05/28/2026
Congratulations to GRIVA board member Peter Edwin Broadbent, Jr., JD for being named a National Genealogical Society Fellow!
From the NGS press release: 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.
The National Genealogical Society has announced its newest Fellows: Peter Broadbent Jr., JD; Carmen Finley, PhD, CG Emeritus (posthumously); and C. Ann Staley, CG, CGL.
The Fellow of NGS designation honors individuals whose service to NGS and the field of genealogy has been exceptional. These recipients have contributed through advocacy, scholarship, leadership, education, publishing, conference programming, and preservation efforts that continue to benefit genealogists across the country.
Congratulations on this significant honor and thank you for your enduring contributions to the field.
