As the cosmopolitan gateway to the United States, New York City continues to appeal to those who dream of a better life. Between 1820 and 1920 over 82 percent of immigrants to the United States came through the port of New York. Even if they migrated elsewhere, over 100,000,000 Americans have an ancestral paper trail that involves New York City (of them about 40 million have roots in Brooklyn). Learn how to trace your New York ancestors, whether they were passing through or called it home as well as resources to help you reconnect with family that remained elsewhere. While on-site research is the optimal approach to research, this is not always convenient or feasible. Components of New York City family history can be explored using a broad array of free and subscription internet sites as well as some conventional sources. These resources will be evaluated in the context of the questions and needs of lecture participants.

Jordan Auslander is a NYC-based forensic genealogist, expert witness, lecturer, title and estate historian; he has researched cases across the US, Caribbean, Europe and Israel; published an index to Jewish records in Slovak Archives; Genealogical Gazetteer of Greater Hungary; articles on documentation of US participants in WW1 and how to access and use Social Security records. He is a former board member of Jewish Genealogical Society of NY. His acting pretensions applied as “Heir Jordan, Extreme Genealogist,” RootsTelevision.com Telly award winner; the ‘reliably inappropriate’ host of IAJGS conference Gameshow Night and Genealogy Death Match.