The NGS 2026 Family History Conference will feature ten interactive sessions that emphasize practice, collaboration, or hands-on learning using worksheets, case packets, maps, visual tools, or guided discussion. These sessions will be limited to about seventy-five participants. No cost enrollment using the Whova mobile app is required and will be available in mid-May.
Five interactive sessions will be held on Friday, 29 May:
FR04 Threads of a Nation: Genealogy Quilts Commemorating 250 Years of American Stories
Instructor: Mary Kircher Roddy, CG, CGG
Celebrate America at 250 with quilts that turn research into art and memory into something you can touch. Learn how quilting traditions have recorded names, migrations, and community ties for over two centuries—and explore ways to transform ancestors’ maps, signatures, and stories into fabric keepsakes that get everyone—from cousins to grandkids—talking about family history.
FR10 Deciphering Script & Scrawl: A Practical Workshop for Early Handwriting
Instructor: Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL
Old handwriting doesn’t have to be intimidating. In this interactive session, you’ll practice reading real documents, learn to recognize tricky letter forms, and pick up strategies for making sense of early American deeds, wills, and letters.
FR16 The Use of Oral History Techniques and Protocols for Recording and Archiving Family History Stories
Instructor: Shannon Combs-Bennett, MSc, QG, FSAScot
Family stories don’t preserve themselves! In this interactive session, you’ll try out proven oral history techniques, experiment with interview questions, and learn how to record and archive your results with professional care.
FR25 Long Strange (German) Mapping Trips
Instructor: James M. Beidler
Germany’s historical geography can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to stop your research. In this interactive session, participants will work hands-on with maps and gazetteers to untangle shifting boundaries and identify which archives and repositories hold records for their ancestors’ villages.
FR32 Breaking it Down: Achieve Competency Writing Proofs Using DNA and Documentary Evidence
Instructor: Karen Stanbary, CG, CGG
Turn proof writing from intimidating to achievable. Using highlighters and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn how to connect DNA and documentary evidence into well-reasoned, standards-based conclusions you can be proud of.
Registration is open now.