RootsTech is an unimaginably large conference of 30,000 or so attendees and more at home with live-streaming. RootsTech is celebrating their 10th anniversary. Ten years ago,the conference was created, joining family history enthusiasts and technology experts to collaborate and bring us the rich technological platforms we enjoy today.
At our April Genies Meeting Linda B and I spoke about our trip to Salt Lake City for RootsTech 2020. Thank you, Linda, for your wonderful PowerPoint slides. You’ve all heard it from me and now Linda told us repeatedly and emphatically how much fun it was. We don’t exaggerate.
I demo-ed the Rootstech.org website. Here you will see the Recorded Sessions going back to 2015, Blogs, Syllabi Download, and finally the Virtual Pass Videos which are additional premium video classes. Each of the 300 classes has about a 4-page free syllabus. It seems like you need to know the exact name in order to find them. Just peruse the list of titles to find a syllabus that interests you. There are often helpful hints or resources listed, even if you did not attend the workshop.
Family History Library (FHL): During RootsTech Linda and I made our first visits to the Library with mixed results. Members Judy B (who some may know from the WGS) and David R (joining us from his home in Philadelphia) have been to the Family History Library numerous times. David suggested that if you needed technical help ask the young missionary helpers. He also said when you come in, sit by someone who has all their papers spread out for the day and they might be very willing to help you out. Keep in mind that some folks who work at the library are professional genealogists, and others are LDS volunteers, who may or may not be more knowledgeable than you.
Judy B told about taking several week-long classes from SLIG, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. (Note: There are similar Institutes in Pittsburg, Birmingham, AL and at the National Archives in Washington, DC.) One of the classes Judy took was a combination of research at the FHL and review and guidance by professional genealogists in the classroom.
David adds that when visiting Salt Lake City, we should stay at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel. It’s right next to the Library and across the street from the Convention Center. That’s where Linda and I stayed.
As an example of a free recorded class, I talked about the free recorded RootsTech class on “City Directories” given by Mike Mansfield, the Content Director at MyHeritage. MyHeritage has created a unique “consolidated” collection for City Directories. They have 25,000 directories from 1860 to 1960 with 1.2 billion source records. The source records are combined for 545 million individuals. Even if your ancestors lived in a small town, that town may be included in the directory from a larger city. Also it can be a good substitute for the missing 1890 US Census. How MyHeritage did this is an interesting story. To see and use this new collection, at MyHeritage.com go to Research, then Collection Catalog, then Directories, Guides and References. I have a subscription so I don’t know if this requires a subscription.
In the second half of this class Mike covers new collections from Norway, Germany, France and other countries.
Another theme with two free videos on the Roots Tech website is the emotional side of genealogy. This has always been present in the uncovering of family secrets but is more prevalent with DNA and the openness about our feelings in today’s culture. Several in our group have reported this in their own families and with people they help.
RootsTech provides an opportunity to learn about new features and products. And it really offers something for everyone: beginners, intermediate level researchers, and almost any genealogy-related topic.
All in all, our conference experience was a rewarding one and we recommend RootsTech to anyone who is comfortable with crowds.
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