Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots
I’m curious, what software do you use to keep track of your family tree? I use Reunion, the software I started out with six years ago, and I really like it. But I don’t have any point of comparison.
I put together this poll to learn what my readers use, so I can figure out which software I should learn more about. I’d appreciate it if you’d take a moment and fill it out. I’d love to hear in the comments what you like and dislike about the software you use. Thanks!
I’m excited that I’m attending RootsTech, but for those who can’t make it, RootsTech is livestreaming a small selection of the keynotes and breakout sessions at next week’s conference.
Here’s the schedule. The sessions will be streamed live on the RootsTech homepage and then afterward recordings will be posted on the website for a limited time.
Visit the Livestream page on the RootsTech website for descriptions of each of these sessions.
Wednesday, February 28
9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. | Family History in 5 Minutes a Day
Speaker: Deborah Gamble
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | DNA–One Family, One World
Speaker: David Nicholson
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Organizing and Preserving Photograph Collections
Speaker: Ari Wilkins
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Finding the Answers: The Basics of WWII Research
Speaker: Jennifer Holik
4:30 a.m.–5:30 a.m. | Wednesday General Session and Innovation Showcase
Speaker: Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International
Thursday, March 1
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. | Thursday General Session
Speaker: Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | MyHeritage DNA 101: From Test to Results
Speaker: Yaniv Erlich
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Google Photos: Collect, Organize, Preserve, and Share
Speaker: Michelle Goodrum
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Unlocking Roman Catholic Records
Speaker: Brian Donovan
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | A Gift of Life: Who’s Writing Your Story?
Speaker: Deborah Abbott
Friday, March 2
8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. | Friday General Session
Speaker: Scott Hamilton
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | findmypast’s British and Irish Hidden Gems
Speaker: Myko Clelland
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Finding the Right DNA Test for You
Speaker: Jim Brewster
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | How Not to Leave Your Genealogy Behind
Speakers: Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | Finding Elusive Records at FamilySearch
Speaker: Robert Kehrer
Saturday, March 3
8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. | Saturday General Session
Speakers: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Natalia Lafourcade
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Civil Registration Indexes of England and Wales
Speaker: Audrey Collins
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Advancing Your Genealogy Research with DNA
Speaker: Anna Swayne
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Pain in the Access: More Web for Your Genealogy
Speaker: Curt Witcher
That’s a lot of free information available to you! I heartily encourage to attend as many of these talks as you can, from the comfort of your computer, tablet or phone. In my experience, RootsTech presentations are top notch.
RootsTech 2018 is a little later than usual (February 28 to March 2) and I’ve just today started to focus on it. I deleted last year’s app on my so that I could download this year’s version. Turns out, if I’d read this blog post, titled 7 Ways the Mobile App Will Enhance Your RootsTech Experience I would have realized that all had to do was open the 2017 app, tap Exit to Show List, and select RootsTech 2018.
The app really is robust, allowing you to access information about conference sessions, exhibitors, schedules and more in a variety of ways. I’m going to make sure I budget some time in advance of the conference to go through it and put sessions on the app’s schedule so I’m not feeling stressed while at the conference.
Apparently 15,000 attendees are expected at this year’s conference to learn from their choice of 300 sessions and 200 exhibitors. I can’t believe I can attend a conference of that scope and not feel completely overwhelmed. It really is very well organized. One thing I’ve learned is to schedule down time and give myself permission to skip a conference session if I’m feeling exhausted. (I find that being around so many people can be draining.) If you’re attending for the first time you might want to check out this RootsTech blog post, A Survival Guide to RootsTech.
In years past I’ve had a great time meeting readers of this blog at RootsTech. If you’re going and you’d like to say hi in person, just leave a note in the comments and we’ll figure that out. I hope to meet some of you in person this year!
I just learned about Family Search’s Worldwide Indexing Event, October 20 to 22. People from all over the world will work together to index as many documents as possible this weekend. So far, almost 60,000 people (including me!) have signed up.
I’ve long wanted to help with indexing since I know how helpful it is to find indexed documents and I’m so grateful to Family Search for making these documents (and indexes) freely available. A few years ago, I tried to volunteer to index but at the time it required downloading software and the indexing software–despite my best efforts and calls to tech support–simply would not play nicely with my Mac.
Things have changed! One can now index via the web, so no software is required.
Before committing, I thought I’d give it a try. I searched the available indexing opportunities and indicated I was interested in beginner level batches in the United States. I selected Divorce Records from Colorado, 1900-1939. The instructions and the indexing form were clear and I quickly indexed my first batch of ten divorce documents. I’ll hold off until Friday to do more, but I found the process enjoyable. Some day soon, perhaps, I’ll graduate to more challenging documents (these divorce records were typewritten), but I’m setting myself up for success by at least starting out with beginner documents this weekend.
I can’t wait to learn how many documents are indexed this weekend. Think of all the genealogy researchers who will be helped. I’m excited to be a part of it!
