Here is a comprehensive, detailed research strategy for tracing deceased Jewish ancestors, whether they lived in Europe, the Americas, Israel, or elsewhere. It’s designed for serious genealogical work — step-by-step, with key repositories, record types, and techniques specific to Jewish genealogy.

1. Define Your Research Goal
Before searching, clarify what you want to learn:

• Identify who you’re researching (full Hebrew and secular names, if known).
• Specify what you’re seeking — e.g., birthplace, parents’ names, burial location, Holocaust fate, or immigration path.
• Set geographic focus (town, district, or region — knowing the historical borders and jurisdictions is critical).

2. Start with What You Know

• Build your foundation using modern family data:
• Collect all family documents: death certificates, old letters, photos, obituaries, yahrzeit (memorial) notices, synagogue membership records.
• Interview relatives — especially older ones. Ask for Hebrew names, ancestral towns, Yiddish nicknames, and immigration stories.
• Create a timeline for the ancestor’s life with approximate dates and locations.

Tip: Record Hebrew or Yiddish names. Example: “Moishe (Moses) ben Yosef” can help identify burial records or synagogue memorial plaques.

3. Use FamilySearch and JewishGen Together

These are your two most powerful free databases.

FamilySearch.org

• Search global vital records, censuses, and probate files.
• Use the Family Tree function to collaborate with distant relatives.
• Try variant spellings and phonetic matches (Katz / Kac / Kaats / Kacowicz).

JewishGen.org

• Use the JewishGen Communities Database to locate towns (shtetls) and identify historical regions (Russian Empire vs. Poland, etc.).
• Search the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) to find others researching your ancestral surname or town.
• Explore:

• JewishGen’s Holocaust Database
• Yizkor Book Project (memorial books from destroyed communities)
• All Country Databases (Poland, Lithuania, Galicia, etc.)
• Jewish Records Indexing–Poland (JRI-Poland)

4. Search Death, Burial, and Cemetery Records
For deceased ancestors, this is the heart of your work.

A. Burial Records

• Use JewishGen Burial Registry (JOWBR) — lists over 3 million burials worldwide.
• Check FindAGrave and BillionGraves (many Jewish cemeteries are digitized).
• Hebrew gravestones (matzevot) are essential — they usually list:
• The deceased’s Hebrew name
• Their father’s Hebrew name (“ben” or “bat”)
• Date of death in the Hebrew calendar

Tip: Use HebrewForChristians.com or Hebcal.com to convert Hebrew dates to Gregorian.

B. Synagogue Memorial Plaques

• Contact local synagogues — many maintain memorial (Yahrzeit) plaques and burial society (chevra kadisha) records.

5. Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death)
Depending on the region:

Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus)

• Check JRI-Poland and Polish State Archives (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl).
• For Russian Empire: FamilySearch catalog and JewishGen’s All-Russia Database.

Western Europe

• Use Centrale des Archives du Judaïsme Français, Arolsen Archives, and local municipal archives.

United States & Canada

• State and city vital records offices, Ellis Island, and Ancestry.com immigration databases.

Israel

• Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) hosts searchable burial and immigration data.

6. Immigration and Naturalization Records
For those who emigrated before death:

• Ellis Island / Castle Garden databases
• U.S. National Archives (NARA) for passenger manifests and naturalization papers
• Canadian Jewish Heritage Network for arrivals to Canada
• HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) records may include refugee case files

Tip: Compare naturalization petitions to ship manifests — birthplace often differs in spelling or language.

7. Holocaust Research (if applicable)
For ancestors who perished or disappeared during WWII:

• Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
• Search by surname, maiden name, or town.
• Arolsen Archives – Displaced Persons and camp records.
• USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) – digitized transport and camp lists.
• JewishGen Holocaust Database – includes Yizkor book translations and deportation lists.

Consider contributing a Page of Testimony to Yad Vashem if one does not yet exist.

8. Community and Shtetl Records

• Landsmanshaftn (mutual aid society) records in U.S. city archives often list deceased members and their burial plots.
• Yizkor books (memorial books) written after the Holocaust list victims and surviving families.
• Local archives in Eastern Europe often hold tax lists, residence permits, or ghetto registers.

Tip: JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Database has English translations and indexes by surname and town.

9. DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

• Use DNA to identify living relatives or confirm family branches:
• AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, and FamilyTreeDNA have strong Jewish databases.
• Use GEDmatch for cross-platform comparison.
• For deceased ancestors, test living descendants and analyze matches to infer lineage.
• Caution: Endogamy (intermarriage within Jewish populations) can complicate results — use segment analysis tools and triangulation.

10. Document, Cite, and Share

• Record each discovery with source citations (archive name, microfilm, URL, date).
• Create a research log noting searches performed, spellings tried, and gaps remaining.

Add findings to:

• FamilySearch Family Tree
• Ancestry Public Trees
• JewishGen Family Finder
• Share results with local genealogical societies or family associations.

11. Collaborate with Experts and Societies
Join or contact:

• Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado (JGSC)
• Offers mentorship, local cemetery databases, and webinars.
• International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS)
• Coordinates global Jewish genealogy conferences.
• Local archives in your ancestors’ towns — many archivists speak English and respond to email queries.

12. Preserve and Memorialize
Once you’ve located your ancestor’s records:

• Create a digital memorial or family website.
• Submit records to JewishGen Memorial Databases or FindAGrave.
• Share your findings with younger generations to preserve Jewish memory.

“To remember is to give them life again.”