Schedule by Date - 2026
| Tuesday, August 4 - Workshops — Crystal Inn - FSL | |||
| Time | Diamond Room | Amethyst Room | Family Search Library |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-12:00 | Finding the Village of Origin Joanne Sher Workshop | Essential Skills of Reading Polish Records in the Russian Partition: A Hands-On Handwriting Workshop Marissa Gardner Workshop | |
| 12:00-1:30 | LUNCH BREAK | ||
| 1:30-4:30 | Break Through "Brick Walls" Hands-On Workshop Bill Tarkulich Workshop | Navigating JewishGen Dr. Janette Silverman Workshop | Finding the Village of Origin - Optional Consultations Joanne Sher Workshop |
| 4:30-8:00 | FREE TIME FOR RESEARCH AT THE FAMILYSEARCH LIBRARY | ||
| Wednesday, August 5 - Classes — Salt Palace | |||
| Time | Room 258 - Salt Palace | Room 257A - Salt Palace | Room 257B - Salt Palace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00-8:30 | Overall Conference Information Milan Pohontsch, FEEFHS President Salt Palace Room 258 | ||
| 8:30-9:30 | Reading German Script for Genealogy Research - With Confidence! Sarah Day German | Finding Online Records for Poland Joe Everett Polish | Stop Looking for Surnames & Break Through Brick Walls Bill Tarkulich Austro-Hungarian |
| 9:45-10:45 | German Civil Registration Charlotte Noelle Champenois German | Language Shifts in Russian Empire Records: Focus on Polish Partition Marissa Gardner Polish | Using Jewish-specific Sites for Non-Jewish Eastern European Research Lara Diamond Russian Empire / USSR |
| 11:00-12:00 | Navigating German Localities with Gazetters and Historical Maps Marissa Gardner German | Reading Polish Records in Russian Thom Edlund Polish | Reading the Habsburg Map Annette Unrau Austro-Hungarian |
| 12:00-1:30 | LUNCH BREAK | ||
| 1:30-2:30 | The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries & How They Affected Our Ancestors Milan Pohontsch German | State of Records Access in Poland Greg Nelson Polish | Mandatory Conscription in 1850s Russia & Its Societal Impacts Lara Diamond Russian Empire / USSR |
| 2:45-3:45 | Beginning German Research: Websites & More Fritz Juengling German | Chain Migration from Poland Daniel Jones Polish | The Accused Ancestors: Building A Family Tree from NKVD Arrest Records Carolyn Schott Russian Empire / USSR |
| 4:00-5:00 | Genealogical Value of German Guild Records Fritz Juengling German | Visiting a Polish Archive Daniel Jones Polish | Unfiltered: Ukraine's Soviet Filtration Records Online Patrick Monson Russian Empire / USSR |
| 5:00-6:00 | BREAK | ||
| 6:00-7:30 | Welcome Reception and Opening Presentation Online Newspapers for Eastern European Research - Milan Pohontsch Crystal Inn, Diamond Room | ||
| Thursday, August 6 - Classes — Salt Palace | |||
| Time | Room 258 - Salt Palace | Room 257A - Salt Palacce | Room 257B - Salt Palace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30-9:30 | How to Research in Prussia-Poland: Part 1 Jalyse Ortiz German | 20th-Century Polish Military Burials & Cemeteries Worldwide Kathleen Kirkpatrick Polish | Leveraging the Power of J-Roots for Jewish Russian Empire Research Lara Diamond Jewish |
| 9:45-10:45 | How to Research in Prussia-Poland: Part 2 Jalyse Ortiz German | Polish Resettlement Camps Before & After WWWII Kathleen Kirkpatrick Polish | It's What They Answered To: Understanding Ashkenazic Jewish Names Emily H. Garber Jewish |
| 11:00-12:00 | Czech Research Charlotte Noelle Champenois Austro-Hungarian | Do You Have Someone Famous in Your Family? The Circus Spurgats Cynthia Jacobson General | Investigating Latvian Jewish Vital Records from the Latvian State Historical Archives James L. Tanner Jewish |
| 12:00-1:30 | LUNCH BREAK | ||
| 1:30-2:30 | Map Resources for Eastern European Reseach McKenna Cooper Behrmann Austro-Hungarian | Basic Baltic Research Patrick Monson Baltic | A Hebrew Crash Course for Reading Jewish Gravestones Banai Feldstein Jewish |
