Todd Knowles, AG, is a member of the International Patron Services team at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

After being introduce to family history at the age of 12, he soon discovered his Jewish roots. The journey to find these Polish Jews has led to the creation of the Knowles Collection (knowlescollection.blogspot.com), 6 databases that as of May 1, 2016, contain the genealogical records of over 1.4 million people.

Todd has spoken throughout the world and his articles have been widely published.

Todd blogs at The Knowles Collection.

“Getting the Most Out of FamilySearch for Jewish Research.” (Mon-118), 3:00 – 4:15 P.M.

FamilySearch is the largest free genealogical website in the world. It contains the records of over four billion people. In this lab we will learn how to make the most of FamilySearch as we search for our Jewish Ancestors.

This will be a hands-on experience where all participants may trace their own families. In addition to the basic searches, we will learn some tricks to finding the records of our families, including the fast-growing collection of FamilySearch digital records. This knowledge will enable participants to continue their research at home, as always, free of charge.

Category: Beginning genealogists

Topics: Ashkenazic research, Organization and preservation, Repositories, Sephardic research, Specific countries or geographic areas, Technology in support of genealogical research, Workshop – Technology

“The Knowles Collection, What Is It and How Do I Use it?” (Tues-129), 9:00 -10:15 A.M.

For over 40 years, W. Todd Knowles has been searching for records of his great great grandfather, a Polish Jew.  The search has led him to the records of many different archives and repositories in numerous countries. Now, after 40 years of searching, all those names have come together in six databases. These databases, are:  “The Jews of the British Isles;” “The Jews of Europe;” “The Jews of North America;” “The Jews of South America and Caribbean;” “The Jews of the Pacific Islands;” and “The Jews of Africa, Middle east and the Orient.”

The combined databases now hold the records of over 1.4 million people, and is growing by about 15,000 names a month. In this presentation, we will learn how to use this collection, and how to access it. The Knowles Collection is free and available at Familysearch.org.

Category: Beginning genealogists

Topics: Ashkenazic research, Organization and preservation, Repositories, Sephardic research