Author Archives: JGS Long Island

23andMe Bankruptcy

23 & Me recently declared bankruptcy as described in many news articles, including this article from Reuters.

Many voices within the genealogy community have weighed in on this matter, mostly advocating a wait-and-see approach, please see the posts below. However, all JGSLI members should at a minimum download a copy of their data from the company.

From the founders of the Holocaust Reunion Project: Jennifer Mendelsohn shared this article from Reason magazine and Adina Newman shared this post on LinkedIn

Kitty Munson Cooper wrote this a blog post titled "23andme: Don't Panic"

Roberta Estes has a longer post on her blog, DNAeXplained

If you wish to download or remove your information from 23andMe please see the information below.

How to download your genetic data: 

Regardless of what you choose, experts recommend downloading your raw DNA data—especially if you plan to ask the company to delete it. Users of 23andMe can transfer their data to another platform or preserve for personal storage by following these steps:  

  1. Log into your 23andMe account on the website 
  2. Go to https://you.23andme.com/user/ 
  3. Scroll to the “23andMe Data” section at the bottom of the page 
  4. Download your data 

Southard has a tutorial for downloading raw 23andMe data on her website. 

How to delete genetic data/test kit: 

  1. Log into your 23andMe account on the website 
  2. Go to https://you.23andme.com/user/ 
  3. Scroll to the “23andMe Data” section at the bottom of the page 
  4. Scroll to “Delete Data” 
  5. Click “Permanently Delete Data” 
  6. Don’t forget: Confirm your request—you will receive an email from 23andMe and must follow the link in the email to confirm your request 

How to destroy your 23andMe test sample: 

Deleting your physical DNA sample is different from deleting the genetic data in 23andMe’s database if you previously opted to have your saliva sample and DNA stored by 23andMe. To change that preference, you can do that from your account settings page under “Preferences.” 

How to revoke permission for your genetic data to be used in research: 

If you previously consented to 23andMe and third-party researchers to use your genetic data in research, you can revoke your consent in your account settings under “Research and Product Consents.” 

Note that this will only prevent your data from being used in future research. Your data (which has been anonymized—that is, disassociated with your name and other identifying information) will remain in any research studies that have already taken place.

1915 – 1956 Manhattan Voter Registers Online

Ancestry released a collection today with almost 18,000,000 names of Manhattan Voters. These books were stored at the Municipal Archives and digitized over the last two years or so. You can search them at https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62363/.

Before 1957, voters in New York State had to register separately for each election, these registers are the annual registration registers and generally contain the following information: name, age, country of birth, date and place of naturalization, date of registration, occupation, place of employment, residence, party affiliation.

Not all books for all years survive, but if your ancestors regularly voted you may find 1 - 2 dozen records for them.

Note: This only covers Manhattan.
Queens and Staten Island records are available on site at 31 Chambers St. Brooklyn records are still with the NYC Board of Elections. The Bronx's voter registers have been largely destroyed through flooding.

New York State Vital Records Access

JGSLI held a Zoom meeting concerning NYS Vital Records Access at on February 6.

New York State recently proposed significant changes as part of the 2025-2026 budget process that would:

1) decrease the number of years of birth, marriage and death records that are available to genealogists (genealogy copies would not be available until 125 years after birth, 100 years after marriage and 75 years after death)

2) raise fees for uncertified genealogy copies from $22 to $95.

Written testimony regarding this proposal can be submitted, but only until Tuesday, February 11th at 5:00 P.M.

Additional information on this issue can be found at:

The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society: https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/blog/call-action-regarding-access-new-york-state-vital-records including a community petition at https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/form/community-signatures

The Association of Professional Genealogists: https://www.apgen.org/news_manager.php?page=39302

Reclaim The Records: https://www.nysvitalrecords.org/

January 2025 Meeting Summaries

On January 12th we heard from Avrohom Krauss with Introduction to Landmanshaftn and on January 22nd Jarrett Ross spoke to us about The Future of Genealogy.

Videos and handouts are available in our members only area.

Introduction to Landmanshaftn with Avrohom Krauss - January 12, 2025

Avrohom discussed the concept of Landsmanshaftn, mutual aid societies for Jewish immigrants from the same European town or region. He explained that these societies were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were often associated with social, religious, ideological, or political aspects. Avrohom mentioned that these societies often had cemeteries associated with them. He provided examples of different types of Landsmanshaftn. He also discussed the affiliations of these societies, including national organizations like the Independent Order Brith Abraham and regional federations. Avrohom emphasized the importance of these societies for genealogists researching their shtetl.

Avrohom discussed the importance of Landsmanshtn in the lives of immigrants, particularly in the United States. He explained that these societies provided social services, relief, and a sense of community for immigrants who were unfamiliar with the new culture and language. Avrohom highlighted the various benefits these societies offered, including work benefits, health benefits, and death benefits. He also emphasized the role of Landsmanshaftn in facilitating naturalization and providing assistance during the process. Avrohom shared examples of how these societies helped individuals, such as providing death certificates and burial plots. He stressed the importance of researching beyond immediate relatives to gain a fuller understanding of one's family history.

