My RootsTech 2023 Take-Away

I was one of many people(#NotAtRootsTech) who attended virtually.  It can be overwhelming because there are so many classes, talks and demos going on at the same time.  I concentrated on the live streams and chose the ones which were pertinent to my research.  There are still many more in the on demand portion of the classes which I plan to watch.

These were my favorites among the live-streamed classes(In no particular order) You can find these and more in the On Demand section at RootsTech.

• Antebellum Emancipations & Free People of Color-LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson & Deborah A. Abbott
• Using Manuscript Collections-Deborah A. Abbott
• 10 Things a Genealogist Should Do Before Leaving a Library or Archives-Melissa Barker
• How Do I Know That’s My Ancestor?-Amy Johnson Crow
• DO GENEALOGY Step-By-Step-Janet Hovorka, Diahan Southard, & Crista Cowan
• Getting Organized Using Technology and a Research Report-Kelli Jo Bergheimer
• How third-party DNA tools can help with your family history research-Jonny Perl
• Endogamy in DNA research-Tanner Blair Tolman
• Follow the Money! Records of the Record Makers-Judy G. Russell
• Shared DNA Matches - the only DNA Tool You will Ever Need-Diahan Southard

I did look thru the virtual Expo Hall some and watched the high lights of the sponsors presentations. There was a lot of focus on AI technology. The Sponsoring companies had some announcements of new tools and features.  

MyHeritage has added color coding in Family Trees, a new DNA tool--the cM Explainer™ and announced their 3rd Installment of DNA Quest Initiative.

To find out what all is happening at FamilyTreeDNA check out their blog and look for their recorded livestream session from RootsTech2023.

Ancestry.com introduced Storymaker Studio and DNA Compare which allows you to compare matches Ethnicity Estimates and DNA Communities. 

The above screenshot is the Ethnicity Estimate Comparison of two of my siblings and myself.

In the above screenshot I have compared 2 of my siblings, myself and our paternal 2nd cousin once removed.  He is one generation closer to our ICW Cook and Putman couple.  I think it's pretty cool that they can get within a range of the counties.  My Mom's is more specific as well so if that's not an incentive to get the older generations in your family DNA tested I don't know what is.

I took advantage of the RootsTech special and purchased the new RootsMagic9.  I have been using RootsMagic since version 7 and prior to that I used FamilyTreeMaker.  There are some great color-coding features in  RM.  In the new version of RootsMagic there is an Association option which allows you to add other relationships outside of family which will be very helpful in Cluster research.

If you haven't already registered Your DNA Guide has a free webinar coming up 

on  March 23, 2023 2pm Eastern    "Your DNA Matches:  Filter, Don't File"

You can register at YourDNAGuide  

Take some time to look thru the classes at RootsTech.  There is something for everyone!