Family Search Archives - Genealogy Literacy

RootsTech 2023 Recap and Review

Published on March 15, 2023March 17, 2023 by Cheri

As a longtime attendee and supporter of the RootsTech Conference (since 2011), I have the privilege of declaring this amazing event – BACK and better than ever! Don’t get me wrong – thanks to some amazing people, RootsTech kept going virtually through Covid – but having the in-person event back in such a big way is nothing short of a miracle!

The organizers of the RootsTech suite of events faced the biggest challenges we could ever imagine when Covid reared its ugly head. But ironically, adversity often has a way of forcing us into areas of creativity and desperation that result in an entirely new creation.

In this case, the new creation was a conference that reached global audiences and sustained our fix for genealogy education and connection despite the worst possible historical event that stretched beyond our dreaded fears.

Now that 2023 has arrived and Covid has at least loosened its deadly grip on the world, the RootsTech team made the brave decision to return to Salt Lake City – in person – while keeping the virtual options fresh and alive to maintain the global connections built over the past two years.

For those who attended this year and quipped that the conference was not as large as the years prior to Covid – I say – RootsTech is bigger in its overall reach since it is fully hybrid – and the 2023 on-site event was only slightly smaller than 2020.

I remember this conference in its infancy, back in 2011 – when the entire conference fit into the north side of the Salt Palace. That smaller footprint was sustained for a few years prior to its move to the entire venue. Even in its first year, attendance was double the average attendance of the other national genealogical society conferences – back then we had about 2 genealogy conferences that drew between 1500-2500 – and the first RootsTech more than doubled this number.

In 2020, this conference had reached its golden on-site peak at 30,000+ attendees over the course of three days, and every nook and cranny of the Salt Palace was packed with genealogy fun. None of us realized how close Covid was that year. Although, many of us found out upon our return home when the toilet paper shelves were emptying, and we had a mysterious head cold that came out of nowhere.

And the blunt fact that we all need to remember is that for over three years, we lived in a terrified state. So many people died or almost died across our globe. We lost too many wonderful genie friends, and we will never be the same in many ways.

Despite the global terror, the RootsTech team marched on, providing us with two solid years of free virtual programming and engagement. Now that they pulled the chord to return to in-person classes, they never left the virtual attendees behind and made sure to provide an entirely different set of classes (plus live-streaming some on-site sessions) that equaled the number of in-person sessions in quality and quantity.

The result was an amazing end product that satisfied both audiences – uniting us on a scale that we have never seen before – which was a goal of this this year’s theme: Uniting. It also opens the door for more great speakers to participate without physical travel where that might be impossible or a great burden. While the on-site crowd was slightly smaller than the peak of attendance in 2020, I was delighted to see that the buzz and energy had returned. With the higher travel costs, and some folks just not ready for post-Covid travel to such a large event – the first year back was NEVER going to be as large as 2020.

But what a wonderful turn out it turned out to be!

I admit to getting teary eyed a few times with all of the hugs and selfies, main stage crowds and energy, seeing audience reactions/engagement, and connecting with our genie tribe in person. The experience truly reminded me that we cannot take these experiences for granted. The truth is, we almost lost them forever. If it wasn’t for the tenacity of the RootsTech organizing team, all of this was in danger. While standing in the giant exhibit hall that is so large and full of genealogy goodness, I said a prayer of thanksgiving.

You see, as much as I love a good genealogy conference, and I’ve been to (and spoken at) many national conferences in the past dozen or so years, there has never been anything to compare to RootsTech. All I have written so far should put this yearly event on your genealogy bucket list – and if you need more incentive – that exhibit hall is larger than ANY you have seen in the genealogy field. All the others are very small shadows compared to the RootsTech exhibit hall – and – once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it.

Some highlights of this year:

With some slightly smaller attendance numbers, the footprint of the event was roughly the same – so everything felt, familiar, comfortable, and slightly less cramped in your favorite sessions.

The energy, connections, and buzz were back in the main stage, the exhibit hall, and the sessions! This is why we come to RootsTech, and it did not disappoint!

Registration was seamless and extremely efficient – no bags this year – but with registration cost down to around $100 + FREE virtual sessions, the bargain was significant! All of your favorite celebrity genies were there to deliver quality sessions and welcome everyone back to the genealogy event of the year!

Big announcements came from the major vendors, and Family Search – announcing so many tech tools and enhancements to the products. I could never list everything here – but do yourself a favor and virtually revisit the exhibitors/vendors from this year’s virtual and on-site events. It’s still the winter months, so it’s a great time to explore their sites more fully. Some of them are even still offering conference specials and discounts for their products – so, hurry up – time’s a wastin’!

In my previous post, I announced that I had been selected to give 6 sessions this year – one was live streamed and can be watched here (Navigating Racial Challenges in DNA Matches, with Donald Shores) – but two of the sessions were hands-on workshops given at the Family Search Library (formerly known as the Family History Library) as a part of RootsTech – and co-sponsored by my employer, the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution!