| 2:45-3:45 | Czech Cadastral Maps McKenna Cooper Behrmann Austro-Hungarian | Historical Context for Eastern European Family History Sarah Day General | Immigration Challenges with the Russian Volunteer Fleet Between Libau-Rotterdam-New York Suzanne L. Hoffman Jewish |
| 4:00-5:00 | Austro-Hungarian Empire Census , and Where Those Are Today Annette Unrau Austro-Hungarian | Belonging & Benefitting: Ethnic Organizaitons, Mutual Aid Societies, Immigrant Banks & Landsmanshaftn Joanne Sher General | Off the Beaten Track in Lithuania Dr. Janette Silverman Jewish |
| 5:00-8:00 | TIME FOR CONSULTATIONS &/OR RESEARCH AT THE FAMILYSEARCH LIBRARY | ||
| Friday, August 7 - Classes — Salt Palace | |||
| Time | Room 258 - Salt Palace | Room 257A - Salt Palace | Room 257B - Salt Palace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30-9:30 | Jewish Roots in the Russian Empire: A Guide to Research Resources Lara Diamond Russian Empire / USSR | Using AI Ethically for Genealogical Research James L. Tanner General | How the EWZ Records Can Enhance Your Family Story Cynthia Jacobson Germans from Eastern Europe |
| 9:45-10:45 | Finding Places in the Russian Empire: Essential Gazetteers & Tools Marissa Gardner Russian Empire / USSR | Croatian & Slovenian Genealogy: A Comprehensive Guide to Online & Offline Records Ethan Hatch Austro-Hungarian | All Was Not Lost: Researching Relatives in Europe During World War II Emily H. Garber General |
| 11:00-12:00 | Russian Empire Research Methodology Thom Edlund Russian Empire / USSR | Advanced Slovakian Research Suzanne Trotter Austro-Hungarian | Two-way Migration: Immigrants Who Came to the U.S. and Returned Home Joanne Sher General |
| 12:00-1:30 | LUNCH BREAK | ||
| 1:30-2:30 | Revision Lists & 1897 Census Thom Edlund Russian Empire / USSR | Statistical Analysis for Your DNA Matches Sarah Day General | The Historical Transition of the Hundreds of Jurisdictional Entities of the Holy Roman Empire after 1806 James L. Tanner German |
| 2:45-3:45 | WWI & WWII Memorial Databases Joe Everett Russian Empire / USSR | Helene's Journey Dr. Janette Silverman Jewish | Genteam.at: Website for Research in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia Fritz Juengling Austro-Hungarian |
| 4:00-6:00 | TIME FOR CONSULTATIONS &/OR RESEARCH AT THE FAMILYSEARCH LIBRARY | ||
| 6:00-8:00 | Final Night Banquet and Keynote Language Learning for Genealogists: How It's Different & Why It Matters - Taieno Kaiser Crystal Inn, Diamond Room | ||
| Available August 3 to December 31, 2026 — Online | |
| Time | On-demand Online |
|---|---|
| On Demand | Hungarian Surnames Decoded: What Your Ancestral Name Reveals for Genealogists Rhonda M. Copher Austro-Hungarian |
| On Demand | Beginning Slovak Genealogy Lisa Alzo Austro-Hungarian |
| On Demand | Where to Search: Record Location in Hungarian Genealogy - Between Displaced Records and Structured Communities Dorothy Szabó Austro-Hungarian |
| On Demand | Pending Update - Austro-Hungarian Track To Be Announced Austro-Hungarian |
| On Demand | Introduction to Lithuanian Genealogical Research (Part I) Lina Kuzminskaite Baltic |
| On Demand | Introduction to Lithuanian Genealogical Research (Part II) Lina Kuzminskaite Baltic |
| On Demand | Lutheran Parish Registers and Confessional Records in the Baltic Provinces Alina Khuda Baltic |
| On Demand | Getting Across the Pond with German Emigration Records Stephen Wendt German |
| On Demand | Pending Update - German Track To Be Announced German |
| On Demand | Pending Update - German Track, 2 To Be Announced German |
| On Demand | Pending Update - Germans from Eastern Europe To Be Announced Germans from Eastern Europe |
| On Demand | Pending Update - Germans from Eastern Europe, 2 To Be Announced Germans from Eastern Europe |