National Genealogical Society Announces Hall of Fame Inductee and NGS Fellows at Family History Conference Opening Plenary Session

 

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.

National Genealogical Society Presents Filby Award and Honors Excellence in Newsletter Editorship, Genealogy Tourism, and Rubincam Youth Writing Competition Winners

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) presented several awards in conjunction with the Society's 2026 Family History Conference, America at 250. Judy Nimer Muhn, chair of the NGS Awards Committee, presented the Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship, the NGS Newsletter Competition winners, the Genealogical Tourism Award, and the winners of the Rubincam Youth Writing Competition.

Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship

Chuck Sherrill is this year's recipient. He served as state librarian and archivist of Tennessee for twelve years until his retirement in 2022. Previously, he was the director of the public library at the City of Brentwood, Tennessee; head of the research section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives; director of the Cleveland (Tennessee) Public Library; and head reference librarian at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. He was also an adjunct faculty member at Jackson State Community College. Sherrill continues to research, speak on history and genealogy topics, and work part-time processing manuscripts and completing special projects at the Tennessee State Archives. He authored more than twenty books on Tennessee history and genealogy and currently is editor of the Middle Tennessee Journal of History and Genealogy.

Created in 1999, NGS named the award for the late P. William Filby, former director of the Maryland Historical Society and the author of many genealogical reference tools that genealogists have relied on for decades. It is presented annually at the NGS Family History Conference. This year's award is sponsored by FamilySearch, sharing its commitment to empowering researchers and libraries around the world.

NGS Newsletter Competition

The winners of the 2026 NGS Newsletter Competition, honoring excellence in newsletter editorship by genealogical/historical societies, family associations, and related member organizations in two categories, are:

Newsletter for a Small Society with less than 500 members

Winner: Goffs/Goughs: Their Ancestors and Descendants, Goff-Gough Family Association, Rancho Cucamonga, California 

Editor Robin Jacobi

Newsletter for a Large Society with more than 500 members

Winner: The Tracer, Hamilton County Genealogical Society, Cincinnati, Ohio

Editor Eileen Muccino

Genealogical Tourism Award

The 2026 winner of the Genealogical Tourism Award is Friends of Roots. The San Francisco-based nonprofit organization was established in 1991 and administers The Roots: Him Mark Lai Family History Project for people with roots in Guangdong Province, China. Some ninety percent of past Chinese immigrants came from Guangdong Province. More than 600 participants have explored their Chinese American family history and visited over 500 ancestral villages and other historical and cultural sites in China. The program also offers a series of seminars on China's history and geography as well as the Chinese American community. Other activities include a tour of San Francisco's Chinatown, research at the National Archives, and a tour of the Angel Island Immigration Station. Friends of Roots exemplifies how individuals or organizations can open the world of family history and genealogical repositories to others.

Rubincam Youth Writing Competition

The Rubincam Youth Writing Competition was established in 1986 to encourage and recognize our youth as the next generation of family historians. It honors Milton Rubincam, CG, FASG, FNGS, for his many years of service to NGS and to the field of genealogy.

Junior Rubincam Youth Award

Winner: Lizzie Hammonds, "My Tata: Preserving our Mexican Legacy through Recipes"

Honorable Mention: Dalin Thai, "Surviving Year Zero: Sovanna Chhith"

Senior Rubincam Youth Award

Winner: Andrew Kumar, "From Burma to New Jersey: Four Generations of Faith, Teaching, and Migration in the Dasan–Kumar Family"

Honorable Mention: Sadie Hall Kraft, Grace Henning, "Four Generations of Hard Workers”

Join the National Genealogical Society (NGS) in Observing Pride Month in June

 

Pride Month commemorates the June 1969 Stonewall uprising and the broader history and contributions of LGBTQIA+ people. For genealogists, it's also a reminder that the lives of LGBTQIA+ ancestors are often underdocumented in standard sources. Same-sex relationships were rarely recognized in civil records before the 21st century. Obituaries and letters tended to code identities rather than name them, where a partner might be identified as a “longtime companion” or “devoted friend.” A transgender ancestor’s records may appear under more than one name.

For these and other reasons, LGBTQIA+ community archives are an essential resource for family historians. They preserve the history of queer organizations, publications, and communities and, in some cases, also hold personal papers and biographical files. Many were built and maintained by community members because mainstream institutions weren't collecting this material.

Consider the archives listed here as a starting point:

ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
Founded in 1952, ONE Archives is the largest LGBTQ archive in the world, with millions of items including personal papers, organizational records, periodicals, photographs, films, audio recordings, and ephemera.

Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library

Founded in 1973 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Stonewall is one of the oldest and largest facilities in the United States dedicated to collecting and preserving LGBTQ+ history. The John C. Graves lending library houses more than 30,000 books and audio-visual materials, and its archive contains more than 2,800 linear feet of documents.

Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in British Columbia began actively acquiring materials in 2007, and is now the largest trans archive in the world, with materials in fifteen languages from twenty-three countries spanning more than 120 years. Holdings include personal papers, organizational records, nearly 400 periodical titles, and an oral history collection of trans activist elders.

GLBT Historical Society
Based in San Francisco and founded in 1985, the GLBT Historical Society houses more than 1,000 collections in its Dr. John P. De Cecco Archives & Research Center, including personal papers, organizational records, oral histories, photographs, periodicals, and ephemera, with particular strength in the history of the Bay Area and Northern California.

Lesbian Herstory Archives

Founded in 1974, the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn is run entirely by volunteers. It holds more than 11,000 books and about 1,300 periodical and newsletter titles by, for, or about lesbians, as well as oral histories, photographs, and personal papers documenting lesbian lives and organizations.

Cornell University Human Sexuality Collection
The Human Sexuality Collection, established at Cornell's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in 1988, preserves primary sources on US LGBTQ history, with significant holdings of personal papers, organizational records, and rare periodicals from the nineteenth century onward.

Digital Transgender Archive (DTA)
This international collaborative project provides centralized access to digitized historical materials related to transgender history, including newsletters, photographs, organizational records, personal papers, periodicals, and oral histories. It is particularly valuable for locating materials held by smaller archives or community organizations that may not appear in union catalogs.

AIDS Memorial Quilt (National AIDS Memorial)
The interactive online Quilt contains nearly 50,000 panels memorializing more than 110,000 individuals lost to AIDS and is fully searchable by name, panel number, or keyword. Associated archival collections totaling more than 200,000 items, including biographical records, letters from panel makers, photographs, news clippings, and obituaries, are held at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN)
A virtual resource center rather than a physical repository, LGBTQ-RAN provides biographical profiles of more than 700 LGBTQ religious leaders, oral histories with more than 90 early leaders of LGBTQ+ religious movements, and a catalog identifying related collections in repositories around the world.

Invisible Histories
Founded in Alabama and currently establishing a permanent archive in Charlotte, North Carolina (opening in 2026), Invisible Histories is a community-based organization preserving LGBTQ history across the American South, a region underrepresented in mainstream LGBTQ collections. Holdings include personal papers, organizational records, and oral histories.

OutHistory.org
OutHistory is a free public history website that creates and promotes high-quality, evidence-based LGBTQ historical research. The site includes biographies, documents, exhibits, and articles on LGBTQ history, with content contributed by historians and community members.

Ace Archive
This curated digital archive focuses on the history of asexual and aromantic communities, which are often underrepresented in broader LGBTQ collections. Holdings include manifestos, periodicals, zines, academic works, and personal writings documenting asexual and aromantic discourse from the late twentieth century forward.

--by Kimberly T. Powell, AG