Last night I spent the last hour awake going through the sessions I wanted to attend today. I kept going back and forth on if I wanted to get up and attend the 8am session I had on my tentative schedule or not. Well, the RootsTech energy won, and I decided to get an early start with an 8am session which meant I needed to be up and out of the hotel by 730am. Luckily the session was on the main floor, so I didn’t have to walk very far once I got to the Salt Palace.
After my first two sessions, it was time to head to today’s keynote speaker, Lynne Jackson the 2X great granddaughter of Dred Scott. She spoke about her family’s legacy and how she started researching Dred Scott 20 years ago to ensure she knew everything she could about him and his life. Also, photographer, Nancy Borowick spoke about how she captured memories of her parents during their illness from behind a camera. She reminded us “Remembering is everything. Family is everything”. We had two phenomenal women telling us about their family, their journey, and their legacy this afternoon. I don’t think this was intentional on RootsTech part, but it was a great way to start Women’s History Month.
After the keynote, I had the honor of being a part of the media interview with Lynne Jackson and was able to speak with her personally and get a photo with her. It was great getting the opportunity to tell her about my own research and learn a few new things about her and her foundation. After grabbing some lunch, I was headed to my afternoon sessions. I didn’t realize what a busy day today was going to be. So busy in fact that I didn’t get to the Family Search Library.
Well Day 2 of RootsTech is over, and I must say that today was a very good day. I got in some amazing sessions, got to hang out with some of my genealogy cousins, and I really was able to soak in the RootsTech experience. I’m both excited and sad about tomorrow since it’s my last full day of all things family history.
Sessions I attended:
- The Largest Census of American Women, You Haven’t Heard Of presented by Amber Oldenburg
- The Homestead Act and Southern Black Homesteaders presented by Bernice Bennett and Jessica Korgie
- RootsTech Keynote – Lynne Jackson
- Successful Online Genealogical Searching presented by Kelli Bergheimer
- Understanding and Using the United States Federal Slave Schedule presented by Renate Yarborough Sanders
Click HERE to read about RootsTech 2024 Day 1
Click HERE to read about RootsTech 2024 Day 3
Journey Through the Generations 