Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy

11/26/2025

Join Cheri as she sits down with Pamela Vittorio for a fascinating look at her upcoming SLIG Virtual Course, “Communication Nation: How Our Ancestors Connected and the Records They Left Behind.”

From handwritten letters and telegrams to party lines, postcards, early radio, and newsreels, Pamela reveals the surprising ways Americans shared information across generations.
In this conversation, you’ll get a preview of the 1830–1950 communication networks that shaped our ancestors’ lives and the incredible records they left behind.

Discover how to locate and interpret newspapers, photographs, postal documents, early audio, broadcast media, and other pieces of ephemera that can bring your ancestors’ voices back into your research.

Watch now and get inspired to explore an entirely new layer of your family history!

Cheri speaks with Pamela Vittoria about her SLIG Virtual Course, "Communication Nation: How Our Ancestors Connected and the Records They Left Behind."From le...

11/24/2025

If you’ve ever wished you could hear your ancestors’ voices, or map how news traveled through their communities, this SLIG course is what you’ve been waiting for.

From broadsides to telegraphs to early radio, discover overlooked record sets that elevate your methodology and sharpen your analysis.

Ready to expand your toolbox beyond standard sources?
Register now and secure your seat. https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/communication-nation-how-our-ancestors-connected-and-the-records-they-left-behind-19th-to-mid-20th-centuries/

11/22/2025

Every genealogist has that page, the one you’ve rewritten 12 times because it still doesn’t sound right.
Bring ’Em Back Again! Advanced Workshop for Writing Our Ancestors’ Stories is designed for writers who already know the basics… and want to go deeper.

Learn how to organize a narrative, edit with confidence, and polish your writing with expert guidance and dedicated writing time each week.

Bring clarity to your storytelling and bring your ancestor back to life on the page.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/bring-em-back-again-advanced-workshop-for-writing-our-ancestors-stories/

11/20/2025

As the Fall SLIG session winds down, I’m thrilled to unveil an exciting addition to our program lineup: SLIG Workshops. Designed for genealogists who want focused, intensive instruction, these condensed multi-day courses deliver the same exceptional teaching and materials you've come to expect from SLIG, just in a shorter format.

You can expect one or two immersive days with expert instructors, diving deep into specialized topics through hands-on learning. Our inaugural SLIG Workshops debut in Fall 2026, with a special emphasis on DNA topics that will help you unlock new discoveries in your research.

I’m also happy to announce that by popular demand, Karen Stanbary’s "Proving your Pedigree with DNA" has been added to the Spring 2026 session. This course is part of Karen’s popular DNA Dreamers series, and it will be great preparation for anyone interested in the upcoming DNA SLIG Workshops. Registration is open for this course, and I anticipate the seats will fill quickly.

You can register for any upcoming SLIG course here:
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/

Our traditional January intensive runs the week of January 26-30. Spring session will be held during the months of February-April. While some courses are already full, several courses still have limited spots available. Give yourself something interesting to look forward to during the cold and gray winter months!

Thank you, again, for being part of this great community of genealogists!

Sincerely,
Jenny Hansen
SLIG Director

11/20/2025

Ink fades. Letters twist. Languages evolve.
But when you can read the handwriting of your ancestors, the past comes alive.

This SLIG Virtual 2026 course introduces the paleographic principles and record-reading skills you need to extract names, dates, and stories from 17th- to 19th-century parish, notarial, and inquisition records.

Because translation isn’t enough, understanding begins with the pen stroke.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/bringing-back-the-love-of-romance-language-paleography/

11/19/2025

By popular demand, Karen Stanbary’s “Proving Your Pedigree with DNA” is BACK for Spring 2026 and seats will fill fast.

This isn’t another passive webinar. It’s a hands-on, expert-guided, lineage-proving bootcamp where you’ll walk away with the exact methodology experts use to document a lineage with DNA and records.

If you’re ready to finally prove that line—really prove it—this is the place to do it.
Registration is open now, so claim your spot before it is too late! https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/proving-your-pedigree-with-dna/

11/18/2025

Scandinavian immigrants seeking new farmland. Chinese laborers facing exclusion. African American pioneers carving opportunity from the frontier.

Research in the US Northwest explores the cultural and historical diversity that shaped the Northwest, revealing underrepresented stories through census, employment, and community records.

Join us to learn how to uncover and document the people, movements, and stories that defined the region and bring your ancestors’ Northwest experience to life.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/research-in-the-us-northwest/

11/16/2025

As our fall SLIG courses wrap up, I just want to say how grateful I am for each of you, our instructors and our students. I hope you had a wonderful experience this year.

If you’re already looking ahead, our January and spring courses are still open for registration. A few are full, but many still have seats available. I’d love to see you back with us in the new year! https://slig.ugagenealogy.org/courses/

11/14/2025

Can’t figure out how your ancestors got from Ohio to Oregon, or why they vanished from the records in between?

The answer may lie on the rails.

All Aboard! teaches you how to use freight manifests, land grants, and railroad company archives to track movement across states and time periods.

Even if your ancestors never owned a ticket, the railroad shaped their journey and left clues along the way.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/all-aboard-passenger-travel-and-commerce-on-the-us-railroads-1826-1945/

11/12/2025

Inside the National Archives and other federal repositories lie the records that shaped America and the lives of your ancestors.

From tax ledgers and court cases to patents, pensions, and prison files, Navigating Federal Records Collections teaches you how to uncover the stories buried in our nation’s most powerful archives.

Led by Michael L. Strauss, AG, this SLIG Spring Virtual 2026 course will help you turn dusty documents into discoveries.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/navigating-federal-records-collections-a-researchers-guide-to-historical-discovery/

11/10/2025

Every mile of the Oregon Trail tells a story. Every treaty reshaped a nation. Every forest fueled a new beginning.

In this immersive course, explore the diverse peoples who called the Northwest home; Native nations, missionaries, emigrants, and settlers, and the records that document their journeys.

Discover the archives, maps, and voices that built the Pacific Northwest’s complex history.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/research-in-the-us-northwest/

11/08/2025

Transcriptions are helpful. But they miss things—small details, names, or clues that only the original handwriting reveals.

This course gives you the skills to read and interpret records in their original languages and scripts, from the 17th to the 19th century.

Don’t just trust what others read. See it for yourself.
https://academy.ugagenealogy.org/courses/bringing-back-the-love-of-romance-language-paleography/