Mistakes I Have Made: Confessions of a Repentant Genealogist
Day 1 of RootsTech was packed with insightful sessions, and I’m kicking things off with one that really resonated with me—because, let’s be honest, we’ve all made mistakes in our genealogical research. Cheri Hudson Passey delivered a fantastic and, at times, painfully relatable session on the common missteps genealogists make and how to avoid them.
One of her biggest takeaways? Mistakes are often the reason we hit brick walls. That never quite occurred to me before, but it makes so much sense. How often do we get stuck simply because we didn’t verify a source, relied on a family story without documentation, or—gasp—forgot to cite our sources at all?
And here’s something I needed to be reminded of: UNK is not a name. Neither is LNU (Last Name Unknown). If you don’t know it, leave it blank! It seems obvious, yet I’ve seen these placeholders sneak into databases far too often (including my own!).
Unlocking German Ancestry: Expert Strategies for Finding and Interpreting German Records
This panel featured experts Katherine Schober, James Beidler, and Andrea Bentschneider, and wow—so much to absorb! First of all, let’s talk about the real challenge of German research: town names. So many German towns share the same name, which makes it easy to chase the wrong ancestors down the wrong records.
One key tip: Start with American records before jumping straight into German ones. Unfortunately, my father’s family may have skipped that step—leaving Aachen, Germany, for England in the late 1790s—so this may be trickier for me.
I also learned a fascinating cultural difference: In Germany, old tombstones don’t exist the way they do here (WWII??) and obituaries are more like announcements rather than full-fledged life stories. And let’s not even talk about the lack of census records!
For those struggling with reading old German script (myself included), there are some great tech tools available:
- Transkribus (though it’s not perfect)
- A script generator website that lets you type a name and see how it would appear in old German handwriting
- Wordmine.info, which works for any language—enter the letters you can read, use asterisks for the ones you can’t, and get word suggestions
- FamilySearch word lists for common terms
- And if you’re using AI, you can ask ChatGPT something like: What does [word] mean in German genealogy? to get genealogy-specific translations
Also, side note: The smell of roasted nuts in the convention center was very distracting. I was so hungry after this session. But I didn’t cave.
Keynote #1: Rachel Platten and Steve Rockwood
The first keynote of the conference focused on the theme of Discovery—which, honestly, is the heart of genealogy. Crista Cowan from Ancestry shared how she does genealogy every Sunday with her dad, which I found so touching. Imagine the stories they’ve uncovered over eight years!
Rachel Platten (of Fight Song fame) wasn’t able to attend in person, but her music and message of resilience fit beautifully with the day’s theme. Mark and Savannah Shaw, a father-daughter duo, also shared their insights, emphasizing the strength of women—a message that, given the work we do uncovering the stories of the past, hits home in a powerful way.
Finding & Working with Genealogical Speakers for Your Society
This session, led by Judy Nimer Muhn, a fellow Geneablogger, was particularly relevant to me now that I’m the VP of JGSCT. A few key takeaways:
- Survey your members annually to see what topics they’re interested in.
- Consider having a yearly theme to create consistency in programming.
- Co-sponsor multipart programs with other societies for bigger impact.
- Contracts matter! Be specific about what you expect, especially when it comes to speaker equipment needs.
- And a big one: We haven’t done evaluations in ages! Time to change that.
As a speaker myself, I also liked the idea of using Excel to track when I sent materials to different groups. Organization is key!
AI Genealogy: Year Two – The 2025 Outlook
The final session of the night was with Steve Little, and let me just say—this was one of my favorites. I’ve heard him speak five times now, and I still walk away with new insights.
AI is here to stay, so we might as well learn how to use it. Steve provided a terrific overview of the evolution of AI and gave us a glimpse of where we are going. Even if you’re just dipping your toes in, I recommend checking out his session online. Genealogical research is evolving, and AI is becoming an increasingly valuable tool.
After the Sessions
Cheryl and I hit the Expo Hall after our sessions. We attempted to take a VR (virtual reality) trip but I couldn’t work the buttons on the paddles! Cheryl had a little more success – she went to Boston. We had a lovely chat with Sapir at the MyHeritage booth. She loaded us up with a bunch of goodies! Cheryl lost her badge so we killed some time looking for that – it was at the Lost and Found – but we got lost looking for the lost and found!
That made us a little late for meeting up with my writing buddy, Lynne Bliss. Her wonderful husband, Frank picked us up at the Radisson and we all had a great dinner at the Dodo Restaurant. We forgot to take pictures, but are getting together again tomorrow.
Here’s photo collage of Day 1:
Tomorrow I’m volunteering at the IAJGS booth for an hour. I’m looking forward to the panel discussion on ethics in AI with Steve Little and another writing friend, Lynn Broderick and a few others.
Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear your thoughts! What was your favorite part of Day 1, or what are you most excited to see tomorrow? If you’re participating online, share what you’ve viewed. Leave a comment below with your highlights or questions. And don’t forget to subscribe or follow for more daily RootsTech updates.
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