Click on the topic title below to jump to the blog post for that day.
RootsTech Sessions From A to Z
Z is for Gen-Z and Genealogy
Many genealogists are worried about who is going to do the genealogy in the next generations. They try to come up with ways to get the younger generation excited about genealogy.
Session Title
Gen-Z and Genealogy
Gen-Z and Genealogy
Session Description
"This class will explore GenZ's take on genealogy and how it shapes our lives. It will explore how older generations can help support us and how GenZ can become more involved in the genealogy world."
Presenter: Sarah Day
Y is for Y-DNA
Y DNA is another test but only males can take the test. The results are from son to father to father to father.... way back. The results can be helpful with a Surname Study.
Session Title
Y is for Y-DNA: What is Genetic Distance?
Session Description
"A brief overview of genetic distance as it relates to Y-DNA testing and determining the time to a most recent common ancestor for you and your patrilineal DNA matches."
Present by FamilyTree DNA
Link:
X is for X-DNA
X-DNA Setting up an Ancestral Tree and Fan Chart and Exploring Tree Completeness
Session Description
"Visualizing your direct line at DNA Painter can help clarify where the most significant gaps are. In this demo, Jonny shows how you can import a GEDCOM file and overlay DNA inheritance paths, which can help you to narrow down possible common ancestors with DNA matches, particularly those with whom you share DNA on the X-chromosome (XDNA)."
Presenter: DNA Painter Jonny Perl
W is for Wales
A little country with lots of history and their records are often tied and included with England records. But their surnames are unique.
Session Title
Wales Patronymics: The Cause of Common Surnames in Wales
"In this video session, learn to recognize patronymic names in Wales. Research strategies that will help you discover more about your Welsh family history will be provided."
Presented by Darris G. Williams
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/patronymics-the-cause-of-common-surnames-in-wales
V is for Vendors
RootsTech, like most conferences have vendors. Genealogy companies who want you to get to know them and what services they provide. RootsTech had 91 !!
How do you find them?
- Go to RootsTech.org
- Scroll down the main page until you see a section called Expo Hall.
It looks like the following.
- Click Visit.
Then see all the wonderful vendor listed by categories. - Click on one you want to learn more about.
- Come back often and check out others.
Another way to see a Sponsor or Exhibitor is from the left menu.
- Go to the RootsTech page.
- Click Sessions from the top menu on the right.
- Click Sponsor or Exhibitor from the left menu.
This opens up that menu and shows you the first sponsor and exhibitors in alphabetical order. - Click on See All (91) at the bottom of this list.
The second window below appears with all 91 in alphabetical order ready for you to check out.
Presented by All the wonderful Vendors!
Link: RootsTech.org
U is for Ulster Foundation
Session Title
How the Ulster Historical Foundation can help you find your Irish ancestors
Session Description
"Ulster Historical Foundation has been helping people find their Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors for over 65 years. We offer archival research for all nine counties of Ulster and help for all those searching for ancestors on the island of Ireland through consultations, assessments, conferences, courses and lectures."
Presented by Gillian Hunt
Link:
T is for Two Ways to Find the Lost in a Census
If you can't find someone in a census but you know they should be there, this session will give you two ways that might help you find them using personal research examples.
Session Title
Two Ways to Find the Lost in a Census
Two Ways to Find the Lost in a Census
Session Description
1. Use other family members.
2. Use a rhyming website to find names that sound similar to the surname to find possible misspellings.
Presented by Lianne Kruger
Link:
https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/two-ways-to-find-the-lost-in-a-census
S is for Stories in the Facts
One of my favourite sessions to present is on creating videos to tell and record family history. This session looked very interesting and might help with subject ideas and how to create videos.
Session Title
How to Find Your Story in the FactsSession Description "In this workshop, filmmaker and writer Mark Pedri will walk you through the steps you can take to turn the facts from records and family archives into a story that will preserve the information and intrigue audiences for generations to come. In this class, you will learn the ins and outs of story structure using his latest documentary DEAR SIRS as a case study to illustrate how you can transform your records into a compelling narrative. As an added bonus, participants will be given exclusive access to stream his latest unreleased documentary at dearsirsfilm.com/watch."
Presented by Mark Pedri
Link https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/how-to-find-your-story-in-the-factsR is for Robin Hood
Session Title
Robin Hood: Truth or fiction
Session Description
"The tales of Robin Hood and his exploits in medieval England is a great story and known the world over. He means a great deal to the people of Nottinghamshire. What is the history behind the stories and where in Nottinghamshire can you find him?"
