Upcoming presentations
Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! Well, at least that’s what we all should have said if this had been posted on time! (Can we say “tech issues,” boys and girls? I knew we could…)
So, seriously, no, The Legal Genealogist doesn’t expect that to buy good luck for the month, but hey… you never know, right? And with as fast and furious as things are happening in 2026, well, let’s just say it can’t hurt.
Just yesterday we were hoping for a few warm days to start the spring and summer seasons, and now we’re heading directly into fall. Kids back in school, people even seriously starting to talk about the holidays… two-thirds of the way now through the year.
So… what’s up next? Lots, and as always you’re welcome to come along for the ride as much as possible.
September 2026
• Monday-Friday 31 August-4 September: The last of the 2026 full-week institutes, the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, takes place at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. A seat in this comprehensive overview of federal records and researching in the federal archival repositories is one of the most hotly-sought-after items in genealogy. I’m honored to be presenting on Making a Federal Case Out of It and Busted, bankrupt, Banged Up: The Stories in Federal Court Records, both on Friday, 4 September. For info on trying to secure a slot for 2027, check out the Gen-Fed website.
• Thursday, 10 September, 6 p.m. EDT: The Virginia Beach Genealogical Society is hosting the presentation The Ethical Genealogist in a hybrid format at the Virginia Beach Central Library and via Zoom. Non-members can check the website for a link to register or email a Zoom link request to meetings@vbgsva.net.
• Monday, 14 September, 1:30 p.m. EDT: The Genealogy Society at Flat Rock (NC) will host the presentation Courting America: Using Court Records for Genealogy. I’m presenting virtually, but the meeting is in person at the Flat Rock Village Hall. It’s free to members and $10 to non-members. For more information about the society and membership, check out the society website.
• Thursday, 17 September, 11 a.m. EDT: My two sessions in the Researching New York: Resources and Strategies course at IGHR, both focusing on New York court records, will be offered on this third once-a-week session for this multi-week course. If this kind of institute course interests you, keep an eye on the IGHR website for future offerings.
• Thursday, 17 September, 7 p.m. EDT: The Avon Lake (Ohio) Public Library is hosting the virtual presentation Making a Federal Case Out of It. For more information and to register, see the library’s event page.
• Friday-Saturday, 18-19 September: The North Carolina Genealogical Society is holding its 2026 Fall Conference at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC in person and virtually. I’m honored to be keynoting the conference with the presentation Fairs, Felons and Fake News: Early North Carolina Laws and I’ll give three more talks as well: “Don’t Forget the Ladies” – A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law; DNA and the Golden Rule: The Law and Ethics of Genetic Genealogy; and Landing The Ancestors: Using Lands Records in Genealogy. I’m just one of an amazing group of 25 experts speaking live or streamed (or both). For more information and to register, check out the conference website.
• Friday, 18 September, 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT: In between sessions of the NCGS conference, the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society will host the virtual workshop When Worlds Collide: Resolving Conflicting Evidence. Seats are limited and preference will go to BIGS members, so watch for registration information on For more information and to register, see the society’s event page.
• Wednesday, 23 September, 7 p.m. EDT: The Virginia Genealogical Society is hosting a series of online discussions called Barbara’s Book Club, focusing on the fabulous content of the new VGS publication by Barbara Vines Little, A Researcher’s Guide to Virginia’s Historical Records. I’m moderating the discussion on Chapters 9 and 10, which examine the Colonial Land Office and The Northern Neck/Fairfax Proprietary. For more information, check out the event page and click on this link to register.
• Saturday, 26 September, 1 p.m. EDT: The Pennsylvania Chapter, Palatines to America is hosting its virtual Annual Meeting and Fall Webinar, where I’ll be presenting Putting Those Records to Work and The Legal History of Title Origins in Pennsylvania. For more information, see the event page and register at this link.
October 2026
• Saturday, 3 October, 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. EDT: The Devon Family History Society, Exeter, England, is hosting its virtual Annual General Meeting and Webinar, where I’ll be presenting The Robot Genealogist: Separating Fact from Fiction in AI-Assisted Research. For more information, see the event page and sign up for the socie4ty mail list at at this link.
• Wednesdays, October 7 and October 14, 7 p.m. EDT: The Family History Academy is hosting Genealogy’s Secret Weapon: Tax Records from Whiskey to Watches. — a virtual two-part course that I’m so excited about. Think about it: even when our ancestors left behind nothing but footprints in places where they lived, the tax people found ’em — and created records about them. We’re going to look at records from all over — not just the US, but Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom too. For more information and to register, see the FHA course website.
• Thursday, 15 October, 7:00 p.m. EDT: The Ford’s Colony (VA) Genealogy Club is hosting the virtual presentation Where There Is–or Isn’t–a Will. For more information, see the society’s meeting schedule page.
• Wednesday, 21 October, 6:00 p.m. CDT/7 p.m. EDT: The St. Louis County Library is hosting the virtual presentation From 1619 to Juneteenth: Slavery and the Law Before the Civil War. For more information, see the library’s events calendar page.
Come on out and join us, if you can, for one or more of these events and note, in some cases, that registration will be free or at a reduced cost to members of the host society — and some are limited to members only… There are some reaaaaaaally good reasons for joining genealogical societies… Just sayin’…
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “Coming up: September-October 2026,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 2 Sep 2026).
