RootsTech 2012: Looking forward to Salt Lake City!

Read below for a great registration price for RootsTech 2012, if readers register by midnight tonight (Friday, September 10).

While the summer season of conferences is winding down, we are already gearing up for the winter season which includes RootsTech 2012 (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2-4 February) and Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE 2012 (London, UK; February).

Tracing the Tribe has been named an official blogger for the second edition of the newest genealogy conference - RootsTech 2012 - which brings together developers and and consumers.

RootsTech invited the geneabloggers to a reception this week at FGS in Springfield, Illinois and provided a preview of exciting plans for February.

The first edition was one of the most dynamic and exciting events we've attended. The conference was expertly planned and pulled together in a very short time. The participation of developers with their end-users proved fascinating for both genealogy market segments.

With the event in Salt Lake City, many attendees will be coming in a few days early or staying a few days after to get some research in at the Family History Library.

Tracing the Tribe readers and everyone else can register (and pay for) the conference at the excellent discounted rate of $99 by midnight Friday, September 10 using the special code FGS99. It is unclear if it is midnight Pacific or East Coast, so do it NOW, and share the news with friends, family and genealogy society members.

For those who don't make that deadline, the early-bird rate is $129 through the end of November. Additionally, any person may register any other individuals at the same time. This means that readers can register friends, colleagues and genealogy society members.

There's also a great student price of $35 (valid ID required) to encourage attendance by the younger generations.

Did we mention that the hotel rates for RootsTech 2012 are very affordable?

Go to the conference site - RootsTech - to learn more and register with the special code by midnight tonight.

RootsTech 2011: Keynotes, presentations online

The inaugural edition of the RootsTech conference was quite an experience. Tracing the Tribe is looking forward to the 2012 event.

The keynote talks and select presentations are now available online for those who couldn't make it in person. FamilySearch media contact Paul Nauta - whose attention to detail and to the care of the geneabloggers and others was much appreciated - sent this press release:

Relive RootsTech 2011

Popular Conference Makes Select Presentations Available for Free Online

11 March 2011

SALT LAKE CITY—If you missed the popular inaugural RootsTech 2011 conference, you can now at least get a sampling of what all the excitement was about. The wildly popular new technology and family history conference held last month in Salt Lake City, Utah, made its keynote addresses and a few other popular presentations available online today free of charge. The six free presentations can be viewed at RootsTech.org.

“The scope of the RootsTech conference was unique. We wanted to try to fulfill a need to bring technology users (family history buffs and anyone interested in genealogy) and technology creators (developers, programmers, engineers) together in a unique, fun environment to collaborate and move the genealogy industry forward through technology,” said Anne Roach, RootsTech conference chair. And bring them together it did.

The inaugural conference, hosted by FamilySearch, was a runaway success. With over 3,000 in-person attendees and another 4,500 attending remotely over the Internet, it was arguably one of the largest genealogy-related conferences ever held in the country. In-person attendees hailed from 42 states and 15 countries. Some came from as far away as China, New Zealand, Australia, Namibia, and Israel.

Paul Nauta, RootsTech public relations chair, reported that there were over 40 bloggers in attendance. “Between online articles, blog posts, and nonstop tweets, the online community was buzzing 24 hours a day during the conference and for weeks following—and amazingly, articles and tweets are still going strong,” noted Nauta.

The new conference was pulled together quickly by industry standards—in about 6 months. “The fact that we were able to attract as many conference goers as we did in such a short amount of time testifies to the interest there is in technology and family history,” said Roach. “And we’ve put the videos of the keynotes and other presentations online for free to give others a chance to share in the RootsTech experience; to give them a taste of what they can expect for 2012,” added Roach.

A highlight of the conference was the extensive community networking—community zone (exhibit hall), collaboration stations, and unconferencing sessions. These integrated features produced an open conference atmosphere that seemed to be ideal to introduce technology creators to genealogy technology users and to foster discussions, learning, collaboration, and future industry developments.

Unconferencing sessions—impromptu, participant-driven discussion forums that promote brainstorming, the sharing of ideas, and innovation—were totally new to genealogy attendees, but were more familiar to the technologists. Attendees took advantage of unconferencing sessions to discuss user needs with technology developers and to brainstorm new ideas and solutions. “People emerged from these [unconferencing sessions] with eyes sparkling, and I overheard several people describing conversations between developers and genealogists that left both feeling validated and motivated,” said Polly FitzGerald Kimitt, an attendee and author of Pollyblog.

The RootsTech 2012 conference is scheduled for February 2–4 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In addition to the six video presentations mentioned above, video interviews of other conference speakers and developers can be watched at Genealogy Gems YouTube.

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a new conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists to learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges faced in family history research today. The conference’s activities and offerings are focused on content that will help genealogists and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

RootsTech 2012 is set for February 2-4. Mark your calendars now.

RootsTech: Day 2

RootsTech' day two - Friday - was perhaps even busier than opening day.

One innovation at this event was the Microsoft Playground, a large space filled with billiards and ping pong tables, Wii screens and aso offering back massages. It was very popular!

My DNA presentation - It's In Our Genes: Revealing History via Technology ( A DNA Project Case Study - was delivered to a nearly full large room. One geneablogger - Joan Miller of LuxeGen - was tweeting my talk. It is always a great pleasure to talk about our IberianAshkenaz DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA.com and explain the history behind it and how it can be used as a model for others to set up their own DNA projects. People who attended it were meeting me the rest of the day and commenting how much they enjoyed it.

