by Ronnie Tyler
I know what you are thinking: “Ronnie, girl, why are you in Salt Lake City, Utah trying to find yourself.” Well I will tell you. Lamar and I were invited to the RootsTech conference this week. RootsTech is a family history and Technology Conference. This is the first year for this conference where they are exploring new technologies to improve and simplify your family history activities. The conference’s main sponsor is FamilySearch. FamilySearch, a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history.
So you are probably thinking like me: “Ronnie, why would they invite you and Lamar from BlackandMarriewithKids.com to that conference…yall are not genealogists….right? Right..we are not. We were invited because our site focuses on family, family values, and quality relationships with family including our kids, spouses and extended family. And so of course family history would be important to us and our BMWK family. Lamar and I agreed and we are now in beautiful Salt Lake City where the snow capped mountains are breath taking (check out photos in our upcoming posts).
They told us that we would have the opportunity to do personal research in the Family History Library – the world’s largest one. So in preparation, I decided to call my parents to find out about my family history. And yes, I had to call my parents because I did not know very much. I remembered my great grandparents..but we called them names like Paw-Paw and Mam-maw. And I certainly did not know of any great great grandparents.
I talked to my father first and he told me the names of his parents and grandparents and maybe the name of one of his great grandmothers. He told me to check with one of my aunts who worked on the family tree.
I talked to my mother and she told me a great story about how her family ended up in Virginia, but she did not have a lot of details about her family. She told me to call my aunt who pulled together our family history to share during a family reunion. So I called her and she promised to send me all of the information that she has before my appointment at the library. I am really looking forward to conducting a search on my family and I hoping that I will be able to find new information to share with my family during our next family reunion.
Yesterday, we arrived in Salt Lake City and I really did not know what to expect. We took a pre-conference tour of the FamilySearch’s microfilm distribution facility and we had the opportunity to talk with various executives from the FamilySearch organization. Here is what I learned yesterday:
FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history and most of them are non LDS members. This is a charity that they have opened up to the world.
FamilySearch’s microfilm distribution facility is truly a state of the art facility the processes millions of customer request each year. I was so impressed how they have automated the process of storing, processing and fulfilling orders for microfilm.
Regular people like me can conduct a family search. There over 4,500 Family History Centers worldwide and most of them are in the United States. This means researchers and regular people like me can go into these centers to conduct family searches and they even have consultants there to help you.
Less than 40% of vital records are on-line. So many people that are new to conducting family searches may start on-line. When they don’t find the information they are looking for, they think it does not exist. Well it probably does exist, it is just not on-line and you will then have to take your search to a Library or a Family search facility where you can search the microfilm indexes.
Family search is so important because it makes the family stronger. It’s not just about learning about the past. It’s about building stronger relationships in the present because you are discovering a shared past. Learning about your family history provides you with as sense of well being and it truly makes the family stronger and more connected.
BMWK family – Please check out the photos below from the hi-tech Film Distribution Center and stayed tuned for more updates about our experiences here at RootsTech. As we learn more about FamilySearch and the technology that is available, we will share it with you.
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