This workshop format was a new concept, and I was honored to be a part of the inaugural series launch in conjunction with the RootsTech offerings. These sessions were listed as a part of the on-site session list, but pre-registration was required since class size was limited to 50 each. The classes I gave on historic photography and preservation were full within a couple days of listing, and we even opened up for ten more people each class (which meant ordering more gloves prior to flying to SLC) – but of course, even that wasn’t enough, and we had more people wanting to squeeze in. The educational benefits of these classes included not only holding the various photographic formats in their hands – but all attendees went home with two pairs of gloves and a sampling of enclosures to get them started in preserving their own photographs at home.

And lastly…the amazing keynote speakers provided incredible high points as usual. Most of these can still be viewed on the RootsTech main website. Of course, my favorite of Sean Astin! Getting to meet him in person was an experience I will never forget. “Goonies never say die!”

Here are my final thoughts:

With so many sessions available for free on the RootsTech website (sessions from 2020-2023) – RootsTech is NEVER over! Invest in your own genealogy education and development by viewing these great sessions over the next year.
Now that the inaugural post-Covid event is under our belt, you know this on-site event is going to continue to grow each year – so put this back on your genealogy bucket list. Every genealogist should attend at least once in their lifetime!
Despite the large crowds, very few masks, and lots of hugs, conversations, and mass transit (planes, trains, & automobiles) – no one in my party came home sick – nor have I heard of any widespread illness during, nor upon our return. In 2020, it feels like we all got sick during or after. This is a wonderful sign about our (hopefully) post-Covid existence.
If you plan on coming out next year – the dates have already been set, and one word of planning caution – from what I observed – with both merchandise and the food set-up – this conference has moved to a cashless system.
Be watching for a post-event podcast episode coming soon via BloodRoot as my RootsTech posse gathers once again to chat about our 2023 experience!
If you are in the Louisville/Kentuckiana region – be on the lookout for the Picture It! Workshops to be given again this summer at the NSSAR headquarters. Keep an eye on the events page of library.sar.org for coming announcements.

Thanks to all who attended my sessions and have reached out since – y’all make the work so worth while!

Wishing everyone a safe 2023, and – hopefully – look forward to seeing even more of you in SLC in 2024!

RootsTech 2020: In Review

Published on March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 by Cheri1 Comment

How do I begin to describe the 10th Anniversary of RootsTech? The only word that fits is “epic”. As RootsTech continues to grow past the decade mark, it is important to understand that the size of this conference means each attendee can have a completely unique experience. Today I will fill you in on the experience I had, including some great announcements that were made during the week. And to get a broader representation of the RootsTech experience, check out some of the blog posts published by other 2020 ambassadors!

The Story of YOU:

The biggest impact this year had to be “The Story of You”. As the theme of this year’s conference, you could see it everywhere. And as a librarian, the book motifs were geeking me out quite a bit. It reminded us all that our story and our ancestors’ stories are very intertwined. The story chain would not be complete without our story – urging everyone to buckle down and include their story in the family narrative.

By far, the best visual for this theme had to be the “What’s Your Story” interactive display. Attendees were encouraged to write a snippet of their story in one of the hundreds of empty journals lining the balcony on the second floor. By the time the conference was over, most of the pages were filled with colorful comments and stories.

Wearing Many Hats:

This year, I attended as both a speaker and ambassador which afforded different experiences, yet flowed together pretty seamlessly due to the wonderful work of the RootsTech organizational teams. With all of the moving parts, and such a small planning team, what they achieve each year is pretty remarkable. Below I will outline the highlights of each role in 2020.

Speaker:

As a speaker, I presented three sessions on various topics: Digital Citizenship, Difficult History, and Family History Preservation. Just remember that the syllabus material is still available on the app, and there are 20+ free sessions available right now in the 2020 video archive. You can watch my session on Tackling Difficult Chapters of Our Family History by clicking this link, or by watching the video link on the sidebar. I have to say, this session was my most rewarding so far, due to the sensitive and timely nature of the stories I included. Plus, I’ve had so many people thank me for the session, while sharing their difficult histories amid tears and hugs. We all have difficult chapters in the family tree – and this session will help you deal with them in a practical and sensitive manner.

For those of you who purchased the Virtual Pass, the recorded sessions are still being processed and should be available within the next few weeks. The Virtual Pass is still available for purchase until September. If you opt for this option, the 30+ sessions in combination with the free sessions will give you access to over 50+ sessions. Since no attendee can get to all of the sessions physically, this is a great way to keep learning from RootsTech over the coming months!

Ambassador:

As a RootsTech Ambassador, we are given certain updates and information to share with you all. Some of those highlights include:

RootsTech is heading to LONDON this fall! This, by far, was the biggest announcement by Family Search. Save the Date: November 5-7, 2020. Registration is already open.

Interview with Dan Call and Bryan Austad: These two Family Search “Experience Managers” are the masterminds behind the Discovery Centers – found in the Expo Hall and on the 1st floor of the Family History Library. Dan was even instrumental in helping to create RootsTech 10 years ago. So, they shared their views on how much the conference has changed, and their desire for the future of the Discovery Centers. Be looking for additional ways to Discover your family history through an expanded experience Discovery Experience on your own PC – coming very soon!

MyHeritage: During a dinner for Friends of MyHeritage (and throughout the conference) they showcased their new photo colorizing tool that quickly colorizes old black and white photos with the click of a button. They also announced a new U.S. City Directory collection that expands their digitized images to 1.5 billion.

