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April 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM Bell County Genealogical Society meeting. Topic: Intro to Genealogy and Research Resources at the Bell County Museum. Speaker: Angel Swalve, President, TXBCGS, Bell county Museum 201 N Main Street, Belton Texas For more information, Click Here.
April 2026 - Family Search releasing over 1 billion new records from 31 countries. United States additions featuring public and vital records, military and cemetery records, and immigration and naturalization records; plus 13 million vital, military, and emigration records for the United Kingdom; and 10 million civil registrations and session court records from Ireland. Plus significant additions for 20+ other countries. Details Here
April 18, 2026 one-day workshop "Exploring Traditional and AI Tech Pathways for Czech Ancestry" featuring CTGS member Sherri Taggart Ahmadzadeh and her topic "Understanding and Using AI in Genealogy." Texas Czech Genealogical Society event happening at the Caldwell Civic Center, 103 TX Hwy 21 W, Caldwell, TX. See details here
April is Scottish American Heritage Month! Sunday April 5, 2026 - Celebrate Tartan Day 2026 at Barrow Brewing Company, Salado TX from 1 pm, with Scottish Rock Band 4-6 pm. Tartan Day is observed to commemorate the April 6th signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 - Scotland's Declaration of Independence. In 1998, April 6th was declared National Tartan Day. The day recognizes Scottish Americans and their achievements and contributions to the United States.
SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED March 26, 2026 TxSGS Call for Presentations for 2026 Family History Conference
The Texas State Genealogical Society is accepting proposals to speak at our hybrid 2026 TxSGS Family History Conference, November 6-7 at the Riley Center in Fort Worth, TX. This is a great opportunity for you to be seen and heard by an audience greatly interested in genealogy! The main call is for 60 minute in-person … Read more
March 26, 2026 at 6:00 pm - AI and Genealogy SIG Group - March Challenge (Should You Choose to Accept It!) Use AI to draft a one-paragraph biography of an ancestor from your research notes or timeline. Share your before/after at our next meeting if you edit it.
March is also Greek Heritage Month! Also known as Hellenic Heritage Month, With events such as UT of Dallas Greek American Heritage Month: Dinner Wednesday, March 2 2026 4:30 pm - 9 pm in Dining Hall West (see calendar), and the three-day weekend Austin Greek Festival in Austin Texas hosted by Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, which happens in May.
Dr. Ronnie Erwin & Sheriff Larry Lynch
Sheriff Larry Lynch - Special Guest at Spring Workshop
Larry Lynch, Sheriff, McLennan County, Texas (Ret.) 2000-2012
Larry Lynch’s passion and love for law enforcement began in 1953, on the steps of the McLennan County Courthouse where he was sworn in as a junior Deputy Sheriff by Sheriff C.C. Maxey. While Mr. Lynch was in college, he worked at the Huntsville State Prison for the Texas Department of Corrections. After college, he went on to work as an officer of the Dallas Probation Department, supervising and providing guidance for convicted felons.
In 1978, he went to work for the McLennan County Sheriff's Office. He worked in the jail, warrants division, and later became the administrator. In 2000, he was elected Sheriff of McLennan County where he served for twelve years. After retirement from the Sheriff's Office, he became the Director of the Law Enforcement Academy at McLennan Community College.
Photo credit: Mary Bullard
March 12, from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, CTGS DNA SIG Group meeting will be held in the large front conference room at the West Waco Library. John will formally introduce the DIY Genetic Genealogy Guide at the meeting and explain how it fits into our ongoing work. To request a copy prior to the meeting, email John: chromosomecousins@gmail.com
March is Irish-American HeritageMonth! honors the history and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants to the United States. Designated by Congress in 1991, this observance highlights the impact of Irish Americans on American culture, politics, and society, often coinciding with St. Patrick's Day, the Irish national holiday on March 17. Irish-American Heritage Month (March 2026) in Texas features major celebrations, headlined by the 44th Annual North Texas Irish Festival in Dallas (March 6–8, 2026) at Fair Park, offering three days of music, dance, and culture. Other events include Alvarado's Irish Fest and specialized musical workshops https://www.cityofalvarado.org/1478/Alvarados-Irish-Fest
Submissions Due March 20, 2026 TxSGS Call for Presentations for 2026 Family History Conference
The Texas State Genealogical Society is accepting proposals to speak at our hybrid 2026 TxSGS Family History Conference, November 6-7 at the Riley Center in Fort Worth, TX. This is a great opportunity for you to be seen and heard by an audience greatly interested in genealogy! The main call is for 60 minute in-person … Read more
Saturday January 24, 2026 - CTGS member Patti Huff Williams will be speaking at the Texas Czech Genealogical Society event Roots, Routes, and Recipes at the Caldwell Civic Center in Caldwell, TX. For more information visit the TCGS website.
January 22, 2026 at 6:00 pm - AI & Genealogy Group will meet in the large Meeting Room at the West Waco Library. Join us to explore ways to use various AI tools to further your genealogy research.
January 12, 2026 at 3:00 pm - the Cemetery Interest Group with Bill Buckner will meet in the small conference room (adjoining the Genealogy Center).
January 8, 2026 at 4:00 pm - Chromosome Cousins DNA Group will meet at the West Waco Library. This month's topic is Using Ancestry DNA Matches by Cluster Tool.
Starting January 2026 New Hours - Waco Genealogy Center will be closed on Tuesdays and only open until 8 pm on Mondays, in keeping with new night hours for all Waco Libraries which will no longer be open until 9 pm.
December 7th - from My Heritage: OldNews.com, powered by MyHeritage, has just crossed 400 million historical newspaper pages! That includes an extraordinary 120 million pages added in 2025 alone, with newspapers from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Australia, and many more countries on the way.
December 11th at 4:00 pm Chromosome Cousins DNA Group will meet at the West Waco Library. John reminds everyone to please have access to the two Connecting the Dots handouts (either printed or on your device). If you’ve already created your own 5-generation chart, feel free to bring that as well—along with a few colored pencils or markers if you plan to work on it (John'll have some available as well).
January 22nd at 6:00pm AI for Genealogy Group will meet at the West Waco Library. Focus is on comparing results from different AI Services.
Banner Photo Credit: Andrea Piacquadio, Budapest, Hungary