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Find Your Ancestors 2026
Since 2014, our Find Your Ancestors genealogy series has provided genealogy education to over 10,000 attendees. Held year-round, the programs are offered monthly in a dynamic hybrid format, featuring both in-person and virtual speakers and participants. Each session focuses on a unique topic, presented by an expert in the field. Explore our events calendar or the listings below for details on upcoming dates and topics.
In-person attendees do not need to register. However, Zoom participants must register for each session individually using the specific registration links provided.
2026 Sessions
- Saturday, January 10 at 2 pm – Polish Genealogy – Finding Their Polish Records, presented by Steve Szabados
- Saturday, February 14 at 2 pm – What To Do With Your Personal Archives and Genealogy Research Materials, presented by Vicki Tobias
- Saturday, March 14 at 2 pm – Point of Origin – How to Find Your Ancestral Village, presented by Lisa Vogele
- Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm – Crossing the Pond – Successful Strategies for Researching Eastern European Ancestors, presented by Lisa Alzo
- Saturday, May 9 at 2 pm – Finding Those Who Served – Military Genealogy at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, presented by Russ Horton
- Thursday, June 11 at 6 pm — Nellie Was a Rebel – Using Unusual Sources to Find Her Child’s Father, presented by Mary Risseeuw
- Thursday, July 9 at 6 pm — Westward Ho: Migration Methods of the United States, presented by Eleanor Brinsko
- Thursday, August 13 at 6 pm — Researching Your House History, presented by Angie Knutson
- Saturday, September 12 at 2 pm — Crafting a Compelling Family Narrative – Tips and Tricks for Improving Your Genealogical Writing, presented by Janelle Asselin
- TBA — Breathing Life into Ancestral Stories: Using Social History in Genealogical Research, presented by TBA
- TBA — Beyond Names and Dates: Filling in the Stories of Our Female Ancestors, presented by TBA
Past Sessions
Not every program is recorded or available to view indefinitely. Recordings that are currently available can be viewed on on our YouTube channel.
2025 Series
- Creating an Ancestor Sketch
- Using AI to Translate and Manipulate Foreign Language Documents
- Deciphering Penmanship and Why Spelling Matters
- 120+ Tips and Sources for Finding Ancestral Photos Online and Offline
- Uncovering Hidden Roots With Your DNA
- A Symbolic Death: Gravestone Symbolism
- Fishing in Every Pond: Cousin Baiting
- Reconstructing World War I Army Records: Unraveling Ancestral Stories Through Unit Records
- Setting Goals to Focus Your Genealogy
- Wisconsin Historical Society: An Overlooked Resource You Need to Explore
- Voting Records: Genealogy’s Best Kept Secret
- Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan: The Key to Thorough Research
2024 Series
- 10 Must Haves for Genealogy and Family History Success
- Finding Relations When No Family Stories Exist
- Finding What You Need and Making the Most of What You Find
- Finding Females in US Naturalization Records
- Mysterious Codes: Passenger Manifests Letters and Numbers
- Making Sense of Tax Lists
- Discovering Your Ancestors’ Community Involvement
- Using Website Generated Hints More Effectively
- Unlocking Your Swedish Family History
- Military and Civilian Records at the NPRC
- Social Security Records
- Researching Your Ancestor’s Medical History
2023 Series
- Using Maps in Genealogy and Local History
- Wills and Probates
- Bounty Land/Military Pensions
- Preserving Photos and Heirlooms
- Jewish Genealogy
- Breathing New Life into Boring Ancestors
- Homestead Records
- Overview of FamilySearch.org
- Genealogy of a Neighborhood
- Hispanic Genealogy
- Revolutionary War Genealogy
- German Genealogy
- Putting it All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You’ve Done
2022 Series
- Genealogy Software
- Breaking Down Brick Walls
- Norwegian Records
- Civil War Genealogy
- Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.com
- Wisconsin Genealogy Resources
- School Records
- Fold3 Library Edition
- Czech Genealogy
- Identifying and Interpreting Historic Photos
- Native American Genealogy
- Five Tips to Make Sense of Your DNA Testing
- Find Missing Ancestors Using DNA Testing
2020-2021 Series
- Researching Women in Your Family Tree
- Using Historic Newspapers for Your Genealogical Research
- Getting Started in Italian Genealogy
- Proving (or Disproving) Family Stories
- Using Alternative Resources to Fill in the Dash
- Deciphering Foreign Language Documents
- World War II Genealogy
- Discovering Your UK/Irish Roots Online
- Mayflower Genealogy
- Organizing Your Research
- Finding Your German Ancestors with Maps and Gazetteers
- Rogues, Rascals and Rapscallions: The Family Black Sheep
- Irish Genealogy
- Pre 1850 Research
- Coming to America by Train
- Institutionalized Ancestors
2019-2020 Series
- Saving Your Digital Stuff: Personal and Family History
- They Came to America: Finding Immigrant Ancestors
- Researching Your Belgian Roots
- Research Using Religious Records
2018-2019 Series
- Using Maps in Genealogy
- Writing Biographical Sketches
- Census Records
- Publishing/Self-Publishing Your Family History or Memoir
- DNA Basics
2017-2018 Series
- Cemeteries: Their Symbols and Customs
- German Language Resources for Genealogists in America & Europe
- Tracing Irish Ancestors
- Digging for Doughboys: WWI Genealogy
- Today’s DAR and the DAR Records
2016-2017 Series
- Genetic Genealogy and The Bassett DNA Project
- Family Stories: A Library Burns When an Elder Dies
- Immigrant Ancestors
- Find Your German Ancestors
- Local experts panel featuring representatives from local organizations
2015-2016 Series
- Find Your Norwegian Ancestors
- Using Court Records to Find Ancestors
- Polish Genealogy – Where to Start?
- Find Your Military Ancestors
- Making Sense of Complicated Family Trees
- Researching Your Family in the Archives
2014-2015 Series
- Find Your Military Ancestors
- Tracing Your House History
- Researching Ancestors in Marginalized Groups
- Researching Land Records in Wisconsin
- German and Dutch Research
More Genealogy Programs
Are you looking for more genealogy programs? You may be interested in our Genealogy Jumpstart series.