Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

RootsTech 2021 will be virtual (and free!)

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Have you heard the news? RootsTech has announced that next year’s conference–rebranded RootsTech Connect for 2021–will be entirely virtual. To be held February 25 to 27, 2021, has a wonderful global vibe. Perhaps the best part in terms of inclusivity? It will be free of charge! You can read details of the announcement here on the RootsTech website. And you can register on the spot with a little bot in the right corner of the screen. It took me less than a minute to register.

So what does this virtual conference look like? The organizers say it will be unlike any virtual genealogy conference.

RootsTech Connect is different than any other virtual event—no boring speakers or falling asleep at your computer screen. Rather, enjoy dozens of inspirational learning sessions, uplifting messages from celebrity keynote speakers, and hands-on activities to help you celebrate your heritage all year long.

I’m intrigued, especially by the hands-on activities! I know the capabilities of the smart people who organize this conference and I am confident they can pull it off. I’m delighted that content will be available for viewing for a year after the conference. (I don’t know if that’s selected content, as usual, or if it will be all the content.)

This multi-cultural video, on the RootsTech landing page, made me feel great.

Since everything is so uncertain right now in this world of COVID, I am so happy to know what’s happening with RootsTech. It’s on my calendar and I can’t wait to attend! How about you?  Have you/will you sign up?

Making the most of RootsTech

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RootsTech 2020–the giant genealogy conference in Salt Lake City sponsored by Family Search–starts this morning! I’m attending this year and I learned at a reception for speakers last night that 14,000 people have registered and on Saturday (Family Discovery Day) they’re expecting 24,000!

This is my fifth RootsTech conference. I also attended in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 and this is my second as a presenter. (I spoke at the 2017 conference.) I really enjoy RootsTech because of the great keynote speeches, the over 300 classes offered and the opportunity to learn about new services and products in the Expo. I also like meeting up with blog readers and doing research at the Family History Library while I’m in Salt Lake.

As much as I love RootsTech, I have to admit that it is exhausting. I’m not much for crowds, so I have to be sure and schedule down time during the conference. I went to bed really early last night–self care is especially important here. I’m giving my session, “The Imperfect Genealogist” at 3 pm on Friday, so naturally I’m a little keyed up about that. So good self care for me will be daily rehearsals in my hotel room to keep me confident.

The folks who organize RootsTech have created RootsTech 2020 Survival Guide. If you’re going, I encourage you to check it out. Here are a few things to do right away if you haven’t already:

  • Download the RootsTech app (or update it if it’s already on your phone from a previous year)
  • Select the classes you think you’ll want to take
  • You might enjoy watching the Road to RootsTech video series, which shows behind-the-scenes peek at the planning for the event.
  • If you’re a paper person, you might appreciate the printed RootsTech Conference Guide you can pick up at the conference. You can peek at an online version here.

Some of the conference will be available online to people who can’t attend in person (as well as those who can).

  • Free Live Stream. Each day of the conference five or six sessions will be streamed live, free of charge. Just go to www.rootstech.org to watch. Note that the livestreams from previous years are also available!
  • This year, they’re offering a Virtual Pass for $129 that gives you access to 30 classes for a full year after the conference, starting 10-15 days after it ends. (If you’re attending RootsTech in person, you can buy the Virtual Pass as an add on to your conference registration for $79.) I’m really excited to have the Virtual Pass because it helps me narrow down which class to attend each session. (I’ll skip the ones I can catch online.)

If you’re going, I hope you have an amazing time. This conference is an organizational marvel and the way the organizers have handled the speakers has been top notch. Feel free to reach out to me via the Contact form if you’re at RootsTech and would like to meet up.

Sneaking in a few hours at the Family History Library

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An aisle of microfilm at the Family History Library

I leave for Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning to attend RootsTech. It just hit me that I have about three hours on Tuesday afternoon before I have to be at the social event for speakers when I could visit the Family History Library. Unfortunately, it’s been such a hectic month between travel and organizing work that I haven’t been focusing on my genealogy research as much as I’d like.

The Family History Library can be so overwhelming and I know that the key to success for me will be to know what I’m looking for so I can make the most of my brief time there. I took a look at my Library Lookups notebook in my genealogy stack in Evernote and was pleased to see some physical books as well as microfilms listed there that I am able to see only when I’m at the library in Salt Lake City. (That notebook also contains notes for items at can see locally at the an FHL-affiliated library.)

So plan is to be arrive in Salt Lake, check into my hotel (if I can), eat lunch, drink plenty of water and hit the library with a whole lot of focus. I had great visits there in 2017 and 2018 and I hope to repeat my success.

As I asked in 2017, if any of you have any advice on strategies or things to bring along to the library to make it easier (I’ll have my phone and my laptop), I’m all ears!

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!