I have to say that the experience of the week at RootsTech 2024 was SOOOOO fun, exciting, energizing and busy, that it took until today to feel like I could even begin to think about how to summarize the wonderful experience!
I had to sleep – actually 9 hours last night, which is NOT my usual. I needed it! I had arrived on Sunday so that I could grocery shop at wonderful Harmon’s and stock my refrigerator. Monday through Wednesday mid-day were full of research for clients and myself. And I took a break on Wednesday afternoon to be ready for the evening.
What a fun evening Wednesday night was! TWO — yes, TWO — dinners. One for the Media and Speakers (I was part of both groups) and one from FamilySearch and greetings on behalf of those coordinating RootsTech. Marvelous time and great food and conversation – lots of laughter!
Glad that I had the break on Wednesday afternoon, because Thursday dawned fast, exciting and really moved! A breakfast with Storied got me excited for the day and off and running – first to the Media Center, where we could log in, write, catch up on any changes and updates. Then on to the Main Stage – to keep things short, EACH day, from late morning until about 1 p.m., there were announcements from the Sponsors about their innovations, updates and special offerings that were revealed at RootsTech first.
The Main Stage Keynotes were all special: Henry Cho had us laughing and excited, Steve Rockwood (I’m now a “Rocky” as I found out I’m his cousin – 8th cousin!) gave us the warm and emotional content of the special video for this year (have a tissue ready …. it’s lovely and will grab your heart). Lynn M. Jackson is the great-great-granddaughter of Dred and Harriett Scott and offered information about the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation in honor of her Ancestor’s pivotal role in American history in his 11-year battle for freedom. Important and history-changing! Nancy Borowick, an award-winning photographer, uses her craft to tell stories and uplift, through speaking engagements, writing and her photos, the stories of struggles, challenges and the lives of our world family. Kristin Chenoweth – Actress and singer, writer and producer, her work spans decades of awards, productions, voice-overs, movies, television and stage, and she wowed us with songs and her warm presence. So each day, needless to say, we were given a marvelous mid-day experience that lifted the morning and afternoon sessions to a new level of relevance.
On Thursday, I had two presentations – one pre-recorded for society leadership that focused on Volunteer Motivations – and a later one “Researching in Ontario: Your Trillium Connection” about how to find your ancestors in Canada. In webinar format, there were great questions from the audience and I’ve since received more via email! And Thursday was full of attending other sessions, writing and taking pictures to share (please check out my Facebook pages – my personal one https://www.facebook.com/judy.muhn/ and Lineage Journeys – https://www.facebook.com/LineageJourneys/ for pictures from all of the days!
Friday was another busy day, with another webinar presentation – “Je Me Souviens: Researching in Quebec” where I was excited to meet French-Canadian and Acadian cousins! Some were sending texts and others emailed – so fun. Helping in the Association of Genealogical Professionals’ booth in the Expo Hall gave me an opportunity to catch up with an organization that I joined to learn and grow as a speaker and professional, with friendships that span many organizations. That night, the National Genealogical Society hosted a reception for anyone from our many genealogical societies and delegates, as well as our Board. Exhaustion was setting in so heading off to the hotel at about 9 pm meant that it was an over 15 hour day!
Saturday was another long but also productive day! In addition to posting on Facebook, writing blog posts (still in draft form as I was interrupted …) and helping to staff the NGS booth all day, meant that I got to meet and see even more people! Fun and networking dominated on Saturday as we reached out to vendors about the NGS Family History virtual conference in May. The exhibit hall was amazing with creative and fun set ups that facilitated learning and discovery!
This booth picture of the Storied company was taken during the set up on Wednesday night but you can see how fun it looked – learned a lot from them about their innovations and new products!
My fourth presentation, pre-recorded and released on Saturday, was another for society leaders: The Four Buckets of Society Management. I’m hoping to hear from those who watch the society presentations – to offer them help and support as we all are struggling to figure out how to keep going, growing and helping to educate new genealogists and family historians.