Many conference attendees who are regulars at other annual events commented on the absence of FamilyTreeDNA.com at RootsTech, and wondered why they hadn't attended.

I also participated in a blogging panel, moderated by our own Thomas MacEntee, along with  A.C. Ivory (one of our youngest geneabloggers at only 23 years of age), Lisa Alzo and Pat Richley AKA Dear Myrtle. There was much discussion and many comments by the panel with questions by attendees and the hour flew by before we knew it.

Sessions at RootsTech are only 60 minutes (45 minutes presentation followed by 15 minutes of Q&A), and that time really goes fast!

Some of today's presentations included several by Steve Morse as well as:

• "Playground Rules for the Genealogy Internet Collaborative Space," with Janet Hovorka
• "Powerpoint 2010 for Presenters" (several labs), with Barbara Renick and Gena Philibert Ortega
• "Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists," with Geoff Rasmussen
• "Names in Stone: Unique Approach to Cemetery Research," with DAvid Day and Bruce Cheney
• "Enhanced Smart Matches and Social Networking Technologies Applied to Facilitate Collaboration between Familes and Researchers," with Daniel Horowitz
• "Use Your Android Phone for Genealogy and Family History," with David Lifferth
• "Security and Disaster Recovery," with Kaeb J. Albee
• "Finding Your Family's Stories Online," with Tami Glatz
• "Genealogy Blogs: Impact and Influence in the Genealogy Commmunity," with Thomas MacEntee
• "Collaborating with Genealogists to Redesign a Digital Library," with Kathleen Murray
• "Easy Digital Newsletters," with Dear Myrtle
• "Google News and Timeline," with Dan Lynch

That's only a few of today's nearly 50 sessions.

This evening, many of us went to the Family History Library for a late night schedule, including the newest Who Do You Think You Are? segment, with Tim McGraw. 

Tracing the Tribe is not really into country music, so I'm the first to admit I barely recognized his name and didn't know much about him. I was rather impressed in that he came across as a really nice guy who was interested in his connections.

Of course, the show makes it seem so simple. Each time, one of the researchers told Tim, "I have this document for you," the audience of genealogists laughed. We all knew the number of hours it took to be able to say that one short sentence!

One researcher had connected him back eight generations, his ancestors were mentioned in George Washington's journal - GW was then only 16 and on a surveying team in the Shenandoah Valley where he met Tim's Hite family.

Although some geneabloggers have reported that Tim seemed disinterested or disengaged, our group didn't feel that way. Indeed, we felt that Tim came across as a modest person who felt very connected to his ancestors and their place in history.

We were a tired bunch when we got back to our hotel!

The general comments among attendees and geneabloggers were that we were all looking forward to RootsTech 2012, which is set for February 2-4. You might want to mark it on your calendar now!

RootsTech: Day 1

Tracing the Tribe was so busy yesterday that we couldn't manage to post this information!

The day started very early for the geneabloggers with a 7am breakfast hosted by FamilySearch.org.

After a demo on FamilySearch, the group received a first-look at the exhibitor floor.

The media hub has been active all day, with bloggers working from the stations, and interviews being conducted in glass-walled booths.

The demo hub has events scheduled all day and Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage.com announced the company's IPhone mobile app.

Tracing the Tribe sat next to One-Step guru Steve Morse during the opening keynote address by HP president Shane Robison.

Some of today's 51 sessions:

• "Interactive Genealogists," with Lisa Alzo
• "The 50 Most Popular Genealogy Web Sites (Really!)," with Kory Meyerink.
• Virtual Family RReunions: Using Online Tools to Find More Cousins Than You Know What to Do With," "with Crista Cowan.
• "Will Your Work Survive the Digital Age?" with Janet Hovorka
• "Exploring Cemetery Solutions," with Gordon Clarke (a panel discussion)
• "Software Forecast: What Geneaogists Need for the Future," with D. Josh Taylor
• "Toy Story: Electronic Tools for Genealogists," with Sandra Crowey
• "Tweet Your Ancestors: Social Media for Genealogists," with Patricia Van Skaik
• "Cool Tools to Enhance Your Online Research," with Tami Glatz
• "Social Networking for Genealogists," with Drew Smith
• "Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage," with Barry Ewell.
• "Self-Pubishing for Genealogists and Genealogical Societies," with Thomas MacEntee
• "How Should We Handle Sources?" with Rick Laxman (an open discussion among genealogists, bloggers, vendors and website providers)

Tonight - Thursday - we are attending a special Night at the Planetarium exclusively for conference-goers. The program includes a casual dinner, star shows, 3D IMAX movies and interactive exhibits, with prizes to be awarded all evening.

It has been a busy, if tiring, very full day!

RootsTech: Blogger events on Tuesday

Today, Tracing the Tribe noted Dick Eastman, Dear Myrt, Thomas MacEntee, Drew Smith, Lisa Cooke, Renee Zamora and many more of our intrepid group.

At 3pm, the geneabloggers met across from the Library to board a bus to the huge FamilySearch microfilm distribution center here (exterior view below). [Credit: Property of Intellectual Reserve.]

Have you ever used microfilms at the FHL or your local Family History Center? Ever wondered how they got there? Geneabloggers were given a rare look into the system that processes and sends out those films after orders are received from family history centers.

