Alberta Family Histories Society

10/06/2026

Alberta Family Histories Society has some great door prizes for our upcoming conference on Saturday, October 17. We would like to thank the individuals and businesses that provided these wonderful prizes:

MyHeritage - certificate for 1 Year MyHeritage Complete Plan
MyHeritage - certificate for 1 Year Old News Subscription
Your DNA Guide - e-book version of Your DNA Guide: The Book
Legacy Family Tree Webinars - 2 certificates, each for a 1-year subscription
Wendy Schultz - To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes by Rosie Grant
Amber Godfrey - Book ends
Marion Peterson - I Want to Have Your Story books
Nancy Carson - Tracing Your Ancestors Using What They Left Behind by Simon Wells
Kelly Mitchell - choice of 2 of four original photographs

Registration for our conference closes soon!

For more information, please visit our conference webpage: https://afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026/

10/03/2026

Our conference is only two weeks from today! Alberta Family Histories Society is in the final stages of preparation for our upcoming Family Roots Conference - The 3 Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources. For more information see our website. Register now!
https://afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026/

09/28/2026

Family Roots Conference 2026 is coming!

Join us on Saturday, October 17 at Hotel Blackfoot in Calgary.

Explore the 3 Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources.

We have four outstanding speakers:
Sara Cochran (Skeleton Whisperer)
Rhonda Lauritzen (Evalogue Life)
Ron Gilmore
Christine Hayes

$90 AFHS members | $100 non-members includes 4 sessions, continental breakfast, lunch and a digital syllabus

Learn more and register: https://afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026/ Registration closes October 12 (mail-in registrations must be received by October 9).

Questions? Email [email protected]

Alberta Family Histories Society is excited to welcome you to Family Roots 2026 – The 3 Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources. We’re looking forward to a great day of learning and connecting in person at our conference!

09/26/2026

It's a busy day at AFHS!
The Celtic SIG is holding a hybrid meeting at 10 am. Marion Peterson will be doing a presentation about using the FamilySearch Wiki to find Scottish and Irish records.
From 10 am to 4 pm, we are taking part in Doors Open YYC. In the afternoon at 1:30 pm, please consider stopping by to be in the audience for Elizabeth Rodier's talk about the history of Acadia.
It is also Family History Coaching at the downtown branch of the library, and our Resource Centre has open hours from noon to 4 pm.

Tomorrow is also Doors Open YYC, and we are offering two talks at 10 am and 1:30 pm. For more information,
https://www.facebook.com/doorsopenyyc
For details about AFHS:

Alberta Family Histories Society (AFHS) is a non-profit organization supporting worldwide family history research through education and the encouragement of preservation of information. **IMPORTANT** Located inside Petwin Atrium Commons building (formerly Heritage Square), entrance located opposite....

09/24/2026

Register now for Alberta Family History Society's upcoming Family Roots Conference on October 17 - The Three Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources.

We’re looking forward to hearing Christine Hayes who will present Advanced Genealogy Resources.

From a young age, Christine was the kid who perched quietly nearby, eavesdropping on the conversations of grown-ups and wondering about the people behind the names. Years later, after taking a job in the genealogy department at the public library, those names she’d heard resurfaced in census records — and she was hooked. Christine spent the bulk of her career helping people trace their ancestry. Christine now serves as the Program Committee Chair of the Alberta Family History Society, where she continues to work with genealogists looking to find family and discover the lives of those who went before.

According to one of our members, “Whatever the topic, Christine's presentations leave you wanting to head home to research, curious about what you might find!”

For more information about our conference, please visit afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026

Mail-in registrations must be received by October 9. Online registration closes October 12.

09/21/2026

Register now for Alberta Family History Society's upcoming Family Roots Conference on October 17 - The Three Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources.

We’re looking forward to hearing Ron Gilmore who will present Genealogy Starter Kit.

With a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in mathematics, Ron worked for industrial giants such as General Electric and IBM before transitioning to a consulting career, assisting large organizations cope with installing and leveraging information technology. His work took him across Canada, USA and Europe. Now, he is enjoying a journey of discovery in genealogy. His focus is Ireland, Scotland, England, France/Germany and some rather entertaining family history sagas. Ron belongs to four genealogical societies in California and is a past president of Alberta Family Histories Society. He has shared his presentations with genealogical groups in Canada and USA.

According to one of our members, “Ron never disappoints. He always delivers a deeply engaging presentation.”

For more information about our conference, please visit afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026
Mail-in registrations must be received by October 9. Online registration closes October 12.

09/18/2026

Register now for Alberta Family History Society's upcoming Family Roots Conference on October 17 - The Three Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources.

We’re looking forward to hearing Rhonda Lauritzen, who will be joining us via Zoom to present Navigating, Sensitivities, Trauma and Secrets in Storytelling.

Rhonda Lauritzen is the founder and one of the authors/instructors at Evalogue.Life. She regularly speaks, writes features for Family Tree Magazine, does keynote addresses, and presents each year at RootsTech, the world’s largest family history conference.

According to one of our members, “You will absolutely love Rhonda - probably the most emotionally engaging speaker I have ever attended.”

For more information about our conference, please visit https://afhs.ab.ca/event/family-roots-2026/

Mail-in registrations must be received by October 9. Online registration closes October 12.

09/16/2026

For the Summer of 2026, Alberta Family Histories Society volunteers uploaded 6 new cemeteries to our cemetery database, Alberta Ancestors. This was a total of 4085 names. More names are being added all the time, so check it out: Alberta Ancestors – https://albertaancestors.ca

Bassano Cemetery (Newell County) 1,658 names – 1,185 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/bassano-cemetery-newell-county/
Carbon Cemetery (Kneehill County) 582 names – 516 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/carbon-cemetery-kneehill-county/
Holy Cross Cemetery (Fort Macleod) 413 names – 286 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/holy-cross-cemetery-fort-macleod-md-of-willow-creek/
Nobleford Monarch Cemetery (Lethbridge County) 469 names – 316 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/old-monarch-cemetery-lethbridge-county/
Sullivan Graves (Foothills County) 3 names – 9 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/sullivan-graves-foothills-county/
Vauxhall Cemetery (MD of Taber) 725 names – 564 photos - https://albertaancestors.ca/cemeteries/vauxhall-cemetery-md-of-taber/

In addition, there were many updates to City of Calgary cemeteries.

As of August 28, our website has:
387 cemeteries (increase of 8 over the summer)
276,994 persons (increase of 12,264)
202,855 photos (increase of 10,913)

We have been very busy!

09/15/2026

Thanks to Debra Dudek for a very inspiring presentation at our Society meeting last night! AFHS members who missed it or want to watch it again can view it on our website's Meeting Videos & Handouts page until October 15 (logged-in members only).

09/13/2026

Register now for Alberta Family History Society's upcoming Family Roots Conference on October 17 - The Three Rs of Genealogy: Relationships, Research and Resources.

Sara Cochran, one of our amazing speakers, will do three informative presentations: 1) Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Is This Genealogy or the Cha Cha? 2) To Spit or Not to Spit? Is DNA Testing Right for Your Research? and 3) Missing: Reward! Locating Widows, Spinsters and Bachelors.

Sara is a full-time professional genealogist with over thirty years of research experience. Her research has taken her to nearly every state in the USA and Ireland. She especially enjoys breaking down brick walls, discovering the stories of black sheep ancestors and helping individuals preserve their photographic legacy. She's been described as "just pure high-voltage genealogy!"

For more information about our conference, please visit Family Roots Conference 2026

Mail-in registrations must be received by October 19. Online registration closes October 12.