While RootsTech 2024 is over physically, the emails keep coming in and I’m thrilled to be connected to so many who came. We’re waiting to hear what the final numbers were – people in person and people online. Thank you to the RootsTech and FamilySearch teams who made so much look so easy – from my role in the Media team to being a Speaker, and helping with vendors and networking, what a marvelous experience. If you are reading this and have never attended, STRONGLY consider coming out next year: March 6 – 8, 2025!!!
My recent visit to my cousin’s home and his collection of photos from his mom, gave me this and more!
How many times do we say “let’s get together!” or “can I see what you have?” to a cousin or other relative? Well, I’ve done it and then not followed up. But this time I DID!
AND what a find!! Thanks to two of my nearest first cousins, Gary and Karen, with time to catch up and share memories, we dug through a box of old photo albums, lose pictures, carefully wrapped snippets of hair, and incredible old and valuable Bible (with items tucked inside!), and more. The enjoyment began with Cousin Karen picking me up from my home and our hour-long drive to Cousin Gary’s – her older brother. Gary is older than me, Karen is much younger and my now-done brother Mark was between me and Karen in age. The four of us spent SO much time together as children, as our mothers – sisters Catherine and Delores – were the tightest of sisters. So I knew that what Gary inherited when his parents passed would be important to me.
Unfortunately, Gary related that there was much that had been thrown out. Aunt Catherine had died first and she was/is the beloved auntie who got this family historian started at the age of 12 with her stories, notes, pictures and more. When Uncle Eddie died years later, he had thrown out things that Aunt Catherine had kept but he had to clean out a home that he needed to move from. Gary was with him in the cleaning but it was a hard effort to get Uncle Eddie to keep some of what Gary could tell was valuable.
So when the boxes and bin of photos and albums was put on the kitchen table and we dug through, my heart was pounding. Gary and Karen had some idea that there would be items of value but they weren’t sure who the people were and we worked to identify them. Karen had spent a lot of time with her mom and dad and the relatives in these pictures, so she was the best at identifying people. I was good at identifying the homes and couches, and sometimes the beautiful doilies (Grandma and Aunt Catherine had made beautiful doilies as they did tatting; Karen and I both have some).
The picture about contains the gems that we found! A picture I had NEVER seen of my great-grandmother Louise Villeneuve Elliott from when she was older. I have a group family photo from around the 1914 timeframe with 13 of the 16 kids, showing Louise in a younger time. The photo above, in the collection, of the older woman in the chair with a patterned dress is her at an older age – she was a widow by 1919 with all of these kids (the older girls were key in this huge family!). She later suffered from a stroke that left her dependent on those daughters. She apparently lived with her daughters in sort of a rotational way – 6 months perhaps with each one, as they helped her to cope with her failing health and frailties. She died at the age of 60 so this picture may have been not too long from that time.
The other marvelous pictures found were one of my grandmother Elsie Elliott Sutinen (later Niemi), the largest colorized image seen above. She was Louise’s fourth daughter and the picture represents a timeframe for which I had no images. I have a very much younger image of her perhaps in her 20s, one from her 60s, so this one is perhaps in her 40s – an active mother with five children, my mother being the youngest daughter.
The baby picture at the top is me … awww . The “little rascals” in the middle between Grandma and Great-Grandma are Aunt Catherine and her brother Doug – and I’m wondering what they were up to when the picture was snapped (they look like they are planning some mischief). My Uncle Jerry is stretched out on the picnic table bench as a young man that is in the young adulthood of his life and feels joyful to me. He was my mom’s youngest brother. The handsome man in the black and white photo below great-grandma is my step-grandfather, William “Bill” Niemi – the grandfather I so loved and grew up knowing. A quiet Finn man, this is a picture of him probably around the time that he married my Grandma Elsie as her husband Warner (Waino) had died from tuberculosis and Grandpa Bill became a loving presence in our lives.
Tucked into a beautiful and valuable special commemorative Bible of Aunt Catherine’s, this paper!
