RootsTech-2024
RootsTech 2024 will be held online and in person February 29 to March 2, 2024. Participants can attend online for free and keep watching all year long.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.RootsTech 2024 will feature several different workshops showcasing Canadians or Canadian content. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event. The annual family history conference welcomes millions of people worldwide and is a celebration of connection — past, present and future.
RootsTech 2024 will be held online and in person February 29 to March 2, 2024. Many of the online classes will be recorded as they are presented live and then made available for on-demand viewing shortly after the presentation. Participants can attend online for free and keep watching all year long. No preregistration is required to view sessions online.
Speakers at RootsTech come from around the world and cover a wide range of family history subjects. The following workshops include Canadian presenters or highlight Canadian content:
ONLINE SESSIONS
“Family Search Tech Forum”
Presented by Craig Miller, Michelle Barber, Sarah Hammon, Todd Powell and Bill Mangum
February 29, 2024, 11:30 am EST
The FamilySearch Tech Forum is being offered both online and in person. Panellist Craig Miller was born in Taber, Alberta, and currently serves as director of the Design and Engineering Division of the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and senior vice president of FamilySearch International. The forum will share the newest innovations FamilySearch has to offer.
“Home Children — The Children Sent to Canada From the Home for Destitute Children in Liverpool”
Presented by Ian Mooney
February 29, 2024, 11:30 a.m. EST
The “Home Children” movement saw nearly 80,000 poor children sent to Canada from Britain during a 70-year period starting in the 1860s. This session will use case studies of children sent to Canada from the Home for Destitute Children in Liverpool.
“Library and Archives of Canada and the 1931 Canada Census”
Panel Presentation
February 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST
This session will be presented by a panel of experts including representatives from FamilySearch, Ancestry, Canadian family history organizations and the Library and Archives of Canada. A 20-minute question-and-answer session will follow.
“Researching in Ontario: Your Trillium Connection!”
Presented by Judy Nimer Muhn
February 29, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EST
“I named the workshop ‘Trillium’ after the flower of the Ontario province,” said Muhn. This session will look at records including those from the early settlements of Canada, the modern Canadian census records and vital records.
“Je Me Souviens — Researching in Quebec”
Presented by Judy Nimer Muhn
March 1, 2024, 11:30 a.m. EST
Based on the extensive experience of researching the founding families of Canada, this session includes information about online research resources, key social media help areas and the fundamental tools of this elaborate and well-documented group of people.
Muhn said, “The Quebec session is named ‘Je me souviens’ after the motto of Quebec and the admonition that our French ancestors said to us, ‘Don’t forget us when you go there.’”
Muhn has been involved with RootsTech for eight years, either as a presenter or an attendee. She said she chose to teach her specific sessions at RootsTech 2024 to share the available resources of each Canadian province.
“We all want to connect with our ancestors, and our ancestors all want to connect with us,” Muhn said. “It doesn’t matter what our faith is or what book we read or write or how we do our prayer. It’s just connecting with family.”
IN-PERSON SESSIONS
“Mark Your Ancestors’ Footprints in Google Maps”
Presented by Canadian Lianne Kruger
February 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST
Become familiar with using Google Maps to help organize your genealogical research.
“The Sears Christmas Catalog for Genealogists and a Wiki”
Presented by Canadian Lianne Kruger
March 2, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST
Learn how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and FamilySearch’s wiki.
“How Many Spouses for Oleksa Hewko of Vegreville, Alberta, Canada?”
Presented by Michelle Mickelson
March 1, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EST
This presentation involves a case study using cluster research to resolve conflicting evidence and men of the same name. A 1913 church marriage record for widowed farmer, Oleksa Hewko, shows a different surname for his deceased spouse, Maria, than was documented on their son’s 1905 marriage record.
“Around the World in 60 Minutes: What’s New in FamilySearch Collections”
Presented by Canadian Megan Young McClanahan, Hyewon Lee, Sean Canny, Irina Anderson, Katie Poppleton and Marlene Hernandez
February 29, 2024, 11:30 a.m. EST
This session will allow participants to meet FamilySearch curators and discover which new collections will be valuable for research in 2024.
For more information about RootsTech 2024 and to see all it has to offer, review the 2024 schedule.
Written by Heather Cameron