October 3, 2025
Now that fall has officially arrived, many of us are turning to indoor activities after a summer spent out and about. For genealogists, this is the perfect season to dig into our neglected genealogy research.
For me, one of the best ways to get back into genealogy research is to watch online webinars about genealogy topics. Whether your focus is DNA, censuses or research in Brazil, you’re sure to find videos that will help you advance your genealogy. If you are unable to travel to far-flung conferences and workshops, webinars are a way to participate from your own computer chair. You will see webinars by some of the best speakers in genealogy as well as ones by lesser-known upcoming talents.
Webinars are available in many places online. Some are free; others require payment. Just this week I received an email from Roots Tech notifying me of several live webinars that will be available in October. In addition, you can browse their extensive library of on-demand webinars at https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/search . Roots Tech will require you to register to access their webinars, but the webinars are all free.
One of my favorite webinar sites is Legacy Family Tree Webinars (https://familytreewebinars.com/ ). Legacy offers a huge library of webinars on a variety of subjects. In addition, live webinars are broadcast at least once a week. The webinars are free for the first week. After that a subscription ($49.95 per year) is available. Handouts can be downloaded for each webinar. Because of their wide variety of speakers and topics, this is the only webinar site that I subscribe to.
Webinars are also available on almost every genealogy website. These range from Ancestry to Find My Past to American Ancestors. Family Search offers a free chart detailing exactly what websites offer webinars at https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Genealogical_Education_Groups_and_Resources .
Finally, don’t forget that most local genealogical societies hold monthly meetings where an educational program is presented. Many of these societies (including Larimer County Genealogical Society) make these meetings available online for several weeks after each meeting. This is a way to access even more online genealogical information.
No matter what your genealogical focus is, you’re bound to find webinars that will help you attain your goals. The evenings are drawing in now; it’s the perfect time to settle into a comfy chair and watch some webinars.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society