Yes! I finally made it to RootsTech! It took a pandemic, but I made it! LOL
This is just one example of why I don't mind this pandemic so much. I can attend a genealogy convention from the comfort of my own home. Keynote speakers can be heard with no interruptions from people coming and going from the room. There are 18 pages of classes (sessions) being offered! There is NO way I would get to see even a 1/4 of them if I was there in person! Plus these sessions will be available online until right before RootsTech 2022!! So I can take my time viewing them, taking notes, and then maybe viewing them again! There is a virtual Expo Hall where you can "visit" the vendors, see what they have to offer, and buy if you wish. (Can't get all the cool free pens, candy, or sunglasses, but that's a small price to pay!)
Can you tell I'm loving this?!
So I wanted to share a little about the first day of the convention. Now, it actually started at 11PM on Wednesday night, but the only thing I got done after 11PM was choosing the sessions I wanted to watch and adding them to my Playlist. (YES! You have your own playlist so you won't forget anything you really wanted to see. And you don't have to keep searching over and over for that session you really wanted to watch next!)
I'll be honest. I wasn't that interested in nor did I have enough time to watch many of the keynote speakers. I did watch Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s session, "Finding Resilience with Ancestry and Henry Louis Gates, Jr." (though I missed the first 15 minutes!), and it was a great talk. The most moving moment he shared from his PBS show, "Finding Your Roots," was when the show researched Queen Latifah's roots. That moment when she saw that her enslaved ancestor was set free by her owner in 1792 - that was powerful. As Queen Latifah said, "One person CAN make a difference." That one person, Mary Lot, changed everything for her family line. WOW!
I watched a lot of sessions. I lost count. I tried to stick with a theme (like all Ancestry.com videos in a row). I pretty much stuck to that. Some sessions were really quick, only 2-4 minutes, and some lasted 20 or 25 minutes. Here's most of them:
- Quick Ancestry Search Tips with Christa Cowan, Corporate Genealogist with Ancestry.com
- Using the Ancestry Card Catalog with Christa Cowan
- Tips for Messaging Members on Ancestry with Christa Cowan
- Why Should I use the Ancestry Mobile App? with Pete Lasko and Liam Molloy of Ancestry
- Research Tips: United States Records with Bob Taylor
- Research Tips: Vital Records
- Research Tips: Develop Search Skills
- Research Tips: Newspapers
- Research Tips: England Research Basis
- Revealing your Mother's Ancestors and Where They Came From with Roberta Estes
- What Do I Do with Cousin Matches? with Beth Taylor
Some of the greatest things I learned today:
The 1950 census will be released by the U.S. Government in April of 2022!!
That I need to use the Ancestry mobile app more often. I've had it on successive phones for years, but rarely use it. It has some cool features. For instance, when you visit a relative and they show you family pictures, you can just take a picture of those photos with your phone and upload them right to the Ancestry.com app! No more having to "borrow" their pictures to scan or waiting for them to one day maybe make copies for you!
How having my mother's mitochondrial DNA tested at FamilyTreeDNA could lead us to finding who her adopted grandmother's mother was! The best part? My mother has already tested with FamilyTreeDNA! The research and hard work that must be done to make this a reality is overwhelming. I wish I knew and could afford to have Genetic Genealogist Cece Moore come in and save the day!
Something I learned today that I HAVE to do:
Make my own spreadsheet of my DNA matches in order to keep track and organize them to the max!
Is it any wonder I'm tired? Plus this explains why I'm not getting around to posting this until 1AM the NEXT day! No matter the time, I just had to share!!
I'll give you the rundown of Friday's adventures tomorrow tonight!!
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