April Genealogy Events and a Look Back at Trivia Night

The month of March has gone by in a busy blur, and we now look forward to an Irish SIG meeting and a new class for you to attend, either in-person or via Zoom, coming up soon. Registration is open for our annual Family History Conference featuring John Dougan and Christina Miller from the Missouri State Archives. Remember that early registration ends on Saturday, 4 April! By registering before that date, you save some money and help us plan more efficiently. In addition, one of the events we look forward to most each year is our annual research trip to Salt Lake City, and registration is now open for that. Read on for more!

 April StLGS Hybrid Irish SIG Meeting

Irish Special Interest Group Meeting: Saturday, 25 April 2026

"Census Returns in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland—Recovering Ireland's Lost Census Records" by Dr. Brian Gurrin, 1:00 p.m. (Central); free, open to all. This is a hybrid meeting; in-person at the StLGS office or virtually via Zoom. Preregistration required to attend virtually. More details and instructions for registering are on the Irish SIG page on the StLGS website.

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 New Hybrid Class

"St. Louis Genealogy Records Online"

Saturday, 2 May 2026

By Ilene Murray, 1:00 p.m. (Central); free, open to all. This is a hybrid class; in-person at the StLGS office or virtually via Zoom. Preregistration required to attend. More details and instructions for registering are on the Current Classes page on the StLGS website.

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 54th Annual Family History Conference!

A Genealogical Journey Through Missouri History

Saturday, 18 April 2026

Featuring John Dougan and Christina Miller

Along with Andrew Hahn, Ilene Murray, and Carol Whitton

Maryland Heights Community Center, 2300 McKelvey Road, St. Louis, MO 63043

This will be held as a hybrid event. Join us for a full day of lectures, exhibitors, and a chance to chat over morning coffee or lunch. If you can't attend in person, join us via Zoom. All the lectures will be recorded, and registered attendees will have access to all of the lectures after the conference. For those coming to the Maryland Heights Community Center, a box lunch can be purchased for an additional fee.

Saturday's Program (All times are Central Time Zone)

9:00 a.m.: Doors open

9:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks 

10:00 a.m.: "Migrating West to Missouri," by Carol Whitton

11:15 a.m.: "Moving Through—Moving On," by John Dougan

1:15 p.m.: "Using County Court Record Books and Associated Records for Genealogy," by Christina Miller AND "Research Like a Pro," by Ilene Murray

2:30 p.m.: "Mapping St. Louis: A History of the Gateway City in Rare Maps," by Andrew Hahn AND "Introduction to the Missouri State Archives," by Christina Miller.

Complete details of each lecture and speaker bios are on our website. To see them, click on the Lectures and Speakers links in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Conference Registration

Registration for the 2026 Family History Conference (FHC) is now open. Registration prior to 4 April is $65 for StLGS members and $75 for nonmembers. All of the information you need to register is on our website. Prices go up on 5 April, so register soon!

Once you have registered, you will receive an invitation to the FHC via the email address you provide. (Note: The email will come to you during the week before the conference.) Those attending in person will receive a paper syllabus. Everyone will have access to the syllabus as a downloadable PDF from a link on our website as well as all seven digital recordings.

Questions? Email programs@stlgs.org and the vice-president for programs will get back to you. 

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33rd Annual Research Trip to Salt Lake City

Ready to travel to the world's largest genealogy library? Each year we take a group of researchers from all over the U.S. to spend a week immersed in their favorite hobby. Five floors of books, microfilms, computers, scanners, and maps await you at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, plus unlimited assistance from experienced group leaders and on-site library staff. It's a fabulous way to spend a week!

This year's trip . . .

Sunday, 11 through Sunday, 18 October 2026

• Trip includes: Seven nights at the beautiful Little America Hotel
• Six full days at the FamilySearch library
• Monday orientation tour of the surrounding area and the library
• A group dinner on Sunday evening
• Pre-trip hybrid meeting with instruction on using the FamilySearch website and library catalog
• Group leaders available all week for help when you need it, with a special emphasis on German research

Early registration for this year's trip closes on 30 June 2026; you save $100 by registering before that date. All the prices for double and single rooms are on the Salt Lake City Research Trip page of our website, and if you still have questions, just drop a note to slctrip@stlgs.org.

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Trivia Night 2026

We had a sellout crowd for this year's Trivia Night. With more than 200 people filling our room at the Royale Orleans, games, food and drinks, and dozens of raffle and silent auction items, we could not have asked for a better evening. We thank those of you who attended, donated, sponsored, volunteered, and provided moral support for a fabulous event!

 

Above: Beautiful raffle baskets generated a great deal of interest. 

Below: The questions covered a wide variety of topics and kept everyone guessing!

 

(Photos by Ilene Murray; used with permission)