2026 Genealogy Education Activities
Make This Your Year!
Perhaps you would like to make 2026 the year to finally break through that annoying brick wall! With all the new technological and DNA tools now available to assist us, walls are crumbling every day. (I recently solved a mystery I had been working on since I was a teenager!) Yet it is hard to keep up with all the changes in the genealogy field. One of the keys is education. What are some of the educational opportunities available to us in 2026? Here are 10 – no, make that 11!
1) Pope County Historical Society – mark you calendars as our May 26 program will be on what resources are available for Pope County research including how to use the Pope County Historical Society website. Also included will be information on the Pope Pioneer program. Tuesday, May 26th at 6 p.m. at the Museum in Golconda.
2) Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois – four events/dates to take note of – ilgssi.org
a) Saturday, March 14 – Darrel Dexter will be speaking on National Family Day at John A. Logan College. 10 a.m.
b) Saturday, April 25 – Rick Allen will be speaking at 10 a.m. on The One Word Key to Solving Most Brick Wall Problems
c) Saturday, June 27 – Lacy Thomas will be speaking at 10 a.m. on The Genealogical Holdings of the Metropolis Public Library
d) Saturday, August 15 – all day conference
3) Illinois State Genealogical Society Fall Conference will be Saturday, October 24th in the St. Clair Co. area – watch the website www.ilgensoc.org for more details.
4) Ohio Genealogical Society Conference – April 29 – May 2 at the Sharonville (Ohio) Convention Center – this is a well-organized four-day event including workshops and presentations on a variety of topics. https://www.ogs.org/2026-conference/
5) National Genealogical Society Conference – May 27 to May 30 at Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Plan to go early or stay late to do research in the tremendous collection of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. (This is one I am planning on attending this year and taking advantage of the wonderful library as well!) https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/
6) Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy – www.slig.ugagenealogy.org – offers a variety of online courses throughout the year.
7) Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh – conducted by the National Genealogical Society. Offers intensive one-week courses on a variety of topics. Online courses are June 22 – 26 and in-person courses in Pittsburgh are July 12 – 17. I highly recommend this institute as I have attended both virtually and in-person and the quality of the education is tremendous. www.grip.ngsgenealogy.org
8) Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research – virtual courses July 26 – 31. Formerly known as the Sanford University Institute. Operated by the Georgia Genealogical Society.
High quality educational courses on a variety of topics. www.ighr.gagensociety.org
9) Rootstech – March 5 – 7 in person in Salt Lake City and available for free online – over 200 sessions to choose from. www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registration
10) Legacy Family Tree Webinars – For a $49.99 subscription price per year, they offer live webinars and recorded genealogical educational presentations on a large variety of topics. www.familytreewebinars.com
11) And now for the ultimate – how about a genealogy cruise? In November 2026, Heritage Books owned by Craig Scott is offering a DNA Cruise – wow! The details are at:
https://heritagebooks.com/products/2026-cruise-conference-fee?srsltid=AfmBOop4Mz6rZgvQv3-20U4-AeR_b4nrf4RCzrm-nMrRAxV1456-3DH0 – I wish I was going on this one!
This merely scratches the surface of what is available. As someone once said, “If you always do what you always did, you will get what you always got!” So learn about new resources, develop new skills, use new tools and seek to break down your brick wall this year. If you have a question about educational opportunities, feel free to e-mail me at rick@backstorybloodhound.com. I hope to see you at a few of these events in 2026!