Biggest Takeaways:

For me, the inspiration of the keynote speakers, and the importance of telling our stories had the most impact. We’ve all told ourselves to get writing, but this year, the tools available to help us, and the fleeting nature of life have spurred me to once again pick up the pen. We have work to do!

Fun Additions:

For this year, there were some cool additions that had us playing and learning at a greater rate.

Virtual Reality: There was a huge booth designed to allow VR participants to explore the land their ancestors called home. And for those who had ancestors on the Mayflower, MyHeritage was adding a fun twist to the experience.

The Discovery Center: Was expanded this year and placed in the center of the Expo Hall.

Shuttle to the Library: This year, there was a shuttle taking folks to the library and back to the Salt Palace – If you missed the shuttle, there were new, helpful sidewalk signs to help you find your way!

Thanks again to the organizers! They rocked it once again, and demonstrated how strong this conference is after 10 years. I was there the first year, and each year I attend, I am more and more impressed – and always come home greatly inspired. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring for RootsTech!

Until next time!

Genealogy Book of the Day

Published on August 5, 2019August 5, 2019 by Cheri2 Comments

Bibliophile in the making: Reading Wuthering Heights on the back of my Grandpa’s pick-up = goofing off for an AP English assignment back in High School.

As you can probably tell, I’m addicted to books, and have been all of my life. Yes, I do take advantage of e-book offerings from my public library, as well as request e-journal articles via Interlibrary Loan – but I still enjoy the feel of picking up a book. And yet, with the shift to online databases and digitization, I sometimes have to remind my staff and patrons that the books on our shelves contain many things not found online. Here are just a few features that a genealogist may find useful:

Family and local histories that were only published in very small runs – sometimes, only a few of these titles exist worldwide – but still firmly under copyright protection.
Land record/plat studies – again, usually only published in short runs, but amazing work that can help you map out your ancestor’s land.
Personal memoirs – either for one person, or a collection of local memories – again, usually published in a small run, and still under copyright.
Record transcription collections – so, why not go look at the original? The original may no longer exist due to disaster, or illegible writing/ink.
Subject bibliographies – these collections can help with identifying extant records and repositories.
Atlases – getting a birds-eye view of migration routes or the local community of your focus.

Stalking Genealogists:

Print resources in the Kentucky Historical Society Library

I have a confession to make – I recognize the seasoned genealogists who come into my library on a regular basis – and I stalk the resources they use. These are not the genealogists that run to Ancestry the moment they settle in for research – nope – they usually grab a cart and load up on books. Regardless of the fact that I have been researching genealogy for decades, I believe it is vital to maintain a learning spirit. Understanding that as we follow different research paths with each new project, we continue to develop our skills with each new resource we use. We could all research for millennia and not fully know about all of the resources out there. But by examining the pile of books these genealogists are using, I have been introduced to wonderful resources that I may have never discovered without a bit of genealogist stalking. And this is a lesson I often give my staff – When you are back in the stacks reshelving, pay attention to what you are putting away. Is this something that could be useful to your research in the future? Is this something that may be useful to another patron who asks for this type of information? We are fortunate to be surrounded by so many wonderful resources, and even shelving should be an act of learning.

Information Seeking Behavior:

Book Scanning Station at RootsTech 2019 – hosted by Family Search

How we seek information is vitally important to our rate of research success. After all, even the GPS requires a “reasonably exhaustive search” when formulating a genealogical conclusion. And just to be clear, a reasonably exhaustive search cannot be completed online only. Some of you may argue that there are enough primary sources in digital format that removes the need to seek anything further. Well, someday, that may be true, but statistically, in 2019, that’s just not feasible. While digitization has multiplied electronic resources at an enormous rate, there are still billions of records that have not been digitized, nor will they be in the near future. And I’m not even including archival collections in that number. The staff numbers alone will not support digitizing complete archival collections – at least not in our lifetime, unless resource and technology catch up to the weight of the task. Also, don’t forget that copyright will always be an obstacle to digitization unless strict access standards are applied. And by ignoring these digitization limitation facts, your information seeking behavior will fall flat in the success department.

Genealogy Book of the Day:

Share those books that make your genealogy glitter sparkle!

Calling all bibliophile genealogists! As we post our favorite family photos, recipes, ephemera – we rarely post about our favorite genealogy books. Of course, “favorite” is a misleading word. It would be better to say “favorite at the moment”. Because the project we are currently focused on guides our research path – often introducing us to new or forgotten research gems. So…be watching my social media feeds (Twitter/Instagram) for those moments when I discover a great genealogy or history book worthy of sharing. I will use the hashtag #genealogybookoftheday or #historybookoftheday to alert followers to a new discovery, or rediscovered favorite. Feel free to join along as this is not a daily prompt, so you don’t need to feel any pressure about scrambling to find a book each day. But think about your favorites and share them periodically to remind us all about the wonderful print resources available. As you post, just explain why this is your current favorite, and what you learned by using this resource. What is it about this book that makes your genealogy glitter sparkle?

Drumroll, Please!

Just kidding – my first selection will appear in about 24 hours.

