Here are some of my
thoughts from my experiences from the second day of RootsTech 2015.
General Session
D. Joshua Taylor, FindMyPast
Family history
should not be about searching, it should be about finding. We must continue to
lower the barriers to family history; it can become everyone's hobby.
He talked about who
inspires him and he shared a story about his ancestor William Heaps and how he
found a common thread in the life of his ancestor and himself. They both love cheese and they both got in
trouble for hiding cheese. Josh hid and
ate cheese in his room, while his ancestor William was sentenced to 7 years for
stealing cheese!
When Josh had his
family tree on the screen, I recognized some of the names in his tree and
quickly checked my tree. Some of William
Heaps' descendants married some of William Alvey's descendants. William Alvey is my 3rd great
grandfather. Josh and I share some
common cousins.
Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United
States
She shared that both
her and George's parents have shown them the best way to age. All we have is the here and now. Sometimes you have to work hard to recognize
yourself. It is the job of every American to take a stand, to step up to his or
her own pitcher's mound, to face up to fear and to stand proud.
The last part of the
general session was an intimate conversation with Laura Bush and her daughter, Jenna Bush Hager. Here are some of my favorite parts:
Jenna mentioned that
her parents and her grandparents always put family first. And that George Sr. was babysitting Jenna and
her sister Barbara the night before he had a presidential debate. Jenna asked her mom, "What advice do you
have for mothers and grandmothers?" Laura responded, "Savor the
moments when they are little … all we know we have is now."
Innovator Challenge Showdown
The final four
companies shared their programs/apps with the audience. Five judges asked the finalists
questions. The audience got to text in
their votes for people's choice.
1st Place ($10,000)
and the People's Choice ($5,000) went to StoryWorth. You can check them out at: https://www.storyworth.com/
2nd Place ($7,000)
went to ArgusSearch. You can check them
out at: http://www.planet.de/argus_search_en.html
3rd Place ($3,000)
went to GenMarketplace. You can check
them out at: http://www.genmarketplace.com/
4th Place went to LucidPress.
You can check them out at: https://www.lucidpress.com
You can watch the
action of the showdown for yourself at: http://rootstech.org/video/4054729367001
By Small and Simple Things -
Stacy Julian
Things have the
power to trigger memories. How do we use
these things to become better acquainted with our ancestors so they aren't just
names and dates? Not only can things trigger
memories, they can trigger emotions. As
we read through the stories of our ancestors, we should look for at least one
thing that we can use to trigger memories of the ancestor. A "thing" that we can display in
our home. What can we do right now with
the people that are living? You can follow Stacy at: http://www.stacyjulian.com/
Family History Adhesive -
Janet Hovorka
Janet mentioned that
as a child family history was in the water they drank and the food they ate and
the air they breathed. It was in the trips they took … it was their life. I love this!
This is what I am trying to do with my children. She taught that family
history is a parenting tool that we all need to be using and that family dinner
time is crucial to the development of children in the family; it is even a
stronger predictor of a child's academic success than time spent studying. Something I need to work more on doing at my
home … a specific time for dinner and everyone at the table. She shared research that is being done all
over the world that shows the importance of passing history from one generation
to another. Do we know our
intergenerational self? Three things to
remember: 1. It is all in how we present it.
If your family isn't interested, reevaluate your presentation. 2. Start
with the interest of the family member. 3. Share with others … what works in
your family may work in mine. You can follow Janet at: http://thechartchick.blogspot.com/
#RootsTech #InnovatorShowdown #InnovatorSummit
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