The computerized system tells a crane to pick films in tubs from shelves (below left). An operator pulls the correct film from the tub via a bar code scanner, checks it against the order, and then places it in a box for shipment.

The Distribution and Print Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - its formal name - covers 1,097,419 square feet, about 19 football fields.

Some facts:

• There are more than 4,600 family history centers in 126 countries
• 725,000 microfilms (copies, not originals) are stored in the center, which can hold some 900,000 films.
• The Center processes some 255,000 microfilms annually.
• The average microfilm is 100 feet long
• If every film processed in a year were to be unwound and placed end-to-end, it would cover 4,800 miles.

Following the tour - with main tour guides David Rencher and Paul Nauta - we were taken to a five-star dinner at The Roof at the top of the century-old Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which used to be the Hotel Utah. Lovingly restored and very elegant, the facility is something to see.

If you are visiting SLC, do visit The Roof. The view from the building is wonderful, particularly at sunset!

Tomorrow morning a specia breakfast presentation begins at 7am for media and bloggers. Stay tuned for more as RootsTech opens. Expected attendance is some 2,700 individuals - quite impressive for a first edition of a new annual conference.

Salt Lake City: Rain and shine!

Tracing the Tribe arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday. In a matter of hours, the sky turned black and we were treated to driving rain that turned to snow, all accompanied by whistling winds. 

This morning, however, dawned bright and sunny (see photo above).

After brunch at the Radisson, I'm now heading over to the Family History Library about two blocks away.

Tonight, at 7 pm, I'll be listening in on Daniel Horowitz's talk to the Utah Jewish Genealogy Society, which will be meeting at the FHL.

Tomorrow afternoon, there's a tour to the FamilySearch microfilming facility, followed by a dinner for the media and bloggers.

Stay tuned for more.

RootsTech: Some sessions to be online for free

As Tracing the Tribe gets ready for our trip to the new RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, we learned that six popular sessions will be broadcast live and free on the Internet.

Global viewers can see them at RootsTech.org.

More than 2,000 attendees have registered for the new family history and technology conference which runs February 10-12.

Tracing the Tribe arrives Monday and hopes to get some research time in at the Family History Library, take an FHL tour on Tuesday, and that evening attend Daniel Horowitz's talk for the Utah Jewish Genealogical Society on researching Israel genealogical resources.

Special events for media/bloggers include a Wednesday trip to the FamilySearch microfilming facility, a dinner, a special breakfast program on Thursday and other events.

In addition to assisting Daniel Horowitz at the MyHeritage.com display, my own conference sessions include participation on the Thursday bloggers' panel - moderated by our good friend Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.com - and on genetic genealogy (with a Jewish twist) on Friday.

The six sessions to be broadcast include some keynote speakers and a sampling of programs (times are MST - Mountain Time):
Thursday, February 10

· 8:30-9am, A World of Information, Shane Robison, chief technology officer, Hewlett Packard

· 9-9:30am, Turning Roots, Branches, Trees into Nodes, Links, Graphs, Jay L. Verkler, chief executive officer, FamilySearch International

· 3-4pm, Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage, Barry Ewell, founder of MyGenShare.com

Friday, February 11

· 8:30-9:30am, The Changing Face of Genealogy, by Curt Witcher, manager of the Historical Genealogy Department, Allen County Public Library

· 9:45-10:45am., Cloud Computing: What is it and how it has been used to create the next familysearch.org, by Brian Pugh, senior engineer, FamilySearch International

Saturday, February 12

· 8:30-9:30am Personal Archiving and Primary Documents, Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archives

· 1:45-2:45pm, Virtual Presentations Round Table and Collaborative Panel Discussion, Thomas MacEntee, professional genealogist and technology specialist

· 3-4pm, The Power of PDF: Tools for Every Genealogist , D. Josh Taylor, Director of Education and Programs at New England Historical Genealogical Society.

Broadcasting some sessions is an excellent idea, and it is fitting that this new genealogy and technology conference should make this possible.

Tracing the Tribe wishes more gen conferences would do the same, to give more people a "taste" of what they would be experiencing if they had personally attended.

On the Road: Genealogists plan speaking tours

Are we coming to your neighborhood?

This is the time of year when many genealogy speakers are focusing on finalizing their schedules for the next few months.

Many - including Tracing the Tribe - will speak at both major conferences and local venues. All of these events are wonderful opportunities to meet, greet and learn from so many individuals speaking on a wide array of topics.

Tracing the Tribe will be speaking in the US, UK and Canada. This year will be much easier as we are now US-based, making it much easier to travel to events and return home without being away for extended periods of time. My presentations include DNA genetic genealogy, creating virtual communities and introductory sessions, and the current schedule looks like this:

FEBRUARY
6 - Rio Rancho, NM - DNA genetic genealogy and family history
10-12 - Salt Lake City, Utah - RootsTech 2011
13 - Albuquerque, NM Jewish community education event - A Taste of Honey -
24 - London UK - JGS of Great Britain
25-28 - London UK Who Do You Think You Are? Family History Fair

APRIL
2 - Rio Rancho, NM - Genealogy Library Day ("Blast into the Past"), Loma Colorado Branch

MAY
7 - London UK - Society of Genealogists' Centenary Conference
8 - Manchester UK - JGS of Great Britain, Manchester Regional Conference
11-14 - Charleston, SC - National Genealogical Society Conference

JUNE
10-12 - Burbank, CA - Southern California Jamboree
19-23 - Montreal, Canada - Association of Jewish Libraries

Our good friend and MyHeritage.com colleague Daniel Horowitz and I will both be speaking at the major conferences, at the Albuquerque JCC Taste of Honey event February 13, and at a special double-header February 24 for the JGS of Great Britain before WDYTYA Live! opens.

