I was always interested in my family history, and had asked my parents about their grandparents, but surprisingly, they barely knew their names. My dad said his family was from “Russia”. (Not too helpful!) My mom said her father was from Bialystok, and her mother was from Vienna (wrong!). That was all I got from them.
During the winter of 2009, I decided to take an eight week course given by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. That course changed my life; I had no idea what resources were available online and in archives, and from that moment on I was hooked! A year later I was in Poland and visited my ancestral towns on my mother’s side, and had acquired birth certificates for my grandmother from 1880 and her father from 1862. Now I have 2500 names in my tree! And with DNA testing, I have supplemented my paper trail with DNA results to find some interesting matches who are turning out to be distant cousins.
I wanted to give back to JGSGB, so I was their Outreach Coordinator for nine years and arranged for JGSGB experts to give introductory lectures in temples, schools, libraries, etc. I would encourage you to join JGSGB, attend their meetings and learn how to find your roots.
More and more people are getting into genealogical research, so join the fun!