Organize Your Family History

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30 x 30 check-in time!

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It’s the middle of the month. How’s your 30 x 30 challenge going? Please let us know in the comments!

I have to admit, I’m not having a great month for genealogy research. It’s disappointing, because I really do want to take in a bunch of RootsTech classes and I also want to prep for the 1950 census release in just a couple of weeks. But sometimes life gets in the way of enjoyable activities.

My 92-year-old aunt is having some health difficulties and I’m her Power of Attorney so I’ve been kept very busy arranging for and monitoring her care from afar. I’m glad to do it but after taking care of my aunt and my business I don’t have a lot of extra time.

I’m so glad I didn’t procrastinate too much on my census prep. I’ve been able to identify some enumeration districts for some of my people, in case the name indexes don’t give me what I need. I’ve managed to research or watch RootsTech classes only 10 of the last 15 days. Disappointing, but unavoidable. I’m just going to do what I can and not beat myself up.

I hope some of you have had a better go of it and that if you haven’t your being kind to yourself about it! I hope to take in at least a few classes before the end of the month.

Preparing for the 1950 census release

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April 1, the day the 1950 U.S. Census will be released, is less than a month away. While I declared that my March 30 x 30 challenge would be around watching RootsTech classes, it hasn’t worked out that way. Instead, I’m focusing more on getting ready for the 1950 census release.

I managed to work on both those goals simultaneously by watching Steve Morse’s RootsTech session called Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching With and Without a Name Index last week. This is 50-minute session with great instruction on how to use Morse’s Unified 1950 Census ED Finder to find the enumeration districts of your relatives whose 1950 addresses in case you can’t find by using the index. (By the way, there’s a transcript version of that session, including the slides, here.)

So I’m busy filling out my spreadsheet of ancestors to look for with enumeration districts to check out on the morning of April 1. (I probably won’t stay until midnight to do it in the wee hours of the day.)

I blogged about Marian Burke Wood’s terrific presentation to the Kentucky State Historical Society on preparing for the census release. Today I received an email with a link to a video short of tips extracted from that talk. (And there’s a transcript!)

Other great resources for the 1950 census include this page from the Genealogical Forum of Oregon with information on the 1950 census, including instructions to enumerators, blank forms and a sample filled-in questionnaire. The site also has links to instructions for creating a list of ancestors who were alive in 1950 in Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree and RootsMagic.

The National Archives is holding a series of webinars this spring on the 1950 census. Check out this webpage for the schedule and for links to past webinars in the series.

According to the National Archives 1950 census page, there will be a name index for the 1950 census as soon as it’s released. But since it’s created by artificial intelligence, there are bound to be inaccuracies. That’s why I’m looking up enumeration districts so I don’t spend my April Fool’s Day being frustrated. The National Archives is asking for our help in correcting the AI-generated index. There will be a transcription tool we can use to help. Check out NARA’s 1950 webpage for more information.

Where will we go to look for the 1950 census on April 1? If I’m reading NARA’s 1950 census page right, it will be available right on their page.

How to watch RootsTech 2022

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RootsTech 2022 started today! Like last year’s conference, it is completely virtual and completely free. I’ve been traveling today, so I haven’t had a chance to experience a whole lot of the classes, but I’m impressed with what I see.

The great news is that most of the sessions will be available to watch until next year’s RootsTech conference (which may or may not be held in person but is promised to have a virtual component regardless). You can watch as many of the on-demand classes as you want now and save others for later. (I have every intention to watch as many as I can now before life takes over and I don’t make time to watch.) Live keynotes are available on a schedule. The keynotes should be available to watch after the conference.

But there are features that I think are going to be available only during the conference or perhaps the rest of the month. They include:

  • Chat, where you can interact with like-minded genealogists
  • Relatives at RootsTech, where you can see how many people who are registered for the conference are related to you through the Family Search tree. So far, I have 39,833 relatives registered for the conference! (Relatives at RootsTech goes away on March 25.)
  • Searching for your friends who are attending to see how you might be related.
  • The ability to chat with representatives of the exhibitors in Virtual Expo Hall

There are lots of ways to approach participating in RootsTech, but here’s what I suggest (and this is what I plan to do this weekend when I’ll have more time):

  1. Go to the RootsTech website.
  2. Login to your Family Search account. Or create one if you don’t already have one. It’s free.
  3. Click on Menu, then Relatives at RootsTech to find your relatives and see how you’re related. If you want, you can send relatives a message  by clicking on a peson’s name, then Send a Message under their name.
  4. If you’re feeling confused, watch the Website Tutorial by clicking the button near the top of the screen.
  5. Check out the schedule for the Live keynotes.
  6. Click on Sessions and search or browse for on-demand sessions.
  7. Add sessions to your Playlist, so you watch them at your leisure. You can get to your playlist by clicking on the little “play” triangle at the top of the screen, situated between Connection and Chat. (I just discovered that my 2021 playlist is still available! I bet yours is too.)
  8. Explore the Virtual Expo Hall. You can browse or search for particular vendors.
  9. Start a private chat, search for a chat room for a particular group or interest or ask the folks at FamilySearch anything you want through the Chat function. You can get there by clicking on the text bubble icon at the top menu on the main page.

When I’ve spoken at and attended  in-person RootsTech conferences I’ve always been amazed at well organized these conferences are. Last year’s virtual conference was an organizational achievement and they’ve even made improvements this year. These folks are unbelievable. Enjoy!

I want to be clear that I am not affiliated with RootsTech. I’ve been a speaker twice and I’m an enthusiastic  attendee, but otherwise I have nothing to do this amazing conference. I just want to make sure my readers are making the most of it!

 

 

March 30 x 30 challenge starts tomorrow!

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I wanted to give you a one day heads up that I’m starting another 30 x 30 challenge. For the month of March, I encourage you to join me in committing to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research (or organizing or whatever you want to do) each day for 30 days.

I’ve decided that I’m going to spend my 30 x 30 challenge taking RootsTech classes. RootsTech 2022 starts on March 3 but until then I can watch RootsTech 2021 classes. As I wrote in last week’s post, I’m disappointed with myself that I didn’t watch more RootsTech 2021 classes in the year between the two virtual conferences.

My plan is to take at least one class per day, more if they’re short. I hope to spend at least 30 minutes a day watching RootsTech classes. I think this will be a great way for me to make sure I take advantage of at least some of the great education offered!

Please let me know in the comments if you’re interested in joining this month’s challenge. It doesn’t have to be about RootsTech–it can be about anything genealogy related that works for you!

Join the mailing list!

When you first join the list, I’ll send you a few emails to help you organize your family history. After that you’ll hear from me at the end of every month when I send an email with links to that month’s posts. And every now and then, I’ll let you know when I have something special to promote.