Until then, start showing your #genealogybookoftheday love!

RootsTech 2019 Review

Published on March 18, 2019 by Cheri

Psssst….RootsTech is back, Y’all…in a BIG way – so spread the word! Not that it was ever really gone – but the bad reports from last year had me worried. Despite my inclination to be a wordy blogger – I must admit I am almost speechless where RootsTech 2019 is concerned. This year’s conference surpassed my grandest expectations – and I can safely declare that this was (by far) the best one I’ve experienced yet.

To be clear, there was never a point when I could not get into a class, nor felt overwhelmed by crowds, nor had to stand in line for anything – except at the concession stand for lunch one day – which is to be expected, and even that was only about 10 minutes. The attendance totals have been in for about a week, and the general conference numbers hit over the 15,000 mark (with over 23K for Family Day) – signaling a rousing success, as usual.

For those of you who did not get to attend this year, here are a few changes that I think made a significant impact:

1. Conference badges by mail: This meant many of us walked into the Salt Palace ready to hit sessions, instead of standing in line to pick up packets. Lanyards, badge cases, and conference bags were in multiple places throughout the Palace, making pick-up a breeze.
2. Spreading out – By placing check-in over on the far side of the Salt Palace, along with a few of the sessions, there was more breathing room. Heading over in that area brought back memories from the early years when RootsTech was only on the north side of the Palace. Look how far it has grown!
3. No badge scanning, except for lunches and labs. No session lines, and no one chased you out if your next session was in the same room.
4. Opening sessions at 11am – Some folks grumbled about this, but not me – I loved this change! This allowed folks to wonder over there to find a seat in their own good time – instead of everyone running over to find a seat first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, and getting to the 8am sessions is hard enough – but with a half hour to get over there after the earlier morning sessions, I didn’t feel rushed. Besides, once the lights go dark and you’re enjoying the festivities, you have no idea what time it is. Plus, after the program is over, folks are in a festive mood, and enjoy talking with each other – they can go to lunch, hit the exhibit hall, engage with fellow attendees, or plan for the afternoon sessions – instead of rushing off to the next session. This change also means the livestream opening sessions were hitting the central/eastern time zones around lunch time – making contiguous enjoyment (and social media engagement) more possible.
5. Easy to identify, helpful staff – perfect number ratio of helpers to attendees. If I needed help, they were always just a few steps away – and very attentive.
6. Great signage! Vertical and horizontal signage everywhere – even under your feet!

Highlights:

One of RootsTech’s greatest strengths has been the electric atmosphere of inspiration that builds each year and leaves you with the impression that you serve a great purpose – and that with the right knowledge, skills, and tools, you can achieve your genealogy goals. Obviously, the inspirational opening sessions always provide highlights, and become some of the best memories of the conference. And the sessions are amazing! But here are a few others:

The Find Relatives at RootsTech Game – If you had ever entered even a small amount of generational information in the Family Search Family Tree, you were connected to the cousin three ring circus. But what a hoot it was! As the conference grew, there were over 9,000 people participating, and I matched as a cousin to over 2,500 of them – including David Rencher and Crista Cowan! One of the funniest moments was when I connected to a local Kentucky genealogist whom I’ve known for years, and live within 10 miles of, and who comes to RootsTech every year – Here we are – our cousin selfie! :

Me and my Kentucky “Cousin”, Tom Beatty!

The SLVGS Board trying to wrangle new members at the Unconferencing Table – It was so much fun to work with these dedicated folks whom I’ve only met previously as virtual avatars. We connected with several potential new members at the Unconferencing area.:

SLVGS Board Members: President, Miles Meyer, Vice President, Sue Taylor, and Secretary, Cheri Daniels.

Giving My Presentation on Consumable Genealogy – Such a great engaged crowd – they seemed to really have fun with the examples of packaging genealogy bites into consumable portions for print or social media. My largest crowd ever, at about 400 – and the tech staff/room monitors were wonderful. This was my second time speaking at RootsTech, and it was a fantastic experience, as usual!:

The Discovery Zone Heritage Toys (Also in the library) – These toys were also active if you participate in the Family Search Family Tree – I felt like a kid again with all of these cool discovery tools. Sometimes, it’s very revealing to step back and look at your family data to see the worldwide connections. My only gripe, was that I spent a couple of hours playing in the library Discovery Center with the same toys, and my fun elements produced that day were never emailed to me – huge bummer! I was only sent the location images.:

The DNA Learning Center – Introductory DNA sessions to help with this topic: Always crowded, with loads of mini-sessions, various speakers, with helpful videos and knowledgeable staff.

The RootsTech Store: I LOVE swag! And even when it’s not free swag – I am very willing to purchase more! It was a nice open store, easy to shop with so many cool options! My suggestion for next year – Please produce a sweatshirt or hoodie! It’s cold in SLC in late February! I would have snapped that up! Hey, RootsTech officials – you might want to create an online store of RootsTech swag – I’d seriously send my family members there to fill up my Christmas wish list!

The Demo Theater: Smaller than previous years, and hidden towards the back – but always crowded. I always learn a lot in this space while I’m taking a breather in a very comfortable environment. They also have door prizes, BTW.

