Genealogy Lock-In - October 16, 2026

 This will be the event's 25th year, featuring eight lectures.   

When: October 16, 2026 - 9:00 to 5:50 CT

Where: W.O. Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd., Plano or via Zoom

Registration will be available 2 weeks before the Lock-In

9:00 -  9:50 Building Your Digital Family History Archive | Difficulty: Intermediate

EvaAnne Johnson, Genealogy & Local History Librarian at Wilmette Public Library

While we are researching our family tree, we often collect a lot of digital files - from downloaded records and emailed documents to scanned photographs and mobile screenshots. What should we do with all these digital files, and how can we keep them organized? This presentation will cover the basics of digital preservation and outline practical steps for creating a well-structured Digital Family History Archive to safeguard your genealogy work.

 

10:00  -   10:50 Researching Your Scottish Ancestors | Difficulty: Intermediate

Erika A. Ward, PGCERT (Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies)

Do you have ancestors who emigrated from Scotland? Are you unsure of which records exist, how to use them, or where to find them? This class explores the rich landscape of Scottish historical sources- including census, church, civil, and immigration/emigration records- to help you uncover the stories hidden in your Scottish heritage.

 

11:00  -   11:50  Cluster Research, or Discovering You're Related to the Whole Block | Difficulty: Intermediate

Jessica M. Trotter, Genealogy Presenter and Researcher

As Aristotle noted, "Man is by nature a social animal"-he has family, society, and throughout history he has moved with them. This session includes tips, tricks, and examples of how researching the neighborhood and other associates of your ancestors can further your own research.

 

11:50 12:30 Lunch Break

12:30  -   1:50  Unlocking Your Roots: Starting Your Genealogy Journey | Difficulty: Beginner

    Barbara Coakley, Genealogy Researcher, Speaker, Author

Learn how to start your genealogy journey or update your skills using a repeatable research process. Begin with what you already know, frame your research question, explore essential records, and organize your discoveries.

 

2:00  -  2:50 Beyond the Family Tree: An Introduction to Oral History for Genealogy | Difficulty: Beginner

Adrienne Cain Darough, MLS, CA Assistant Director and Clinical Associate Professor, Institute for Oral History 

Genealogy often begins with documents, but it becomes powerful through storytelling.  This presentation explores   the fundamentals of oral history and how intentional interviewing can uncover context, culture, and connections that traditional records may miss. Learn how to plan, conduct, and preserve meaningful family interviews.

3:00  -  3:50 Texas & Southern Genealogy Resources at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History | Difficulty: Beginner

Margaret Schlankey, Assistant Director for Public Services, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, UT

The Briscoe Center has a vast collection of resources helpful to genealogists with roots in Texas and the American South. This presentation will go over what's available and how to access them.

 

4:00 - 4:50 Researching Your Revolutionary War Soldier: A Case Study |                        Difficulty: Intermediate

Craig R. Scott, CG, FUGA, President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc.

A Revolutionary War ancestor can be a goldmine of information if you know where to look. This lecture aims to examine types of service, compiled military service records, pension applications, settled accounts, and where other documents can be found using a step-by-step methodology in a case study.

5:00  -  5:50 Gen Z + Genealogy: Getting the Younger Generation Interested in Genealogy Research | Difficulty: Beginner

Carl Smith, MLIS, Manager of the Family History Research Center at the Clayton Library Campus 

Do you have a passion for family history but are worried about who carries the genealogical torch after you? Join in for a special presentation on Gen Z + Genealogy where we'll discuss tips and tricks on how to foster understanding, communication, and participation with the younger generations, and ideas to better market genealogy to different age groups in ways that can increase interest in the topic all around.

September 19, 2026 Free Saturday Seminar: From Parlor to Platform: Women's Clubs & Organizations as Genealogical Sources

 

Join Genealogy Friends on Saturday, September 19, 2026 either in person at W.O. Haggard Library or via Zoom for our next Free Saturday Seminar.  (All Times Central Time)

10:00  Library Doors Open

10:15  Zoom Room Opens

10:15-10:40  Networking at Library & On Zoom

10:40  Announcements

10:45 Presentation Begins 

Discover how the women's club movement of the late 1800s took women from the parlor into hospitals, schools, and civic office - and left behind records that document them in their own right, not through the men in their lives. Includes a case study of a women's organization and tips on where these records survive.  

Email newsletter@genealogyfriends.org for Zoom information. 

Great Family Search Conference

 Free registration is still open for our free annual Great Family Search Genealogy Conference on Saturday, September 26th.  Come perfect your genealogy skills, learn some new things and make some new friends!  If you have friends or neighbors just getting started, we have classes for beginners too, so bring them along!  Plan to stay for lunch where you'll meet other like minded genealogists from all over North Texas. You can bring your own lunch or order a Market Street lunch box & water for $11.  The conference is free, and lunch payments go directly to Market Street.  If you order lunch, please register and complete your payment as instructed in the confirmation email.  

