By Lynn Funk, Student

Salt Lake City, Utah is considered by many to be the “Mecca for Genealogical Research” and it was never more so than this February 11-14 when the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) combined their conference with the annual RootsTech Conference. Over 22,000 people crowded into the Salt Palace to learn, share and enjoy speakers, workshops and exhibits about their shared passion—family history!

FGS 2015 Opening Social. Photo by Lynn Funk. Used with permission.

My conference experience opened Wednesday night with a social featuring sandwiches and desserts and a panel discussion about Family History and Television. Participants included FGS president and Genealogy Roadshow host Joshua Taylor; Genealogy Roadshow host, genealogist and lawyer, Kenyatta Berry; George Ott from ProGenealogists; genetic genealogist CeCe Moore and Jennifer Utley from “Who Do You Think You Are?”  The panel discussed the impact shows such as Genealogy Roadshow, Finding Your Roots and Who Do You Think You Are?  have had on the growing interest in family history and genealogy.

Lynn Funk with Kenyatta Berry. Used with permission.

The next three days I attended sessions presented by both FGS and Rootstech, however most were FGS classes as they seemed to focus more on research methodology. In these classes I learned about cluster genealogy, resources for tracing U.S. ancestors between 1780-1840, using tax records to solve genealogical problems, and finding ancestors in between the censuses. One of my favorite classes was taught by Michael Lacopo and was entitled: She Came From Nowhere: A Case Study Approach to Solving a Difficult Genealogical Problem. Since I have several “difficult genealogical problems,” I found this class very helpful. It was fun to see how, step by step, he took down this brick wall and it reinforced what I have been learning in my courses at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.

In between classes, I roamed the exhibit hall with my husband (who shares my love of family history). We wanted to buy lots of things but limited ourselves to a book about genealogical writing from NEHGS and a DNA test kit from Ancestry.com (for my husband—I got a free one last year for participating in a focus group). We also attended a few short presentations by FindMyPast and FamilySearch about upcoming innovations the two are planning.  We checked out the Family Discovery Center and learned that my husband is distantly related to several celebrities, LDS church leaders and even some famous inventors and Mayflower arrivals.

All in all, it was a great conference. Bonuses included free-for-life membership to a new family online tree called Family.me for being one of the first 10,000 to sign-up, a free book from an NGS door prize drawing entitled Genealogy and the Law, and a free registration to next year’s FGS Conference in Springfield, Illinois!  I would encourage everyone to attend these conferences. You’ll definitely learn something and you might just get some freebies!

By Lynn Funk, Student

I always look forward to February. You may be asking yourself “why February?” Well, the holidays are over, the promise of spring is in the air and, at least here in Salt Lake City, it means the opening of the annual RootsTech Conference. This year’s conference was held February 11-14 and was combined with the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference which made it an even bigger and better conference than ever for family history enthusiasts.

RootsTech 2015 Expo Hall by Lynn Funk. Used with permission.

This was my third year attending the conference and as always it was an enjoyable experience. The theme this year was Celebrating Families Across Generations. Keynote speakers included Dennis Brimhall CEO of FamilySearch International; Mike Mallin, CPO MyHeritage; Tan Le, found of Emotiv; former First Lady, Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna Bush Hager; D. Joshua Taylor, Director of Family History at FindMyPast;  author A. J. Jacobs, and singer/entertainer Donny Osmond. All had fascinating stories to tell about their ancestors and what family and family history means to them. You can watch many of these addresses as well as some of the workshop presentations online at rootstech.org/video.

RootsTech has something for everyone from workshops by top-notch genealogical lecturers to the latest innovations in technology that aid in researching, organizing and preserving your family history. There were several hundred classes to attend and an expo hall filled with everything from books to software to genealogical education and online storage. The International Institute for Genealogical Studies even had a booth there. I stopped by and had a wonderful conversation with managing director.

National Institute Booth at RootsTech by Shannon Bennett. Used with permission.

While many of the classes at RootsTech were geared to beginning genealogists, I did find some gems that would definitely be of interest to the more seasoned genealogist, such as Judy Russell’s lecture entitled How Old Did He Have to Be? This lecture focused on the importance of knowing the law at the time and in the place where your ancestor lived. There were other intermediate and advanced classes that dealt with genetic genealogy, creating online research plans, deciphering old handwriting, and self-publishing tips for genealogists.

RootsTech 2015 Census Workshop. Photo by Lynn Funk. Used with permission.

I took a couple of fun (and helpful) classes taught by Thomas MacEntee. One was Pinning Your Family History which gave suggestions for how to use the popular social media sites Pinterest, History Pin, and even Google Maps to share family history photos and also to connect with others who may be researching your line—”cousin bait” as Thomas called it! The other class I attended was Building a Genealogy Research Toolbox. In this class we learned about important online resources for our research and also how to organize these resources into an easy to use virtual toolbox.

All in all, it was a great experience and one I would recommend to anyone who is passionate about family history. It’s a great place to learn new skills and connect with others who share your love for family history. You might even find a new cousin or two!