The Ancestry Photo Booth – and their wonderful cookies!: Confession: At first, I kinda rolled my eyes at this – but then thought, hey, I’m kinda dressed up and I had a new find to share, so I gave it a try. The result, in this glamorous backdrop, was pretty awesome! They not only sent me the digital image they took with their beautiful professional camera, but also a lovely print to take with me – topped off with an amazingly tasty cookie! Well played, Ancestry! Well played!

Meeting up with genie friends, as usual: I always love meeting old and new friends!

Added Bonus: Researching in the library!: We flew in a few days early to research for hours and hours – and I regret nothing!! Always a fantastic time – and so much brought back to add to my tree. Some serious brick walls damaged in that library! I’m still processing all that I brought home.

Hiccups – I didn’t encounter too many hiccups this year – and have declared this to be the best RootsTech yet – but if pressed, Id have to identify the following as my least favorite elements:

Unconferencing Sessions: I had not been to RootsTech in a few years, and my memory of the Unconferencing area was drastically different than I encountered this year. Gone were the small curtained off areas where you could talk to a group or even present something on the provided board, or diagram ideas. This concept has now been relegated to 8 tables crammed into the space of about two booth footprints. Really didn’t like this shrinkage, and while I did see groups using it – it was also placed in the very back of the exhibit hall instead of in the front where it used to be. Most people I talked to never found its location, and with very little signage – I would say this looks like the last year for the Unconferencing area – as I’m pretty sure we were witnessing the death knell. Some of the presenters mentioned their disappointment with the size and location in our Facebook group – but also complained about the name – saying it was unfriendly, and not appealing. Perhaps it could be resurrected as something slightly different? Break-out sessions perhaps? Obviously, the large exhibitors enjoy great success with their own areas of demos and discussions – so the concept is not a bad one. But it would be nice to have a more tailored area for folks to discuss genealogy issues – or meet up with speakers after their sessions, or programmers to discuss concepts with users (as was its initial purpose.) Conversely, I also understand usage and statistics – if people weren’t using them in the previous years, I can understand the reduction.

Access and Preservation Track on Wednesday: While this was a nice set of small, targeted sessions, I think many people misunderstood its purpose. As a librarian with special collections/archival training, I was going to attend this, no matter the purpose – but after squeezing in to the last couple of seats at 8am, and then watching the attendance bleed out like a trauma victim – until there was only about a third of them left – was a red flag that most people didn’t understand the intended focus. As a whole – I would say this was RootsTech’s version of “Librarians Day” – or “Digital Archivist’s Day” – etc. Which makes all of this more intriguing. With the huge crowd coming in to learn about “Access and Preservation” – regular folks who were not information professionals – doesn’t that indicate that the general genealogy crowd is very interested in preservation and access – for their own collections? Perhaps? Or were they wanting to learn more about the efforts being made to place more unique material online? Or did they want to learn more about digitization best practices? This is an area RootsTech should investigate. It sure caught my attention when thinking about this after the event.

Demo Stage: Thank heavens it hasn’t changed too much – but again, it’s been shrunk, and placed in the back, instead of being a focal point of festivity for the Exhibit Hall. Gone is the soda fountain bar and popcorn – and gone is the concept of walking around and hearing some of what was being demoed. I’m guessing that was the problem. As the Exhibitors have adopted their own demo areas and engagement clusters with microphone and large screens, their sound would be in competition with the Demo Stage instructors, and that would not be pleasant for the big sponsors. At least the comfy chairs and couches were still there – along with some really nice door prizes for those who sat through the individual demos.

Daily Sheets: They announced that there would be daily handouts with the general session info, as well as a list of the most popular classes that day. Ummm, first of all, I never found any of these sheets, until I stumbled upon a small pile on the very last day for Family Day. To be fair, I didn’t look super hard for them during the regular conference days. However, I’m not sure about plucking out a handful of sessions to highlight as “popular”. That could go one of two ways – either it drives a ton of people to these sessions, resulting in overcrowding, or it drives people away since they want to avoid the large crowds if possible. Plus, as a speaker, the speaker liaisons, kept trying to avoid giving us room capacity and info on popular sessions because they said they didn’t want to make other speakers feel less worthy by identifying popular sessions based on topic, speaker and/or room size. But then each day, they were highlighting popular sessions to hand out to everyone. Since we all have the app and the conference booklet outlining the offerings of each day – I don’t think they need these daily sheets – and I’m sure they could save a little money in printing.

Next Steps:

RootsTech is not really over – you have several options to take in more of this conference over the next several months: Watch the canned livestream videos; Download the Syllabus Material; Explore the Exhibitor List – and prepare to watch more when the international version of RootsTech premiers in London in October!

“A whole lot of healing going on.” Family Search’s Donation to the IAAM – Go Watch this video!

This type of experience is unparalleled, and should be experienced in person at least once. Obviously, for continued inspiration and exposure to the most current genealogy tech tools, it is encouraged to attend as frequently as possible. However, as a tech conference, RootsTech has ensured that there are multiple remote methods for attending virtually. Not only can you sit at home and watch several of the videos for free, but this year they also offered a virtual pass that allowed you to enjoy 18 sessions from the comfort of your own home. Coupled with the exhibit hall list for traversing via websites at your leisure, and syllabus material you can download, #notatrootstech folks have a buffet of learning opportunities available.

