Friday at RootsTech 2017~Laughter,Tears and Smiles

Every morning as we came into the hall for the opening session of RootsTech, we were treated to the comedy of Jason Hewlett. He warmed up the crowd with jokes, impressions, songs and facial expressions.
 On Friday he treated us to hits from Motown and had us up and dancing!

Jason Hewlett

Bernice Bennett getting her Motown on!

The Catholic Heritage Archive Announcement

 Exciting news came from Findmypast  The Catholic Heritage Archive was announced. This initiative to digitize Catholic Records is a first in the United States. To learn more visit their website with the link above.

The first African American Day was held this year at RootsTech.
The keynote speaker was LeVar Burton of Roots, Star Trek, and Reading Rainbow fame.

LeVar had us in tears after his touching words, but that was just the beginning of one of the most memorial moments from the conference.
 Thom Reed from FamilySearch came on stage and presented him with several generations of his genealogy.
 LeVar asked "Is that what y'all do all day?", to which the audience yelled "Yes!". 
 Then, while looking at the pedigree chart on the screen he exclaimed "Those are my people!"
 LeVar was visibly touched with the gift of discovering his ancestors.

Genealogy presented by Thom Reed

Unfortunately, LeVar Burton's Keynote address, although live streamed is not available now. Contract issues may be to blame. For those who were not there or missed the live broadcast, there are some excellent blog posts that capture the eloquence and emotion of his words.
The RootsTech Blog, Michelle Goodrum's Turning of the Generations and Jenny Joyce on Jennyalogy all contain a good recap of this inspirational talk. 

LeVar Burton Interviewing in the Media Hub

  Next up: The Innovator Summit Finals!

Innovator Summit Finals

With 5 still in the running, the judges listened again to each of the short presentations of each contestant and then deliberated.
 The audience was able to tweet and vote for the People's Choice Award.
And the winners:

There were some fantastic entries this year. You can learn more about all this year's entries by visiting the RootsTech Innovator Summit page and watch Jason Hewlett as he hosts this year's finals by clicking here.

Interviews with the Winners and the Judges
Yep, that's me sitting on the left edge of the far couch!

Winners and Judges Interview

Talking to the winners was fun, but I especially loved being able to ask the judges a few questions. My question of what is lacking in the genealogy tech community brought interesting answers.
Thomas MacEntee shared his thoughts on the need for the desire to search for our ancestors and would like to see products that would light that fire and interest more people. 
 The others discussed apps to help understand DNA results. They also wanted ways to make doing genealogy easier but with a clear understanding that "easy" also means correctly.

Helping out in the FGS (Federation of Genealogy Societies) Booth was next on my agenda, and once again, friends found me there!

Lottie Johnson from home!

Eowyn Langholf from WikiTree

After a packed day, it was time for the infamous MyHeritage Party!
My post about the much talked about event and to watch the video click on the link
MyHeritage After Party 2017-The Video!  Enjoy!

Findmypast Friday~New Records to Search

As a Findmypast Ambassador, I received this press release this morning:

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday

Over 455,000 new records are available to search this Findmypast Friday, including;

Northamptonshire Baptisms

Northamptonshire Baptisms contains over 14,000 transcripts of original baptism records and covers 34 parishes across the East Midlands county. These records have been transcribed by the Northamptonshire Family History Society from parish registers found at the Northamptonshire Record Office and cover the years 1559 through to 1901

The level of detail found each transcript may vary although most will include a combination of your ancestor’s baptism date, baptism place, the names of both parent’s, document reference, page and entry number. 

Northamptonshire, Northampton General Hospital Admissions 1774-1846

The Northampton General Hospital was founded in 1744 by Dr James Stonhouse and supported by local benefactors who paid for patient’s treatments through subscriptions. Today, the Northampton General Hospital is still providing healthcare as part of the NHS Trust.

This collection consists of over 126,000 transcripts of original admission registers held by the Northamptonshire record office. These transcripts will not only allow you to discover whether your ancestors were admitted to the hospital, but also when they were admitted, why they were admitted and the year they were discharged. Most records will also reveal the nature of your ancestor’s ailment and the outcome of their treatment.

United States Marriages

Over 54,000 records covering more than 1,800 counties have been added  to our collection of United States marriage records including substantial updates from Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Released in partnership with FamilySearch international, these new additions mark the latest phase of efforts to create the single largest online collection of U.S. marriage records in history.

