Welcome Genners,

With this issue we begin a tour of http://www.jewishgen.org/ . Step
aboard. First stop is the first spot on the page: "Learn."

*** The FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions ***

The FAQ is the place to start. And it's a place to visit again and again
-- as your research progresses, you will find that some parts of the FAQ
become more relevant than they were at first.

A quick overview:

Get started: general books to start with, easy records to find, simple
actions to take.
Teach yourself: books and other publications, vendors of books and
supplies.
Find records: vital records, naturalizations, passenger lists, archives,
and Family History Centers.
Connect with others: societies, seminars, the Discussion Group, the JGFF
and FTJP.
Special topics: Holocaust research, Jewish names, computers.

My own fun so far has drawn heavily >from the FAQ. I've looked at US
census records, ordered vital records, and visited the local Family
History center, where just this week I found my great-grandparents'
marriage in Schenectady, NY, and looked at the 1899 Kiev city directory.
I've also finished reading the new edition of ">from Generation to
Generation." All these strategies, and many more, have their roots in
the FAQ.

*** InfoFiles ***

Many InfoFiles deserve a post to themselves, and some may get that post
later on. The files are sorted into topics -- general genealogy and
country-specific genealogy, plus a few about how to use JewishGen itself.
This is as close as you get to "something for everyone." Here are a
very few samples:

Dictionary of Judaica - foreign words and expressions
How to Read a Hebrew Tombstone
Teaching genealogy to kids
Your family health tree
Jewish Given Names
Occupation translations
Genealogist's Code of Behavior
Many resources >from around the world

And even a genealogical fable.

*** Tools (the calculator) ***

The JewishGen Calculator is like a four-feature Swiss Army knife:

1. Soundex: calculates Daitch-Mokotoff (D-M) and National Archives
soundex codes.
2. Calendar Conversion: calculates dates to/>from Gregorian and Jewish
calendars.
3. Jewish Calendar: displays all Jewish holidays for any Gregorian or
Jewish year.
4. Distance / Direction: calculates distance and direction between towns
(kilometers and miles).

With some search skills, a few tools, and a bit of duct tape
(put-it-all-together-ness), you can build on to your history. And tell
us all about it.

Until the next stop,

Barbara Niederhoff
for the JewishGen moderation team