BTW, Next year is RootsTech’s 10th anniversary! Theme: The Story of You! Make plans to attend – I’m sure this will be a grand and unforgettable party!

Spring Pruning Our Family Search Family Tree

Published on April 29, 2018April 29, 2018 by Cheri

My first attempt at a title for this post included a very naughty word: “My.” You see, this is the biggest obstacle when adding info to the Family Search Family Tree. It is one tree, and we are all a part of its branches – transforming “my tree” to “our tree”. I admit that this concept scared me to my core – and honestly, after using it for five years now, it can still send me into a hyperventilating tailspin when fellow gardeners start pruning or reshaping one of the family branches. But I’ve finally come to terms with this concept, and find that I keep going back to it – drawing me like a video game, of sorts – which can sometimes feel more like whack-a-mole.

After half of a decade, here’s what I’ve learned and why I feel those of us with advanced genealogical skills should be embracing this “one world tree” concept.

My initial purpose in joining this tree:

I first started dabbling with this tree because it was new, and I do love playing with new genealogy toys. As the trees were already connected to Family Search records, I thought it might be a nice genealogy sandbox. I will also be honest about the initial draw – knowing that Family Search servers and the granite mountain would be preserving the information added to the tree, I viewed this as a tool of genealogy insurance. If everything went kaboom tomorrow, including my house and my gedcom, perhaps this remnant would remain?

But then again, how would it remain? After 5 more years, after 10 years, 20 years from now – what would my information look like? I know this is the most alarming part of a one world tree concept. My guilty secret is that I still maintain a personal tree at home sourced with my research – But as the FS tree grows, and implements easy to access tools, I find myself grabbing the FS tree app on my phone when I want to show something to a family member, or just refresh my memory as to a particular branch. So, it’s like a research worm….curling its way into my permanent genealogical consciousness.

For all Intents and Purposes:

My initial, self-imposed limitations, allowed the maintenance of only a few generations. I was surprised to find that my great grandparents were not in this tree, with very limited information about the generations immediately past them. So, I figured it was my duty to fill in some of the research I already had on hand, as well as share some of the older photographs I had of the family – only one or two for identification – I wasn’t going to go crazy with this tree, nor add the whole kit and kaboodle of family gems – those are going into a book someday – and sent to libraries to meet my own comfort level of permanence.

First word of caution with a tip: I would never have guessed in a million years that someone would try to remove or move one of the images that I had added – but sure enough, the shocking moment happened when I got the notification that someone had removed and moved a photo that I had uploaded to my ancestor! I went racing to the page, only to discover that everything was fine – when you get a notification that someone has changed something on your tree – DO NOT rush over and act in furry or haste! Be careful, and look closely at the changes, because FS notifies you for ANY changes to the ancestor profiles you choose to put on your watch list – which includes movements forward and backward.

To illustrate – back to the photo image switch – the person who had removed the image, only removed the attachment of the photo – attributing it to someone else. Sounds horrifying, no? But when I looked closely, the photo was repeated in the list of changes, among others that reversed some of the previous actions. Upon inspection, clearly someone was trying to attach a child, and remove a duplicate couple, and since that process has quite a learning curve, the person was trying to correct the slip that had been made when he/she detached or deleted the wrong person!

In the end, things were just fine, but it made me realize that I needed to spend some extra time and watermark the ancestral photos that were held in my personal collection. Once you upload a photo, people can move them around, but from now on, I will add a watermark that identifies the ancestor, as well as the current owner of the original (maybe not my full name, but initials and surname, or some such configuration – and maybe not a label that can be trimmed off.) Also, add a note as you upload to go with the photo – listing you as the owner, or where you got the copy. It’s the least we can do as an attempt to keep the right photo with the right person.

Plus, I cannot emphasize this enough – take time to learn the ins and outs of the merging, deleting, and detaching processes – for all of our sakes – PLEASE!!! There are loads of YouTube videos out there to help (including a whole channel by Family Search!) – just be sure to watch the most current editions as the specific instructions have changed a bit – we all need to make sure we are doing it right, so we don’t contribute to the problem!

Spring Cleaning/Pruning is a MUST:

I admit that the duplicate entries made me shake my head – it was like Ancestry zombie tree clones all over again, but with even worse variations based on crazy transcriptions in the system (I’ll get to that in a minute) or just terrible “research” – and it was driving me crazy because I would run into this issue quite a bit – as would others working on some of the same lines. Then it finally hit me – the “Possible Duplicates” link is your friend! I was running into duplicates as I attached new sources, added new children, parents, or a new spouse, and it was so confusing to detach or attach existing folk. You can REALLY help the tree a lot if you periodically go in to prune off or merge existing duplicates. By doing this proactively, you help to ensure that the tree grows as a tree and not a bush!