Daniel's upcoming schedule offers information-packed talks covering a broad range of topics - from MyHeritage features, technology, genealogy school projects, Israel resources and others.

FEBRUARY
8- Utah Jewish Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, UT
10-12 - RootsTech, Salt Lake City, UT
13 - JCC of Greater Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM
14 - CSU/ JGS of Georgia, The Breman Museum, Atlanta, GA
24 - JGS of Great Britain, London, UK
25-27 - WDYTYA Live, London, UK

MARCH
29 - JGS of Dayton, Ohio
31 - April 2 - VISIT Ohio Genealogical Society Conference

APRIL
5 - JGS of Cleveland, Ohio
6-9 - VISIT 11th New England Regional Gen Conference
10 - JGS of New York, Center for Jewish History, Manhattan
11 - Association of Professional Genealogists NY, NY
14 - JGS of North Jersey, New Jersey
24 - JGS of Long Island, Long Island, NY
26 - Bernards Township Library, Basking Ridge, NJ

MAY
2 - JGS of Greater Philadelphia, Elkins Park, PA
3 - New York Genealogy PC Users' Group, Manhattan, NY
10-14 - VISIT NGS Conference, Charleston SC
15 - JGS of Greater Washington, Washington DC, Washington DC

For more information on Daniel's schedule and the specific talks at each location, contact him, or see his personal website.

Tracing the Tribe looks forward to greeting readers!

RootsTech: Don't miss early registration discounts

If you've been thinking about Salt Lake City - for RootsTech 2011 - remember that early discounted registration ends January 15.

The event is set for February 10-12, at SLC's Salt Palace Convention Center - walking distance to the Family History Library. Tracing the Tribe is arriving a few days early and hoping to get some research in at the FHL.

Until January 15, registration is only $99, and it will jump to $150 after that date. Even better, this new conference is only $35 for students. It's good to see a gen conference offering such good price break for our younger fans.

Tracing the Tribe is looking forward to RootsTech as I participate in a panel chaired by Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.com and also speak on genetic genealogy.

RootsTech 2011 is a new conference focused on bringing technology creators together with genealogy technology users to learn together and identify solutions to family history research challenges. Genealogists and family historians will discover exciting new research tools while technology creators will learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

Registration includes three full days of conference attendance, conference materials, Clarke Planetarium dinner event entry, Family History Library extended access, closing reception event admission, prize drawings and Community Zone (exhibition hall) accessibility.

Advancing technology is becoming an integral part of the future of genealogical research. Whether a person is new to genealogy or is an experienced researcher, RootsTech is the ideal place to discover the latest family history tools. In addition, technology creators will learn the skills needed to deliver innovative applications and systems, and they will have the opportunity to receive instant feedback from peers and users on their ideas and creations.

Keynoters will include Shane Robinson, Hewlett Packard chief strategy and technology officer; Brewster Kahle, founder, Internet Archive and digital librarian; Jay L. Verkler, CEO, FamilySearch International; and Curt Witcher, Historical Genealogy Department manager, Allen County Public Library.

The new event on the gen calendar is designed to bring technologists together with genealogists to learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges of today's family history research. It is focused on content to help genealogists and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

For more information about the conference, go to the RootsTech site.

RootsTech: Official blogger

Tracing the Tribe is an official RootsTech conference blogger.

In addition to assisting in the effort to get the word out about this new event, which runs from Thursday-Saturday, February 10-12, in Salt Lake City, Utah, I will be presenting on genetic genealogy and participating in a geneablogger's panel (moderated by Thomas MacEntee).

The many presentations demonstrate the increasing role of technology in our quest for information. The sessions cover searching for information, storing it as we find it, and the newest technology available now or coming down the road.

The conference organizers are also extending assistance to the geneabloggers in terms of dedicated spaces to conduct audio interviews and podcasts, video recording of scheduled video interviews with copies to post on our blogs or websites, office space to access the Internet, recharge equipment and assistance in scheduling interviews with speakers and VIPs.

For more information about the event, including registration and the sessions, click here.

Tracing the Tribe hopes to see you in Salt Lake City.

Family Tree Magazine: Win! Win! Win!

Family Tree Magazine is offering an "ultimate family history giveaway."

Enter for a chance to win more than $2,000 worth of genealogy products, including a Family History Library research retreat and hotel stay, subscriptions, software, gift certificates and more.

It's okay to enter everyday - so bookmark the page and note your calendar - through October 31. Maybe you'll be the lucky one to win this fabulous package.

The prize package includes the following:

•A week-long Salt Lake City research trip! Free registration in a Family History Library Research Retreat from Family History Expos ($399 value) plus a free six-night stay at the neighboring Salt Lake Plaza hotel ($510 value)

•Annual subscription to FindMyPast.co.uk ($239 value)

•2-year PremiumPlus membership to MyHeritage.com ($238 value)

•RootsMagic 4 software, Getting the Most from RootsMagic book, RootsMagic tote bag, 4GB RootsMagic flash drive, Personal Historian software, Family Atlas software ($122 value)

•1-year Research Membership in the New England Historic Genealogical Society, including access to AmericanAncestors.org, plus a 1 hour consultation with a professional NEHGS genealogist ($125 value)

•3 gift certificates for any spiral-bound or paperback book from Arphax Publishing's Family Maps or Texas Land Survey Maps series ($90 value)

•Annual subscription to GenealogyBank ($89.95 value)

•Google Earth for Genealogy DVD and Genealogy Gems Podcast Premium annual membership ($42 value)

•10 Years of Family Tree Magazine DVD, The Family Tree Sourcebook and a 1-year Family Tree VIP membership ($185 value)

What are you waiting for? Enter today! Read the official rules here.

