What We Wore: Dating Photos Through Clothes
2026-03-09 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual Meeting
Heather Zbinden

Using photos from the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies collection, learn how to date family photos by the clothes worn by the photo sitters.

Heather Register Zbinden is the Adult Program Coordinator for the Central Arkansas Library System. She has worked in public history for over 20 years and has contributed to projects at the Old State House Museum, the Central High School National Historic Site, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Experience in World War II Arkansas. Her research passion is fashion and clothes – any clothes – from haute couture to dime store finds.

A Zoom link will be sent to members and mailing list subscribers the morning of the event.

Effective Use of Ancestry.com
2026-03-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual Meeting
Scott Lee

We click all those little green leaves and build a tree, but keep finding mistakes. How do we fix them? This presentation will show you how to avoid incorporating other people’s mistakes into your tree and use the Ancestry.com service effectively. It will teach techniques for building a more reliable, evidence-based tree. This is a great refresher even for experienced Ancestry.com users!Scott Lee is a retired software engineer who has researched his family history since 1979. He has served as an officer in several genealogical societies and lectures on genealogical topics. Currently, he is the 1st Vice President of the Arkansas Genealogical Society.

Scott grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, but his work took him to Indiana, Oregon, North Carolina, and New York City. In retirement, he and his wife, Deirdre, have returned to their families in Arkansas. His career included the medical field, engineering, computer graphics, and consulting in the process of building reliable software. In retirement, he is working on the design of deep learning neural networks and software for genealogy. In his spare time, he enjoys writing science fiction, studying ancient calendars, developing open-source software, keeping up with the latest advances in physics and astronomy, and, of course, researching his family history.To register for this free webinar, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KC2lat_XTpCRyfZlTkR0_w#/registration.

AHS Annual Conference - Arkansas at Work: Histories of Labor, Land, and Learning
2026-04-09 08:00 - 2026-04-11 17:00 | Arkansas
The Arkansas Historical Association will host its eighty-fifth annual conference in Monticello, April 9-11, 2026. Presentations will cover a wide range of topics from all time periods that explore the history of Arkansas at work, from the production and trade of material goods by Indigenous peoples for hundreds of generations to a diverse economy based on agriculture, mining, forestry, manufacturing, and tourism in more modern times.

See the AHS website for more details.

Arkansas State Archives Spring Symposium
2026-05-02 08:30 - 12:00 | Historic Arkansas Museum, 201 W 3rd St, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, United States
From 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, 2026, the Arkansas State Archives (ASA) will host their spring symposium at the Historic Arkansas Museum.

The symposium will focus on the legacy of sports in the Natural State. Historian Jim Yeager will talk about the history of the Arkansas Travelers; ASA archival assistant Brian Irby will speak about the history of prizefighting in the state; UCA Professor Buckley T. Foster will talk about Arkansas’ history of hunting and conservation; and Muskie Harris will discuss his football career at Central High School and with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The event is free to attend, but registration is required. Seating is limited, so be sure to register below!

Register on Eventbrite

35th North Arkansas Ancestor Fair
2026-06-05 13:00 - 2026-06-06 15:00 | Arkansas
A Two-Day Genealogical Event in North Arkansas

June 5-6, 2026

To brag on your North Arkansas ancestors, or to learn about them, go to the 35th North Arkansas Ancestor Fair June 5 & 6, 2025.

On Friday afternoon, four local history and genealogy speakers will present great information about local history and genealogy at the Searcy County Library from 1:00 to 5:00, followed by a mixer-dinner to make early contacts from 5:30 to 8:30 at Los Locos Mexican Restaurant.

On Saturday from 9:00 to 3:00 at the Veterans Hall in Marshall, family genealogists, local historians, and north-central Arkansas county historians will be there to help researchers. People who want to share information will be provided with a table and chairs to display their information. WiFi is available.

The Searcy County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that hosts monthly history presentations in Marshall and hosts the annual Ancestor Fair on the 1st Friday and Saturday in June. Founded in 1989 by James Johnston, the North Arkansas Ancestor Fair has since been held at various locations throughout Searcy County, with up to 500 participants in some years.