Each record include transcripts and images of the original documents that list marriage date, the names of the bride and groom, birthplace, birth date, age, residence as well as fathers' and mothers' names. The entire collection now contains over 168 million records and continues to grow.

Warwickshire Monumental Inscriptions

Warwickshire Monumental Inscriptions is an index containing over 201,000 transcripts.Each record will list your ancestor’s birth year, death year and the location of the monument.

Periodical Source Index

Over 60,000 articles and 10 new titles have been added to the Periodical Source Index this month. PERSI enables you to easily locate key information about people and places through millions of entries from thousands of historical, genealogical and ethnic publications.

PERSI provides access to articles, photos, and other material you might not find using traditional search methods. This can help to build the historical context around your personal research, and the world your ancestors lived in.

Thursday at RootsTech 2017~Tradition, Connection and Song

Salt Palace Convention Center
Home to RootsTech 2017

Another early morning train ride from Fruit Heights to Salt Lake in time for the Ambassador Tour of the Expo Hall.
 It was massive! A genealogist's Disney Land I heard it called.
From demonstrations of the large genealogy websites to small Mom and Pop businesses, you can find what you are looking for to help your tree grow. In just a few hours it would open to the public and it would be filled with people, but for then, we had a chance to walk through and take it all in.

Expo Hall Tour

After the tour, we were lead backstage and to our seats. It just so happened that Drew and Jonathan Scott aka The Property Brothers were being interviewed before their keynote talk at the opening session and we walked right by them. More than a few quick pics were taken as we did!

Backstage
Drew and Jonathan Scott
The Property Brothers 

Sitting together and enjoying each other's company is always a highlight of the keynote sessions.

Valerie Elkins, Helen Smith, Mary Roddy, Jennie Fairs, and Amy Lenertz

Peggy Lauritzen, Amy Bowser Tennant, Angela Walton-Raji, and Toni Carrier

Randy Seaver, Ruth Blair, Marie Cappart and others!

Congratulations Amy!

I happened to be sitting by Amy Johnson Crow when she won an Amazon gift card for entering the twitter contest as the Property Brothers were speaking. It was fun to see her reaction and to get a test from my brother-in-law who was watching that said " I just saw you on the live feed!!"

A confession: I have never watched the Property Brothers TV show.  Coming into the conference, I was aware of them and had seen them in advertisements and such.
The excitement in the air before they came on stage could be felt in the room.  They spoke of family and their Scottish roots, kilts, and bagpipes. For someone who didn't know much about them, I really enjoyed their presentation! Did you miss it or would like to see it again? You can view it here.

Interviewing in the Media Hub

Steve Rockwood of FamilySearch explained the importance of food and family ties. He is seen here drinking A&W Rootbeer, a family tradition, and eating his grandmother's Rocky Road fudge.

Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International

My choice of class was My DNA Runs in My Family from genetic genealogist Angie Bush and her daughter Brynne.

Angie Bush and daughter Brynne

This was a fun explanation of the types of DNA and how to use it to discover your family. Brynn explained how she became interested in DNA and used it in a 7th grade science fair project. She takes us through the steps of discovering how she connects with her family.

Luckily, it was one of the live streaming presentations for the day and can be watched here.     

Part of my afternoon was spent helping in the In-depth Genealogist Booth.

Terri O'Connell and Jennifer Alford

Love being part of the IDG Team!

You never know who you will run into when running a booth!

Mary Tedesco from Genealogy Road Show!

Great Tips from David Lambert

David Lambert gave an informative class on "Researching Your WWI and WWII American Ancestors". He gave many tips on where to find records that may still exist for those who served.

After a long day of classes, ambassador and booth responsibilities, it was time to relax and enjoy a special concert from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir the Orchestra on Temple Square and the grandson of Oscar Hammerstein, Oscar "Andy" Hammerstein III.

      We were seated early and had the privilege of listening to them practice. No video taping was allowed during the performance but I was able to take this one as they ran through one of my favorite songs!

This special night of music and memories touched all of our hearts. Singing softly along, I was in tears as memories of my grandmother taking me to see "The Sound of Music" as a child filled my soul. Not once, but five times. There was no watching the DVD when it came out then.  She has passed but just hearing the opening strains of each song brings her back to me.

After returning home, I was thrilled to discover that the link to the whole performance is available. 
Don't miss this opportunity to hear this amazing choir and the words and music of Rogers and Hammerstein as they present Music It Runs in the Family.

Another fun filled, emotional day at RootsTech!