Salt Lake City: East European conference, July 29-31

The 16th Federation of East European Family History Societies conference will be held in Salt Lake City, July 29-31.

Venues are the Family History Library and the Plaza Hotel (just around the corner from the FHL). For more details, view the FEEFHS site.

This year's theme - "Ancestors Found: Success through Assistance" - will be explored by well-known speakers covering

Part of the event's scope for registered attendees are research consultations with the attending specialists. A Saturday recognition luncheon is also scheduled.

Lecture topics cover handwriting and ethnic documents (Latin, Cyrillic, Gothic, German), using the FHL, gazetteers, maps, geographical research (Polish, Russian Empire, Austrian Empire, German, Balkan, Hungarian Empire, Baltic), Russian Orthodox customs, using US sources to cross the ocean and more.

Speakers include Barbara Bell, Thomas K. Edlund, Marek Koblanski,  Kahlile B. Mehr, Dave Obee, Sylvie Pysnak and Dee Semon.

There are two lectures at each of three time slots each day (8.30am, 9.45am, 11am), with assisted research from 2-5pm each day at the FHL.

Afternoon consultations may include questions concerning any of the countries between the Alps and the Urals, between the Baltic and the Black Seas (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia).

Registration is $100 (before July 3) and includes the syllabus, luncheon and research assistance. The special Plaza Hotel rate is $82.

For more details, click here.

NGS Awards: The complete list of honorees

The National Genealogical Society presented several awards to individuals in recognition of their contributions to the NGS or to the field of genealogy.

For more on each award and the honorees, click here for the NGS UpFront Blog post.

Three individuals received the President's Citation:

-- Peter Broadbent, in appreciation of his two terms on the NGS Board of Directors, assisting with the sale of Glebe House, for his work on Amending and Restating the Articles of Incorporation and ByLaws, and for his wise counsel on numerous issues which came before the board.

-- Connie Lenzen, CG, who has served two terms on the NGS Board, for her leadership as Chair of the Education Committee.

-- Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, for her ongoing promotion of genealogical events and broad support of the genealogical community as a whole.

The Award of Excellence: Genealogical Methods & Sources: Schelly Talalay Dardashti for her article in Family Tree Magazine (September 2009), "Ties That Bind: Jewish Research Strategies." The award is given to an individual or nonprofit organization for a specific, significant single contribution in the form of a book, an article, or a series of articles published during the past three years that discusses genealogical methods and sources and serves to foster scholarship and/or otherwise advances or promotes excellence in genealogy.

The NGSQ Award for Excellence:  Rachal Mills Lennon, CG, for her article “Jonathan Turner- More Than a Name: A Carolina Case Study in Dissecting Records,” which appeared in NGSQ (March 2009). It is given each year for a specific, significant, single contribution in the form of an article or series of articles that serves to foster scholarship and/or advances or promotes excellence in genealogy.

The Family History Writing Contest Award: Patrick Quigley from Ponco Pines, Pennsylvania, and his entry was titled, "The Quigley Family Searches for the American Dream." Contestants must compile a three- or four-generation family history. The  winner receives an expense-paid trip to the next NGS Family History Conference and possible publication in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

The Home Study Scholarship: Terri Hildreth of Madison, Alabama. It is given to encourage those pursuing a career in genealogy.

I am especially indebted to NGS for contributing to awareness of Jewish genealogy research through the Award of Excellence this year.

NGS: An honor in Salt Lake City

The National Genealogical Society has recognized an article I wrote for Family Tree Magazine.

"Ties That Bind," on Jewish research strategies, received the "NGS Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources," at the Friday night NGS conference dinner in Salt Lake City.

The Family Tree Magazine article (see cover page right) appeared on pages 52-57 of the September 2009 issue.

Although I could not be there in person, my heart was certainly there. My good friend Daniel Horowitz accepted the award (see image left) in my absence.

I sincerely thank the NGS, headed by president Jan Alpert, and Family Tree Magazine's Allison Stacey, Grace Dobush and Diane Haddad for their foresight in encouraging this topic, and for creating its important visual context.

Utah: Opening a landmark

Ellen Hallet Stone is a researcher and oral historian who focuses on the history of Jews in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Her recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune covers Lithuanian immigrant Simon Shapiro's 1917 opening of Shapiro Trunk & Bag Co.

She used archived interviews (at the University of Utah's Marriott Library) with Simon's son and SLC merchant Joel Shapiro.

Born in 1879, Simon was part of the 1891 immigration wave from the Russian Empire. His brother had TB, and Simon went with him to Colorado and likely to Denver's Jewish Consumptive Relief Society.

When his brother died, the 17-year-old Simon began his business career, which advanced from selling soap door-to-door to packing and unpacking traveling salesmen's trunks.

After working for a St. Louis trunk company and travelling Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho, he arrived in Salt Lake City in 1915 and opened his store in 1917.

