WHAT do you know about unearthing your family roots? Your answer is probably ‘not much’ as mine would have been prior to having the privilege of the fascinating lecture that Prof. Daniel Wagner of the Weizmann Institute of Science delivered recently to the Rishon leZion branch of ESRA. Using the example of his own genealogical search that took him back some 500 years into his family history and several overseas journeys, he guided us, his audience, along the exciting and exhilarating path that led him to his goal and, in so doing, showed us the way. Here are some of the tips that he gave us.

■Start with JewishGen on the internet.

■The Mormons have collected a huge amount of Jewish genealogical material from all over the world. It is stored in Salt Lake City but is available on the internet in any of their centers (but you have to know what you are looking for).

■As from 1808 the Napoleonic edicts introduced compulsory registration of all births, marriages and deaths in the greater part of Europe. Those records can be found either in every town or village or collected in a central area archive. These records were continued – for Jews – up to the 1940’s.

■Family names only really got under way in the 19th century. These were often changed among Jews for a variety of reasons. Don’t let that surprise you.

■Although documents were written in the local languages they all had Latin script except for Russia. Therefore, even if you do not understand the language you can usually read the names.

■Even before Napoleon, records were kept in many places often by the church for Jews and Christians alike.

■There is a vast library of what is known as rabbinical records. Rabbis would   collect records in book form, for example, copies of all the ‘ketubas’ of the   marriages at which they had officiated; famous rabbis or cantors would be remembered in accounts left behind in   writings. There are guides to these rabbinical records.

■And then, of course, in places such as the UK or the US where gravestones still remain, you might find not only the name of the deceased but also that of his or her father and sometimes even the grandfather as well as where they came from. Enjoy the journey. It is fascinating and rewarding.