My Journey
My name is Samuel (Sammy) Lerner, the founder of Lerning Your Linage. From a young age, I was interested in my family’s history. When I was in middle school, I decided to learn Russian in earnest, with a big motivating factor being able to better connect with my maternal grandmother and to ask about her past. I remember vividly asking about her experience as a teenager living in Siberia during WWII. (Her picture is down below).
Years later, during the winter of 2020, shortly before COVID-19 became widespread, I started my genealogy journey in earnest. In a time of global isolation, it was empowering to rekindle family ties and listen to family stories I had never heard about. In efforts to better connect with more family members and to do more in-depth family research, I realized the importance of improving my Russian language skills. In the summer of 2021, I participated in the intensive Critical Language Scholarship Program, a program run by the U.S. State Department, and in fall 2022, I studied abroad in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
During my free time, I have put my Russian-language skills to use when volunteering for multiple of JewishGen’s research divisions by indexing lists written in pre-revolution Cyrillic handwriting. In the summer of 2023, I went to Poland with the JewishGen Future Scholars Fellowship to learn more about Jewish history in Poland and to get the chance to clean Jewish cemeteries.
My Mission
As I continued to grow in my genealogy journey, I have felt the growing urge to share my knowledge with others. This has led me to talk at multiple genealogy conferences. I am glad that I can be on the mission of sharing knowledge on resources for Eastern European genealogy, an area of research I have spent much time with.
The mission of Lerning your Lineage is to get a fuller picture of your ancestors ’ lives and the lives of other people on your family tree. The name itself is a play on my surname, Lerner, reflecting a commitment to cultivating curiosity and learning in family history. In my prior research, I have found documents that deeply puzzle me as to why they were preserved for 100+ years, for example, a school essay written by my great-great-uncle. I aspire to find interesting finds like this for your family. I also aspire to research the lives of more than just your direct ancestors, but also other members in your family tree to get a fuller picture of your family.
Due to my dedication to the field of family history & genealogy, I have become a proud member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and I look forward to helping you uncover and celebrate the stories of your ancestors, bringing your family history to life.
