Were you at Rootstech?

Rootstech was a bit different this year.  I missed the vast exhibition hall and vendor talks.  I didn't miss the rushing from room to room, and not seeing everything I had hoped to.

As you imagine, it was all virtual, which had many advantages, not the least of which is that most of the talks are still online!

There were some live talks, and many live Zoom rooms, where you could ask questions of the moderator and other attendees.  Unfortunately, many of these were hidden in the calendar (off in the "more" section in the upper R corner of the main page), or buried several layers under the vendors, as were the Family Search help rooms.  And unlike previous years, the talks were not listed by topic (country, methodology, etc) or by skill level, so were a bit hard to find.  I did appreciate being able to generate a Playlist, which is still available when you sign in.  Six hundred and sixty five sessions!

Here are some of the comments and favorite talks.  Go take a look at https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/.

From Nancy Martin: I have always wondered about the Homestead Act and if my Great Grandfather was involved. The following presentation answered all my questions.  The video was done by Park Recreation Rangers and was very informative.  

Immigration and the Homestead Act: Finding Your Ancestors

https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/immigration-and-the-homestead-act-finding-your-ancestors

I also thought the following session was informative as a new way to view the research process:

The Genealogy research process: The WANDER Method by Amy Johnson Crow 

https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/the-genealogy-research-process-the-wander-method-asl

John Gleed mentioned - Finding Elusive Records in FamilySearch by Robert Kehrer

Working with unindexed record sets.  Very informative!!   It is an hour in length, so be prepared.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn2VY-wSfkw&t=944s

It has been an overwhelming, but interesting and informative experience to attend RootsTech.

From Linda Longley: Diahan Southard provides three outstanding presentations. Her graphics are clear and her explanations refreshing. They are: “DNA questions answered”;  “4 next steps for your DNA”; “Using the Shared Centimorgan Project.”

Shannon Combs-Bennett presents “DNA Basics Made Easy,” covers all three of the DNA tests available to us: Y-DNA, mitochondrial, and Autosomal, and the benefits of each.

Leah Larkin, “When Your Tree is a Banyan”  Excellent presentation for those with endogamy in your family: Early Colonial, Jewish, small communities in, say, Ireland, as examples. Leah gives us a clear understanding of what it is and what you can, or can’t, do about it. She explains why the Leeds Method may not work for those with endogamous family lines. Leah’s presentation was clearly one of my favorites. She writes The DNA Geek blog. 

Roberta Estes presents “DNA Triangulation: What, Why and How.” She presents an extensive overview of Triangulation. She covers the what, why, and how for the more advanced genetic genealogist. Roberta Estes also constructed a list of all the RootsTech DNA classes with links.  https://dna-explained.com/2021/03/02/rootstech-connect-2021-comprehensive-dna-session-list/

Kimberly Brown presents “Why Don’t I Match My Match’s Matches.” Kimberly breaks down the process of triangulation making it easy to understand.

Beth Taylor presents “Using DNA to Find Unknown Relatives.” She focuses on finding unknown parents, and her technique seems geared to finding missing adoptive parents, but her method can also be applied to finding unknown relatives. Her streamlined DNA search method is one I plan to adapt to the search for my unknown great grandfather.

Amy Williams in her presentation “Introduction to Ancestor DNA Reconstruction,” takes a more academic approach to DNA research, which she defines as “Determining as much of the DNA (i.e., raw data) of an ancestor as possible from descendants’ DNA.” A very interesting video. 

Olivia Fordiani presents “Understanding Basic Genetic Genealogy and My DNA Results.” She is a senior at BYU, studying genetic genealogy. She gives a good presentation on understand the basics. I recommend it to those who want a refresher class on DNA fundamentals, including recombination. She’s very good.

Diana Elder, of Familylocket.com, presents “Using DNA in a Client Research Project to Solve a Family Mystery. She presents a method of researching and documentation that the NEHGS would be proud of. Very thorough, combining carefully documented DNA and Genealogical data. 

From John Gleed: Roots Tech Reflections

Thursday- overwhelmed by huge number of presentations, heard ten of them and then switched to "England" and concentrated there.