The piece of paper here, full of notations familiar to all family historians, were dates of faily and extended family connections and births. BUT at the top right – some rather fun notations! “Aunt Eugenie – old maid – never had a hair on head ever” and “Mary Laura died of Black Diptheria hair was so long had to pull it out of …”. And interesting family fact – most of the women in this family had dark brown or black hair, never turning gray, until they died. Karen, of my matrilineal line, has undyed brown hair in contrast to my white hair. Her mother died with nearly black hair and my grandmother also died with dark hair. My mom and I clearly have some different genetics in our hair going on as we’ve both had gray for … well, let’s just say a while. :::::::::::grin:::::::::::::
For those who are genealogists, family historians, finds like these mean more than money, fame and more. They put my family into my mind in new ways, in new timeframes that inform what I know about them and they give me a fuller sense of who they were. The conversation with Gary and Karen about them was so fun and interesting. They knew things that I didn’t know and vice versa. And our shared time of family memories will be cherished.
The Life story of Norbert Albert Amiot dit Villeneuve or Albert Villeneuve
The Villeneuve/Paquet family of Maskinonge, Quebec – after immigration to Ishpeming, Michigan
Why would a person, born with one name, change that name or use another? Certainly, there are people who are hiding from the law and change their name. There are people who change their name because their birth name is mispronounced. A person may also change their name to avoid discrimination because their surname represents a hated minority group, like our immigrant Polish and German ancestors did in the period of the two world wars.[1]
The Amiot dit Villeneuve family however may have changed their name for entirely other reasons. The parents and seven known children are followed to determine the correct name for one member of the family – Norbert Albert Amiot dit Villeneuve or Albert Villeneuve.
BACKGROUND
In the French-Canadian communities of North America, particularly in the province of Quebec, from the 1700s into the late 1800s, the naming practice called dit names was utilized. The word dit has come to mean alias or “so called” and is believed to derive from the French verb dire, meaning “to speak, say”[2]. In this narrative’s example, the surname from France was Amyot[3]. At some undetermined point, the family in question attached the “dit” name Villeneuve, so that the surname appears in records in New France[4] or Quebec as “Amiot dit Villeneuve”. Sometimes these additional names represent a move to new land, a colonial leadership title, or a physical characteristic that distinguishes one man from another within a soldier group.
The research into the seven known children of Joseph Amiot dit Villeneuve and Julie Gregoire[5] may help to determine whether Norbert Albert Amiot dit Villeneuve born I 1840 in Maskinonge, Quebec, Canada is the same man as Albert Villeneuve of Ishpeming, Marquette, Michigan buried in 1914.
RECORDS SEARCHED
Norbert Amiot dit Villeneuve was born on 3 March and baptized on 4 March 1840 in Maskinonge[6], Quebec[7] to Joseph Amiot dit Villeneuve[8] and Julie Gregoire. He was the fourth of seven children. His siblings were Antoine, Joseph, Adeline, Olivier, Pierre and Peter. Each were identified with variants of the Amiot dit Villeneuve name on baptismal, marriage and burial records[9]:
First name
Baptismal name
Marriage name
Name at death
Antoine
Amiot dit Villeneuve
Villeneuve
Joseph
Amiot
Villeneuve
Adeline
Amiot dit Villeneuve
Villeneuve
Villeneuve
Norbert
Amiot dit Villeneuve
Albert Villeneuve
Villeneuve
Olivier
Villeneuve
Vinlove
Pierre
Villeneuve
Villeneuve
Peter
Villeneuve
Antoine and Adeline were noted in baptismal records with their father’s surname as “Amiot dit Villeneuve” while Joseph is listed with his father Joseph’s surname as “Amiot”, and all other siblings’ baptismal records noted the father’s name as “Villeneuve”. The earliest census record found with some of these siblings was the 1851 Canadian census[10] and all are listed as “Villeneuve”. All children born to this marriage after 1851 show the name “Villeneuve” uniformly.
By contrast, Norbert Albert’s aunts and uncles, just one generation earlier, consistently included the “dit” name although with the expected spelling variations. For example, his sister Adeline’s baptism record notes her father’s name as Joseph Amiot dit Villeneuve[11] (like Joseph’s) but Joseph’s brother Amable’s surname was given as Amiot dit Vilneuve and sister Marie Domitilde’s was noted as Amiot dit Vilnoeuve[12].
