Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Stacy Julian reopening her 20in20 online course (for a good cause)

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I became a huge fan of Stacy Julian when I heard her speak at RootsTech. After RootsTech, I shared details of her talk Do Something with that Box! here and I referenced it in my own talk, The Imperfect Genealogist.

Stacy is all about helping people tell stories, particularly family stories. I’m on her mailing list and I received an email this week that she is her reopening her yearlong online course, 20in20. Here’s a short video about the course.

In a nutshell, participants will create 20 projects over the course of a year. It was originally intended to take place in the calendar year 2020. Enrollment closed months ago. But that changed this week. Stacy wrote in her email:

“As I have contemplated current events—especially those that have exposed racial inequality in the United States—I have made the decision to reopen 20in20 and donate ALL of the proceeds to organizations and efforts making a difference for people of color.”

I was very impressed by this and I asked her if I could share the information here. Here’s another great piece of news. The price has been cut in half–to $60–to encourage enrollment. See the 20in20 page on Stacy’s website for where and how she’s donating the proceeds and to sign up.

This strikes me as an amazing opportunity to create some wonderful projects, with the help of an amazing teacher, at a big discount and to do good at the same time. I just had to share.

My 8th blogiversary!

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On June 14, 2012, I published my first post on this blog. (It was called My quest to learn more about my family history.) When I started the blog, I had no idea what would become of it and I didn’t spend much time trying to visualize what it might turn into. But I’m really proud of what it has become. In eight years, I’ve published 588 posts, had 360,000 unique visitors and 725,000 views. And I’m still going strong. Amazing.

I tend to look at these numbers about once a year (on my blogiversary). But pretty much every day I think about how much I love my readers. You all are so wonderfully interactive and I love reading your comments. Your desire to help me and other readers, along with your kind, encouraging words about my contributions, has made this blog a joy. Thank you.

Last year in my blogiversary post, I listed six ways this blog has enhanced my life. Today seems like a good day to repeat them.

How this blog has enhanced my life:

  • I’ve learned so much from my readers! I’ve been fortunate to have such engaged readers who provide lots of great advice and input in the comments. And everyone is so kind. Thank you!
  • Some readers have become in-person friends. I’ve done some meet ups at genealogy conferences, which always adds to the conference enjoyment. I’ve even been recognized at conferences by people I hadn’t prearranged to meet!
  • I research more often. I’m confident that without this blog I would not research as much. My 30 x 30 challenges, in particular, really keep focused on the research.
  • I’m a better researcher. Because I’m researching more often, attending conferences, and benefiting from the wisdom of my readers, I’m most assuredly a better researcher than I was eight years ago and probably a better one than I would be today without the blog.
  • I’ve become acquainted with some well-known genealogists, which is always a treat. Through my How They Do It series, as well as Family Tree University webinars and just attending conferences, I’ve gotten to know some folks I admire
  • I’ve even made some money! I sell my Orderly Roots Guides and The Paperless Genealogy Guide (with Brooks Duncan) and I’ve earned some money through speaking, writing and consulting. I feel so fortunate for that!

I want to thank you, my readers, for coming along on this ride and for being such a big part of it. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

New ABC show: The Genetic Detective

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I’m excited to watch The Genetic Detective, on ABC, premiering a week from today, on May 26. (It was originally slated to premiere tonight.) This documentary program follows investigative genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, Chief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs in Virginia, as she works with law enforcement to solve tackle criminal cold cases using DNA. In the premiere, she tackles her first-ever cold case.

Here’s a video from the show’s Facebook page:

I’ve heard CeCe speak more than once at genealogy conferences and of course seen her on Finding Your Roots. She’s a dynamic speaker and obviously very knowledgeable.

She looks fascinating. I think it’s very cool to see a show about genetic genealogy–not just using DNA but traditional genealogy as well–in a prime-time slot on a major network!

Will you be watching?

RootsTech 2020 Livestream schedule

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RootsTech 2020 is just around the corner. (My talk, The Imperfect Genealogist, is two weeks from today. Gulp.) If you can’t attend RootsTech in person, you can still watch some of the sessions online. In addition to the (paid) Virtual Pass option, you can watch livestreams of certain RootsTech sessions free of charge. Here’s this year’s schedule. (All times are Mountain Standard Time.)

Visit the Livestream page on the RootsTech website for descriptions of each of these sessions.

Wednesday, February 26

8:00 a.m. | Photos Capture the Story
Speaker: Jens Nielsen

9:30 a.m | What’s New at Ancestry
Speaker: Crista Cowan

11:00 a.m. | The Story of You on FamilySearch

1:30 p.m. | Adding Branches to Your Family Tree Using DNA
Speaker: Angie Bush

3:00 p.m. | Finding Your Elusive Female Ancestors
Speaker: Julie Stoddard

4:30 p.m. | Wednesday General Session – 10-year Celebration and Keynote
Speaker: Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International

Thursday, February 27

8:00 a.m. | Unlocking the Power of the FamilySearch Wiki
Speakers: Danielle Batson, Jenny Hansen, Jeff Svare

9:30 a.m. | German Research for the Everyday American
Speaker: Karynne Moses

11:00 a.m.. | Thursday General Session
Speaker: Leigh Anne Tuohy

1:30 p.m. | DNA, Genealogy, and Law Enforcement: All the Facts
Speaker: Blaine Bettinger

3:00 p.m. | Tackling Difficult Chapters of our Family History
Speaker: Cheri Daniels

Friday, February 28

8:00 a.m. | Discover Your Family with Interviews and Sources
Speakers: Mat and Rachel Trotter

9:30 a.m. | 2019: Year of the Copyright
Speaker: Judy Russell

11:00 a.m. | Friday General Session
Speaker: David Kennerly

1:30 p.m | City Directories and Other New Collections on MyHeritage
Speaker: Mike Mansfield

3:00 p.m. | Preserving the Fabric of our Families
Speaker: Jennifer Hadley

Saturday, February 29

8:00 | Ancestry On the Go: Ancestry App Suite
Speakers: Peter Drinkwater, Kenric Russell, Victoria Smith

9:30 a.m. | FamilySearch App for Intermediate/Advanced Users
Speaker: Todd Powell

11:00 a.m | Saturday General Session
Speaker: Emmitt Smith

1:30 p.m. | Healing and Family History-The Emotional Side of DNA
Speaker: Robin Wirthlin

3:00 p.m. | Introduction to What Are the Odds? (WATO)
Speaker: Leah Larkin

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.

P.S. It’s not too late to register if you’d like to go in person!