You might be thinking: “Hey – that’s no problem as I’ve already hit that wall and fixed it – removing/merging all my duplicates”: Ummmm, not so fast. The reason you need to periodically go through and prune/merge duplicates is because new ones can show up as new records are added to FS. I recently discovered a duplicate that I was not aware of previously. It came up as I was working on a German couple that had no duplicates. This is a really unique surname and I had been the only one working on this branch – until a new record came up as a hint from FS – I eagerly went to attach the record to my couple, and found it was already attached to a couple whose names were similar, yet not identical – resembling something of a phonetic perversion that was very odd – seemingly related to how the record was transcribed. I clicked on them to learn more about this couple and their lineage – but I quickly hit a dead end. When I clicked one of their individual profiles, and then hit “tree” I found that there was no one attached to them at all – they were floaters with no connections. So, I looked at their history, to identify the original creator, and it was FS Admin! I’m assuming this is a function of newly added records – they were putting a family unit in the tree section as a new record was made available in order to find the family connections (this was a baptism identifying a family unit) – not sure if this was made by a bot of sorts (computer generated), or a real person, but it made me confident in my next changes.

I then headed back to my couple to remove these duplicates prior to attaching that newly found record. CAUTION: When I went back to my couple, and clicked on “Possible Duplicates” that phantom floating couple did NOT appear in the list. Sigh – so I had to go all the way back to the record, take note of the individual profile numbers, and search for the duplicates that way – it worked, but what rigmarole! BTW, so what did I type into the box that requires an explanation for a deletion? Verbatim: “This couple appears to be a FS added couple based on one document with no known family connections – I am that family, and I’m welcoming them home as they are already on my tree.”

With the potential for many other floating family units to appear out there over time – you may want to make your life easier and check the individual lines in your branch of the tree for new duplicate possibilities – in other words, keep the shears handy for spot check pruning.

With all of the above – why should I invest my time and resources into this Family Tree?

For a few reasons:

It’s an open tree that people can see, use, and share with no membership needed. I can easily share this with my family, and not worry about what might be locked later if someone doesn’t pay a membership. (I’m talking about down the road – not current viewable Ancestry Trees.)
As much as my family’s involvement might result in us getting mad over the changes – I’m confident the collaboration will be great in the end (because I KNOW they have some family info that I don’t – and their input will help build a more complete ancestor story) – plus, I think we all live far enough apart that murder will not be a viable option for dispute resolution – just a genealogy joke, folks!
With the new tools that FS is implementing for story/memory collection – this could soon evolve into a very dynamic place for preserving and sharing the family story.
One of the major draws for me is that easy integration with the FS documents – those sources get pulled in and attached with a few clicks, and it makes sourcing information like a video game – fun, serves the purpose, and doesn’t strain my eyes as I make sure there is a comma or period in the correct places – but I’m still careful to make sure it belongs to the right people – after all, a hint is not a given match.
And BTW, I have played with WikiTree as an alternative, but the screen layout just never stuck with me – plus, the ease of connecting actual records in FS hooked me like a duck on a junebug.

How Advanced Genealogists can make this a better tree – Our Responsibility:

Lately, I’ve heard genealogists of varying degrees of experience throw their hands up and reject the one world tree concept. Don’t get me wrong – if I had a dime for every time I got mad and said “That’s it! I’m done! I’ve had it with this thing – If everyone can come in and just changes my work, what is the point??!!!” I’d be a wealthy woman.

But fundamentally, I think we’re getting it a bit wrong. If most genealogists of significant caliber abandon this format, you know who builds the one world tree? Potentially, those who lack the necessary skills to create a valid tree – and yet this tree is preserved and lasts for many generations – Is that really what we want? If we don’t get into the sandbox with the other kids, who know what will be built with the genealogy blocks? And just to be clear, while we abandon the format and stick to our private trees only, this community tree is taking shape and continuing to grow without our input and while we look the other way.

I have also come to the realization that more is more where these trees are concerned. The more information you feed into an ancestor profile: life sketch, memories, etc. – the more solid the profile becomes. And when you change something, put in a good reason, don’t skimp on the reasons – use them as teaching tools for those who come along later. Also, don’t be afraid to change something back if you have a very good reason. Recently, my great grandfather, Albert Pace had his name changed in the FS Tree because someone had added the nickname “Prince” to his given name. The person who came along to take away this nickname was unrecognized by me, but while I thought the change was fine, they also went to the “Alternative Name” section and removed “Prince Albert” from this lower area. Since this person then proceeded to fill out a lot of information about the first marriage and the child born to that union (I’m a descendant of the second marriage), I’m assuming that is the side of the family from which they hail. So, instead of playing tit for tat, I went back and added “Prince Albert Pace” in the alternative name block with a note that said: “Reason This Information Is Correct – All of his children from the second marriage referred to Albert as “Prince Albert” – all of their descendants refer to him as such. I’m assuming this was his local nickname, with no information as to its origins. Please DO NOT remove this as it is a significant identifier from his direct descendants and an important part of his identity on a local and familial level.”

Moral of the story – Beef up the profiles, be kind, but be thorough, and don’t be afraid to communicate why you would like an element to stay. Collaboration is a GOOD THING! So far, people have been relatively nice about things if you reasonably explain the source behind a piece of information. Although, I have been tough on some lines, and chopped off a branch that ran wild with completely unsourced info – I detached with a notice that said “Please do not add parents of this person without citing a source – there are many theories out there, but no proof has been yet uncovered.” It’s a wonderful PSA to remind people about citing sources and the GPS – even if it is one little message at a time.

