Dialogue: Russian American Discussion Group

This discussion will provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions about their Russian American heritage along with a brief review of available online sources. This discussion may also be of interest to emigrants from the Pale of Settlement or Germans from Russia.

James Russell grew up in Connecticut and lives in Berkeley, California. His paternal ancestors arrived in the seventeenth century to New England from England and Scotland. His maternal ancestors immigrated from Bohemia to Manhattan by 1880. None of his direct ancestors lived beyond the Hudson River. He has served as a director of the California Genealogical Society. His research focuses on New England, New York, Japan and Central Europe. He has done extensive primary research in all these places. He reads Czech, German, Russian, French, and Japanese. He has a BSFS (Georgetown), an MA in Slavic linguistics (Chicago), an MA and PhD in anthropology (London – SOAS). He regularly engages with DNA-related issues, administers two surname projects for FTDNA and has presented case studies at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research. 

This program is part of the Genealogy and Family History Symposium 2026, a two-day conference presented by the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and the California Genealogical Society (CGS), featuring speakers from SFPL, CGS, the Oakland FamilySearch Center, SFgenealogy and other organizations presenting on a wide range of topics.

See the full two-day schedule.