Well before RootsTech 2011, I was considering whether or when to get a genealogy DNA test done. I think it was at a Toronto Ontario Genealogical Society event that I first listened to an excellent presentation on new discoveries in the field. The presenters were so enthusiastic that I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the…
My week in Salt Lake City is a wrap. At a post-RootsTech dinner last night hosted by Dick Eastman, I was asked my opinion of the conference. Several people nodded in agreement when I said some sessions were great, but there were too few for the intermediate and advanced genealogist. Two of the three keynotes…
The last three days were intensive, but fascinating. I had prepared for my research time at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City by reviewing the family lines that needed more information (basically all of them) and looking up some of the films that might be helpful. Using Evernote, I tagged census images and…
It turns out that going to a genealogy conference in February has a galvanizing effect on January resolutions. Like many others I resolved to get my genealogy stuff organized this year and, guess what, I really have to do it so I can make the most of my trip to Salt Lake City for RootsTech ….
I am gradually following up on the wealth of information that was my RootsTech experience. One of the presenters I had particularly enjoyed was Josh Taylor, of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, who did an excellent presentation on what genealogists need software tools to do for us in the future. Near future, please! I was…
Brewster Kahle of Internet Archive fame kicked off the final day here in Salt Lake City with timely reminders about the value of personal histories and the great value of preserving and sharing them. The rest of the day’s sessions kind of riffed on that theme in interesting ways. An 1848 daguerreotype panorama held by…
The first day of sessions at the RootsTech conference made my brain hurt, but in a good way. The keynote was shared with two speakers and I could have done without the first, Shane Robison of HP walking through a slide deck he’d given to countless other hapless audiences, telling us very little new. Fortunately…
I had some great advice from a friend last week about my first trip to Salt Lake City this week. I’ve allowed a couple of extra days just for the Family History Library, but I know that time will pass way too quickly. Janet advised me to concentrate on books, rather than films, to get…
