RootsTech was all we hoped it would be this year – engaging, uplifting, filled with new insights and most of all, we left feeling united and “together” with the family history community. The theme truly spoke to what RootsTech has always been – a feeling of being together for a common purpose – to share family history in all ways.
Keynotes Always Make an Impact
This year’s keynotes from Steve Rockwood, Marlee Matlin, Tara Roberts, The Gardiner Brothers and Steve Young taught us and made us think
From start to finish, the keynotes at RootsTech this year brought important life issues to the forefront and made us change our way of thinking about family history work and how we can do better as we share and write people’s histories – and also teach others. FamilySearch President and CEO Steve Rockwood addressed the advancements of AI and how important it is to make sure we are being responsible when we apply it to family history work. We couldn’t agree more. We too are trying to incorporate some of the amazing things AI can do with our work, but responsibly.
He brought out his cousin, Jennifer Rockwood who is the coach of the BYU women’s soccer team. She talked about how important it is to work together to have success with any important endeavor.
It was also a treat to hear from Academy Award winner Marley Matlin. Matlin is deaf and has always been a wonderful advocate for the deaf community. Her remarks were completely thought-provoking as she reminded the audience the important of digging deeply into our family history to make sure we using in inclusion in our research. She noted that when we do family history we think of names, dates and places. “What we are really talking about is people…lives that matter,” Matlin said. People with disabilities, immigrants, women can often be lost or forgotten in the recordings, she shared. “Inclusion isn’t just a social value. It is a responsibility,” she said. The room was still as she spoke great truths. She advised to look at records with empathy because that is part of inclusion. Was a person labeled deaf and dumb and were they living in an institution? What does that mean for their lives? Her questions made us think and made us realize we need to careful and take great steps to create inclusion in our work.
On Friday we had the chance to hear from Tara Roberts, a National Geographic Explorer. She explores and researches buried slave ships. Her work was fascinating as were her stories. She and her team have discovered that 1.8 million died in the crossing during the slave trade. Truly heartbreaking. “These are faceless victims. Mothers, fathers, poets. The transatlantic slave trade is not just black history, it’s not just American history. It’s global history, she said.
She spoke of her adventures of learning to scuba dive and involving her family in her work. Her message was heartwarming but also tragic. But she feels called to her work – she has written a book about her experiences. One of the most moving moments of her speech was when she talked about trying to find the buried boats. “Ancestors were calling on me to bring their stories back into memory,” she said with great emotion. There was great emotion throughout the Salt Palace in those moments as well.
Saturday morning Irish tap dancers, The Gardiner Brothers brought the Salt Palace audience to life as they danced and jived to popular music. It was beyond impressive to watch their fancy footwork but also to see the video of their family as FamilySearch brought family history discoveries for them and their parents in Ireland earlier this year. The brothers were so moved by the experience they decided they wanted to visit RootsTech live rather than do a virtual keynote. In the media hub interview they said they had never felt the energy in a room like they had at RootsTech. “Everyone was there for the same purpose and we felt that,” they said.
Superbowl champion and football hall of famer, Steve Young concluded the keynotes as he shared about his experiences with family history and showed some vulnerability talking about his younger years battling anxiety and how he has learned to deal with that in his life. He expanded on that during interviews in the media hub when he advised for parents to listen and help their kids when early signs approach and to always lead with love.
Advancements in Family History Tech
Every year at RootsTech Family History companies unveil technological advancements
This year at Rootstech family history companies did not disappoint with some of their big announcements of new enhancements in the world family history technology. Generative AI is, of course, the big news in the family history world right now. Companies like Ancestry, My Heritage, Family Tree DNA and LiveWeaver hit the RootsTech mainstage to share some of their new technology and get us excited about what is next. My Heritage introduced the launch of Scribe AI. In the words of My Heritage Jihad Gelphat: “Scribe AI helps users better understand historical materials by transcribing handwritten text, translating it into their language, and interpreting the content. It can analyze photos, documents, letters, gravestones, and historical records — identifying people, places, dates, and context that may otherwise be missed. The feature is integrated across MyHeritage and is available from photo pages, historical records, or a dedicated page.” This development is intriguing and has us eager to jump in and try it out.
I had great chance to talk with genealogy expert for Ancestry, Crista Cowan where she shared some of Ancestry’s biggest developments. One of her favorites is Ancestry Preserve where people can send in their photos, records and other information and Ancestry will scan it and upload it to their ancestry accounts. For $20 Ancestry will send a box and people can fill it with whatever they want from old photos to VHS tapes to family records. She noted that oftentimes people get slowed down by that process and this will help people to get over that setback more quickly. There is an additional charge for the service, but Cowan said it is the worth it. Another exciting advancement is the addition of Revolutionary War Pension files – up to 10 million records! Cowan said this is a huge advancement. The third biggest announcement according to Cowan, is that the Person Profile pages will all be updated. It is not done yet, but it is the works. The original program was created in 2008 and this change is something subscribers have been asking for. This will make everything more smooth and user friendly for Ancestry users.
Lifeweaver announced how now through AI technology people can capture text messages and emails and save them for generations to come.
Our Classes and Take Aways
Some of the best moments come after classes and in meet ups
This year Rhonda and I taught a total of 5 classes and like always we always seem to learn much more than we teach. Our class attendees inspire us with their own stories and their “whys” for being at RootsTech. We love the chats and questions after we teach and then the opportunities we have to meet up with some of our current students and clients before and after class. This year our topics covered, research and writing, oral history, historic buildings, difficult topics and youth and family history with a religious perspective. None of our classes were recorded this year, but we would would love to share our content and will through our membership classes and other outlets throughout the year.
What did we love most this year? I would have to say everything! The family history community is welcoming and friendly and reuniting with our friends is always a highlight. But meeting new friends and industry insiders is enlightening.
Our interviews with Steve Rockwood and RootsTech Director Jonathon Wing is also a delight. His enthusiasm for RootsTech is inspiring and we love to hear how much RootsTech is growing since the pandemic years and his vision for the future. Rockwood also has that vision and loves to share how generative AI is like other up and coming discoveries over the years and how FamilySearch is embracing it with care and excitement. We look forward to what’s next in 2027 as FamilySearch is remodeling its Family History library with some fun changes on the horizon and some new discovery opportunities.
Enjoy RootsTech all Year
Catch RootsTech online
If you weren’t able to attend in RootsTech in person this year all the keynotes (plus virtual keynotes) are online in addition to many pre-recorded and and some live recorded classes. You will quickly gain new insights and knowledge from the content that is there.
Rachel has been telling stories since she could walk and talk. As a little girl, she would draw for hours and make up stories to go along with her artwork. Before coming to Evalogue.Life, she worked as a newspaper reporter for 17 years at Ogden’s local newspaper, The Standard-Examiner. She reported on heavy topics ranging from heated city elections to local school issues. But her love for writing about people’s life stories and their triumphs over tragedy captured her heart.