RECORDS UTILIZED
Norbert Villeneuve married Adele Paquette on 7 November 1865 in St. Justin de Maskinonge, Quebec[13], Albert Villeneuve died on 13 May 1914, listing his father as Joseph Villeneuve and mother as Sophie Carpentiere[14] and the informant being Joseph Villeneuve, his son[15]. While an obituary in Marquette County has not yet been found, a notice appeared in The Calumet News, noting “Mrs. Ed. Elliott[16] of Laurium yesterday received word of the death of her father, Albert Villeneuve …”.
The census information for the 1880[17] and 1881[18] censuses have both men with a wife Adele/Adel, and children Florence/Flore, Louise/Louisa and Noah/Noe and many of the ages aren’t consistent. These two censuses are during the time that the family is known to be moving back and forth between Michigan and Canada (according to family stories), but the 1910 U.S. census indicates that Albert reported immigrating in 1878. From family stories, the family coped with the moving and a large family (there were a total of 11 children in all) by splitting up for times with the mother with some of the children and father with others.
The obituary in Marquette County for Albert Villeneuve[19] names children Joseph, Florence (Mrs. Adelord Morin), Louise (Mrs. Ed Elliot), Clara (Mrs. Alphonse Lesage), Rose (a widow of Mr. Clement), Alphosine and Adel (Mrs. Will Kaiser), confirming those listed with him in census records. Will/Probate records[20] name children Eva, Alphonsine, Flora, Clara, Louise, Rosana, Joseph, Noe (with the daughters named with both their maiden and married names), again confirming census records.
Records still to be found:
Naturalization records – Immigration is noted in the 1910 census as happening in 1878
Potential additional city directories for more years
Land or tax records if they name children
Military service or employment records
CONCLUSION
As the names of the children consistently match in census records, newspaper articles, as well as the will and probate records, the variations can be explained as the likely variations that are due to the multiple names (baptismal, given names, middle names) that are common in French-Canadian families.
The only time that the name “Norbert” has been used is in the baptismal record and the 1881 Canadian census; it is likely that Norbert may have been a first name with Albert as a middle name and it could have been dropped in favor of Albert especially after moving to the United States. Similarly, the change from Amiot dit Villeneuve to simply “Villeneuve” may reflect a desire for a shorter, simpler name and reflect the move also to the United States. This family still lived within a primarily French-Canadian community for some time, but the ease of pronunciation may have created the adoption of the shorter name. Thus, in the end, the use of Albert Villeneuve for the bulk of this ancestor’s life does not negate the fact that his name was likely Norbert Albert Amiot dit Villeneuve when he was born.
[2] The most direct explanation of this comes from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dit_name: viewed July 19, 2018) although the author’s own French language and research knowledge is extensive in this area.
[3] The immigrant ancestor from Soissons, Departement de l’Aisne, Picardie, France was born in 1628 and first appears in “New France” in 1636 (the descendants of Matthew Amyot are documented from his Ancestry tree down to the subject of this work at https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/48774945/person/28213115197 ).
[4] Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “New France: French Colonies North America”, Encyclopedia Britannica, HTML edition (https://www.britannica.com/place/New-France; accessed July 24, 2018). New France was used initially in the 16th century when France was establishing colonies and trade relationships in North America.
[5] Women in French Canada retain the use of their maiden or nee names throughout their life and are documented with these names in French Catholic church records, marriage contracts and land records.
[6] For this narrative, the French words that use accent marks when written in French will be omitted as they add nothing to the narrative other than in any official titles (see next note) for records.
[7] St. Joseph de Maskinonge (Maskinonge, Quebec, Canada), chronological records in Actes d’état civil et registres d’église du Québec 1621 à 1967 (Collection Drouin, Institut Généalogique Drouin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada); Baptismal record, Norbert Amiot dit Villeneuve, 4 March 1840; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1091/d1p_25590543/12014791?backurl=; accessed on January 20, 2013, reviewed July 21, 2018).
