Family History Institute

Family History Institute (FHI) 2026

The Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association (WCGHA) will host its Twenty-Ninth Family History Institute on Saturday, 18 April, 2026. This day-long affair will be held at the Wytheville Meeting Center. An optional workshop will be held at our library on 11^th Street on the 17^th.

The purpose of the day is to provide information of interest to genealogists, historians, authors, and researchers. This year, we have chosen to dive into some new areas of interest.

Our first speaker for the 2026 conference is Patricia Hatfield, a retired Director of the Smyth-Bland Regional Library, an Honorary State Regent of the Virginia DAR, and currently the Recording Secretary for Historical Society of Washington County. She will talk about the Artificial Intelligence (AI) features of Family Search and how to use them.

Our second speaker, Ben Jackson, is a retiree from Carroll County whose search for his own origins led to an unusual pursuit – searching for the fingerprints of enslaved workers on the bricks of old buildings.

Polly Vaughan, a researcher from the Grayson County Historical Society, will talk about the history of that county and the Genealogical and Historical resources available.

William A. (Bill) Veselik, the Archivist for the F.B. Kegley Library at Wytheville Community College (WCC) and the regional representative of Family Search. Bill will talk about archival procedures: how to preserve and protect any valuable original documents you may have.

Michael Gilman is a staff member of the Wytheville Department of Museums, and Director of the Umberger/Jackson Homestead. He will talk about the filming of the Blue Ridge PBS and PBS Appalachia special, “Resolved to Live and Die: The Revolutionary Roots of Southwest Virginia”, which aired 16 November 2025. The film included segments on the Fincastle Resolution which were filmed at the Homestead.

Our banquet speaker is Frieda Davison, retired Dean of Libraries at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She will talk about including the black sheep of the family in your family history.

Friday afternoon, April 17th, Frieda Davison will host a workshop (capacity 15) at our 11th Street offices. She will pass on some tips and tricks for using PowerPoint. For some of you without a lot of experience using the software or with making presentations, this workshop can be a big help.

For those people coming from out of town, we recommend you book your lodging early. We will be having an optional get together for out-of-town visitors the night before the conference (Friday, April 15th), to give everyone a chance to talk with old acquaintances and with WCGHA volunteers. If you are interested, contact us by phone or e-mail.