RootsTech 2013 Live Streaming Classes Part 2

The classes shown through live streaming are listed in my previous post. Here is a brief overview of each of the ten classes.

Friday March 22

Researching Ancestors Online by Laura G. Prescott

Genealogy Research Online – Sites and Strategies That May Surprise You

This class should be a must see for any serious genealogist. Laura first covered some positives and then some negatives of genealogy research on the Internet. She discussed, How to be a responsible contributor and user of online genealogical information.

Her list of Usage Rules includes: Share, Be accurate, Double check data received, Respect copyrights, Ask Permission, Cite Your Sources, Respect privacy, Take your time, explore, get wonderfully lost and have fun.

The syllabus includes a list of eleven commonly used websites many of which require subscriptions. She also referenced 101 Best Genealogy Websites for 2012 and Professionally Preferred Websites for Family History.

Some of the free websites that she demonstrated included: Cyndi’s List, The US GenWeb Project, DoHistory, Library of Congress, NUCMC, Academic Archives, Dead Fred, One-Step Webpages, Find A Grave, Bureau of Land Management, LibraryThing, and HistoryLady.

Rootstech 2013 Live Streaming Classes Part 1

RootsTech 2013 Live Streaming Classes

The classes shown through live streaming are listed in my previous post. Here is a brief overview of each of the ten classes.

Thursday March 21

The Future of Genealogy – Moderated by Thomas MacEntee, panel: Lisa Louise Cooke (Genealogy Gems Podcast), Dick Eastman (Eastman’s Online Newsletter), Daniel Horowitz (My Heritage), Alan Phillips (Unlock the Past), Dear Myrtle (Dear Myrtle Podcast), D. Joshua Taylor (findmypast.com)/brightsolid

RootsTech 2014 Live Streaming Key Note Presentations

For my own benefit this is a quick review of what I learned and discovered watching the three keynote sessions. My next blog will be about the ten classes.

First I want to note the great emcee Shipley Munson. It felt almost like he was introducing a game show and he did a fine job covering the basics each day. As head of marketing for FamilySearch, one can feel the enthusiasm he has for the family history audience.

RootsTech Conference Oregon Style

Tomorrow begins the first of three days of RootsTech Conference classes in Salt Lake City. For those of us not able to attend in person there is the wonderful option of viewing some of the classes through live streaming on the Internet.  The live streaming offers the keynote address and four classes each day, except Saturday when there are only two classes. My family understands that for these three days they will not see very much of me. To sign up and download or print the syllabus material for classes go to RootsTech.org.

20,000 Page Views and 200 Posts in Two Years

In a little over a month I will be celebrating two years of writing posts for this blog. It has been a journey of sharing important moments and thoughts about genealogy. Today marks 20,000 page views and this is the 200th post. Similar to writing a diary, this will be a keepsake for my family and friends. After posting, the content is saved to my computer and printed, then put into notebooks.

Serendipity - The Essence of Genealogy, the Discoveries Continue -

For the past week the research on my relative's ancestors has unveiled some very interesting unknown pieces of information. Yesterday we worked for four hours sorting a collection of family documents and assimilating the information into her database. As of today we have identified seventy-three individuals, twenty-three marriages, seven families in her direct line and then some collateral families. These are large families that involve inter-family adoptions and several divorces.

Mt. Hood Family History Conference and Serendipity

This past Friday and Saturday the Mt. Hood Family History Center held it's first conference, opening the doors to about 400 people each day. Literally, as one stepped up to the doors there were greeters there welcoming each person to the most fantastic genealogy event to be held in Oregon for some time. Patti Paxton took on the challenge of putting together this wonderful opportunity and she did an excellent job. It was apparent that her local leaders were in full support of the event.

Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library Serendipity

Almost a year ago I wrote a post about solving a mystery for the Taylor family of Ashland, Oregon. Two days later I was in Medford, Oregon teaching three classes for an all day seminar for the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society. Unfortunately there was not enough time to visit their research library. Since that time they moved into a new facility which provides a wonderful place to conduct family history research. It was likely they might have information about the Taylor family that we need.