RootsTech 2013: The Brits are coming

Two weeks today is the start of America's largest genealogy conference, RootsTech 2013, where I am proud to have been selected as an official blogger. As this is my first trip to both RootsTech and Salt Lake City, I am not entirely sure what to expect, but I shall be blogging and tweeting while I am there to keep all my followers up-to-date with my impressions, news and gossip.  I also hope to have the chance to interview some speakers and attendees, aiming to focus on international issues. 

My interest in RootsTech started when I was able to watch many of the live streamed broadcasts last year, from the comfort of my own home.  Over the course of the following few months, I started to feel that, as a professional genealogist, I wanted to to attend this important conference in person.  I knew Audrey Collins, of The UK National Archives, had attended before and when she told me she would going again this year (albeit in a private capacity), I decided to book my conference place, my flight and my hotel.  This was back in October 2012.

Then at last months Who Do You Think You Are? live, I discovered that, in addition to Audrey, a number of other UK genealogists would also be attending RootsTech this year, including:

• Marie Dougan, of Scottish based genealogists, Ancestral Consultants, and ex-Strathclyde student, will not only be attending, but she is running an international panel session with American A C Ivory and Australian Jill Ball, of Geniaus, entitled "The Genealogists' Gadget Bag".

• Else Churchill, of the London-based Society of Genealogists will be attending and also giving a talk at the Family History Library the day before RootsTech, entitled "Treasures of the London Society of Genealogist On Site and Online".  

• Alec Tritton, chairman of the Halstead Trust, will also be in attendance, and rumoured to possibly be speaking.

• Jeanette Rosenberg and her partner Mark, of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, another ex-Strathclyde student.

• Geoff Swinfield and Di Bouglas, of Geoff Swinfield Genealogy Services who, like me, are attending RootsTech for the first time.

• Bruce Durie, founder and ex-Director of the Genealogical, Heraldic and Palaeographic Studies Programme at Strathclyde University, where yours truly studied for the PG Certificate and Diploma.

Of course there may be other UK Genealogists attending RootsTech 2013, whom I am not aware of (or dare I say I might have forgotten about).  If you are British and heading off to RootsTech 2013, do please let me know.  

For those who cannot attend in person, there will be live streamed sessions as in previous years.  Please keep an eye on the RootsTech website for more details.

For those who are going, I'll see you there!

Rosemary Morgan 
London Roots Research

Disclosure:  As an Official blogger for RootsTech 2013, I have received a complimentary registration for the conference.  This does not influence my views or opinions of the conference or the sponsors in any way.