[9] Sacramental records (baptism, marriage, burial) for St. Joseph de Maskinonge, Maskinonge, Quebec, Canada were researched for seven siblings; with death records also in Kansas for Oliver (Villeneuve) Vinlove, and Norbert and Pierre Villeneuve in Michigan. Citations for all of these records can be provided.
[11] Baptism for Adeline; St. Joseph de Maskinonge, Maskinonge, Quebec, Canada. Actes d’état civil et registres d’église du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1967. Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1091/d1p_25590436/10354364?backurl=; accessed on July 7, 2018).
[13] St. Justin de Maskinonge, (Maskinonge, Quebec, Canada); chronological records in Actes d’état civil et registres d’église du Québec 1621 à 1967, (Collection Drouin), May 13,1865, Norbert Villeneuve and Adele Paquette.
[14] Sophie Carpentiere is actually his mother-in-law, mother of his wife Adele Paquette.
[16] “Father Dies in Marquette”, The Calumet News (Calumet, Michigan), page 5, 15 May 1914; Mrs. Ed. Elliott is Louise Villeneuve, daughter of Albert, noted in census records cited.
[17] 1880 U.S. census, Marquette, Michigan, population schedule, Ishpeming, p. 349D, dwelling 230, family 283, Albert Villeneuve; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 23 July 2018), citing Family History Film 1254954.
[18] 1881 Census of Canada, Maskinonge, Quebec, for District Maskinonge, Subdistrict St. Justin, p. 13, family 64, Norbert Villeneuve; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 23 July 2018), citing Library and Archives Canada, Record Group 31 C-1, microfilm C-13162 to C-13286.
[19] “Death of Albert Villeneuve: Pioneer French Resident Passed Away Yesterday Afternoon”, Daily Mining Journal (Marquette, Michigan), page 6, column 3, 14 May 1914; Marquette County Historical Society, J. M. Longyear Research Library, Marquette, Michigan.
[20] County of Marquette, Michigan, Last Will & Testament, Albert Villeneuve, will dated 13 May 1911; probate case files beginning 20 May 1914; Probate Court Clerk’s Office, Marquette County, Michigan.
Just the first day .. not as many people yet, but by Friday and Saturday, there will be probably 14,000!!
From RootsTech 2019, where there will soon be over 14,000 people taking hundreds of classes and networking, finding cousins and having fun!
My first workshop, You CAN Take It With You: Mobile Genealogy Tools for Genealogists, went SOOO well and there must have been over 600 people in the room. Great questions, energy – we even did “stand up, sit down” exercises. AND cousin meet-ups! How fun!
In the midst of the “stand up if you ….” exercise with over 600 people in the room!
Today felt like a day of healing and reconciliation … certainly, there is much more to do, but a beginning and significant movement in the right direction. Friend and fellow GeneaBlogger Tribe member Cheri Hudson Passey offered a workshop “Discovering Slave Owners in the Family Tree” that was so impactful that people were crying, and not bad tears but those tears of recognized loss and finding common ground for healing. We also learned about the incredible donation of $2 Million to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, announced at the Opening Session! Wow! There will be a family history center within the museum that will help anyone seeking information about their family, especially focusing on the African diaspora and records that will help in tracing those that were enslaved. An incredible opportunity for everyone to learn, share, grieve, and hopefully gain some healing, pride in the strength of ancestors.
Part of the magic of RootsTech is the networking, mingling, meeting cousins. Also having opportunities for growth from those synchronistic meetings or information that those of us long in the genealogy field know to expect. My research time at the Family History Library on Monday and Tuesday led to some really great information for my clients (one in French-Canadian and another in Native research) AND some perfectly wonderful experiences for myself.
Met another wonderful French-Canadian cousin! Meet Amberly Peterson Beck!
As I have just begun the research on the Polish family on my
dad’s side, I had recently found the name of the village that my
great-grandparents immigrated from – Gorlice, Malopolska, Poland (it wasn’t
always Poland, as it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire). The Niemczyk, Niemiec, Nimer, Nemshak family
(yes, they changed the name a number of times) immigrated in about 1880 but no
one in the family knew where they came from.