When asked to explain what an Ancestor Fair is, one involved person said, “It’s a genealogical swap shop.” A local dentist described the Ancestor Fair as a place where people went to show off their ancestors. Both statements are correct. Gatherers come to the Ancestor Fair looking for information. Providers display and share their information because they enjoy helping others, but also because they are proud of their research and would like a bit of appreciation for their years of work.

For additional info, contact Thereisa Housley at rafter@ozarkisp.netand http://ancestorfair.us Schedule:

Friday, June 5, from 1:00-5:00 p.m.Searcy County Library202 East Main StreetMarshall, AR 726501:00 pm James J. Johnston-Welcome and Jayhawker Tales2:00 pm Randy & Melissa Smyth, Stories & History3:00 pm Sherry Southerland-A Peace Society Spy4:00 pm Jo Watts-Easier Genealogy Research 5:30 – 8:30 pm – Mixer Dinner – Meet kin, get an early start on researchLos Locos Restaurant – order individually from the menu234 US 65 NMarshall, AR 72650 Saturday, June 6, from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.Veteran’s Memorial Hall108 Noah Horton Memorial Dr.Marshall, AR 72650

7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Providers set up9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – Ancestor Fair open to the public

Arkansas Black Officials in Reconstruction
2026-06-06 09:00 - 13:00 | Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. 9th St., Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, United States
The Black History Commission of Arkansas with the Arkansas State Archives will host its June symposium, “Arkansas Black Officials in Reconstruction” on Saturday, June 6, 2026, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock.Featured speakers include Matthew Caston, Dr. Donna Shelton, Phyllis Hammonds, Mayor Ora Barnes, and Pastor Jarvis Smith. Topics include “Rush to Freedom: The Story of Anderson Louis Rush,” “Gilded Age Grassroots Politics in the Arkansas Delta,” “Local to State Black Political Power in the Late Nineteenth Century,” and “A discussion on the successes, obstacles, and distinct personalities of 10 legislators who represented Phillips and Lee Counties during Reconstruction.”Light refreshments will be served. Teachers can earn up to 3 hours of Teacher PDH credit.

The event is free to attend, but registration is required. Deadline to register is May 26, 2026. Register through Eventbrite.

Family History Research in Arkansas: An Introduction
2026-07-27 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Russell Baker

Russell Baker has been active in Arkansas genealogical education for decades. He is retired from the Arkansas State Archives and recently stepped down as the long-time editor of the Arkansas Genealogical Society’s journal, The Arkansas Family Historian.

A Zoom link will be sent to members and mailing list subscribers the morning of the meeting.

You Only Have a Death Announcement: Now What?
2026-08-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual Meeting
Deborah A. Abbott, Ph.D.

Dr. Deborah Abbott is a professional genealogist specializing in African American research, manuscript collections, and genealogy methodology. She is a Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Archives Advisory Commission member and serves on the Lake View (Ohio) Cemetery Outreach Committee. She is an associate with the Kentucky-Tennessee Associates based in Springfield, TN; past president of the African American Genealogical Society, Cleveland, OH; and a retired professor of Counseling from Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. She holds both a BS and an M.Ed. from Tuskegee University in Alabama and a PhD from Kent State University in Ohio.

Dr. Abbott is an instructor and the coordinator for both the week-long African American tracts at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), held at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, and the Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), held at LaRoche University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is also an instructor at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in Salt Lake City, UT. She presents lectures and workshops at national, state, and local genealogy conferences. She lectures at colleges, businesses & libraries. She has published in both the Ohio Genealogy News and Family Tree Magazine. Dr. Abbott can be seen teaching the African American research course “Needles & Threads” in an educational video on Ancestry Academy, available on Ancestry.com. She coordinates monthly classes for the Genealogy and Family History Clinic for the Cleveland Public Library.

A Cleveland, Ohio native, Dr. Abbott is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Tuskegee University National Alumni Association, and Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland.

A Zoom link will be sent to members and mailing list subscribers the morning of the meeting.
