The National Genealogical Society (NGS)
announced a new Hall of Fame inductee and its latest NGS Fellows,
and presented the Stern Award, Awards of Merit, and the
President's Citation during its 2026 Family History Conference, America at 250,
at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, in Fort Wayne,
Indiana. Awards Committee Chair Judy Nimer Muhn presented
the awards.
National Genealogy Hall of Fame
Since 1986, the National Genealogy Hall of Fame has
honored outstanding genealogists whose achievements in American genealogy
have had a great impact on the field and who have been deceased for at
least five years. Their contributions to genealogy in this country need to
be significant in a unique, pioneering, or exemplary way. A panel of
genealogists from across the United States judges the entries.
This year, Brig. General (Delaware Army National
Guard, Retired) Donn Devine, CG Emeritus, FNGS, was elected. The
Board for the Certification of Genealogists and the Genealogical Society of
Pennsylvania submitted the nomination. Devine was born on 30 March 1929 in
Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and died on 5 May 2019 in Wilmington, Delaware.
During a genealogical career spanning more than thirty-five years, he
demonstrated and promoted the highest standards through education and
publications.
Devine's research articles appear in National
Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ), New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record, The American Genealogist,
and other peer-reviewed journals. He penned articles on evidence analysis
for NGS Magazine and OnBoard: Newsletter of
the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Devine wrote two chapters
in Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers,
Editors, Lecturers and Librarians (ProGen).
His educational writings for general audiences include
an Irish genealogy column in The Irish Edition (Philadelphia)
and dozens of articles on methodology and analysis in Ancestry magazine.
His columns won several awards. An Ancestry article
(2000) and the 2005 NGSQ case study were among the
earliest published discussions of DNA testing for genealogy.
Devine contributed significantly to the creation and
implementation of the Genealogical Proof Standard. His informal mentorship
of individual genealogists over many decades has been highly valued by all
with whom he has fostered these relationships.
NGS Fellow
The NGS Fellow (FNGS) recognizes outstanding
work in service to NGS and in the field of genealogy. This year's
recipients were Peter Broadbent Jr., JD; Carmen Finley, PhD, CG
Emeritus (posthumously); and C. Ann Staley, CG, CGL.
Peter Edwin Broadbent Jr., JD, has used his
legal skills and knowledge to benefit NGS and the broader
genealogical community through pro bono work over the past five decades.
Broadbent has been interested in genealogy since he was a teenager. As a
member of the NGS Board of Directors from 2003 to 2010, he
advised NGS and the genealogy community on many issues, including
changes to NGS's articles of incorporation and bylaws, the transfer of
the NGS Library collection, the relocation of NGS headquarters,
and the merger of NGS with the Federation of Genealogical
Societies. He received NGS's President's Citation in 2010.
Broadbent served as president of the Virginia
Genealogical Society and, for decades, as a board member. He has also
served as president and longtime board member of the Genealogical Research
Institute of Virginia. Four Virginia governors have appointed him to the
Library of Virginia Board, where he has served for nineteen years (twice as
chair). Broadbent is the vice president of the James Monroe Memorial
Foundation and a former governor of the Society of Colonial Wars in
Virginia. He led the legislative effort in 2012 to shorten the closed
period for Virginia marriage and death records and provide greater access
to Virginia vital records online.
Carmen Finley, PhD, CG Emeritus,
joined NGS in 1984 and remained a member until 2022, at age 96.
She died on 16 July 2025, so is receiving this
Fellow award posthumously, near the anniversary of her hundredth
birthday.
Finley actively participated in the early years of
RootsWeb to facilitate the worldwide exchange of genealogical information.
In support of family history scholarship, she served on the NGSQ editorial
board from 2003 to 2018; authored the NGS publication, Creating
a Winning Family History (1988, revised 2010 and still in use);
published articles in both NGSQ and NGS Magazine;
and chaired the committee of judges for the NGS Family History
Writing Competition (1990–2020). She rarely missed
an NGS conference and received the NGS Distinguished
Service Award in 1996.
As president of the Sonoma County Genealogical Society,
Finley directed its many compilation and transcription projects. She
collaborated with the Library at Sonoma State University to create the
Finley-McFarling Genealogy Collection to preserve her extensive research
findings and make them available online, for which she and the library
received a GENTECH Applied Technology award. She authored The
Finleys of Early Sonoma County, California, in 1997 and published
articles in several genealogical journals.
