RootsTech London 2020

During Steve Rockwood’s keynote address, he and Jen Allen announced the opening of RootsTech London! Mark your calendars for November 5 – 7 at the ExCeL. Take advantage of the early-bird pricing and secure your seat now. Full passes are £79 and day passes for £39.   

Start planning by checking out my previous London RootsTech 2019 Posts here. 

RootsTech London Bound, tips you should think about

The ExCel area looking up the Thames
to London. Oct 2019, by Author

I was at RootsTech London in October 2020, and I loved it. However, I have heard people in the expo hall stating, “how in the world would they get there?” Well, let me give you some ideas that helped me get there, which saved me time and money.

Airport to London: Fly into London City Airport. Do everything you can do fly into here. It is across the street from the ExCel! Plus, it was less than £5 to take a cab across the river to my hotel. Convenient, quick, and you do not have to deal with London traffic or the Tube. 

Airline: I love, love, love flying Aer Lingus. Unfortunately, they do not go to every city in the US, but for a discount overseas airlines, they are great. If they fly to your area, check them out.

The Dublin Secret: There are 16 airports in the world where you can clear US customs in that country. Dublin is one of these airports.  What does that mean for you? Well, you fly back to the US on a domestic flight and do not have to clear customs when you land, which can be a nightmare. I love flying for 5+ hours, walking off the plane, getting my bags, and heading home. For me, it means cutting out the 3+ hours of standing in line here in the US after a long flight.

Well, there are a few things you can think about for the time being. Maybe one of these will help you make your London dream come true. I will have more tips in the weeks ahead!

RootsTech: Day 2

Much later start to the day but still a great buzz to the venue! Plus, with London Comic Con is in the same building. Yes, costumes and genealogists, this is my dream come true!

Jen Allen

Jen Allen is the Director of Events for FamilySearch and gave us an interesting perspective into the running of RootsTech London. Which, while not as large as Salt Lake City, is still very impressive. We had a lot of questions about how this was set-up to if they are considering to hold it again. So, here is a summary of what I was told about RootsTech London.

For those who have traveled out of the US, you will understand the sentiment of we all my speak English but American and British are not the same. At all. No really. Allen commented that it was interesting over the last year of planning to make sure everyone was on board with exactly what was needed and the terminology was understood. I feel you!

As of Friday morning there were 3,000 paid participants on site with an estimated 6,000 with walk-ins and free tickets. Which is fantastic for the inaugural event, and bigger than they expected. Out of those numbers she estimated there are 350 people from North America (US and Canada) and 50-60 Australians in attendance. Who, let’s be honest, get the “travel furthest award.” But, as expected 80% of attendees are UK based. 

The mission of having people connect to one another is felt through out the event and exhibit hall. Saturday will be family day with 18 stations, including an additional hall, for children’s activities. This was an event they did not know if it would be a hit here like it is in the US. We will see! But, having the extra hall where kids can go when they are done should help alleviate  some of the Saturday issues in the states when kids start to get distracted. 

If you are in attendance Allen wants to hear from you! Feed back is crucial to FamilySearch’s decision on if they will or will not have another international RootsTech in the future. I say international because there is an thought that maybe it will be a traveling event going to different international cities every other year. What do you think?

Tamsin Todd and Ben Bennett

Tamsin Todd, CEO of Find My Past, and Ben Bennett, Vice President US, gave a few interesting updates and insights into the FMP products. Here in the UK they are currently gearing up for the release of the 1921 Census. If you have UK ancestors at that time make sure you get your records in order to find those people!

FMP are still locating, and would like to hear from, archives who are interested in partnerships. This is something I feel all under staffed and under funded repositories should look into. Why? Well, FMP will digitize your records first of all. But, more importantly, it is a great way to monetize your collection. Yes, repositories still own the copyright, they only license FMP to use the documents. This means a portion of each view credit goes to the institution. Why are more not taking part in this?!

Partnerships also include Newspapers! More are coming into partnerships with FMP, which I found very exciting, and there are going to be BIG announcements in the next few months. No scoop...they wouldn’t tell us either! As more and more publications realize they keep the copyright and are only licensing with FMP I hope we will see greater numbers go to them. It is another underused research tool.

One theme stressed by both Todd and Bennett was the concept of “and” in thier company. Specifically, they want to be useful and known for being a resource for experienced genealogists “and” the casual user trying to find information on their ancestry in the British Isles. For most of the people with long roots in the US this is key. Many of us have BI roots, but how many of you have actually trawled through the FMP site? It truly is underused by many of us.