Read the complete story at the link above.

Utah: 'Genealogical pit bull' Helen Radkey

Helen Radkey has been instrumental in uncovering posthumous baptisms of Jews in the LDS church records.

Two stories on Friday in the Salt Lake Tribune focused on her work and the new FamilySearch system that may not stop inappropriate names slipping through. Both quoted well-known Jewish genealogist Gary Mokotoff who signed the 1995 agreement between the LDS church and Jewish Holocaust groups.

"I call her the Erin Brockovich of the Mormon/Jewish controversy," says New Jersey resident Gary Mokotoff, past president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies who signed the [1995] agreement and feels indebted to Radkey for what he considers impeccable research. "You can defame her any way you want personality-wise, but she's still a whistle-blower."

The first article on Helen is here; it called her a genealogical pit bull who has both defenders and critics in the quest to eliminate what are - to Jews - distasteful Mormon proxy baptisms performed on Jewish Holocaust victims and others.

Helen has uncovered thousands of "inappropriately entered" Holocaust victims, who are then removed and re-entered again as fast as they are removed. She discovered famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in the International Genealogical Index (IGI); his name was quickly removed after a major media storm.

The first article provides a glimpse of Helen's work:

Both bedrooms are piled high with box after box of file folders, evidence of her decades long drive to undermine the LDS Church's temple ritual in which living Mormons are baptized for a person who has died.

Each folder contains the name and personal information of an individual who has been posthumously baptized. She found the data through the church's Family History Library, poring over its genealogical records and looking for those people she believes ought not be there -- from Catholic saints to offshoot polygamists to infamous scoundrels such as Adolf Hitler and famous people such as President Barack Obama's mother.

Since 1993, she has garnered widespread media attention with every new find. She traveled to Rome several times to "warn" Vatican officials of the growing warmth between Utah's Mormon and Catholic leaders, reporting proxy baptisms of dead Catholics, including martyrs and saints. She alerted Jewish genealogists that Mormons were not keeping their 1995 agreement to stop baptizing Holocaust victims.

The second story by the same reporter is here, and focuses on the new system that the church hopes will thwart mischief makers, although it may not stop inappropriate names from slipping through. And the new system also hides the names of people who inappropriately submit Jewish and other names for temple rites.

The LDS Church now has in place a computer program it believes may halt -- or at least slow -- the submission of incorrect, inappropriate or dubious information into its massive collection of genealogical records.

"The new version of FamilySearch is a technological deterrent to improper submissions," LDS spokesman Scott Trotter said Thursday. "For example, users must certify that the names they are submitting are of family members."

In earlier times, the record included person who had submitted a name, along with which temple rituals had been performed for the deceased individual. Today, those details are secret and open only to church members.

Helen Radkey, the self-appointed whistle-blower on Mormon proxy baptisms, is not
convinced this will do anything but shield the identity of those she claims are
pouring American celebrities and Holocaust victims back into "temple-ready"
files.

LDS leaders and officials at the church's Family History Library declined to be interviewed for this story. They would not say whether any protocols are in place to catch people who are creating mischief by submitting names such as Thomas Edison and Simon Wiesenthal.

While some critics believe Helen has added such names herself, she denies that, as do her supporters.

"There is no reason for me to submit names," she says. "LDS Church members regularly submit names of celebrities or famous people, and names from unapproved lists, such as Jewish Holocaust victims."

Gary Mokotoff, a nationally prominent Jewish genealogist who signed the LDS Church's 1995 agreement to discontinue proxy baptisms for Holocaust victims, calls that allegation "a vicious ugly rumor designed to discredit her and she's absolutely not doing it."

Mokotoff is convinced that because Radkey is such an irritant to LDS officials, they would be the first to expose her. But they haven't.

"This has never been brought up in any discussions with the church," Mokotoff says. "The church has never publicly discredited her."

LDS officials refused to say whether they have investigated to find out who has entered inappropriate names into the system.

The continuing problem with Jewish records appearing in the LDS collection has convinced Mokotoff that LDS officials had no intention of honoring their 1995 accord.

"They could do things today and they are not doing it," he says. "The church knows who the culprits are. They say it's because of overzealous Mormons, but there has been no reprimand of overzealous Mormons."

The church would not say if it has sanctioned any members for misusing the system.

Radkey finds data in roadblock workarounds, which include confidential sources, using Family History Library terminals when previous users left without logging out, and the log-ins of Mormon friends.

Read both stories to learn more about Australian-born Helen's quest, why she does what she does, how she got started in July 1993 discovering that the Mormons had proxy baptised Catholic martyrs, and her premonition about what would be her work with Jews.

After 1995, when the church agreed to remove more than 350,000 Jewish Holocaust names from the records, she looked to see if the names were back on the list. And, by 2000, some 19,000 had again been entered.

Salt Lake City Rabbi Benny Zippel (of Congregation Bais Menachem) is distressed about the proxy baptism of Holocaust victims, and he's quoted:

Any kind of proxy baptism "is morally offensive and deeply hurtful to both the survivors of the Holocaust," he says, "as well as to the souls of those who died and laid down their lives for their faith."

However, he wanted nothing to do with Helen's efforts, as he says "I don't like nurturing or enhancing negative energy," and has had positive interaction with the LDS church leaders.