Registrations that have lunch orders must be completed and paid by Wednesday, September 23rd.  No refunds or cancellations of lunch orders after Wednesday.  

Register on our website: http://greatfamilysearch.com.

We have a great lineup of presenters and classes.  Online registration, presenter and class information is available on our website.  The class schedule is attached. 

Spared & Shared - Civil War Letters

 Brian at Civil War Records.com shared information about this website and facebook page. 

Billy Yank & Johnny Reb Letters contains thousands of Civil War-era letters and diaries transcribed by Will Griffing, both Union and Confederate. The site is free. There is also a Facebook page Spared & Shared, where he shares new letters that are noteworthy. 

Here is a link to the List of Letters by state. 

If you have any Civil War or Antebellus Letters that you are willing to share, he will transcribe them and include them in the collection. There is a link to contact him on the List of Letters page. 

 

Civil Right Cold Case Records Collection Reauthorization Act of 2026 - Take Action!

From the Chicago Genealogical Society

Action Alert! 

H.R. 3087 

Support H.R. 3087, titled the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Reauthorization Act of 2026

Established by the bipartisan Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018, the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board is a nonpartisan panel charged with expediting the review and public release of federal records concerning unresolved civil rights-era cases occurring between 1940 and 1979. Working with federal agencies, the Board applies new disclosure standards to make these records more accessible to victims’ families, legal organizations, journalists, scholars, and the public. By bringing these long-hidden investigative records to light, the Board seeks both to provide greater clarity and closure to victims’ relatives and to promote a more complete understanding of this important and troubled chapter in American history. See https://www.coldcaserecords.gov/ for more information on the board. 

 H.R. 3087, titled the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Reauthorization Act of 2026, extends the operations of the Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board through January 8, 2030. 

Key Provisions:

• Extends the Review Board deadline to January 8, 2030. 
• Directs state and local governments to send cold case files to the Archivist. 
• Allow the Board to pay state and local groups for copy and mail costs. 
• Permits public release of select personnel or medical files tied to cold cases from on or before January 1, 1990. 
• Establishes a clear rule that federal and local civil rights cold case files should have a goal of fast public disclosure. 

H.R. 3087 is important to genealogists because it would extend the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board and expand access to records from unresolved civil-rights cases dating from 1940–1979. These records may contain names, photographs, addresses, correspondence, witness information, and other details not found in traditional genealogical sources, helping descendants uncover family and community histories. Genealogists should support the bill’s reauthorization, the removal of the state and local government exemption, and continued funding for the preservation, digitization, indexing, and public accessibility of these records. Please contact your members of Congress to support this legislation at Congress.gov. 

 Any questions can be directed to advocacy@chicagogenealogy.org

Federal Record Access Issue - Federal Civilian Official Personnel Files - Take Action! It Just Takes a Minute

 From the National Genealogical Society

The National Archives and Records Administration recently published a notice in the Federal Register of its intent to adjust the records schedule for federal civilian employees. The public comment period is open, and the agency must receive responses by 24 August 2026, at 11:59 PM EDT. Genealogy Issue Federal civilian Official Personnel Folders (OPFs) can contain valuable genealogical information about a person’s government employment. Today, many OPFs for employees who left federal service before 1952 are archived at NARA. Later files generally remain under OPM control and are much harder to access. The 1952 cutoff was created for administrative filing purposes, not because the records on either side of that date have different historical value. In 2025, NARA proposed making OPFs for employees separated through 31 December 1973 permanent records, but this schedule has apparently not yet been approved. The National Genealogical Society and the Records Preservation and Access Coalition (RPAC) support that proposal and call on NARA to sign that record schedule. This new proposal, however, would allow OPFs for employees separated on or after 1 January 1974 to be destroyed after 65 years (right now, all post-1951 OPFs have a 129-year retention). RPAC seeks to: Preserve pre-1974 OPFs permanently. Make all employment years consistent with pre-1974 policy. Replace the arbitrary 1952 access cutoff with a rolling transfer of older civilian personnel files to NARA. This is simple: federal civilian personnel files should become more accessible as they age—not disappear. To submit your comments on the proposal, go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/NARA-26-0331-0008.

Submit Comments to NARA

Volunteer Opportunities: Support Genealogy Friends

Genealogy Friends is an all-volunteer organization. To keep the organization functioning, we need your help. 

Flexible & Remote Positions

Roles are 100% remote; you can contribute from home using tools like a word processor, spreadsheets, Weebly, Adobe Express, and Email Octopus. Training & support provided for all the tech tools. Most positions can be co-chaired by two people; these roles are ideal for people with limited availability. Email newsletter@genealogyfriends.org if you can help out.