On Thursday, good talk by Robert Kehrer on Family Search. He started from the fact that 70% of "Image Databases " on Family Search are NOT Indexed, then proceeded to the method for looking for other entry approaches using "Waypoints". Well worth studying.

Also Thursday: "Elusive Distant African Cousins" by Jerome V. Spears. At first, I was put off by his delivery which is as fast as Steve Morse. Then became more and more impressed. He tested himself and four siblings using Ancestry DNA and the other testing companies. Analyzed everything from their results. In great detail which he explained very well. Contacted female who were 5th to 8th cousins. Found a Nigerian woman who matched his sister on the 16th chromosome. Eventually pinpointed the sub-tribe of origin.

More Thursday: Hawaii State Archives by Adam Jensen. Oral Genealogies may include acquaintances of my family. Possibility also to find them in Maui Tax Records.

Friday and Saturday continuing on English Research. There were 27 presentations of which 7 were basic beginner talks. Tackling all the others which ranged from 3-20 minutes. Caroline Gurney is a superior speaker, perfect diction and pacing. She covered English Church Records and Probate Records before 1858. She spent time on Dr. Williams Library of Non-Conformist Baptisms. Fifty Thousands records dating back to 1742. Excellent display of probate courts hierarchy with special emphasis on the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Sole probate during Cromwell 1640-1660 and 40% of ALL probates leading up to 1858.

Five Talks by Else Churchill, principal genealogist of the Society of Genealogists in London. Parish Registers and Parish Chest Records. Freemen of a Borough getting the right to vote. Settlement Act of 1662 determining each persons right to parish assistance. Trinity House records for Merchant Seamen.

Church Courts- Sin, Sex and Probate. Forms of 17th century Taxation. Compton Census of 1676 measuring the growth of Non-Conformity. School Records. 

Finally, as approach to breaking down brick walls. Else is very positive about "The Genealogist" web-site. Check it out.

The 1939 Register by Linda Hammond. Reasoning behind taking the Register. Updated as events occurred into the 1970s. Explanation of abbreviations. Using Area Codes to locate places of Marriage.

There are also 4 talks on Ireland 3 on Scotland and one on Welsh surnames.    

From Andrea Lajoie:  Talks I’ve liked:

Tracing the Poor and Destitute Irish (3 sessions) [very, very good]
Navigating Patronymics in Scandinavian Research (3)
An Introduction to Scandinavian Church Records (3)
Getting Started with 19th Century British Research (3)
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors by Myko Clelland (3) But NO handout unfortunately
The Riches of the Scottish Kirk Session Records
The Stones Speak (3) 1. Gravestones. 2. Researching the Associated Records of the Burial 3. Online resources
The First Settlers of the Island of Orleans (in Quebec)
Using Find My Past to unlock your Irish Family History

From Kara Rosenberg: Did anybody look at Goldie May in the Expo Hall? I’m finding it intriguing. It helps you organize your research and does a lot of automatic entry that you can then put in a cvs file if you are concerned about keeping it. I use evernote now, but it doesn’t automatically tell me what I have looked at.

From Evie Rice:

These are my favorites so far, although I’m sure I’ll find more.  - Evie

The Hidden Secrets of the 1939 England and Wales National Register - Linda Hammond
How to Map Creeks, Roads, and more with Google MyMaps - Nicole Dyer
Google Tools for Genealogy - Thomas MacEntee
The Alps in Digital:  Swiss Records Online: Daniel R Jones 
Swiss Court Records - Daniel R Jones
Insights in Archives and Computer-Assisted Indexing - Ian James & Ty Davies
Free Research Help from The Family History Library:  Research Strategy Sessions - Kori Robbins (short)

Maggie's favorites: 

1. Locality research. https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/using-locality-research-to-solve-complex-problems
2. Henry Louis Gates Jr. https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/finding-resilience-with-ancestry-and-henry-louis-gates-jr-ondemand
3. Maggie's family, probably: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/series/tracing-the-poor-and-destitute-irish

And a hint from Evie Rice:  The playback speeds can be adjusted in the settings menu in the lower R corner.

- Margaret Melaney