combination of in-person, hybrid, and Zoom only, so please note the instructions for each meeting.

Click here for the 2025 J-SIG meeting flyer.

All Jewish SIG meetings are free and open to the public; however it is necessary to register, if you want to join a Zoom webinar. You do NOT need to register for any in-person meetings or to view the digital recordings that will be posted on this page. All meetings, except for the February workshop, begin at 1:00 p.m. (Central)

 

Sunday, 2 February 2025

An Introduction to Finding Your Jewish Roots

(This meeting will be an all-day workshop at the St. Louis Kaplan-Feldman Holocaust Museum. Pre-registration will be required.)

Join us for three lectures and a box lunch: “Migration Paths of Our Ancestors,” “First Steps in Doing Jewish Genealogy,” and “U.S. Record Sets for Documenting Your Family.” More information and registration information will be forthcoming soon!

Featured Speakers: Ilene Murray and Carol Waggoner, Jewish SIG co-leaders

 

Sunday, 1 June 2025

The Newest Resources from the Southern Jewish Family Research Center at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

(This meeting will be Zoom only. Pre-registration will be required.)

Located in New Orleans, the museum’s new center serves as a valuable hands-on resource for family historians dedicated to exploring and safeguarding southern Jewish history. Our speaker will delve into some of the unique family narratives housed in the center and provide insights on how genealogists can access the archives.

Featured Speaker: Lizzi Meister, MSJE Public Programs Manager

 

Sunday, 24 August 2025

Understanding Jewish Cemeteries

(This meeting will be hybrid at the StLGS office and via Zoom.
Registration is required to attend remotely.)

Jewish cemeteries have some unique features, which vary depending on where the cemetery is located. We’ll explore some of the traditions, monuments, and record sets that might be available to researchers both in St. Louis and beyond.

Featured Speaker: Ilene Murray, StLGS publications director and Jewish SIG co-leader

 

Sunday, 7 December 2025

How to Find Any Shtetl on Topographic Maps

(This meeting will be Zoom only. Pre-registration will be required.)

It is possible to find even the smallest shtetl on highly detailed and downloadable topographic maps. Our speaker will give step-by-step directions on how to do so for Eastern Europe, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Featured Speaker: Andrew Kapochunas, expert on historic maps

♦

Recorded Meeting from Sunday, 25 August 2024

St. Louis Jewish Newspapers

Featured speaker: Ilene Murray, StLGS publications director and Jewish SIG co-leader

Watch the recording here. Password for the recording is 10cSkZ+l

The handout for this meeting is here.