Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Making the most of your first genealogy conference

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RootsTech 2025 is almost here! If you’re attending in person and especially if it’s your first genealogy conference, you might benefit from this post, which I originally wrote in 2017. My number one RootsTech-specific suggestion is to try to scope out a quiet place where you can retreat if the large number of people starts to overwhelm you. It might be your hotel room. It might be a coffee shop or lobby of a nearby hotel (even if you’re not a guest there). Or it might be a quiet corner of the Expo.

I love going to genealogy conferences and have attended probably a dozen or so. Here are my big tips:

  • Bring your family tree or have access to it on a device. I frequently hear things at conferences that make me want to check my tree, to see whether I have ancestors in a locality, for example. Once, I was able to verify on my tree that the speaker, Joshua Taylor, and I were related! (I blogged about that exciting moment here.)
  • Bring some way to take notes, either a notebook or device. (I prefer to take notes into Evernote on my laptop.)
  • Eat a good breakfast, because you’re going to need a lot of brainpower. And bring along a bottle of water to stay hydrated. I always bring trail mix or something too.
  • Be prepared to keep a list of next steps, because the sessions you attend will surely spark ideas for things to look up or other actions.
  • Take a class that doesn’t necessarily interest you–you never know what new interests it might spark. (This tip came from reader Jan Rogge in a comment on my blog post about attending the Missouri State Genealogical Society conference in 2017.)
  • If it’s a large conference with an app (as RootsTech is), download the app and decide what sessions you’ll be taking in advance of your arrival at the conference.
  • Make conversation with the person next to you. You may be in a position to help him/her or vice versa. Or you could even meet a cousin that way!
  • Take time after the conference to read your notes and process the conference materials you bring home.

Basically, be prepared to write stuff down because you’ll probably learn so much you’ll never remember it. Most of all, enjoy yourself!

If you’re a veteran conference goer, please add your tips in the comments!

RootsTech 2025 is just around the corner!

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RootsTech 2025 starts a month from tomorrow! This year’s theme is “Discover.” It will be held 6 to 8 March 2025.

If you haven’t registered yet, you can register for the in-person conference ($129 registration fee for three days or $79 for one day) or the online conference (free). Whichever way you go, you can start building your schedule now. Here’s a detailed blog post from RootsTech on how to plan your schedule.

Looking at the schedule, I see that this year there are 151 online classes to choose from and 236 in-person classes to choose from. If you have the ability to attend in person, I doubt you’ll regret it. Not only do you get more options for classes, you get to meet presenters and fellow participants and explore the expo hall and, best of all, you can leave your non-genealogy cares behind and focus on your research interests while you’re there.

I’ve attended four RootsTech conferences in person (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020) and thoroughly enjoyed each, despite my dislike of crowds.

If you’re serious about your genealogy research, I urge you to register for RootsTech and create your class schedule, whether you’re attending in-person or online. It’s an unparalleled learning opportunity!

 

First keynote speakers announced for RootsTech 2025

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The first four keynote speakers have been announced for RootsTech 2025, the giant genealogy conference sponsored by FamilySearch. It will be held March 6-8, 2025, both in-person in St. Lake City and virtually. Those four speakers are:

  • Author Ndaba Mandela (grandson of Nelson Mandela)
  • Prominent artist Dana Tanamachi
  • Olympic Gold Medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall and her husband, Paralympic Gold Medalist Hunter Woodhall

To learn more about these speakers, check out this page of the RootsTech website.

My experience attending four (I think) RootsTech conferences in person is that the keynotes are outstanding. Even if I didn’t think I had an interest in the speaker (I’m looking at you, Donny Osmond), I always ended up enjoying the talk and gaining something from it. I’m sure these keynoters, and all the rest they’ll announce in the coming months, will be great.

Registration is now open for the conference. The fee to attend in person is $129 for a three-day pass or $79 for a one-day pass. The virtual conference is free of charge (but requires registration). Here’s a preview of the class lineup with a schedule promised soon.

Both options for attending the conference are terrific. I’ve attended both in-person and virtual RootsTech conferences and speaking for myself, I get a lot more out of attending in person. When I’m there I can forget about family responsibilities and focus on my genealogy. I can meet fellow genealogists and see the latest products and services in the Expo Hall. I also would come in a little early so I could spend some time at the Family History Library.

The virtual conference has the advantage of being less expensive and less effort. However, when I register for the virtual conference, I always have the best of intentions but I have a hard time prioritizing it. The result is I’m seldom able to devote the time I want to the conference since I’m juggling home and work responsibilities at the same time. I’m definitely less focused on my genealogy if I’m attending virtually.

If you’d like to whet your appetite for the 2025 conference or get a feel for what you might learn, visit the on-demand library of past RootsTech keynotes and classes.

I won’t be attending the 2025 conference but if you’re tempted, I encourage you to give some serious consideration. It’s a great way to deepen your research!

 

It’s RootsTech time!

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RootsTech snuck up on me this year because, for the first time in a decade, I’m not planning to attend, either in-person or virtually. As I’ve explained here, I’m not focusing on my genealogy research this year (though I still enjoy maintaining Organize Your Family History!) and instead using the time to focus on building my YNAB budget coaching practice

But I wanted to share a couple of resources in case RootsTech snuck up on you as well. It will be held both in-person in Salt Lake City and virtually 29 February to 2 March, 2024. Online registration is free; in-person registration for all three days of the event is $109 if you register before 29 February and $129 if you register on site. To register, just go to the Rootstech website and choose which experience you want.

To me, $109 registration for the in-person conference is the bargain of the century. I loved attending in person. Being among thousands of genealogy enthusiasts and taking the classes in person is an unforgettable experience and I’m so glad I was able to attend five conferences. Participating in the conference online is also a great experience, though it’s much easier to get distracted by real life.

The conference has so many classes (more than 200!) it can feel overwhelming to choose what to attend. RootsTech has a created a terrific blog post detailing how to plan your RootsTech 2024 schedule, whether you’re attending in person or online.

Are you planning to attend? If so, what are you most excited about?

I hope this year’s RootsTech is a great experience for all of you who attend!