Genealogy education in person
So… just how much did it hurt last week, sitting there at home and watching all those posts — photos, videos and more — of genealogists getting together in person at RootsTech in Salt Lake City?
To The Legal Genealogist, seriously, it seemed like days and days of a major family history lovefest — a whole host of folks seeing old friends, meeting new ones, learning all kinds of new things…
And we were at home.
Sigh…
But missing one opportunity like RootsTech doesn’t meet missing out entirely on the personal touch, and particularly not the personal touch in genealogical education.
Because there is that one genealogical institute — that one weeklong immersive dive into a topic of our choice — that is meeting in person this year. In July. In Pittsburgh.
The GRIP Genealogy Institute — formerly the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh — has an entire week of in-person classes scheduled for July 13-17 with the opening social on July 12th, on the beautiful campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
And registration is open now at the GRIP website. (The registration button for GRIP In-Person will ask you first to log in if you’re a member of the National Genealogical Society or to create a free account if you’re not.)
Think about it. A whole week with people who won’t roll their eyes if you talk about your fourth great grandfather. Who’ll understand instantly if you lament the loss of the 1890 census. Who are your tribe. Yours… and mine.
I’m actually going to be there as a student in July this year — there’s a course I’ve wanted to take for ages — and there are some really good options: eight courses in all. Some neat new stuff like Surrogates and Substitutes – the 1890 US Census Exemplar, co-coordinated by Cecelia McFadden and Kate Townsend, or Skill-Building Practicum for Genealogical Research Success, coordinated by Sunny Jane Morton, or Advanced AI Techniques for Genealogists: Expanding Your Research Skills, coordinated by Mark Thompson.
But you’ll forgive me, I hope, if I mention one that’s near and dear to my heart not just because I’m teaching two sessions but because it’s just so darned important to so many of us as researchers: Records Loss: Overcoming Destroyed, Missing, or Non-Extant Records, coordinated by Kelvin L. Meyers.
Working around the problems of records loss in fires, floods, wars and even from plain human neglect is a huge problem in genealogy. Knowing where to look, what alternatives might exist and how even to use things like DNA is crucial to breaking through the barriers thrown up by records loss.
The whole class is a favorite of mine, and I’m honored to be part of the instructional team. Read more about it here.
If that doesn’t float your boat, get the personal touch in one of the other courses this July.
Now, if you just can’t — and I get it, travel is expensive!! — check out the June virtual courses. They run June 22-26, and again there’s a great course list (including — koff koff — my own Women and Children First!: Research Methods for the Hidden Half of the Family, where we’d love to see you via Zoom).
But if what you want is that personal touch, well, maybe I’ll see you in class in Pittsburgh in July.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “For that personal touch,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/ : posted 12 March 2026).