Night on the Town
Last night I skipped out on the concert and on a while went with a friend to the Natural History Museum Last Friday event. They and the V&A have events on the last Friday of the month with specific themes and later closing (open until 9pm). Last nights theme was Dr Who! OMGOMGOMG!!!!! I may like Dr Who a bit.

First of all, if you like museums you should really check it out. The building is beautiful, a true church built to science. Inside the displays really are the best of the best England has to offer. I could have spent all night there and hope to make  another trip while I am still here.

RootsTech London Day 1

I arrived safe and sound in London yesterday. It was an adventure, ask me about it sometime. Plus, I just learned that the new iPad update and the Blogger app do not like each other. I am writing these posts through the web interface which is having issues. Like...I cannot upload images. Sigh. For images you will have to go over to my Facebook page until I get this figured out! (Edit, I figured it out!)

Anyway, it was all in preparation for today. Day 1 of RootsTech London. This post covers news from the Ancestry breakfast and interviews with Dan Snow, Nick Barrett, and Alison Kung.

Ancestry Breakfast
The day started with an ambassador breakfast with Ancestry. First, let me tell you that the venue was amazing. A yacht turned into a floating hotel and restaurant. Yup, you heard that right. Look up Sunborn London Yacht Hotel for more details.

Besides to good food and catching up with friends we learned a lot about what is coming up for the company. Todd Godfrey, Vice President for Global Content, started the morning. I was very excited to hear about the plans for the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII.

With that celebration Godfrey announced they will be releasing TODAY a new collection for the UK. WWII Artillery Tracer cards for 1 million soldiers are now available to search. These cards contain the movements of all artillery soldiers for the army detailing all the movements they made during thier service.

In addition there are a significant number of European records being released. First, 30 million Danish Church records were released last week. For those interested in French records hold tight! They were given access to the French archives and through the partnership will start posting more and more digitized records from the entire country. Keep your eyes open for announcements!

John Erickson, Senior Director for Product Management, spoke about the website and upcoming developments for the platform. We all appreciated his statement that his teams loves feedback from bloggers and ancestry groups. Which we took as thee green light to give more feedback!

Erickson called to our attention a few new features that I wanted to make sure you all new about. One I was excited to hear about was inventory management for tree hints. In the past hints would sit in your queue until deleted. Now, with thier new feature, hints that become irrelevant after tree updates will be removed from your hint queue. I was relieved to hear that because I have to set aside days to just delete hints. It really is a chore, especially if you know they are wrong.

You may also have noticed the hints also give you the chance to give feedback on why or why not you accepted it. This will assist future hint creation, so think about taking the time to give feedback.

Finally, they are also giving more options for parentage suggestions. I am sure you have seen the parental hints on some lines. If you have not, Ancestry gives hints for possible parents to your tree based on other trees. Now they will also give information on if the parent hint is a non-biological relationship. For those of you who have ancestors with multiple spouses this will be handy.

Barry Star, Director of Scientific Communications and Research, spoke about developments in ethnic communities and regions. Which was fascinating, and not only to me. The number of regions was just updated from 43 to 60 by doubling the size of reference populations. This was done by including more samples from around thee world and allowing people with less than 100% of an ethnicity into the pool. By doing that people in North America and Oceania will have better results into thier ancestral heritage.

Following onto that the communities have increased to over 900 world wide. With 423 in Europe alone. These increases are important for researchers as they show migration patterns around the world  on a larger scale.

The last speaker was Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist, who gave us information on the genealogical research side of the company. Out of the 1600 employees at Ancestry 200 are researchers, approximately 150 with ProGenealogists. The roughly 50 corporate genealogists assist with research for PR like advertisements and television.

Dan Snow
If you are not familiar with the name Dan Snow I bet you know his work. As a historian Snow has presented on numerous BBC and PBS shows since 2002. Today he was the keynote speaker and shared with us amazing stories about his family. Perhaps you saw it on the live stream?

In our group interview he delighted us with more family stories. Several people filmed the interview and when I have those links I will post them to social media and update this blog. I asked him about his opinion on social history within genealogical research. To my joy he told me it was crucial.

Which, if you have ever heard me talk on this subject you will know that I am all about the social history. Snow was adamant that without an understanding of social history you cannot understand the person you are studying. While in the past history was about the framework (names, dates, places) you cannot truly begin to understand a person (or thier genealogy) unless you look at the nuances of thier lives. Which, I agree with wholeheartedly.

