RootsTech 2026--Day 3

RootsTech Day 3

Sat. March 7, 2026

Announcements & Sales

Today was the last day of RootsTech 2026.  I really loved the advanced classes this year.  That said, I did feel like there was a larger disconnect than normal for the #NotAtRootstech attendees. Don't forget to check the online Expo Hall for sales.  Many of them end at midnight tonight.  Next year, RootsTech will be March 4-6, 2027.  Mark your calendars.

My session selection today was focused mainly on methodology.  These were just the classes that I viewed. There are many more available. For more in-depth information on the day's events check out any of the classes or online expo hall at the RootsTech website.  Even if you miss the deals be sure to come back and check out the many online sessions available free online.

Saturday Sessions (4)

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 7, 9:00 AM CST  DNA Analysis Methodology: Defeat the Genealogy Gremlin–Karen Stanbary

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 7, 10:30 AM CST  Wanted! Seeking the Identity of Unknown Parents –Dana Palmer 

• All Levels  Mar 7, 01:15 AM CST  New Ancestor Connector Tool with 21,000 19th-century People Researched –Sara Eagle Briggs  &  Kristy Wheelwright Taylor

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 7, 2:30 PM CST  Question Everything: Sharpen Evaluation, Avoid Assumptions, & Clarify Your Writing  –Kelley Conner Lear

RootsTech 2026--Day 2

RootsTech Day 2

Fri. March 6, 2026

Announcements & Sales

From the RootsTech Innovation & Tech Forum

https://connectmyvariant.org/

https://www.goldiemay.com/

https://storied.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.familytreedna.com/

https://lifeweaver.ai/

https://www.myheritage.com/scribe-ai

RootsTech 2026

Many of the vendors are offering some great promotions so be sure to click thru.  

Below are some of my favorites of the ones that I have used that can be found in the virtual Expo Hall.

• 23andme
• Ancestry(DNA, subscription, add on tools and digitization deals)
• Civil War Records
• FTDNA
• GedMatch
• GenealogyBank
• GoldieMay
• KY Genealogy Society
• LegacyFamilyTreeWebinars
• Research Like A Pro
• RootsMagic

The list below is just the classes that I watched. There are many more available. For more in-depth information on the day's events check out any of the classes or online expo hall at the RootsTech website.

Friday Sessions (6)

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 6, 10:30 AM CST  Avoiding Research Pitfalls–Jana K Greenhalgh &  Mindy Taylor

• All Levels  Mar 6, 10:30 AM CST  RootsTech Innovation and Tech Forum 2026

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 6, 1:15 PM CST  Cards, Clevises, and Calomel: What Probate Files Can Reveal about Our Ancestors–Nancy A. Peters

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 6, 2:30 PM CST Using Autosomal DNA Analysis to Identify an Ancestor's Likely Parents —Alice Childs

• Advanced/Professional Mar 6, 4:00 PM CST  Planning and Organizing Research Findings for Tough Problems –Kate Townsend, CG

• Advanced/Professional   Mar 6, 5:30 PM CST  From Discovery to Proof: Crafting a Genealogical Proof Argument –Stephanie O'Connell

RootsTech 2026--Day 1

RootsTech Day 1

Thur. March 5, 2026

Announcements & Sales

MyHeritage introduces Scribe Ai

Ancestry has some great deals going on if you need a subscription, DNA tests, ProTools or Digitization. Check out the deals at this page.  

New Features(rolling out to accounts)

• Record & Document Transcription(excludes USDiscovery subscribers)
• Get Ideas and Compare Census.--I've had the Compare Census feature for awhile and it is really nice to look at multiple year at one time.  I briefly had the Ideas feature but found it glitchy.  They are working to improve it and hopefully that will only get better.
• AI Stories--(historical context) AI generated stories about the time period, occupation, location etc.
• Hints and Person Page Updates to layout to streamline and improve workflow.
• Tree Compare--Compares two trees to each other.
• AncestryPreserve--Digitizing service.  You buy a box ship it to them and they digitize, documents, video tapes, film, cassettes, reel to reel etc. They ship them back to you and the digitized files appear in your  account at Ancestry.

