RootsTech London - Free, or Not

Of the three major family history shows I’ve been to this past year (the other two being Family Tree Live and The Genealogy Show), by far the largest and most energising has been RootsTech London which was held over three days last week.  Some criticism was levelled at the choice of a London venue as it disadvantaged people in the rest of the UK, but it was clear from the organisers’ remarks during the event that they saw London as central to sharing family history knowledge and resources with the rest of the world. 

RootsTech began almost ten years ago in the United States, and this was the first time it had ventured elsewhere.  Much advance publicity, and special discounted ticket rates from various companies (sometimes confusingly competing with each other!) were available to help people decide if they wanted to attend.  My main gripe was that the schedule of workshops wasn’t available until the price of travel and accommodation was almost at the astronomical level.  However, I heard from a few genealogists on Twitter who managed to bag good value hotel rooms relatively near to the date, so it wasn’t all bad news.

I had already decided to attend all three days of the conference and had gone for the “book before you can’t afford it” strategy for my travel and hotel room.  In the end it worked out pretty well as it meant I had over one hundred classes to choose from, all of which were included in the ticket price.  The free RootsTech mobile app was available to download well in advance of the event, a really useful tool in planning my schedule and connecting with other genealogists (and even distant relatives) who were attending.

Genealogy DNA companies were very much in evidence

As the workshops were all offered on a “first come, first served” basis, it occasionally meant people being turned away when a class was full, but there were so many other options that it wasn’t the end of the world.  As well as up to ten classes running simultaneously in each timeslot, there were presentations in the main exhibition hall.  These were run by some of the big boys in the family history market like FindMyPast, Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Family Tree Maker, promoting their wares via informative talks and Q&A sessions.

The FamilySearch stand had a variety of informative free talks on offer

Everything in the exhibition hall - presentations, interactive displays, stalls in abundance, advice from friendly experts and volunteers - was free, as was entry to the main exhibition hall itself.  This price-less aspect of the conference wasn’t promoted nearly as early or widely as it should have been, and of course was of most benefit to those living in and around the London area.  There was also a nifty free RootsTech backpack, handed out to each attendee, plus free bits and bobs to be collected from the stands around the hall.

Also included in the price of the ticket was entry to the daily keynote sessions in the large auditorium.  Compered by historian Nick Barratt, these featured a different well-known personality each day, who shared with us their own history and how they had come to appreciate it, through very different routes.  TV presenter and historian Dan Snow, Paralympian Kadeena Cox, and singer Donny Osmond all spoke about their family backgrounds and how this had influenced the person they had become.  I was most impressed by Dan Snow, who had a very engaging and natural style and told the eye-opening story of his great-grandfather who had been a general during the Battle of the Somme.  You can watch his presentation here.

This is another moneysaving angle to RootsTech of which I heartily approve.  Each day three sessions, including the keynote talks, could be viewed live online by anyone.  And since the conference, more presentations have been posted and made available without charge.  RootsTech sell a “Virtual Pass” which will allow several months' worth of access to 20 classes which were filmed and will be posted online within a few weeks.  HOWEVER, frugal family history pals, the Virtual Pass section of the website also states that after the nine months’ access expires at the end of July 2020, all these videos will be made freely available at no cost.  These will hopefully allow you to get as much out of the classes as those who attended in person.  Each speaker provided their contact details and was happy to answer questions immediately afterwards in person, by email, or on social media. 

Another lovely element of the show was the many family history enthusiasts already acquainted online being able to meet up – sometimes for the first time –  and exchange news, ideas, and plans, and just generally socialise.  I ran into old (and I mean OLD) friends, Twitterpals, fellow family historians who have connected via more conventional methods, and met and made new friends in abundance.  I learned that we depend a great deal on a very varied network of like-minded people to grow our family trees, whether they be academics, marketing people, professional genealogists, hobbyists, or, indeed, relatives.  I was inspired by one of the classes I attended to further my pursuit of DNA as a tool to break down my Irish brick wall, and took advantage of one of the heavily discounted DNA kits on offer at the show.

This is what a Tweetup of genealogists looks like (Photo by Paul Chiddicks)

Asked which of the three big genealogy events this year I would most recommend, I ventured to suggest RootsTech, purely because of the sheer variety and number of subjects covered by the classes.  I would certainly seriously consider attending any return events they hold. 

An audience view of the Saturday morning class on Scottish research

And to those of you who attended my own presentation about Scottish research and resources on the Saturday morning of RootsTech, thank you!  It wasn’t filmed (phew) so won’t be available online, but if you want a copy of the handout I provided, you can download it here – free, of course!  In fact, you can download handouts from any or all of the sessions at the RootsTech London website - which definitely reduced the “fear of missing out” factor for attendees who were spoilt for choice.  Just select a class, then click on the "Syllabus" link after the talk Summary.