I arrived in Salt Lake City Saturday 24 February. Arriving on Saturday is convenient as it gives me Sunday to sleep in and get organized for the week. Leisa Byrne had already arrived, and we recreated some of the things we’d done before RootsTech in 2020, starting off with brunch at Eva’s Bakery.
Then we went on to Harmons grocery store to pick up some snacks and items to have for lunch while working in the library Monday through Wednesday.
Sunday afternoon we went to the organ recital at the Tabernacle.
The lights changed colors with the different songs that the organist placed. It’s such a beautiful location and magnificent organ.
We were staying at the Little America Hotel this year. I was surprised at the pansies that were blooming all over the place. It was still pretty cold. They had beds of purple ones and others of yellow ones.
Little America Hotel was at the end of the free Trax line which made getting around to the library and the Salt Palace very easy. Both the blue and green Trax lines went to Temple Square, which was the exit we took for both the library and the Salt Palace. But once we got on the red line by mistake and ended up having to walk farther!
Monday was FamilySearch Library day! We arrived just before the library opened and joined the crowd of people waiting to get in. There had been a little snow overnight.
I was surprised at how crowded the library was for this early in RootsTech week.
Monday through Wednesday was spent working in the library. After being there three times I think I may have finally found all the Kent County, Michigan land records that exist from the 1850s. I know that Dave’s third great grandfather, David Coleman, was listed in Lyndon, Washtenaw County in the Michigan 1845 census. Now I’ve found that the family purchased land in 1846 in Kent County. Many of the land deeds were lost in a fire in 1860, but some of the indexes still exist.
Wednesday afternoon the RootsTech free golf cart shuttle was already running between the library and the Salt Palace, and we got a ride to go and pick up our badges.
Things were still quiet in the halls on Wednesday, but there was plenty of activity in the Expo Hall getting the booths set up.
We headed to the DNA Painter booth to see if help was needed on the setup, but Jonny and James had it all done.
The RootsTech souvenir booth was open Wednesday afternoon, and I had to get a new RootsTech T-shirt.
Thursday presentations started at 8:00 AM, and the Expo opened at 9:00 AM. I heard there was a huge crowd waiting outside the Expo before it opened, and we were swamped with people! I think it was the busiest day. None of us ever got any lunch. I did manage to get a quick photo of the DNA Painter shirt, that we had new for the booth this year. Thursday the expo was open until 7:00PM. It was a long day.
Things settled a bit as the conference went on, and I was able to attend some presentations and visit several booths.
There was often musical entertainment in the Central Park area.
MyHeritage had a booth set up where you could upload your raw DNA right onsite. They offered the DNA tools for free if you uploaded during the time of RootsTech.
DNA Painter was near the FamilyTreeDNA booth. We were able to get a group photo.
LegacyFamilyTree Webinars was in the row of booths beside DNA Painter.
Farther down the aisle was the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
Association of Professional Genealogist had a booth as well.
I managed to get a photo of the GEDmatch booth when no one was there.
Last year at RootsTech I purchased Cite-Builder which is a program that lets you generate citations. With the premium account you can generate your own and save them on the site. When I had a question about one of their structures last year, it was Jenny who answered my email. It was great to meet her person this year.
It was great to get to meet Nathan in person.
RootsTech is also a great place to see friends that you’ve not seen for a year.
At the end of Roberta’s presentation she told us about her newest book, that hadn’t been released in time for RootsTech. It’s due to come out in March or April 2024.
It’s always a bit of a rush to fly home on Sunday after RootsTech, but staying another day doesn’t make much sense since the library isn’t open on Sunday. There was more snow Saturday overnight.
I had several hours layover in Minneapolis and spent the time putting in a couple presentation proposals for upcoming conferences and organizing my notes from the library.
Patricia Coleman Genealogy LLC 