The issue is often billed as the "Jewish/Mormon controversy that won't go away." To read more about the details of agreements signed by the LDS church and more on the history, go to JewishGen.org and read this infofile, written by Bernard I. Kouchel.

APG: Election congrats to familiar faces

Some very familiar faces - from New Hampshire, Florida, Utah, New York and Israel - were among the 17 individuals recently elected to the Association of Professional Genealogists board.

Special congratulations from Tracing the Tribe go to the following:

Laura G. Prescott of Brookline, New Hampshire was elected president.

Andrew M. “Drew” Smith of Odessa, Florida, was elected secretary. Drew is the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa president, and co-hosts (with George Morgan), the Genealogy Guys Podcast.

Among elected regional directors:

West Region: Suzanne Russo Adams AG of Utah, is a specialist in Italian research and employee of Ancestry.com.

I've known Suzanne for what seems like years and she was my host when I visited Ancestry's Provo headquarters a few years ago. We meet at the Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Jamborees as well as the annual IAJGS international Jewish genealogy conferences, where she is usually an Ancestry.com speaker.

Northeast Region: Debra Braverman of New York, is a national speaker and forensic genealogist who regularly testifies as an expert witness.

She is a JGS of New York member; we meet at the annual IAJGS conferences.

International Regions: Michael Goldstein of Israel, traces roots worldwide, specializing in family reunification, heir searches and Holocaust research.

Well-known to all genealogists in Israel, Michael wears several hats as president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and president of the Israel Genealogical Society. He speaks at Jewish genealogical societies in North America and at IAJGS conferences.

The Association of Professional Genealogists, established in 1979, represents nearly 2,000 genealogists, librarians, writers, editors, historians, instructors, booksellers, publishers, and others involved in genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy, local, and social history. Its members represent all 50 states, Canada, and 30 other countries.

Congratulations to everyone elected this year!

President's mother baptized posthumously

According to the guidelines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are only supposed to enter their own relatives for posthumous baptism and other rites. Additionally, members must obtain permission from living relatives to enter non-members.

However, it is the ethical and moral responsibility of each church member to do that. Quality control on the church's part (e.g. presenting proof of documentation for the purported family relationship) is not part of the process.

If this proof had been a requirement, we would not be seeing Jewish individuals and Holocaust victims still being subjected to this disrespectful rite. Additionally, if such a documentation process would have been required, we would not be seeing Holocaust victims removed from the International Genealogical Index and then later added again. It is easy to see who Holocaust victims are as the place of death is often the name of a well-known death camp, such as Auschwitz.

According to researcher Helen Radkey of Salt Lake City, the posthumous baptism of President Barak Obama's mother - Stanley Ann Dunham who died in 1995 - was performed on June 4, 2008 in the Provo, Utah temple. The "endowment" rite was also performed on June 11 in the same location. Radkey found the record while researching in the Family History Library in SLC. A tireless researcher, she has discovered thousands of Holocaust victims' records in the IGI for whom posthumous baptism was performed in contradiction of past agreements with Holocaust survivor organizations.

Was a request for permission to perform this rite on his mother received by then-candidate Obama while he was campaigning back in June?

According to the story, neither the church (except for general comments on the continuing practice) nor the White House has commented officially on this. The SLC Tribune story did not address the guidelines that Mormons are supposed to follow before entering an individual's name for such rites.

The story is here, although it has now been picked up nationwide.

Tracing the Tribe believes that these posthumous rites are both offensive and disrespectful to the deceased - and to his or her living relatives - as it indicates that the deceased's practiced religious beliefs (while alive) and life choices (while alive) were inferior to those of the LDS church. The deceased - through an involuntary LDS posthumous rite to which he or she has not agreed - is being provided an opportunity to supposedly rectify "errors" in judgement he or she made while alive. This is insulting.

Kim Farah, an LDS Church spokeswoman, confirmed in a story for USA Today that Dunham's posthumous proxy baptism did take place. She added that these are outside of LDS policy, which requires that the person registering a proxy baptism for someone who has died can only do it for a relative.

Is Judaism inferior to the LDS church? No. Are Buddhism, Confucionism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Russian Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, other Christian denominations or Islam inferior to the LDS church? Millions of people say no, but their deceased are still subjected to involuntary rites in the hope that - in the afterlife - all these people will see the "errors" of their ways. It is insulting.

Genealogically, it is also confusing. Most genealogists know that the IGI is a database of those on whom Mormon rites have been performed. If my Jewish ancestors are in there, it is because they have been posthumously baptised by proxy and may have had additional rites performed on them as well. If my future descendants do not know what the IGI is, and see my name there, they will think that I have been baptised a Mormon. Thus, my IGI "record" will be fraudulent as I will not have changed my mind as to my beliefs, traditions, heritage, history and religion.

Do read some of the comments (hundreds at last count). One writer suggested creating a "Do Not Baptize" List, similar to the telemarketing "Do Not Call" list.

When the news broke about the posthumous baptism of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and there was a very strong negative reaction to this - Wiesenthal's record was removed from the IGI. Tracing the Tribe is sure that this is also the next step for the President's mother's baptism record. I wouldn't be surprised if it is already gone from the public database - but one cannot unring a bell in regard to private LDS records of such rites.