Nick Barrett
Dr. Nick Barrett is an amazing historian who is the current Director of the Senate House Library at the University of London. You may also remember him as a presenter on they early UK series WDYTYA and other genealogical programs.

I was also able to ask Barrett about his thoughts on social history and genealogy. As a true historian and genealogist he gave a wonderful answer about how the two cannot live without the other. In his answer he told the group that all forms of historian are crucial for research and each need to talk to the other. That final point I think is the key, and something which needs to occur more often than it actually does.

He also told us about an interesting collaboration occurring between historians and genealogists. Have you seen #HistoriansCollaborate floating around online? Started in January 2019, this hashtag is being used for those historians and genealogists who are working together to solve problems. Check them out, they are everywhere!

One question which was asked by the group concerned how he thought family historians could better contribute to the community (history, archives, etc). Barrett said something which I know I can do better at. We, as the family historian, need to add the context to the records before that knowledge is lost. I was floored about how simple an answer, but it does make sense. Once the holders, or creators, of the record are gone the stories and context under which it was created will also be gone. It was essential a call to arms to annotate your files!

Alison Kung
Alison Kung is the head of Ancestry product at 23andMe answered questions from the media pod on aspects of the genealogical side of 23andMe. While it was a short interview (hoping to have another session later) she did tell us a few things I found interesting.

23andMe surveyed users and found that 52% of those that responded did not know how to get started on thier genealogy research. I found that very surprising, showing that there is a large part of the DNA testing market which needs more help from genealogists. Perhaps that is why we do not get answers back?

This survey is what prompted the October 1st release of the auto building family tree feature. For those who do not know about this feature, 23andMe takes your matches and builds a tree out to the 3rd cousin range based on your tree information and your matches tree information. It is still in Beta, and Kung stated that they are still working on the feature before they go further out. However, for those who do not know a thing about genealogy research this may be the type of start they need.

Curious about RootsTech London: View the live stream

Like other RootsTech events, there will be a live stream of select lectures this week in London. For those who are unable to travel to the site, this is a great way to get a taste of what is occurring there. 

You can view the whole schedule online here. There are three presentations scheduled each day of the conference at 9 am, 11 am, and 1pm. The 11 am time is the keynote presentation for the day.

Thursday:
9:00 A.M. BST
Comparing the Genealogy Giants: Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage – Sunny Morton
This session prepares genealogists for one of the important questions they must routinely ask about their research: “Which genealogy websites should be I be using right now?” This comparative introduction showcases four global powerhouse websites: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com. Attendees will meet each site and learn about its priorities and target audiences. They will see how their statistics stack up for historical record content and family trees and see an introductory comparison to their DNA tools. They can compare subscription costs and learn about free access options, including Family History Center access. Perhaps most valuably, they’ll hear an industry insider’s tips on each site’s best features—and cautions or challenges for working with each one.

11:00 A.M. BST
Thursday General Session Featuring Dan Snow
Dan Snow is a popular historian, broadcaster, and television presenter. Snow was born and raised in London. Having graduated from Oxford University, he went on to present military history programs with his father, Peter Snow. Their series Battlefield Britain won a BAFTA award. He has appeared regularly on the ONE show on BBC1 and has contributed to several books, including Death or Victory, The World’s Greatest Twentieth Century Battlefields, and The Battle of Waterloo Experience. Snow will speak to the audience, sharing stories and his own experience with family, history, and everything in between.

1:00 P.M. BST
Discover Your Family at FamilySearch: Photos, Stories, and Memories – Gregg Richardson
Discover. This is a word that is relatively new to the genealogy world. Genealogy is not only about researching records for the dead, there is also relevant discovery to be had for yourself … for the living. We will demonstrate simple activities that you can do with other family members. We’ll also walk through how to add photos of living family and write and record memories for anyone in your tree. 

Friday:

9:00 A.M. BST
A Strategic Approach to Irish Genealogy – Maurice Gleeson
Researching Irish ancestral lines used to be extremely difficult, but the last 10 years has seen a huge increase in the digitization and indexing of Irish records, many of which are now available online. The trouble is that many people are not aware of how much easier Irish research now is. They don't know where to find the records, and they are not comprehensive in their approach to Irish research. This presentation pulls together the various sources for Irish records, many of which are freely available online, and provides a strategic approach to accessing the relevant records for your own Irish genealogical research, maximizing the chances of successfully breaking through brick walls in your Irish research. Technical aspects discussed during this presentation include checklists, blog posts, specific websites, search techniques, and organizing your research.

