Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Speaking / Presenting

Renee Steinig began to do genealogical research in the late 1970s, inspired by a cousin in Israel who made it look easy. Many family trees and some 18 years later, she went on to accept client work, serving individuals eager to learn more about their families' pasts as well as attorneys.

Renee's specialties include New York research, Jewish roots in Galicia (once a province of the Austrian Empire, now in Poland and Ukraine), location of lost family, and due diligence for probate cases. She has testified as an expert witness in several New York Surrogate's Courts. Her personal research interests include towns and villages throughout Galicia and Jewish communities near Frankfurt, Germany. She was a member of the first group of genealogists permitted access to the files of the International Tracing Service (now the Arolsen Archives) in Germany, where she documented the fates of many family members who perished in the Holocaust.

A volunteer curator for Geni.com, Renee enjoys building trees there for "Jews in the news" and other prominent figures. Several years ago, her discoveries about the Jewish roots of New York City’s late Archbishop John Cardinal O’Connor were the subject of front-page coverage in the New York Times.

A native New Yorker, Renee is a graduate of Barnard College. 

 

Testimonials
"Your genealogical kung fu is definitely the best. I am in awe." -- Michael Chabon, author

"Thank you to... Renee Steinig for her expert genealogical help." -- Daniel A. Cohen, Associate Professor of History, Case Western Reserve University, in "'Hero Strong' and Other Stories: Tales of Girlhood, Ambition, Female Masculinity, and Women's Worldly Achievement in Antebellum America"

"I turn to Renee Steinig for ongoing genealogical advice." -- Lawrence J. Epstein, in "At the Edge of a Dream: The Story of Jewish Immigrants on New York's Lower East Side, 1880-1920."

"YOU ARE AMAZING. Seriously, I am floored by your incredible kindness and the effort you have given to help." -- Lisa E., researcher

"You are a wizard..." -- Thomas A., researcher

"The information that you sent me sent shivers down my spine -- all the details, dates of my grandmother and great-grandmother. This is such a tremendous help to me." -- Gitty S., researcher

Lectures
Lectures given at recent Jewish genealogy conferences and to local genealogical societies and community groups include:

The American Dream: A Look at Some Influential Americans' Immigrant Ancestors

"But I Have It in Writing!" A Look at Some Records that Lead Researchers Astray

Finding Cousin Mimi: Looking for Lost Family in our Small Jewish World

From Bella to Joe, 2-3-43: In Search of a Jewish GI's Family

Galicia Basics: What Every Galitzianer Needs to Know

The Ghosts of Marnixstraat 417: Researching the Shoah in Amsterdam

It's a Small, Small World: Three Degrees of Jewish Separation

Paging Dr. Smith: In Search of a Birth Father

Remembering D-Day: Three Jewish Heroes

Scandals, Shandehs, and Lies: The Stories Families Don't Tell

So Who's Counting? Jews, Quotas, and the Ivy League

Tall Tales and Transformations: Researching Two Families Who Changed More Than Their Names

What's a Jewish Boy Like You Doing in a Cathedral Like This? The Surprise on John Cardinal O'Connor's Family Tree

Repositories
Plainview, N.Y., Family History Center
Jewish cemeteries in Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, N.Y., and in Baltimore, Md. and vicinity
Subscription access to numerous genealogy, newspaper, and people-finding databases

Research Time Periods

• 21st Century
• 20th Century
• 19th Century

Languages
English; some French, German, Hebrew, and Yiddish

Honorifics/Credentials
Lifetime Achievement Award - International Assn. of Jewish Genealogical Societies (August 2024)

Affiliations
Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island - co-founder, past president, longtime board member

Gesher Galicia - director, discussion group moderator, Family Finder editor

Jewish Records Indexing-Poland - Mielec Town Leader

Geni.com - curator

JewishGen Press - board member

Jewish Genealogical Society-NY - member

German Genealogy Group - member

Israel Genealogical Research Assn. - member

New York Genealogical & Biographical Society - member

Yiddish Book Center - book "zamler" (collector)

JewishGen Discussion Group - active contributor

Degrees
Barnard College - Bachelor of Arts (Sociology)