The Business of Genealogy with Dr. Janette Silverman – 040

Genealogy? The study of jeans! Whoops. I got that one wrong.

I had so much fun interviewing Dr. Janette Silverman. Do you have ever get stuck doing stuff on Ancestry.com for like 12 hours?

She is awesome! What a career she has built. Total authority and such a kind heart!

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President, and various professionals, one or more of which are or have been Krane Financial Solutions clients. However, nothing stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President and various third-party professionals. Noting stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Dr. Janette Silverman, has been active in genealogical research for over three decades. She is a Senior Genealogist and Research Team Manager at AncestryProGenealogists®, the division of Ancestry.com that does private client research. Her research specialties include Eastern European, Jewish and Holocaust era research. She has travelled extensively in Eastern Europe, doing research in archives onsite in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, and taken clients on personalized tours of their ancestral towns. Her research and travel has taken her to other parts of Europe and Israel.

**SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE VIDEO!**

Why Do People Love Genealogy?

Dr. Jay’s father did not know much about his own history, so she was inspired by him to learn more. Her grandfather (her father’s father) wasn’t interested, and discouraged Dr. Jay from researching which only made her want to learn more.
Dr. Jay was originally in Jewish heritage education. She believed as an Eastern European Jew it wasn’t possible for her to discover her family history like it was for people who told her, “we can trace our ancestry back to the Mayflower!” After seeing an ad in a magazine about a program that could help her learn her family history, Dr. Jay dove in and became hooked.
Researching and learning about genealogy and family history really brings the family together and gives everyone something to talk about. Dr. Jay’s family would discuss it during their weekly family Zoom calls during Covid lockdown.
Discovering new things and finding connections can become an addiction. There is so much information out there and so many things to discover.

Tips for Aspiring Genealogists

The best way to learn about all the different areas of genealogy is to find genealogical institutes and go to their conferences. Dr. Jay focuses on Jewish and Eastern European genealogy, so she goes to conferences hosted by groups dedicated to those fields.
It is possible to get into genealogy and start getting paid for your work even if you started in genealogy as a hobby. You can also earn a degree in family history if you prefer a more official path. Dr. Jay employs both people with degrees and those who started as hobbyists (who are often initially hired as assistants so they can learn the ropes).
Some genealogists work in a more corporate setting, which does not work for everyone. There are also smaller consortiums for those who don’t enjoy the corporate atmosphere.

The Business of Genealogy

Hiring a private genealogist like Dr. Jay is expensive. Genealogists are generally hired for at least 50 hours and charge around $125/hour.
When you sign up for a service like Ancestry, it is important to remember they are more than just a database. They are also constantly researching, scanning and digitizing records and making information accessible that would otherwise be impossible for the average person to find.
Ancestry is a great company run by genuine people. They are constantly training their employees in new skills and making sure they can offer the best service possible to their customers.

Best Quotes:

“Someone who’s an aspiring genealogist needs to go to these [genealogical] institutes over a course of several years. They should definitely attend conferences like RootsTech and the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies conference. There’s conferences all over the world that make a lot of sense and can help you learn to focus on a specific area or a particular ethnic background, cultural background, or group of people.”

“The other piece of it [Dr. Jay’s love for genealogy] is the fifth commandment of those famous ten in Hebrew, honoring your mother and your father. And to me, this kind of work speaks to that. I’m honoring my ancestors, my parents most directly, but certainly my grandparents who I knew, and also down through the generations. And while I’m doing that, I’m bringing other names to light.”

“You can’t restore somebody to life. That’s dead – except through memory. If you don’t have a memory of them, they’re gone. So as an Eastern European Jew, somebody whose family, like just about every other Jewish family – Eastern European or otherwise – was negatively impacted in the most horrific ways by the Holocaust, by World War II, through this work, I’m able to restore to memory people whose names were forgotten.”

Connect With Janette

Website
Email

*Find Dr. Silverman on Ancestry: https://www.progenealogists.com/our-experts (she is the first one on the list if you search for “Jewish” under Type of Research)