RootsTech, the world’s largest genealogy research conference, can be such a blur with all the classes, talks, and conversations. How are you integrating all of the useful information you gathered? We certainly loved getting to know some of you and hearing about what brick walls you’re working on. We’re always here to help you get through that next challenging hurdle.
In the meantime, here’s what we’re taking away with us from such a successful RootsTech genealogy conference:
- LTG Facebook Live Interviews
- LTG’s favorite Rootstech 2024 classes and lectures
- The Future of AI in Genealogy Research: platforms introduce new tools to improve research
LIVE INTERVIEWS: Legacy Tree Genealogists Researchers
We started each day at RoostTech 2024 with a LIVE Facebook interview with one of our researchers to ask them your questions about genealogy research in specific regions: Asia (Ryan Rockwood), France (Paul Woodbury, and Germany (Beccy Martin). Here’s a recap of your questions and their answers:
ASIAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH: RYAN ROCKWOOD
WHAT ARE THE MAIN OBSTACLES OF GENEALOGY RESEARCH?
- Language barriers: unlike romantic or germanic languages, it’s difficult for many Americans to navigate not only the etymology of words, but also the script nature of the languages.
- Records are kept for entire families, not for individuals
- There are different privacy laws in each region, making it difficult to obtain records without proper documentation
WHERE AND HOW DO YOU BEGIN YOUR ASIAN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH?
It’s the same first step for everyone: start talking with your family members. This isn’t always the easiest or the most technical, but it can become a great starting point to find out things you never knew.
ARE ASIAN GENEALOGY RECORDS DIGITIZED AND AVAILABLE ONLINE?
Each Asian country handles documents differently. China has a robust system of digitized documents that we often utilize in our research for clients. On the other hand, countries like Japan have very strict privacy laws that require verified-relations and in-person requests for some documents.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH RYAN ROCKWOOD HERE
FRENCH FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH: PAUL WOODBURY
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMONLY UTILIZED RECORD RESOURCES FOR FRENCH GENEALOGY RESEARCH?
Civil registration records are readily available online. Government sponsored civil registration began in France in the 1700s–they were the first country to implement civil registration for births, marriages, and deaths.
Parish registers go back to the 1500s-1600s, and many are available online through commercialized sites like Ancestry and MyHeritage.
DO YOU NEED TO BE A FRENCH CITIZEN TO ACCESS RECORDS?
Not usually. Records are open to the public. Make sure you understand the rules and policies of each archive before you arrive onsite.
DO YOU NEED TO SPEAK FRENCH TO ACCURATELY COMPLETE YOUR FRENCH FAMILY LINES?
You don’t have to be a fluent French speaker to get familiar with language on vital records. FamilySearch has a word list to help you interpret key phrases, and there is a paleography course available from BYU to help you learn how to read handwriting from older records.
It’s also common to need an understanding of German, Latin, and other languages surrounding France as the borders were more fluid at certain time periods.
HOW CAN DNA HELP YOU LOCATE AND CONNECT WITH FRENCH RELATIVES?
If you don’t see as much French ethnicity results on your DNA tests, don’t get too worried! French could mean many different things. It could mean you have relatives from Brittany which are associated with Celts and British ancestry, or perhaps related to German or Iberian ancestry. Borders change!
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WOODBURY HERE
GERMAN ANCESTOR RESEARCH: BECKY MARTIN
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I HAVE BEFORE I GO TO GERMANY TO VISIT ANCESTRAL SITES?
Make sure you really do your homework and have exhausted as many U.S. genealogical sources before you go. You’ll also want to know the in’s and out’s of the libraries and archives you want to visit–what are their hours? Do you need to make an appointment? How long will you need to be there?
ARE THERE DIFFERENT GERMAN NAMING PATTERNS THAT YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF?
It’s very common for German babies to receive multiple names. Furthermore, many German immigrants changed their names throughout their lives as they moved about the world trying to re-create a sense of home and belonging. Be aware that it can be very difficult to trace ancestors who have had multiple names and changed them more than once or twice!
IS GOOGLE TRANSLATE A SUFFICIENT TRANSLATION TOOL FOR GERMAN RECORDS?
As much as Google Translate has improved over the years, it isn’t a sufficient translation tool as you research German family history records that are often handwritten and are in small-village dialects.
Watch the video to learn more and find out which websites are Beccy’s favorite for German genealogy research:
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH BECCY MARTIN HERE
LTG’s Favorite RootsTech Genealogy Classes
We asked our researchers to tell us what the highlights of RootsTech 2024 were for them. Here’s what they said:
A discussion about how costumes can help link people to particular regions, and can, therefore, be used as a regional marker.
Physician Gregory Gardner talks about using historical records including death records as well as modern investigations to tell the story of illness and how it impacted the lives of ancestors and how they shaped our modern world.
A panel of Genetic Genealogy pioneers gathered to tell their stories and reflect on their early goals; progress and missteps, lessons learned; and the future of genetic genealogy.
Not available online, this advanced-level class presented a case study that was used in a First Families of Ohio application. Peggy Lauritzen drilled deeper into census research when an ancestor was supposedly missed.
Daniel Taddone explained how family names developed in the Iberian Peninsula and how surname patterns were adopted in Latin American countries.
- Our Italian Ancestors: Genealogical Records and the Italian Citizenship Law with Daniel Taddone
A discussion about citizenship laws from 1861-2000–very useful for dual citizenship projects!
This class clarifies the roadmap to successfully begin your Polish genealogical research. Alexandra Kacprzak helps you go step by step to learn the basics of Polish genealogical research.
This lesser-known program of child migration, known as the “Home Children” movement saw nearly 80,000 poor children sent to Canada from Britain during a 70-year period from the 1860s.
Our genetic genealogists enjoyed listening to announcements about new tools and technologies, networking in the expo hall, and connecting with Legacy Tree Genealogists affiliates. The Family Tree DNA booth presentation on mitochondrial was especially exciting.
How AI Will Change Genealogy Research
We’ve received many questions from you about AI and how to use it in your genealogy research. This past year, we wrote an article to help get you started that you can read here. At this year’s RootsTech, companies revealed their own set of new AI tools to help you further your research. Here’s the highlights:
MyHeritage unveiled their new platform OldNews.com that will provide access for users to vast historical newspaper pages from around the world. Users can easily search, save, and share articles spanning centuries of history.
FileShadow announced the launch of a new feature for genealogists and family historians: person detection and custom object identification images. This feature enhances the ability of genealogists to identify people in photographs, making them searchable when organizing photos around an individual.
BRICK WALL ANCESTORS? IT TAKES A VILLAGE!
We heard from so many of you who stopped by our booth to talk about genealogy brick walls, DNA test results, and all the great things you learned at RootsTech. At the end of the day, it takes an entire team to recover those brick wall ancestors, and we were happy to help answer some of your questions–though we couldn’t do the research for you on the spot!
If you’d like to work with us to help you find your brick wall ancestors, fill out a form to begin the conversation here.
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