Ancestry.com is one of the largest genealogy platforms, and while it’s not specifically focused on Jewish genealogy, it offers valuable resources and strategies that can help you uncover your Jewish roots.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Ancestry.com effectively for Jewish genealogy research:

1. Start with What You Know

• Begin your family tree with yourself, your parents, and grandparents.
• Enter as many details as possible: names (including Hebrew or Yiddish versions), birthplaces, and immigration dates.
• If possible, note religious affiliations or burial locations (Jewish cemeteries can provide big clues).

2. Search U.S. and Immigration Records

• Many Jewish families immigrated between the 1880s and 1920s. Key collections on Ancestry include:
• U.S. Federal Census (1900–1950): Look for naturalization status, birthplace, and family members.
• Passenger Lists (Ellis Island, New York, Philadelphia): Check for ships arriving from Eastern Europe.
• Naturalization Records: These often list exact towns of origin.
• City Directories: Show where immigrant families lived and worked.
• Tip: Jewish immigrants often changed names. Search with variations and phonetic spellings (e.g., “Katz,” “Kac,” “Kacze”).

3. Use Jewish-Specific Clues

• When a record lists “Russia,” “Poland,” or “Austria,” try to determine the historic region (many Jews came from the Pale of Settlement, which includes modern Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland).
• Look for synagogue membership records, Jewish burial societies (landsmanshaftn), and cemetery records — some of which appear in Ancestry’s indexed materials or user-contributed trees.

4. Use DNA Testing

• AncestryDNA can identify Jewish genetic regions (such as Ashkenazi Jewish or Sephardic Jewish).
• Connect with DNA matches — many may share ancestors or family branches lost through immigration.
• Message matches to compare family trees or share old family names and shtetl origins.

5. Search Jewish Record Collections

• Although Ancestry’s Jewish records are limited, try:
• JewishGen.org (linked from many Ancestry public trees).
• Yad Vashem’s Holocaust database (you can cross-reference with Ancestry trees).
• U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for refugee lists.
• Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia records (many are linked through Ancestry partnerships).

6. Collaborate and Verify

• Explore Public Member Trees — other users may have documented your ancestral branch.
• Always verify — family trees can contain errors.
• Use the “Comments” or “Save to Tree” features to track alternate information and sources.

7. Use Ancestry’s “Jewish Community” Tools

• Ancestry occasionally features community research pages, such as:
• Jewish Family History Collection (searchable from the Card Catalog).
• Holocaust and Refugee Lists.
• Jewish Cemeteries of the U.S. and Europe.

8. Link with Other Jewish Resources

• Combine Ancestry with:
• JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) — to locate others researching the same surnames or towns.
• Find A Grave — many Jewish cemetery photos and transcriptions are included in Ancestry searches.
• MyHeritage — especially useful for Israeli and European Jewish records.