Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Off to RootsTech!

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rootstechlogoI leave tomorrow for Salt Lake City to attend RootsTech 2014. I’m really excited, but I have to admit I’m a bit trepidatious. I love conferences. You might call me a bit of a conference junkie. (Check out the credentials page of my Peace of Mind Organizing website and you can see how many organizing conferences I’ve attended.)

In the world of professional organizers, though, our biggest conference attracts at most 900 people. I just read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that say that 10,000 people are expected to attend RootsTech. 10,000.

Gulp.

When I think about a conference that big, my hidden introvert rises to the forefront. I think how overwhelmed I might feel and how I might just want to take refuge in my hotel room.

So, to combat that overwhelmed feeling, I’ve developed a strategy, of sorts. I reminded myself that this is a tremendous learning opportunity. So I will attend classes and make a concerted effort to talk with exhibitors. And I will indeed use my hotel room for refuge when necessary.

If you’ve attended RootsTech before, I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for making the most of it. If you’re going this year and you’d like to arrange to meet, please let me know!

I know the conference will give me lots of information to report on here. So please keep you eye on the blog!

Find historical maps on MapofUS.org

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mapofusI’m not sure how I happened across the website MapofUS.org, but it seems like quite a find for history and map lovers, and, of course, family history researchers.

The site consists of links to many, many high-resolution historical maps of the U.S. (and a few other countries), as well as a small selection of battle maps for the Revolutionary War, and Civil War maps promised to come soon.In addition, there is a Historical  Atlases section, which provides some city maps as well. I was able to see 1852 and 1880 maps of St. Louis, where I live. They were fascinating.

It also offers an interactive U.S. map where you can watch the territories and states as they’re established throughout time. Each state also has an interactive county map.

The maps are available free of charge (at this point anyway). This seems like a really easy way to check county (and other) boundaries on various dates while you’re doing your genealogy research.

 

New Hack Genealogy Boot Camp: Get Your Genealogy Groove Back

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Get your genealogy groove backI just signed up for the Get Your Genealogy Groove Back Boot Camp from Hack Genealogy. It will be held on Saturday, January 25 from 10 am to 1:30 pm central time. (Recordings are available to registrants who can’t attend live or wish to watch it again.)

This boot camp series is organized by Hack Genealogy, the blog run by Thomas MacEntee, founder of Geneabloggers. This particular boot camp consists of two webinars that are right up my alley:

  • Genealogy Goals: How to Set Them, How to Keep them, presented by Lisa A. Alzo
  • Managing the Genealogy Data Monster, by Thomas MacEntee

I’m really looking forward to hearing what these experts have to say!

The boot camps are very reasonably priced. I paid only $9.95 to register. That includes a $3 discount for ordering before January 20.

There are so many learning opportunities in the world of genealogy. I was attracted to this one because of the expertise of the presenters, the fact that it’s live (sometimes recordings just languish on my hard drive), and the very reasonable tuition. Can’t wait!

Help me help you

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OYFHannualreportWordPress was kind enough to send me an end-of-the-year statistical profile of Organize Your Family History today. And it included a link to last year’s report as well.

The report likes to make the stats fun:

  • Last year, if the blog were a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it would take three trips to carry as many people who read the blog that year (which is not very many people, in blog terms)
  • This year, if the blog were a concert at Sydney Opera House it would take about seven sold-out performances for that many people to see it

In actual numbers  that means that last year (which, to be fair, was half a year, since the blog debuted in June) the blog had 860 pageviews. This year, it’s been viewed over 18,000 times. That’s real growth, and for that I’m grateful. I really appreciate your reading and recommending the blog.

I’d like to make Organize Your Family History as useful to you as I can, so I created a little poll to get some input on the type of content that would be most useful to you. Feel free to select as many topics as you’d like.

 

I really appreciate your expressing your opinion and I thank you in advance!