Stories Archives - Genealogy Literacy

I apologize for this message being so late since the RootsTech Family History Conference is now breathing down our necks – less than two months away! Unfortunately, during much of the RootsTech planning and announcements, my mother fell ill and passed away this fall. Naturally, RootsTech was the last thing I was thinking about with the grief swirling throughout the Holidays, etc.

As we close out another crazy year, with all of the losses and difficult chapters we’ve lived through, once again – happiness can only gradually return by focusing on the future with hope of better days. For my family, RootsTech will always be a steadfast marker of “better days”. Regardless of the bad times we’ve endured, that genealogy week in the winter always provides a light of fun and learning that inspires us to push forward with the purpose we were gifted as the family historians.

That precious purpose and the limited time in which we have to fulfil it is the main theme of RootsTech 2024: Remember. Over the years, I have written about the shift of RootsTech from a genealogy technology conference to that of story telling and education – with a little dash of technology mixed in. However, with the new AI, DNA, and other tech tools swiftly impacting the genealogy field – I feel like RootsTech is coming full circle. The genie tech is rising, but largely in the areas of aiding in the capturing and preserving of family stories. This is a most exciting time to be in the genealogy field – and even more so at RootsTech (once again – both at home and in person)!

Let’s get to some brass tacks about what is happening for RootsTech 2024 (February 29 – March 2):

This list will NOT be comprehensive because the RootsTech Team will be releasing new information as we get closer to the event – some big announcements coming in January!
Theme: Remember – is focused on telling our stories – down the ancestral lines, and in our own backyard. Capturing our stories is tantamount to beginning our genealogy journey and bringing the ancestors back to life through new tools that will help us share those stories in dynamic ways!
First keynote has been announced and the selection is spot on for reminding us about the journey and the larger connections of genealogy to history: Lynne M. Jackson – the great great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott – from the famous U.S. Court case of 1857 that pushed the subject of slavery to the boiling point in the final years prior to the Civil War. Jackson will be sharing her family’s legacy and how their place in history impacts her today.
So far, the class lineup is amazing with 250+ sessions only available in-person in SLC with another 200 sessions available online for FREE! Registration is already open, so grab your seat! Pretty customary for the world’s largest family history/genealogy conference!
Yes – I am super honored to be presenting again at RootsTech! Both sessions are in-person in SLC: My 2023 workshop – Picture It: Photo Identification and Preservation – is BACK by popular demand – one last time in the Salt Palace! I also have a NEW session coming in 2024: Hiding Behind the Liberty Tree – Finding Patriots Among Underrepresented Groups.
Also, yes – Once again, I am a member of the official RootsTech Media Team – so you can keep watch on my social media accounts to get some of the latest announcements as they are released – Another keynote will be announced in the next couple of weeks and your ability to schedule your classes should be arriving in a little over a week. Rapid fire announcements coming soon!

As I mentioned earlier, the theme (Remember) is going to hit us all hard with the feels – here are a couple of links to the promo videos being released – including a new theme song about Running Out of Time:

And in honor of my mother – who loved RootsTech, I produced a small slide show to remind everyone that RootsTech is a GREAT way to build family memories!

Thanks, all! Hope to see you there!

Well everyone, I can finally announce the release of a project I’ve been working on for much of this Pandemic – The BloodRoot Podcast. Even though live since August – it has now been shared across multiple platforms and can be accessed via most of your favorite listening tools!

In fact, I’ve been working on this for most of the pandemic. Being trapped in my home for months on end got me to thinking about new ways to stretch my creativity. And as usual, creativity is always tied to the past for me. After exploring the options and doing a lot of logistical homework, I have embarked on what will hopefully be a fun experiment in storytelling and family history healing. My goal is to provide a listening experience that takes listeners through a family story or challenge slowly – in a way that makes them think along the way.

With each new episode I hope to empower listeners to explore the deep roots of their family history by preserving stories, advocating truth, restoring context, and fostering healing. Who we are is a fundamental question that often inspires genealogists to begin their journey. The search for our roots is deep seated in our blood and DNA, and yet it’s all more complicated than those two simple concepts. In fact, our humanity makes everything more complicated – which begs the question, why would our history be any different?

So settle in, grab a cuppa, and prepare to be inspired by our ancestors and their life journeys.

Not the sterilized versions we’ve come to know – but the real stories, rooted in real people with real challenges and flaws. By celebrating our ancestors within their human complexity, we learn so much more about ourselves, what it means to be family, and how we are all connected to one another.

Since August, I have been slowly publishing episodes, with a total of four available at the present time – on most of your favorite podcast listening platforms. My current rate is only about once a month as I explore the possibilities of this new outlet. The episode guide can be found on the “BloodRoot” page of this website – and may contain some supplemental information if the episode warrants.

If you have a story that you’d like to share with the listeners, or a topic you’d like to see covered, you can send me an email, message me through my various social media platforms, or leave me a voice message through the Anchor app. If you leave a message, I may include it on a future episode!

Join me as we uncover the BloodRoot of our family history!