Wow! Why haven’t I come to RootsTech before?! It was a great day. The FHL closed down at 5:15 because of a power outage. Big bummer. But on the bright side I have a little time to share a quick recap of my day.
The general session was excellent. Steve Rockwood’s message was inspiring. Among other things he told us that we are heart specialists for society and more importantly for our families. He asked the question, “How are we going to get our families to let us touch their hearts?” He encouraged us to start small – share stories in a minute or less. Stories that mean something to us.
Next up was Paula Madison. Her story of searching for her grandfather was incredibly moving. She thanked indexers and said, “You got the ball rolling and in six weeks I was no longer lost.” You can find out more about her story in the documentary she created.
The concluding speaker was Bruce Feiler. I loved the questions he posed, “What is the secret sauce that holds families together?” and “What do happy families do?” His answer? They talk – A LOT. They talk about what it means to be part of their family. This helps children develop an oscillating narrative of their family. When hard times come to them, they can rely on this knowledge of their family’s story to help them understand they will get through it just like their parents, and grandparents did. We are stronger when we understand we are part of an inter-generational self.
The four classes I chose today were:
- Parish Registers of England and Wales taught by Audrey Collins
- Inferential Genealogy: Deducing Ancestors’ Identities Indirectly taught by Tom Jones (my favorite! so fabulous!)
- Developing a DNA Testing Plan taught by Paul Woodbury
- Proven Methodology for Using Google for Genealogy taught by Lisa Louise Cooke
I loved them. More details on those classes later.
The expo hall is filled with goodies, deals, little freebies and a few photo opportunities. Like these:
A fun idea in theory – putting your face into an old photo – but the execution was hard. I just couldn’t pull if off with my glasses on so the woman running the booth told me to just take them off and she would tilt my head for me. Hmmmm…. 😉
It was an excellent, smooth day.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Now I’m off to try a few googling tricks before I fall asleep.
Happy researching!
– I called this RootsTech Day One – it was day one for me but Thursday, day two for RootsTech.
Great pics! Thanks for sharing your experiences at RootsTech. Looking forward to hearing lots more about it!
Thank you!
Sounds like fun! I look forward to hearing more 🙂
Thank you!
Amberly: I agree with what the speakers had to say about the importance of communication and sharing of family stories. These become our reference library on so many levels. I’m finding that the family stories my Mom told me add much to our history. Official records are very important for the factual research. Family stories can add, contradict or jumpstart the research. They also add that color and emotional element so vital to keeping the narrative going. I’m very glad you posted this summary for us.
Hi EmilyAnn! I agree. Stories are vital to understanding our history and connecting with our ancestors. 🙂