One comment to the USA Today story even quoted me (from some time ago) - that was a surprise:

Proxy baptisms were the focus of fierce controversy in the last decade of the twentieth century. Under intense public pressure, the LDS Church signed an agreement in 1995 with major Jewish organizations saying the Church would stop doing ordinances for deceased Jews without the written permission of all their living descendants. The LDS Church reportedly subsequently purged its own records of proxy baptisms and endowments of over 380,000 Holocaust victims. This is little comfort to many Jews whose relatives’ “fraudulent” records will reflect that they were Mormons.

“The only thing that a family researcher will see—or know, unless they’re conversant with the issue—is that their great-grandfather was a Mormon, when we all know the person lived and died as a Jew,” said Schelly Talalay Dardashti, genealogy columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

Another writer, ex-Mormon Martin Wishnatsky, was even more bitter: “The only solace I have in knowing that the Russian Communists obliterated my ancestors’ graves in Lemburg, Poland, is that no hungry Mormon name-robber, looking for records of dead persons to feed the ghoulish endowment factories, will ever be able to uncover any trace of them.”

Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to stop the disrespectful practice of posthumous baptism.

Utah: Clarion's Jewish colony

The Salt Lake City Tribune carried a story about the Clarion Jewish agricultural colony in Utah.

I first learned of Clarion through a colleague at the Henderson Home News in Southern Nevada - her family had lived in Gunnison. Later, I discovered more at sessions on Utah's Jewish history during several international Jewish genealogy conferences held in SLC.

Jessica Ravitz's story includes two sidebars, multimedia, historic and contemporary photographs.

Three miles west of Gunnison in south central Utah, where tumbleweeds roll across several thousand acres of rocky and barren land, 200 unlikely families once arrived to plant dreams. They were new Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland, people who, in most cases, had been in America for less than five years.

Leaving crowded city tenements and East Coast sweatshops, factory and peddling jobs behind, they signed up in 1911 to be part of a global experiment.

The back-to-the-soil movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw 40 Jewish agricultural colonies sprout up across America. This happened just as similar projects took root in Canada, Argentina and Ottoman-ruled Palestine, now Israel -- the genesis of the kibbutz movement, communal settlements that flourished in Israel's early years and still exist today.

The man who led the charge for those who journeyed to Utah was Benjamin Brown (nee Lipshitz), a Russian-born ideologue living in Philadelphia who believed this effort would save his people by getting them out of congested environments, diversifying their skills and instilling in them greater self-sufficiency and confidence.

The story has quotes from Brown's daughter Lillian Brown Vogel, now 99 and living in Ukiah, California.

University of Utah history professor Bob Goldberg wrote a book - Back to the Soil: The Jewish Farmers of Clarion, Utah, and Their World - about the colony and its struggles.

Four years of irrigation woes, a flood, an early frost, broken-down equipment, bad weather, financial troubles, poor soil and abysmal crops took a toll, causing most everyone to hop trains to cities. Along the way, three had died, including Aaron Binder, a strapping member of the community who was crushed in a logging accident.

Goldberg recently led high school seniors of Utah's largest synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami, to the area to see the remnants: a few headstones in Hebrew, ruins of foundations, etc.

In 1982, while looking at a book about the state's ghost towns, Goldberg discovered Clarion, and he wanted students to see an often overlooked chapter in Jewish and Utah history.

The Clarion colony was part of a final push for these agrarian developments in America. It was the largest in land area, as well as population, and lasted longer than any other settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, Goldberg said. Brown and his scouting partner, Isaac Herbst, had settled on Utah because the land was cheap, the state was hyping the promise of the new Piute Canal, and it was situated near railroad tracks. But, perhaps as important as anything else, Goldberg added that it was also far enough away from the East that it would make giving up and leaving more difficult for farmers.

Most families left in 1915 after the struggles proved too much. Their train tickets were paid for by Jews living SLC. Most went to cities, although a few went to farm elsewhere. The Jewish community tried to help and the history documents the fact that Mormon farmers offered assistance and knowledge. The church even donated $500 to help the Clarion group survive its last winter. The Clarion community utilized only half of the 6,000 acres they purchased.

A few families stayed until the late 1920s, but finally left when they became concerned that their high-school teenagers might marry Mormons.

Bruce Sorenson, 49, understands the intrigue. The local Mormon farmer, reached in his Centerfield home, first spotted the cemetery headstones when he was 16. Ever since then, he's remained fascinated and has taken it upon himself to watch over the grounds. He used to bring flowers to the two gravestones, which are surrounded by small fences to protect them -- until Eileen Hallet Stone, another Salt Lake City historian, told him Jews don't traditionally honor their dead that way. Every now and then, when he thinks of it and even though he admitted he doesn't know what he's doing, Sorenson shows up with candles to light on Hanukkah.

He occasionally spots people wandering around in search of something. visitors have included Brown's daughter Lillian and her son, other colonists' descendants, and even people from Israel. He helps out by showing them where to go, what he knows and asks them to sign his copy of Goldberg's book.

There's much more in the complete article at the link above.

Salt Lake City: FHL research trip

For 15 years, Jewish genealogists Gary Mokotoff and Eileen Polakoff have headed research trips to the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, billed as the largest genealogy library in the world.

This year - the 16th - the trip will take place October 23-30.

Participants spend a week of research at the FHL with the professional genealogists who have made dozens of research trips during some 20 years.

The first day offers a three-hour introduction class on the library's facilities and resources, including such records as naturalization, arrival, vital statistics and more. A mid-week informal group meeting focuses on progress and problem-solving, and Mokotoff and Polakoff are available for on-site assistance and consultation during library hours.

For more information, click here.