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Friday, March 15, 2019

My RootsTech Story (and a little recap)

This isn't necessarily a story, although I suppose it is part of my own life story, so scratch that!

Flash back to RootsTech 2015: I had never heard of RootsTech, but I had just applied to Brigham Young University’s Family History and Genealogy program, and so when my parents suggested I go, I was all for it. While I had always enjoyed doing family history and genealogy as a teenager, I was still very much an infant in my knowledge of it. RootsTech was my introduction not only to many of the basic skills of family history, but also to the genealogical world. I also met many of the BYU Family History faculty, and between that and all the classes I went to, it was confirmed in my mind that the decision I had made to apply to the program was the right one for me. Two weeks after RootsTech, when I got my acceptance letter to BYU, I was beyond excited to begin my journey into the Family History and Genealogy profession.
After my first RootsTech and
acceptance to BYU

RootsTech 2016, 2017 and 2018, my class schedule and finances only made it possible for me to attend the free Family Discovery Day at RootsTech while volunteering at the BYU booth in the Expo Hall. But each year I learned something new and my increased knowledge from all of my classes during the year, gave me a new perspective each RootsTech.

Now to RootsTech 2019: I was finally able to attend all four days and my perspective was a little different going into RootsTech this year than it was my first year. As a graduated student, hoping to find my niche in the Genealogical world, and with more of a focused view of which classes I went to, I couldn’t help but compare in my mind the differences and similarities of my first year and this one. The most notable, and obvious difference, was that unlike my first year, I was able to attend intermediate to advanced classes and understand the lingo 😊 

The other difference was definitely networking. My first year the thought of introducing myself to anyone other than the professors from BYU didn’t occur to me, but this year it was a constant thought at the back of my mind. That being said, was I very good at networking this year? Probably not. As a naturally reserved person networking is something that is harder for me than other things and something I am working on one step at a time. But the good thing is I can already see some improvement in myself in that area, small though it may be.

I was surprised at the similarities I found between the first year and this year. Just like 2015, this year of RootsTech filled me with so much inspiration and motivation! If you ever feel that you need to put some more fire back into your family history life, RootsTech is the place to do it. Just like my first year gave me the courage to continue on with my decision of studying Family History, this year, what I learned at RootsTech gave me the courage to put myself out there more on social media, and to start working towards accreditation. After RootsTech this year I feel renewed, and I am so excited for the future!

Apart from my personal self discoveries explained above, I also learned so much from each class! I decided I would share some of the highlights from a few of my favorite classes. Hopefully they will inspire you as they did me ðŸ˜Š

Hear Them Sing! Social History in your Family Narrative - Rebecca Whitman Koford
  • Social History: The study of ordinary people
  • Writing -
    • Tune Up: Gather facts
    • Theme Song: Personality
    • Weave in Melody: Research general history
    • Harmonize: Research specific history
    • Hear Them Sing: Bring out their voice
Uncovering Family Stories with British & Irish Historic Newspapers-Myko Clelland
  • Return to findmypast.org often, because new newspapers are added frequently
  • Use wildcards in your search
    • + before a word = the word must be present
    • - before a word = the word is not in the result
    • "word or phrase" = get it exactly
  • Avoid dates as much as possible, they can narrow it down too much.
New York Research Essentials - Ashley Lish, D. Joshua Taylor, Frederick Wertz
  • State census records
    • 1825-1845 - Names of the household
    • 1865-1875 - Includes more information
    • 1855-1875 - Includes special schedules, including some marriage and death schedules
  • Fultonsearch.org - a better way of searching the Fulton Postcards website
Finding 17th Century English Ancestors - Else Churchill
  • Tax Records
    • Subsidies
    • "Free & Cheerful Gift" 1625
    • Ship money 1630-40
    • Poll Taxes 1641-1697
    • St. Paul's Cathedral Fund 1677/8
    • Hearth Tax 1662-1689
Perspectives on Accreditation - Diana Elder, Julie Stoddard, Lisa Stokes
[This class convinced me to start working towards accreditation!!!]
Level 1
  • 1,000 hours experience
  • 500 of those in the region of interest
  • 80 hours in each administration district
  • Four generation project
    • Pedigree Charts
    • Family Group Records
    • Key Source documents
    • Research Log
    • Report
      • Clear Strong objective
      • Evidence Analysis
      • Source Citations (not specific style, but consistent)
      • Transcriptions & Abstracts
      • Future Research
Level 2
  • Document Interpretation
    • Create a research plan based on the document
    • Some regions have language requirements
Level 3
  1. 4 Hour Research Project
  2. Oral Review
How to Prepare:
  • Start now!
  • Attend classes and conferences
  • Keep track of your hours
  • Use ICAPGen resources
  • Read, research and write!
Finding the Poor & Destitute Irish - Brian Donovan
  • In 1922, the records building was destroyed
  • Land & security records survive because Britain wanted to keep track of the Irish
  • Registry of Deeds - irishdeedsindex.net
  • There are maps on Trinity College's website
  • The Land Commision
    • Founded in 1881 to establish fair rents
    • 1885 Ashbourne Act - broke up the estates
  • For Northern Ireland you can get the records on PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland)
These are only a few of the classes I went to, and only a very small bit of what I learned from each class! I'm already counting down the days until next year's RootsTech!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this insight into RootsTech. I've signed up for London in October & am really looking forward to it, but don't quite know exactly what to expect!

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  2. That's so exciting! I wanted to go to RootsTech London very badly but I'll be attending University then so I won't be able to get away for it. Rootstech is fantastic because they have classes on a variety of topics in a variety of levels so you can really find exactly what you need! I hope you have a wonderful time there!

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