Presented by Carol Bannister of Register of Qualified Genealogists
Link https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/robin-hood-truth-or-fictionQ is for Q & A sessions
To find these sessions type in Q&A in the session search bar. Even though they were answering questions and you can't ask your question now, someone else may have asked what you want to know or something similar.
Topics include FamilySearch GEDCOM, Japanese, Matt Paxton, accreditation in Denmark and Scandinavian research, and German professional genealogist.
One of the current genealogy hot topics is the 1950 Census. I do not have any family in the US at that time and I also have the information I need from that time period but there are many who do.
Session Title
The 1950 US Census Effort - A Q&A with the FamilySearch Team
Session Description
"Join the cause—help make the 1950 US Census index searchable and available to everyone! Today's technology is amazing; computers will index in just a couple weeks what would otherwise take us millions of hours to index by hand. At the same time, the computers can't read the handwriting as well as you can, so we need you! You are invited to help review and improve the index—to make sure that every parent, grandparent, sibling, and friend will be able to be found. Learn more about this effort from the FamilySearch team who is creating the experience for you to review the census.
Looking for a little more detail? Review this session on the system we will use to review the census: Get Involved and Reviewing the 1950 Census."
Presented by the FamilySearch Team
Link:
https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/the-1950-us-census-effort-a-q-a-with-the-familysearch-team
P is for Professional Genealogist
Session Title
How to Become a Professional Genealogist
Description
"Learn how to become a professional genealogist and get paid for doing what you love! This presentation will discuss how to become a certified genealogist in the USA, the costs involved, and the benefits of doing so. Most of the discussion will be about becoming a CG, but some will include details on becoming an AG.
Board for Certification of Genealogists website: http://www.bcgcertification.org
International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists Website:
http://www.icapgen.org
Association of Professional Genealogists Website: http://www.apgen.org "
Presenter by Dana Elder
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/how-to-become-a-professional-genealogist
O is for OnGenealogy
Session Title
OnGenealogy Tips and Tricks: Finding Resources Anywhere in the World
Presented by Alynson Mansfield
OnGenealogy Tips and Tricks: Finding Resources Anywhere in the World
Session Description
"This is a short video demonstrating how tot search for Genealogy and family history resources anywhere in the world with the OnGenealogy directory and mapping technology. The OnGenealogy directory is free to search, free to join and it's also free to add resources. Libraries, societies, genealogists, and genealogy companies can add their businesses to the directory to give great visibility to researches.
The OnGenealogy directory is searchable by:
- record types, such as birth records, marriage records, and death records
- locale, using a Google map
- locale, using a quick country, state, or municipality search
- keywords, such as a surname, ethnic group, or other words
Please visit the OnGenealogy directory and help us add collections to the map!"
N is for Netherlands
Family History Guide website has pages for many locations. This link is information about the Netherlands to introduce this site.
Session Title
Researching Records in the Netherlands
Session Description
"The Family History Guide Association sponsors The Family History Guide website. Its mission is to greatly increase the number of people actively involved in family history worldwide, making their journey easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. Visitors from over 150 countries come to this free website."
This session is done by the Family History Guide. They have their own page with a list of other sessions done by them. Check them out at Family History Guide Association
Presented by Family History Guide
M is for Mothers
Revealing Your Mother's Ancestors and Where They Came From
Session Description
"DNA can help you identify and confirm your mother's ancestry - even when you don't have surnames. Join us for pointers about how to use mitochondrial DNA, autosomal DNA, and both, together to break down those brick walls!"
Presented by Roberta Estes
L is for Lianne
This session does not discuss proofs but what is the layout of these reports and how to you format them in Google Docs.
Session Title
Create Genealogical Research and Narrative Reports in Google Docs
Create Genealogical Research and Narrative Reports in Google Docs
Session Description
This session will illustrate how to format a research and narrative report using Google Docs. The formatting includes:
- Font formatting
- Headings
- Lines
- Alignment
- Bullets and numbering
- Special Characters
- Insert images
- Footnotes
- Headers and Footers
- Tables
- Numbers in narrative reports
- Templates
- Share the report file with others
K is for Kruger
Session Title
South African Boer War Prisoners: The Pretorius family, a Case Study
South African Boer War Prisoners: The Pretorius family, a Case Study
Session Description
"Come take a journey through South African Boer War records using a typical South African family, the Pretorius family as a case study. We'll look at where to find the records, how to interpret the incredibly rich information contained in them, and how to use social history to add to the story of your ancestors. We'll look at camp death registers, maps, hospital admission registers and probate records as we tell the story of the Pretorius family."