Behind the scenes and in front of the camera, C.
Ann Staley, CG, CGL, has demonstrated her commitment
to NGS education. She contributed hundreds of hours to
the NGS Conference Committee (2014–2023) and chaired the
2016 NGS Family History Conference in Fort Lauderdale. She served
as NGS's 2020 virtual conference online host at the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic, helping the Society quickly pivot from its canceled
in-person event. She helped develop the online programs for the 2022 and
2023 conferences, serving as the virtual emcee. She also conducted
interviews with speakers in 2022.
Staley coauthored the NGS Research in the
States guidebook for Florida. She has written for NGS Magazine and,
since 2019, has chaired the National Genealogy Hall of Fame Committee. She
also served on the board of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Since
2000, Staley has assisted with other local, regional, and national efforts.
As education chair for a local society, she taught genealogy courses for
over twenty years. She is the membership chair and former vice president of
the Genealogical Speakers Guild and a faculty member of the International
Institute for Genealogical Studies and the Institute of Genealogy and
Historical Research. Staley is the leader of the Florida State Genealogical
Society's Poolside Chat program; she was its conference chair for eleven
years; and has been a proofreader, indexer, and interim editor of its
journal.
Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Lifetime
Achievement Award
This award recognizes someone whose positive
influence and leadership have fostered unity and helped to make family
history a vital force in the community. This year's recipient is Ron
Chan of Hayward, California. His scholarship, leadership, and
unwavering commitment to historical preservation have strengthened
community ties, advanced public understanding of genealogical research, and
exemplified a positive and unifying spirit. Between July 2023 and November
2025, Chan delivered sixty-two family history presentations to thousands of
learners, including at a program simulcast from China to audiences in
Shanghai, Beijing, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. He teaches at
the Piedmont Adult School in Oakland, California.
As founder and executive director of the Bay Area
Chinese Genealogy Group, Chan has grown the organization to 300 members and
established it as a leading resource for Chinese American family history.
Under his direction, the group developed a robust slate of seminars,
surname symposiums, ancestral lineage-book workshops, and guided research
initiatives, including field visits to the National Archives and the Angel
Island Immigration Station. He is a Chinese genealogy subject-matter expert
for a FamilySearch Center. He Chan also is cofounder of the Chinese
American GI Project, for which he co-curated the WWII Local Heroes exhibit
for the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, on whose Advisory Board he
serves.
The Award of Merit is presented to
an individual or nonprofit genealogical or historical organization to
recognize exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy over a period
of five or more years. Their work must have significantly aided research or
increased interest in genealogy. This year, the NGS board of
directors presented the award to the following distinguished
leaders in our sector.
Michael Andrews has incorporated genealogy
into a semester-long (fifteen-week) elective English class at Prospect High
School in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, as part of its Humanities Composition
program. Over the past eight years, more than 1,000 students have selected
this course, which by popular demand now includes a second section. The
course emphasizes rigorous thinking, researching, and writing, and
culminates in a creative video presentation. All aspects of research are
introduced, including DNA and investigative genetic genealogy. These final
presentations evidence the students' passion, depth of research, and its
impact on their lives.
Ray W. Crouse has authored a series of books
that describe and document Native American ancestry of the Melungeons.
Through exhaustive research, he has proven, that many
Melungeons—particularly those in Southwest Virginia and Tennessee—had
Native ancestry that was removed from official documents by the government.
Crouse has documented who the mixed Native tribes of Virginia were and
where they went. His research shows that tribes from Eastern Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, and South Carolina co-migrated and
established numerous settlements, including Newman's Ridge in Tennessee and
Copper Ridge in Russell County, Virginia. His work ties hundreds of
families together via many heretofore unknown associations.
Sylvia Tracy Doolos was recognized for her
leadership and volunteerism in many organizations. She is president of the
Welsh-Irish-Scottish-English Family History Society (Denver, Colorado);
president of the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Professional
Genealogists; past president and current membership chair of the
International Society for British Genealogy and Family History; and the
library liaison between the Colorado Genealogical Society and the Denver
Public Library. She also volunteers with the Special Collections and
Archives subdivision of the Denver Public Library and the Carbon Valley
(Colorado) Public Library.