FamilyTreeDNA has a listing of coupon codes that include some great deals on tests and upgrades

To find these and other great offers, check the Expo Hall

These were just the classes that I viewed.  There are many more available.  For more in-depth information on the day's events check out any of the classes or online expo hall at the RootsTech website.

Thursday Sessions (9)

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 5, 9:00 AM CST  The GPS in Practice: Examples of Reasonably Exhaustive Research–Angela Packer McGhie

• All Levels  Mar 5, 10:30 AM CST Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogy in 2026  –David Ouimette James Tanner  Katherine Borges  Lynn Broderick  Steve Little

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 5, 10:30 AM CST  Untangling the Darling Web: Advanced Strategies for Same Name Resolution–Bonnie Wade Mucia, AG

• Intermediate  Mar 5, 1:15 PM CST  Reclaiming the Past: Analyzing Southern Claims Commission Files for Genealogical Research  –Julia A. Anderson

• Beginner  Mar 5, 2:30 PM CST  Finding Cousins & Confirming Connections: Practical Strategies for Descendancy Research  –Janalee McBride

• All Levels Mar 5, 2:30 PM CST  What’s New at Ancestry® –Crista Cowan

• Advanced/Professional  Mar 5, 2:30 PM CST  When Nothing Found Means Something: Negative Search Results vs. Negative Evidence – Diana Elder

• All Levels  Mar 5, 5:30 PM CST DNA’s FAN Club: Using Shared Matches To Solve Genealogical Mysteries—Paula Williams

• Advanced/Professional   Mar 5, 5:30 PM CST  Provenance & Proof: Advanced Strategies for Finding and Using Manuscripts In Your Research– Kelly Richardson

RootsTech 2020--Day 4-- Sat. Feb 29th

Day 4 of RootsTech 2020. Here is my take on Saturday's happenings from the viewpoint of someone who is #NotAtRootsTech

Saturday's Live Streams

Ancestry On the Go: Ancestry App Suite

Ancestry App:  Allows you to review hints on the go and / or just in your spare time.  You can add pictures to the gallery of your tree and also tag people in your tree.

AncestryDNA App:  Gives you a deeper look at your DNA results and is the fastest way to activate a DNA kit by scanning the code on the test rather than having to type it in.  You can view the map and the Genetic Communities on the App.  Also allows for easy sharing of ethnicity results. You can see DNA comparison and there is messaging within the app.

Peter Drinkwater talked about FindAGrave and the FindAGrave App.  It's hard to believe that the site has been around for 25 years.  You can browse the cemeteries, add photos and GPS coordinates.

FamilySearch App for Intermediate/Advanced Users—Todd Powell
Several great features on the app

• Relatives Around Me
• Map My Ancestors
• My Contributions
• Find My Ancestor(New User)

Using multiple screens, descendency research, and Source linker are easy to do on the go using the FamilySearch App.

General Session featuring Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith told the story of finding his ancestors who came from West Africa to Mecklenhurg VA on to Cleveland Alabama and on to Pensacola Florida where Emmitt's story began.  Be prepared to change and broaden your perspective. 

Healing and Family History-The Emotional Side of DNA—Robin Wirthlin
Families that have been separated for various reasons can heal as DNA can reunite the descendants.
Unexpected results cam cause many emotions.  It's not always a happy time.  Time can heal many wounds. 


Introduction to What Are the Odds? (WATO)—Leah Larkin

WATO is a sketch and share program that uses probabilities with DNA data to compare likely hypothesis for ways a targeted person is likely to connect to the Most Recent Common Ancestor that the DNA matches all have in common.   I use this tool when I'm helping other DNA testers with their unknown lineage/relationshps. 

Saturday's Hottest News
RootsTech 2021 will be Feb 3rd-6th with registration beginning in September of 2020.