NOTE: We have a lot of work to do! There have been so many weird changes out there that the clean-up could be pretty intense, depending on your branch of the family tree. And yes, I know, some of them have run wild like a bramble bush that stretches all the way back to Adam and Eve – but if we don’t get involved and bring along the pruning shears, it’s like

a genealogy villain (misinformation) terrorizing a village with no superheroes to combat their dirty deeds. Just like indexing, I think we have a responsibility to dive headlong into the forest and make it a better place – with a myriad of opportunities to educate about resources as we go along.

OK – Everyone, go get your cape, shears, (and goggles for the mess) – we’re going in!

Thanks for reading and happy pruning!

The Online MYTH: Researching in Tandem for Best Results

Published on October 16, 2017November 20, 2017 by Cheri

I am writing this post with gritted teeth and a fake smile upon my lips – retaining a professional demeanor in the face of such a dangerous fallacy can be almost impossible. But I promised you undiluted genealogy – and here comes test case number 1! Quick – go get a cup of tea before reading further!

Just this morning, on Facebook – the disseminator of both good and evil genealogy advice – a woman was asking for research location tips from her fellow genealogical researchers. As several gave her great insights, one person declared that:

“So many Kentucky records are online that it is rarely necessary to do onsite research anymore.”

She then proceeded to list about 3 wonderful online repositories….which was helpful, in a way….but with no cautionary caveats.

Two of the three online resources she shared should have come with cautions: The first one links to an aggregated collection of digitized items from around the state, including maps and newspapers – but what she doesn’t know, is that this site is in limbo, and most early participants no longer share digitization efforts on this site – most have created their own online portals for digitized records. The other site is a go-to for land records, and I recommend this one to researchers all the time – but caution that state budget cuts hit them hard, and digitization efforts had to stop short of the entire collection – some onsite visits would be necessary to access any records past a certain year.

Now, I understand that the standard researcher will not have knowledge of these limitations – but the overall impression of digitized record repositories containing complete collections, thereby eliminating a need for onsite research is FALSE!! FICTION!!! JUST PLAIN WRONG!! In fact, DANGEROUSLY WRONG!!

Why dangerous? Because the libraries and archives that contain our history operate on funding – local, state, or federal funding. What happens when the visitation numbers go down to a point that makes the keepers of the funds question their allocation that year? They cut, and they cut some more….and they hear local/national statements about everything being online, and they cut further…until access or existence is in extreme danger.

I was recently told a scary story (just in time for Halloween) about the construction of a new county courthouse – the locals in charge of building said courthouse, decided to opt for a closet sized research table to access records, because “No one conducts onsite research anymore – it’s all available on Ancestry!”

How do we stop this madness?

You MUST conduct your research using a tandem approach – and abandon the research vacuum of online only records!

1. PLEASE stop perpetuating the myth of online-only access. Just think about statistical probabilities alone – they are staggering. Since we’ve only been digitizing things for about the past 10-15 years (larger institutions), only a tiny portion has been digitized. And so many smaller institutions are not digitizing at all because of low staffing, technology and budget constraints. The libraries and archives of the world maintain huge collections of local records and family records – primary sources that can obliterate your brick wall! But if we encourage others to research in both places – online AND onsite, budgets grow, and online access continues to grow….otherwise, with the demise of research repositories because of a myth, we run the risk of endangering the existence of our history – and stopping the digitization efforts! Trust me, the digitization budgets are connected to the libraries and archives – you cannot have one without the other.

2. Run tandem research all the time – begin with online sources (images of primary sources hosted on main sites, such as Ancestry and Family Search) – noting the original location of these records. After building your research foundations with the wonderful digitized documents available to us, move to other online resources. Take a virtual tour of the libraries and archives of your state, region, and county of focus. Comb their websites and online catalogs to see what they have – look for several things: catalogs that list many of their items AND separate links that house archival finding aids or any digitization efforts they may be running. Remember: Even catalogs have limitations, and may not contain a list of EVERYTHING in their collection. Also, smaller county historical/genealogical societies may not have a website at all, or if they do, they may only list their location – not a list of what they have. Personal contact would be necessary in this instance.

General Stacks section of the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library at the Kentucky Historical Society

3. Head out on the road! Now that you have a research plan as to the locations and collections you want to see, you will be much more successful in your results. Be ready to experience some amazing bonuses along the way! By visiting the area of your ancestral home, you will gain an understanding that is unparalleled. You see the geography, breathe the air, and talk with the people of your homeland. Contextual knowledge of your ancestral community is a vital part to understanding your ancestors. Plus, your visit, though a tad costly, helps maintain the existence of these storehouses of history and information.
In short – always think of research as a multi-dimensional process. We are fortunate enough to have wonderful records at the tip of our fingers via super digitization efforts of many – but our research should NEVER stop there! Our storehouses of history contain the family records we need: Bible records, genealogy research files, correspondence, diaries, photos, school and Church records, etc. A fundamental principle of the Genealogical Proof Standard is “conducting a reasonably exhaustive search” – NEWSFLASH – online only research is NEVER a reasonably exhaustive search!