The Guild of One-Name Studies was recognized
for preserving the work of its members and sharing it with the public since
its founding in 1979. Since 2016, the Guild has preserved 478 of its
members' sites. Of these, over 330 are created with common software,
enabling single queries across all 330 sites; 60,000 surnames; and over
five million individuals. A separate section for genealogies at
FamilySearch.org covers over 300 member-submitted databases. It offers an
electronic database of members' study details, having digitized all paper
records (except retained certificates and photographs). The Guild offers
several public databases, including its global marriage index, which
contains more than 1.8 million marriages.
Jeffrey G. Herbert is a presenter and the
author of more than forty books of descriptive indexes to Hamilton County,
Ohio, historical and genealogical records. He has served as both president
and treasurer of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society and is a trustee of
the Glendale, Ohio, Heritage Preservation Museum. He has been a longtime
volunteer at a local FamilySearch Center and the Archives of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati. His efforts were instrumental in adding the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati's sacramental records to FindMyPast. Herbert
was awarded the Griffin Yeatman Award in 1998 by the
Hamilton County Recorder, which recognizes residents who have helped share
and preserve county records.
Eva Holmes, CG, AG, has contributed to many
organizations as a volunteer, editor, writer, and lecturer. She wrote the
Maine guidebook for the NGS Research in the States series and has
published in National Genealogical Society Quarterly, among
other publications. She is the editor for the Utah Genealogical
Association's Crossroads magazine. She served on the Board
for Certification of Genealogists Education Fund Committee and has served
as a mentor for ProGen. She is currently the GenProof Administrator. Holmes
mentors those aspiring to become certified or accredited, including as a
mentor for the Certification Development Group.
José Antonio "Toño" González Marrero was
recognized for his prolific research and writings. He is a full professor
of Medieval Latin Philology at the Universidad de La Laguna (Tenerife,
Canary Islands) where he also coordinates genealogy events. His efforts
have provided tremendous support for Hispanic American and Canarian
genealogy research and the broader Hispanic diaspora. He has written ten
books on the people and ancestry of the Canary Islands; contributed to
scientific journals and book chapters across the Hispanic world; and edited
or compiled scholarly research. He has participated in research and
instructional programs at international conferences, including RootsTech,
as well as at events in the Canary Islands, Cuba, Spain, and the United
States.
Randy Seaver of Chula Vista, California, is
the creator of one of the longest-running genealogy blogs, Genea-Musings. Launched in 2006, it includes
topics ranging from the evolution of online genealogical research to his
own family's broad histories. The blog also covers specific aspects of
records preservation and genealogical education. Seaver serves thousands of
readers in a friendly and informative style. A retired aerospace engineer,
he is a staple in the genealogical community and respected by everyone.
The Society of Sons and Daughters of WWII Veterans is
part of the National Museum of the Pacific War. The Society has made
sustained, substantial contributions in support of access to genealogical
research materials; increased public interest in family history; and
preserved WWII veterans' stories since its creation in 2011. The Society
provides a structured avenue for documenting veteran ancestors with
required proof of WWII service. Members can upload and organize
documentation, photographs, and personal stories in an online portal. Such
efforts curate a body of sourced material that supports future genealogical
and historical research.
President's Citation 
Awarded at the discretion of
the NGS president, the President's Citation recognizes and
acknowledges dedicated efforts on behalf of the National Genealogical
Society. This year's citation from NGS President David E.
Rencher, AG, CG, FUGA, FIGRS, FNGS, recognizes Rick Voight,
founder and owner of Vivid-Pix. He is recognized for his significant work
with NGS, the broader genealogical community, and the aging community.
Drawing on research and scientific studies on aging, he has successfully
promoted the importance of storytelling to help our seniors share what they
know, strengthen family bonds, and enhance memory. Voight worked
with NGS to organize the 2025 Symposium on Healthy Aging and the
Role of the Family History Community, in Louisville, Kentucky. It brought
together genealogists, business owners, senior community leaders, and
genealogy companies and organizations to consider how genealogy and
storytelling can strengthen senior adult programming and cognitive care.
Certificates of Appreciation
Every NGS Family History Conference relies on
volunteer assistance to run smoothly. Indeed, the conference would not be
possible without this dedicated team's work. Those recognized this year
are: Curt Witcher, MLS, FUGA, IGSF, committee cochair and local host
cochair; Matthew Blaine Berry, CG, program cochair; Allison
DePrey, MLS, MA, local host cochair; Elizabeth Hodges, volunteer
coordinator; Melissa Thatcher, volunteer coordinator; Carly Lane Morgan;
and Lisa Fanning.
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