RootsTech Recap Day 1

I'm just wrapping up Day 1 of RootsTech. I've been here since Monday evening as I was completing my annual trip to the Family History Library and the Media dinner for RootsTech ambassadors last night.

It's been a day of DNA lectures all day, which comes in handy as more and more people are buying DNA kits looking for their elusive ancestors and finding out more about who they are.

Here's a list of the lectures I attended:

Real World Examples of the Frustrations of Endogamy - Lara Diamond

How Close Are We Really? Evaluating Shared DNA - Paul Woodbury

Introduction to Autosomal DNA Chromosome Mapping by Tim Janzen

AncestryDNA got in on the fun and were giving out buttons. You had to find your match to win a prize. So far I have not found my exact match.

At the end of the day we wrapped up with the opening session with an address by Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch (who I had the pleasure of meeting with last night). It was a nice heart warming message that everyone deserves to be remembered. Everyone has a story to tell. There was also a panel discussion about the innovations that experts in the field would like to/expect to see around records access and DNA.

Finally the Exhibit Hall opened to review the vendor booths. I took a quick walk through to survey the different businesses. I will be back later this week to check out in further detail when it's not as crowded.

Comments

Mrs. McComb Went to Washington

I recently returned from a work trip to Washington, D.C., where we led 27 genealogists on a research tour, which included the National Archives (Archives I) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library. It was an amazing week! It has been almost 20 years since I visited the DC area to visit the Smithsonian museums. I pulled a few files to review at the National Archives, which I will put towards existing and new lectures. Having the experience of doing the research onsite at the National Archives and the DAR Library will help me prepare other genealogists for this onsite work. I also left with a new project which I will be working on (more details to come in the future). I did get some tourism in and went to many different sites, including the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War I Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Holocaust Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Air and Space ...

Memorial Day Honor Roll

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States. It is a day to commemorate those who were killed in action and who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, with the first national observance on May 30, 1890, to honor the Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. Other states had observed prior to 1890, with both Union and Confederate graves decorated. In 1968 Congress standardized the day it was observed to the last Monday in May and renamed it more broadly to Memorial Day. I've wanted to put together a roll of relatives in my family tree who I honor on Memorial Day. I use the tag feature on Ancestry.com to identify "Killed in Action" or "Died in Service". I have highlighted some in individual blog posts. Horace Joseph (age 26) - 2nd cousin 1x removed - Killed in action June 6, 1944 (D-Day) during World War II. He served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooped with the 307th Airforc...

RootsTech Connect 2021 Recap

RootsTech Connect is officially over. The event was officially on February 25th through 27th. Over one million attendees attended! Let me repeat that - one million! And what an experience it was. I desperately miss the in-person interaction that I feel when I go to Salt Lake City. This was the next best option - to be safe at home while we are still trying to surviving this awful pandemic. And best yet it was FREE! And the videos will be available for one year. Speaking as someone who was working a booth and also a presenter, I enjoyed using the chat room features to connect with others. Many had expressed interest in starting their own enslaved person memory project, mirroring what was done for Georgetown Memory Project. Others commented that the gravestone series "The Stones Speak" gave them new ideas for their own family history. I helped answer genealogical questions from attendees who were getting stuck on a particular brick wall or just wanted some advice on where to t...

The Shamrock Genealogist

Search This Blog