"Come take a journey through South African Boer War records using a typical South African family, the Pretorius family as a case study. We'll look at where to find the records, how to interpret the incredibly rich information contained in them, and how to use social history to add to the story of your ancestors. We'll look at camp death registers, maps, hospital admission registers and probate records as we tell the story of the Pretorius family."
J is for Jewish
I have Jewish Ashkenazi ancestry through my French Canadian line which goes back to France so this was very interesting to me.
Session Title
Jewish Ashkenazic Surnames & Patronymics
Session Description
"Many Ashkenazic Jewish people in central and eastern Europe did not adopt fixed surnames until governments decreed them mandatory. Tax records, Familianten books, census records, vital records, burial records, and other civil and religious documents may tell the story of the transition from patronymics and nicknames to hereditary surnames."
Presented by International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
I is for Ireland
Session Title
Researching your ancestors using the resources & records of Public record Office of Northern IrelandSession Description
"In this session we will cover the records held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), both their online resources and those held in the archive; as well as examine how these can help find out more about ancestors from Ireland."
"In this session we will cover the records held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), both their online resources and those held in the archive; as well as examine how these can help find out more about ancestors from Ireland."
Presenter by Gilian Hunt
H is for Haplotree
What is a Haplotree and how can a huge tree help you?
View the World's Largest Y Haplotree
Session Description
"Discover the countries of origin and surnames for each branch of the world's largest Y-DNA Haplotree."
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/view-the-worlds-largest-y-haplotree
Another Haplotree session
Session Title
Y-DNA: How SNPs Get Added to The Y Haplotree at FamilyTreeDNA?
Session Description
"A look at how Y-DNA SNPs are evaluated for inclusion on FamilyTreeDNA's Y haplotree.
Also presented by FamilyTreeDNA
G is for German Records
Session Title
Schmidt, Schmitt, or Schmit: German Surname Variations
Schmidt, Schmitt, or Schmit: German Surname Variations
Session Description
"German surnames were often spelled a multitude of ways. learn the top tricks for recognizing the different variations of your ancestor's last name throughout the ages."
Presented by Katherine Schober
Link:
https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/schmidt-schmitt-or-schmit-german-surname-variations
Another German related session is All Things German Russian presented by Shirley Wilcoxon
"Honouring our past - embracing the future. See how we are keeping our Germans from Russia Heritage alive."
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/all-things-german-russian
F is for France
I have many French ancestors. They are mostly from the 1600s but it is still important to understand records from France.
The following are three sessions provided by French Federation of Genealogy. Below is the title and their session description.
French Records on Your French Ancestors
How to search through the French archives in order to find your ancestors from this country and neighbouring French-speaking areas.
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/french-records-on-your-french-ancestors
Your French Ancestors Via French Private Societies
Discover your French Ancestors via private commercial organizations and numerous genealogical societies.
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/your-french-ancestors-via-french-private-societies
French Genealogy Through Genealogical Societies
In this presentation, you will be introduced to how French genealogical societies are organized through a federation to help you find your ancestors and enrich your knowledge of their lives. The French genealogical environment has no secrets for the expert members of these societies. You can become one of them.
Link: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/french-genealogy-through-genealogical-societies
Presented by the French Federation of Genealogy
Link: https://www.france-genealogie.org
E is for Ethnical
Many people are afraid of DNA for ethical reasons. If you have heard about DNA or done some DNA you may have heard of some problems or have some questions about ethics. This session will help you to understand the standards and how the Genetic Genealogy community to trying to ensure that ethics is maintained.
Session Title
Ethnical Considerations Using DNA ResultsSession Description
"Ethical actions help maintain access to using DNA results as a genealogical source. This session provides a brief history of the development of genetic genealogy’s ethical standards, questions to ask in light of personal circumstances, and provides resources for further consideration. For the class syllabus, contact me at https://thesingleleaf.com/contact "
"Ethical actions help maintain access to using DNA results as a genealogical source. This session provides a brief history of the development of genetic genealogy’s ethical standards, questions to ask in light of personal circumstances, and provides resources for further consideration. For the class syllabus, contact me at https://thesingleleaf.com/contact "
Presented by Lynn Broderick
Link:
https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/ethical-considerations-using-dna-results
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