He emphasized the importance of records, particularly those found at YIVO in New York, which could provide valuable information about one's town and relatives.
Avrohom discussed the process of accessing records in New York, specifically focusing on the Center of Jewish History and the Jewish Gen Communities Database. He highlighted the importance of identifying the correct town and society records, and the potential for digitization of records in the future. Avrohom also explained the use of the Jewish Gen Communities Database for finding hometowns and Yizkor books. He mentioned the use of Kehilalinks as a supplementary source of information.

Avrohom shared his research methods, emphasizing the importance of using Google, Yizkor books, and Kehila links to find information about towns.  He provided examples of how he found information about his mother's family town and suggested that if a town doesn't have a Yizkor book or Kehilalinks, one should look at nearby communities or the district capital. Avrohom also mentioned the Pinchas Hakelliot encyclopedia as a potential resource.

The Future of Genealogy with Jarrett Ross - Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Jarrett presented on the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications in genealogy, including facial recognition, DNA testing, and OCR technology. The team also discussed the potential of AI in genealogy research, and the challenges and potential solutions for OCR technology, particularly in handling non-Latin characters.

AI in Genealogy and OCR Advancements

Jarrett discussed the advancements in artificial intelligence(AI) and its applications in genealogy. He highlighted the potential of generative AI, optical character recognition (OCR), and facial recognition in assisting genealogists. Jarrett also emphasized the importance of verifying AI-generated information due to its potential for errors and bias. He mentioned the increasing reliability and accuracy of AI, as well as its potential for advanced automated research and family tree generation. Jarrett also touched on OCR technology, its current capabilities, and its future potential in scanning images and transcribing handwritten documents. He concluded by mentioning the ongoing efforts to improve OCR for languages like Cyrillic.

Facial Recognition in Genealogy Potential

Jarrett discussed the potential of facial recognitiontechnology in genealogy, highlighting its limitations and the need for largerdatabases of faces. He mentioned Related Faces as a company working on thisconcept and Scott Genzer's project which demonstrated the viability of facialrecognition in genealogy. Jarrett also discussed the future of facialrecognition in genealogy, including increased accuracy and the possibility ofrelationship projection, which could indicate a relative based on facialsimilarity. He emphasized the need for more photo searching databases andcapabilities, and the potential for facial recognition to provide a betterview into history and find unknown photographs of ancestors.

AI Integration in Genealogy Research

Jarrett discussed the integration of AI and DNA in genealogyresearch, highlighting the use of AI in DNA testing and its potential foradvanced data visualization and clustering. He introduced tools likeAncestry's Side View Tool, Auto Clusters, Auto Segments, and Genetic MatchAnalysis. Jarrett also discussed the use of AI in advanced relationshipestimation, citing examples like WATO and SegCm. He mentioned the possibilityof automated family tree creation, as demonstrated by 23andMe, and thepotential for future improvements in accuracy and ease of use. Lastly,Jarrett introduced the concept of reconstructed genomes, a method forcreating an ancestor's profile using DNA from living relatives and suggestedthe possibility of using this method to trace back further generations.

DNA Testing Advancements and Applications

Jarrett discussed the potential of DNA testing in the future, particularly in relation to artifact testing and advanced DNA testing. He explained that artifact testing involves extracting DNA from items such as stamps, envelopes, and jewelry, which could potentially provide a person's DNA profile. However, this method is costly and has low success rates due too degraded and low amounts of DNA. Jarrett also mentioned the possibility of rootless hair testing becoming available to the consumer market. He highlighted the advancements in DNA testing, including lower costs and higher accuracy, particularly with next-generation sequencing and low SNP tests. He shared a case where advanced DNA testing, specifically low SNP tests, helped solve a 50-year-old abduction case.

AI Applications in Genealogy Discussed

The meeting revolved around the use of AI in genealogy and its potential applications. Jarrett discussed the use of generative AI for indexing tasks, and the possibility of using AI for facial recognition in historical photos. He also mentioned the use of AI for summarizing genealogical data and the potential for AI to identify clothing and military uniforms in photos. The team also discussed the energy consumption of AI systems and the potential for AI to improve the accuracy of DNA testing. The conversation ended with discussions on 23andMe's new hybrid IBD program algorithm and the potential for AI to identify false positives in DNA testing.

OCR Challenges and Potential Solutions

In the meeting, JGS and Jarrett discussed the challenges and potential solutions for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, particularly in handling non-Latin characters. Jarrett mentioned that the technology is still in development and needs more data sets to improve its accuracy. He also highlighted the work of a Ukrainian individual working on an OCR project for Cyrillic handwriting. The team also discussed the use of Transkribus, a website offering 200 free credits for image uploads, and the potential of Google Lens for language translation.