A big THANK YOU to all who helped make RootsTech and #NotAtRootsTech possible. Be sure and check out the recorded sessions posted at RootsTech.org

RootsTech 2020--Day 3--Fri. Feb 28th

Day 3 of RootsTech 2020. Here is my take on Friday's happenings from the viewpoint of someone who is #NotAtRootsTech

Friday's Live Streams

Discover Your Family with Interviews and Sources—Mat and Rachel Trotter
Great ideas for questions and people to interview.  She also mentioned a book called  My Life Story Question book.  Use a digital recorder and also take notes. Saving your work.  Thumbdrive, Google Drive Dropbox etc. FamilySearch Memories App lets you record memories.  Don't put off
A source is anything that has information in it. Census records, marriage records, newspapers can add a great deal of color and context to your ancestors stories.


2019: Year of the Copyright—Judy Russell
What is copyright is and why should we care?  Judy told us why the years 1909, 1976; and 1998 were so important.  Currently everything before 1925 is now in the public domain.  Copyright protection is automatic no mark is necessary. Common misconceptions were addressed.  You might want to download the handout for this session to refer to when you have questions on copyright.

General Session featuring David Kennerly—Sponsored by Canon
MyHeritage's  Aaron Godfrey told us about some of the latest happenings at MyHeritage(today's sponsor)  They have added 1.3 billion records from 25,000 directories covering the years 1860-1960.
If you haven't used the MyHeritage In Color™ tool to colorize your black and white photos you are missing out.  I used it to take the horrible cheeto color out of some of my color photos that were taken in the 1970s. MyHeritage also announced that they will be launching Genetic Groups for those that have DNA tested.  It groups DNA testers together by area with a visual display on a map.
David Kennerly gave a great talk and shared with us many of his great photographs.The history that he has covered with his photography is incredible!

City Directories and Other New Collections on MyHeritage—Mike Mansfield
An overview of the City Directories at MyHeritage and what information might be available in them.   Some of the larger cities in Europe published directories early on and I did not realize that.  Also they have added more newspapers.

Preserving the Fabric of our Families—Jennifer Hadley
This session was very informative and got me thinking about what I need to do to preserve items I've cross-stitched or embroidered.  Temperature, Humidity and Light all can cause damage.  While light causes fading, it also causes structural damage as well. 

Friday's Hottest News

For me the Hottest News of the day was Ancestry's announcement of the Civil War Stories project. 
You can find out more by visiting the Project Regiment page at Fold3 where they will post updates about what's out there and what's coming.  Also so those who are experts who wish to contribute information for the project you can do so by visiting Civil War Stories and taking the survey.  During the time of the Civil War all of my living direct ancestors were living in Tennessee which was pretty much a statewide battlefield and that is why this project is of such importance to me.  I want to know their stories.

RootsTech 2020--Day 2--Thur. Feb. 27th

Day 2 of RootsTech 2020. Here is my take on Thursday's happenings from the viewpoint of someone who is #NotAtRootsTech

Thursday's Live Streams

Unlocking the Power of the FamilySearch Wiki—Danielle Batson, Jenny Hansen, Jeff Svare
This session was awesome!  Chocked full of great information about the vast number of pages and historical records articles available to help you with your research.  I love the Guided Research experience. While this is is great for the new researcher I feel like it would also keep any researcher on track.  I really had not realized how much information they had out there on the wiki.  Incredible!

German Research for the Everyday American—Karynne Moses
Items key to German research are

• finding the spelling variations of the name
• Learning to recognize/read the handwriting
• Locating the town in Germany from which they came
• Finding records for that home area
• Navigating the records

Search for German Hometown  variations
https://www.meyersgaz.org/
A subscription site with German records
https://www.archion.de/en/ a subscription site of Protestant records

General Session featuring Leigh Anne Tuohy

6.4 Million family tree added by users
108 million photos and documents added by users
1.8 Billion records added by Ancestry
There are now a total of 24 billion records available at Ancestry
All of the WWII Draft Cards are available on Ancestry

Leigh Anne Tuohy who is an advocate for adoption and whose story was the basis for the film "The Blind Side" gave a very inspirational talk.about what happens when you "invest time in someone and offer them hope." 

DNA, Genealogy, and Law Enforcement: All the Facts—Blaine Bettinger

This talk is not meant to be for or against LE using DNA databases or about whether you should or shouldn't opt-in but is to give you information about what is involved so that you can make an informed decision on what is right for you. Informed Consent is key.  Each of the DNA databases(This includes the 4 major testing companies and GEDmatch)  have their rules for how they deal with Law Enforcement  This is a complicated subject and you really need to download the syllabus in order to review them all  Get the RootsTech app and download the handout for this session. 

