Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Speaking / Presenting

A lifelong family historian, Rachel began researching her own Eastern European heritage when she was still a young teen. Today, Rachel has over 20 years under her belt as a dedicated genealogical researcher. She specializes in Jewish genealogy in North America, the former Russian Pale of Settlement, Congress Poland, the Austrian Empire (Galicia), and regions encompassing the former German Empire. These areas include modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany.

An expert in the use of online and technological resources, Rachel's advanced computer skills open up an entire universe of records and indexes, which is steadily expanding as municipalities across the globe digitize their archival holdings.

Rachel’s passion for languages and Jewish history led her to refine her skills in reading and interpreting Hebrew headstones and Yiddish signatures, among other intricacies unique to Jewish genealogy. Through her training as a classical singer (in a former life), Rachel has formally studied multiple languages, including German, Czech, French, Spanish, and Latin, which she puts to good use as a professional researcher.

As a specialist in Jewish genealogy, Rachel has been featured in the New York Times and as a special guest on Genealogy Adventures Live. She appeared on New York’s WNYW Fox 5, speaking with legendary anchor Ernie Anastos about Holocaust-related collections on Ancestry.com. In addition to her client work, Rachel offers short, fun lectures on the basics of Jewish genealogical research, documenting one's research for posterity, and preserving family photos and documents for future generations. Her extensive writing on Jewish genealogical research can be found on Trace.com.

Since 2017, Rachel has had the distinct honor of serving as Senior Genealogist for Operation Benjamin, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memories of American-Jewish soldiers who, for various reasons, were buried under markers incorrectly representing their religion and heritage at American military cemeteries all over the world. Operation Benjamin’s ultimate mission is to work alongside families and the federal government to correct these historical mistakes. In 2021, she presented Operation Benjamin’s work on JewishGen Talks: Researching Jewish Families in America, and since then has given Zoom presentations to multiple Jewish genealogical societies.

Rachel is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York, and holds a Bachelor's Degree (Magna cum Laude) from New York University. She lives in lower Manhattan.

Testimonials
"I had been trying to research my Jewish ancestry for almost two years without much success. I was fortunate enough to have Rachel help me. She was thorough, diligent, and quick with every correspondence. Her passion for Genealogy and genuine interest in my endeavor made it all that more of an exciting and enjoyable experience! I will continue to use her services for the foreseeable future and obviously highly recommend her to anyone." - Andrew C.

"I read your report to my parents and some of my children, and we all really enjoyed it stirring up many memories of grandparents and great grandparents. My daughters especially enjoyed hearingsome of the old stories. My parents were incredibly impressed with your work product and accuracy. You really did an amazing job! Thanks again for everything. Truly amazing!" -R.G.

"Thanks for all you are doing, you are very thorough and obviously expert in finding novel ways to research." - Phil P.

"Wow. Amazing what you have found. Thank you for helping me with this." - Margie G.

Publications/Media
JewishGen Talks (live panel presentation)
Researching Jewish Families in America, November 17, 2021
 
WNYW Fox 5 – New York City
Interview: Ancestry's New Collections from the Arolsen Archives, August 25, 2019
 
The New York Times
Ancestry Digitizes Millions of Holocaust Records
 
Military Times
How one organization is working to correct cases of Jewish WWII soldiers mistakenly buried under Latin Cross headstones
 
The Jewish News (Detroit, Michigan)
A Hero’s Rest, at Last
 
Genealogy Adventures Live (web series)
GA Live Special: Jewish Genealogy 101 with Rachel Silverman
Rachel joins hosts Brian Sheffey and Donya Williams in a special discussion about Jewish genealogy, and how certain techniques utilized in the search for Jewish ancestors can often be applied to research in other ethnic backgrounds.

Repositories
Center for Jewish History, NYC Municipal Archives, NYC Clerk, NYPL, New York County Supreme Court, Bronx County Supreme Court

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century

Affiliations
Jewish Genealogical Society of New York (JGSNY)

Degrees
Bachelor of Arts (Vocal Music), New York University