The family worked hard to fit into their initial American community in
Chicopee, Massachusetts and later in Detroit, Michigan but not many stories of “the
old country” apparently were shared. Reaching
out to cousins, there was much to go on.
So, I went down to the International section of the Family History
Library and, wonder of wonders, there is a specialist FROM POLAND who is a
Missionary there. She was awesome! AND introduced me to two young men,
themselves Polish and here doing research.
AND …. Wait for it … they are from the Malopolska region!! Yes!! So they are going to take the information
that I know about my family and see what they might find when they are in the
Polish archives. :::::::::::::::crossing
my fingers::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hopefully the pictures here will show you just how great RootsTech 2019 is and what a great experience it is. And it’s only the beginning of Day 2 as I write this. Stay tuned for more!
Yes, it’s the new year … and how many DNA testing kits did you get as a gift? Yes, it’s a current fad and yes, it is also fun. But let me help to frame some of the issues with DNA, genealogy, testing, ethnicity vs. race and those pretty pie charts.
First, I’m a genealogist AND a scientist. I have two degrees that stress the importance of data, replication as a tool of quality and refinement, and control groups and more. And I value documentation, and proof – more than one document that provides information confirming or refuting what another document says, and a “reasonably exhaustive search” – a standard of utilizing everything that we can access to prove/disprove facts.
Second, let’s be clear – DNA testing is in its early stages. Yes, it has come a VERY long way from the 1980s when it was first used with genealogical information, and tools now available to us is far more extensive, detailed, scientifically-based that ever.
And third, there is NO biological basis for “race”. From a chemical, DNA, or cellular level, we are all 99% the same and we share chemistry, DNA and cellular structures with bananas, trees and other living things. We are carbon-based organisms that have evolved over millenium. To state, because of DNA data, that we are a particular race is just wrong – scientifically, genetically, socially and otherwise. There are plenty of research-based studies and writings that trace every human living on the planet back to Africa…..thousands and thousands of years ago. AND those pretty pie charts – with percentages and lovely colors – stating this or that percentage of DNA from Western Europe or the Iberian peninsula or wherever …. that information is based on a testing database of samples that place the same or similar DNA in a particular geography at a point in time (most of the DNA sites will offer that this ancestral DNA is from approximately a 500 to 800 year old time frame).
So, to keep it simple, if you decide to use the DNA test kits (please at least be sure to use the companies that work very hard to maintain scientific standards, privacy rights, testing protocols and ethics – these are Ancestry, 23 and Me, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, and FindMyPast), there are some things to consider: 1) Please know that virtually everyone will get a surprise from their results. It may be as simple as “I didn’t know we had Scandinavian ancestors!” to as emotional as “My dad isn’t my dad??!!!” Yours truly is working her way through what a really big revelation means, so don’t take this lightly. 2) The pie chart is the LEAST of it! The database that is used for the testing is always growing and changing, refining and developing. I’ve already seen as least two updates that have changed my results – in the first one, I was Ashkenazi Jewish, then from the Iberian peninsula, and now it’s Scandinavian. The Scandinavian one actually makes sense as I know that my ancestors (from the years of doing research in the paper trails my ancestors left) were from Normandy – a region of France heavily impacted by Norman or Viking invasions … hence “Scandinavian”. THE most important part of your results is the COUSIN matching!! You will find people related to you through the DNA that you didn’t know about (I found someone a half hour from my home!) and you will have a really fun time getting to know them! Trust me – the COUSIN CONNECTION is the BEST part of DNA testing. 3) Follow the instructions. It’s easy, and perhaps a bit yucky, but it’s important. The science is built on a clean sample and your results will make sense. 4) AND know that there is a paper trail that will help you to sort it all out, with lots of helpful people to show you how to look at what you find in your results.