11:00 A.M. BST
Friday General Session Featuring Kadeena Cox, Nick Barratt, and Steve Rockwood
Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International, will explore the connections and belonging that come through family history. Kadeena Cox has lived an incredible story, and she is going to share it with the RootsTech community. Cox is a Paralympian with multiple gold medals to her name. She won two gold medals and a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics. These medals made Cox the first Briton in 32 years to take gold in two sports at the same Paralympics games. Cox has broken records, won medals on the world stage, and made her country proud. She will take to the stage to share her story, her family, and her inspiring spirit of determination and courage. Nick Barratt will act as the RootsTech London emcee. Barratt is known for his work on Who Do You Think You Are?, House Detectives, Hidden House Histories, Secrets from the Attic, and Missing Millions. Barratt is a committee member for the Community Archive and Heritage Group and president of the Federation of Family History Societies.

1:00 P.M. BST
Tracing 20th Century English Ancestors: The Joys and Challenges — Else Churchill
Many researchers beginning their English family history discover that researching in the early 20th century can be quite challenging. Death certificates don't give the place of burial. There will be missing census information. Rising levels of cohabitation and divorce make finding marriage information difficult. The devastating effect of two world wars, increased migration, and other developments can make finding an ancestor challenging. This talk will look at the sources and techniques that might help overcome those challenges.


Saturday:
9:00 A.M. BST
DNA is Dynamite: How to Ignite Your Ancestral Research — Michelle Leonard
This session will provide an overview of the basic information required to understand the three main types of DNA tests available for ancestral research. Michelle will explain how each test works and cover the inheritance patterns of the different types of DNA that can be tested, including the importance of the X-chromosome. She will talk attendees through the first steps they should take once their results arrive and provide easy-to-follow hints and tips on how to get the most out of test results. Practical real-life examples will illustrate how DNA testing can be used to connect with previously unknown cousins, break down brick walls, and confirm the accuracy of family trees.

11:00 A.M. BST
Saturday General Session Featuring Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond is known internationally for his talent as a singer, songwriter, actor, television series host, and best-selling author. After years of entertaining crowds, inspiring more than a few dance parties, and making memories around the world, Donny Osmond is coming to the RootsTech stage in London to share his story, his talents, and his passion for family history. Osmond will be sharing stories about connection, finding family, and his deep connection to the UK.

1:00 P.M. BST
Getting Started with DNA – Debbie Kennett
DNA testing is an essential tool for the family historian and has the potential to provide answers that can’t be found from the paper trail alone. The large genetic genealogy databases are helping to reunite long-lost cousins and break down long-standing brick walls. But if you’ve not yet been tested, it can be very confusing trying to decide how a DNA test can help with your research and working out which test you should be taking. In this session you will learn about the three different tests—Y-chromosome DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and autosomal DNA—and how you can apply them to your research. The talk will be illustrated with case studies and some inspiring real-life stories.

RootsTech London 2019 - Final week of preparation

Next Tuesday I am flying to London to attend RootsTech as an ambassador and speaker in their DNA Learning Centre. I am so stinking excited!  If you are going to be there too, let me know. I'd love to see you in person.

Packing has not started yet, but the list-making has. I am not frightened about traveling to Europe solo but each trip is so different. This one will also be for two weeks. Luckily, I will be visiting friends while I am over there who have graciously said I can borrow their washer. Fewer clothes to pack (more room to bring stuff back)!

I do say that I have a few things I must bring. Years of traveling back and forth across the pond means I have refined this list down to the basics to make me happy. If you are attending the conference, maybe there is something on this list you have not thought of yet.


Standard Must-Have Items:

• Outlet converters. Invest in a good set of converters. You will not only need to plug your electronics in at the hotel but also around the conference. While USB charging stations are becoming more common, not all places have them.
• Collapsable shopping bag. While we may get one from the conference carrying your own collapsible bag is a necessity. That way you will not end up with tons of single-use bags when you run to the local market or do some light shopping. Plus, most places give you a discount for bringing your own bag!
• Small Umbrella and warm coat. It's the UK...need I say more?!

Airplane Needs:

• Blanket and eye mask. Yup, I bring my own. I invested in a great fleece blanket that folds up into its own zippered bag. I find the blankets on the plane to thin, and I always freeze on flights. Also, I like having an extra blanket to wrap up in while I am at the hotel. A little piece of home while away!
• Freshen up bag. I never get to check in right after landing so having a bag of things that will get me feeling human after traveling in a metal tube for five hours is a must. So, I make sure to have a small overnight bag in my carry on. In it, I have wet wipes, travel-size toothbrush and paste, travel size mouth wash, comb, hand lotion, chapstick, and deodorant. Also, this way I do not need to dig through a suitcase to find these items when I land.
• Headphones with a plug. I love my wireless headphones, but inflight entertainment still means you need an old fashioned plugin set of headphones. While some airlines will give you a set (or sell them to you) having my own that I love to wear is so much better.