Tackling Difficult Chapters of our Family History—Cheri Daniels

Humanity is Complex.  Let's try to be empathetic because we really don't know what a person has been through on their journey.  Great points Cheri made.  I think one thing that she pointed  out which struck me was that we should resist the urge to hide the difficult chapters.  I firmly believe this.  

Thursday's Hottest News
For me today's biggest news was Ancestry's DNA Match tool which Crista Cowen introduced on Facebook Live Event  from the Ancestry booth at RootsTech today.  I think it's supposed to start rolling out over the next week.

Check out the recorded sessions posted at RootsTech.org

RootsTech 2020--Day 1--Wed. Feb. 26th

Day 1 of RootsTech 2020. Here is my take on Wednesday's happenings from the viewpoint of someone who is #NotAtRootsTech

Wednesday's Live Streams

Making a Masterpiece:  How to Capture the Best Family Portraits--Jens Nielsen gave us a bit of background on the camera and photography and also had a very moving story about his Mother an why a photograph is so important to him and should be to us.  He says, "Genealogy without photography is like movies without sound."  David Ward talked more about the type of light and how it affects the outcome of our photographs. Drake Buseth talked about portraits--the photographing of people and how to add gestures to bring life to the photograph.  I know nothing about photography but they made it very interesting for me. 


What’s New at Ancestry—Crista Cowan
This was mostly a review of what Ancestry has added over this last year. The amazing thing is that they have added 1.8 Billion Records that's the most records ever added in a year. This includes updates in indexing to FindAGrave,  U.S. School Yearbooks, and Newspapers.com Obituary index as well as records relating to the persecution of Jews.  You can find these Jewish records here along with many others.  A good majority of the records including the new Jewish resource previously mentioned do not require a subscription. 

Also featured were updates by Ancestry which were brought about by user suggestions.  Among those were updated profile page, improved member searches, and  a new message center.  Most US members should already have the new messaging center with a few exceptions.  (As of today I'm one of those exceptions)

Improvements were also made to the Family Tree portion of Ancestry including a new Hint management system which rechecks or refreshes the hints you receive.  Using DNA filters in tandem is now an option and you may search for your matches many different ways.  Filters are also available in the Thrulines portion of your account if you have DNA tested and have a linked tree.
There is also a  new map enhancement for the Ancestry App.  There are More announcements coming from Ancestry Thursday which Crista hinted at but could not talk about.  I'm really looking forward to hearing about those.

The Story of You on FamilySearch
A review of some updated features on the FamilySearch site including fan chart views.  Also the importance of recording our memories was stressed as well as what is happening with us today. One day we will be the ancestors.  FamilySearch also has a mapping feature that you can use to map your ancestors lives.

Adding Branches to Your Family Tree Using DNA—Angie Bush
Angie Bush discussed the tools available at AncestryDNA, MyHeritage and 23&me that you can use to combine your DNA results and your family tree research.    23&me's tool is Your Family Tree(currently still in beta) and is based solely on DNA. MyHeritage has Theory of Family Relativity™ and AncestryDNA's tool is ThruLines™ both of these require that you have a tree attached to your DNA test   I would love to be able to reject Theories or Thrulines that are incorrect but you cannot do this at either site yet as was pointed out.  You still need to evaluate the suggestions made by any of these tools.

Finding Your Elusive Female Ancestors—Julie Stoddard
Key Points:  Timelines are critical for researching female ancestors.  Search specific records.  Studying her family associates and neighbors with whom she interacted.  Find your female ancestor on every census record taken during the time she was living.  DNA evidence can be very helpful in researching an elusive female ancestor.  Obituaries can also be very helpful in determining the ancestor's maiden name.  Indexes are great but can cause a loss of context.Always look at original records.


Wednesday's Hottest News
For me today's hottest news has been the DNA Painter's New Feature. Jonny Perl announced that DNA Painter now allows you to overlay a selection of traits onto your chromosome map.