And don’t let anyone tell you what RACE you are – because they can’t! The results can tell you a bit about where geographically your ancestors traveled through on their way to where you are today. It will tell you a bit about ethnicity – the culture of our families, such as customs, favorite foods, holidays, dances and music, clothing styles, and possibly eye and hair colors. The testing information is based in finding clusters, clumps of DNA that reappear over and over again in a particular region, geography, locality in people in that area. I know, for instance, that on my mom’s side, our people were Native, French-Canadian, and Scottish because – and this is important – others with our similar DNA were from these identified groups because of records, documentation, and more. But it doesn’t tell me WHICH tribe, or WHERE in France or Scotland, or that level of detail. At least yet …. as more and more people are tested and can document specifics about these ancestors, we can begin to narrow down migratory trails, immigration routes and track back into time.
So please look beyond the pretty pie charts. Take time to look for the paper trail that your ancestors left to find out about their lives …. their religion, foods, homes, jobs and what made their lives worth living. You are the product of pairs of people who had a relationship that created a child …. I was going to say “pairs of people who loved” but I know that many children were born of affairs, rape and incest. In the context of their lives, the child lived and had children ….. down to you. Think about the blessing of two parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, and more going back into time. Learn about that and don’t worry about whether they wore kilts or lederhosen, a sari or animal skins … find a cousin and learn about your common ancestors’ lives and the courage, stamina, and strength that helped them to thrive. Let me know if I can help ….
The time is coming soon – the National Genealogical Society’s Family History Conference is coming in May 2018!! Can’t wait – AND I’m presenting two sessions: French-Canadian Migrations into the Midwest and Beyond and Native, First Nations, Indian: Research Indigenous Peoples. Here’s the recent post from the NGS Blog – http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/french-canadian-migration-midwest-beyond/R
The French-Canadian session is Thursday, May 3 at 11 a.m. and the Native session is Friday, May 4th at 4 p.m..
Registration is open AND volunteer positions are available – you can get in free to the conference, based in how/where you volunteer. There is information here to guide you …. http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/volunteer/ There are opportunities still available and the vendor hall is open to you as well, where you can learn about new programs, mobile apps, obtain books and software and network with other family histories, speakers and professionals across the field.
Join me?! And please be sure to find me and say hello!
It’s a little under a week after I first arrived in Salt Lake City for my first RootsTech – the 2018 conference was beginning the next morning, and my presentation too. As it has been a week since it began AND I’ve been home since Monday night, I’ve rested, unpacked and recovered. So in this review of my experience, there is a lot to cover.
First, there is the sheer size of the event – OMG!!! Over 14,000 of your best friends … well, ok, I didn’t meet them all. A special mobile app that linked the attendees on site with their FamilySearch tree gave all of us the opportunity to find cousins!!! I had 212 cousins at the height of the conference and was able to meet up with two of them. How exciting!! The mobile app showed you how you were related – all of mine where in the French-Canadian lines on my tree. SOOOO fun! I hope they continue doing that because we all enjoyed seeing how we connected.
I met the winner of my free RootsTech pass competition – Kimberly Savage arrived at my second workshop on Saturday to introduce herself to me and reported that she’d been having a great time. Here is Kimberly and I when we met!! Glad you had fun, Kimberly.
And then there were the presentations – which I was THRILLED went so well. Acadian & French-Canadian Research and You CAN Take It With You: Mobile Apps for Genealogists. By my estimate, attended by between 150 and 200 people, the participants asked great questions, were engaged, came up before and after the presentation to connect with me and I’ll hope the information helped them.
Being an Ambassador too, had some great perks! Here’s the group of fellow bloggers (GeneaBloggers TRIBE) in the Media Hub where we interviewed speakers and keynote presenters, had a place to write our social media and blog posts, and rest. Yea, you needed a place to rest …. for this first-timer, it was very overwhelming, in a good way!
So heaven for a week looked like constant, nonstop conversation, learning and content about genealogy – cousin conversations, stories, researching and how to connect it all. I think I’ll be on a “high” for a while because it was so great for me. I sooooo hope I get to do it again.
With a room of people, microphone checks, an interpreter and a whole bunch of enthusiastic and interesting people, my workshop began at 9:30 a.m. !!!
There were great questions, support from friends and even a French expert in the room (thankfully, I didn’t know until later, right?!) who told me that I did an excellent job and that he enjoyed my presentation …. whoa!!