Conference Needs:

• Business cards. You will want to get your name out there. Make sure to have plenty to hand out to all your new friends.
• Refillable water bottle. Genealogists are notorious about getting dehydrated at conferences. Take your water bottle and keep it full!!
• Notebook. Not only to take notes while you are in classes but also to record thoughts, ideas, information to follow up on, and even journal your experiences. So much to write about!

Miscellaneous Thoughts: 

• Make sure to photocopy your passport. Leave a copy at home and take a copy with you. Just in case you lose your actual passport you can use the copy at the embassy to get a new one. 
• Call your credit card companies and let them know you are out of the country. That way they will not freeze your cards while you are away. 
• Use a bank card with no transaction fees. I love my bank card!! No transaction fees when I pay for items in Euros or Pounds (an option you can choose at checkout). Plus you get better conversion rates. Ask your bank and credit company if they do this. 
• Carry cash. No joke! Places in the UK use cash more than we do in the US. More than once I have been caught off guard by a cab, restaurant, or merchant that was not happy about taking a credit card. 

Well, those are some of my must-have items. I could write pages! What are your must-have items?

RootsTech London Keynotes

The final Keynote speaker for RootsTech 2019 London was announced this morning. For those who will be there, or still thinking about going, here is the lineup! I know I am looking forward to hearing from the UK Celebrities Dan Snow and Nick Barratt. I have seen them in several programs and would love to hear their family stories.

Dan Snow: Dan Snow is a historian, broadcaster and television presenter. He was born and raised in London, and remembers spending every weekend of his childhood being taken to castles, battlefields, country houses and churches. He developed a great love of history which he went on to pursue at Oxford University. While there he also rowed in the Boat Race three times. He left Oxford and immediately started presenting military history programs with his father, Peter Snow. Their series, “Battlefield Britain”, won a BAFTA award. He went on to make programs around the world on a range of historical topics. He has presented shows such as “Armada”, “Grand Canyon” and “Vikings”. He has a regular slot on the ONE show on BBC1 and is also part of the BBC Events team presenting anniversary programs commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the landings at Gallipoli in 2015. He has written or contributed to several books including ‘Death or Victory;’ the story of the siege of Quebec in 1759, ‘The World's Greatest Twentieth Century Battlefields’ and most recently ‘The Battle of Waterloo Experience’.

Donny Osmond: Osmond’s successful career as an entertainer has spanned 5 decades. He is known internationally for his talent as a singer, songwriter, actor, television series host, and best-selling author. Osmond has performed since the age of 5 in such productions as The Andy Williams Show, The Osmonds, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and most recently with his sister in their Vegas show Donnie and Marie.

Nick Barratt: Nick Barratt is known for his work on Who Do You Think You Are?, House Detectives, Hidden House Histories, Secrets from the Attic, and Missing Millions. He has authored several books, including Lost Voices from the Titanic, The Forgotten Spy, and The Restless King. In 2016 he was made an Honorary Associate Professor of Public History at the University of Nottingham. He is a committee member for the Community Archive and Heritage Group, and President of the Federation of Family History Societies.

Steve Rockwood: Steve Rockwood was elected as CEO of FamilySearch International on 1 October 2015. Prior to joining FamilySearch, Rockwood specialized in creating unique service offerings for worldwide customers of such brands as MasterCard International, AT&T, Disney, Office Depot, and Citibank among others. He was also a successful entrepreneur building two companies from the ground up that were later acquired by larger companies.

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RootsTech London 2019 - Pass Giveaway

Yes, that's right, I am heading over to London this October. While I will not be speaking this time I am an Ambassador for the conference. As an Ambassador, I have ONE pass to give away!

The giveaway if for a 3-day pass (£149 value) which includes the following:
• Over 150 classes
• Keynote / General sessions
• Expo Hall
• Evening event

To be entered into the giveaway tell me why family history is important to you in 500 words or less. You can write a post here, on my Facebook post for the contest, or on Twitter (@tntfamhist). That is 3 ways to enter!

Your entry will be placed into a random draw on August 14th and the winner announced on August 15th. Good luck!