The audience had some great questions and they all provided their emails and a list of the surnames they are researching so that we can help them with their research! A document, listing all of them with these names, is being shared with them all in the hopes that they will make progress toward documenting their French-Canadian and Acadian families.
It was fun to be presenting to an international group – there were people from all over the United States but also Canada, France, Brazil ….. and those are the ones that I know! And afterwards, people were stopping me in the hall to continue to ask questions – if you are reading this and have questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at judynmuhn@gmail.com. I LOVE doing genealogy!!!
The day ended marvelously – with research!!!
Two of my clients are benefiting from my presence in Salt Lake, just a small walk from the Family History Library! Rows on rows of microfilm, digital content, books, maps and so much more! I haven’t been here since 2001 I believe and the updates/renovations/new art are beautiful, easy-to-use and empowering.
A truly sweet and helpful volunteer showed me the new way to make copies, create images from online content and even gave me a print card WITH MONEY ON IT!!! She was awesome – and that has been my experience here at the FHL for years – volunteers eager and ready to help you. She shared some amazing spiritual things with me – we had a lovely conversation. What a blessing she was! And I found things – lots of things for my clients. Can’t wait to share.
OMG …. this is AMAZING!! RootsTech 2018 … I made it and I’m so excited!!!
While it is just Tuesday night, I’m attending the Media Dinner, sponsored by FamilySearch, and an opportunity to get an advance look at what will be happening during the week. In addition to being an Ambassador ( you post stuff on social media), as a Speaker and participant, I want to be “in the know” about it all as a First-Timer!!!
Meeting up with friends is a big, fun part of the conference and having some time to settle in was great. The lines, while long, at registration moved fast AND I got to go to the really short (no one ahead of me!) VIP line to check in.
Then the Media Dinner!! Some tools here at the conference are the overall conference app – guides you to the workshops, helps with what is in Expo Hall, and more! You can see a list of attendees and connect with them if you are tracking someone down …. and who the keynote speakers are, where there is food, the day’s happenings, alerts and more!!!
A REALLY fun thing this year – using your family tree from FamilySearch to link to all of the attendees at the conference who have linked their trees – and you get a list of everyone attending who is your COUSIN!!!!! OMG!! I have over 200 people here who are related to me (mostly through my French-Canadians!) and I’ve reached out to see if we can meet …. stay tuned for possible pictures of “Cousin Connections”!!
We saw a teaser film of Relative Race too!!! It’s from BYU TV … while you can get it easily here in Utah, the rest of us can view it on Google TV and other programs that pull from around the country. The show is based on four teams of two family members. They provide their DNA which is tested. Family members from around the country then are found and the teams are given clues and maps (NO GPS allowed!!) to find the locations of relatives in the United States and must drive there the fastest to win. When they knock on the door at the address provided, the person that opens the door is a previously-unknown relative! It kinda got me choked up watching it as some of the meetings were very impactful. I’m looking for this when I get home!
Well, that’s it for day one at RootsTech 2018!!! Watch for more!
Yes, that is ME – Speaker! I’m SOOOOOO excited! Offering two classes – Acadians & French-Canadians in North America and You CAN Take It With You! Mobile Technology for Genealogy. Can’t wait! I leave Tuesday and begin the incredible, the scary, the fun, exciting and learning opportunity that is being a speaker at the LARGEST genealogy conference in the world! Yes, you heard me .. the world!
RootsTech 2018 has over 300 classes, keynote speakers, an Innovation Showcase, networking, learning, meeting new people – I’m already hooking up with some likely cousins (all French-Canadians and Acadians are somehow related!) and a client from my Lineage Journeys work. And a helpful and kind participant in one of my workshops who is also an Acadian descendant….and friends from here in Michigan. And more … right? This is aligning to be so cool … can you tell that I’m excited! Watch for updates!
in the Media Hub where we interviewed speakers and keynote presenters, had a place to write our social media and blog posts, and rest. Yea, you needed a place to rest …. for this first-timer, it was very overwhelming, in a good way!
Lineage Journeys 