Well here we are, it’s the middle of March already, and RootsTech is done and dusted. But is it? Is it really? No. It’s not too late to RootsTech!
Even if you didn’t attend either in person or virtually between March 3rd and 5th, it’s not too late to participate in RootsTech 2023.
Why get involved now?
RootsTech is the largest family history conference in the world.
It’s totally free!
The on-demand sessions remain on the site for easy access whenever you need to learn (or just feel like learning) something new about genealogy.
There are currently more than 1,500 sessions on 185 topics in over 30 languages in the On-Demand Library, so you’re sure to find something of use and interest to you.
Some of the sponsors still have conference deals and offers running for another week or so.
‘Relatives at RootsTech’ is also still available until March 28th. Connect with family!
You can create your own personal playlist of presentations you are interested in. That saves you from having to remember which ones grabbed your fancy!
It’s NOT TOO LATE TO ROOTSTECH!
My favourite session this year
There were so many to choose from, and I’m still working my way through them, but my favourite has to be Jonny Perl’s presentation on third-party DNA tools. He didn’t just talk about his own site, DNA Painter. He spent an hour taking us through a huge swathe of different tools available on different sites. It was a great summary of what’s available to help people who want to do more with their DNA results than their original testing company can offer. It was a really good overview of what each tool does, how it might help, who it might suit… There’s just so much around and we’re spoilt for choice, really!
I still have an awful lot to watch. Family ‘stuff’ is currently taking a lot more of my time than family history. But that’s okay. That’s how RootsTech works. It’s NEVER too late to Rootstech!
PS: Mark your calendars for RootsTech 2024! February 29th-March 2nd…counting down! Maybe next year I can actually be there…like in 2019 in London…a girl can dream…
The next phase in sorting out the Townley family, or the story of how I tried to disprove a strange hint and ended up proving it!
Regular readers may remember that I blogged last year about my Townley family and the strange propensity people have of assuming that William Townley, victualler of London was the Reverend William Townley of Orpington, Kent. We now have him tracked down to Charlton next Woolwich in Kent where his father John was a gardener. Through combing the parish registers, his siblings Robert, John, Mary, Thomas, and Joice (the only one to be baptized in Charlton) were discovered. A satisfying number of DNA descendants of this Townley family matched with my family through this line. So what now?
If there is no trace of them in the Charlton parish register before the 1790s, where were they before then? And could I pin down exactly who was John’s wife Betty?
There was a multitude of possibilities for baptisms of my ancestor William, so I decided to focus on Robert, a less common forename.
I could find one baptism that fit well with the known facts in all respects except one. It was a long LONG way from Charlton. A Robert Townley was baptised to John and Betty on 11 Nov 1787 in Buckland, Gloucestershire. Buckland is a little Cotswolds village near the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border. 100 miles away from Charlton. As I began to research further it was with the thought of disproving this was the correct Robert, not proving it.
So I leapt into the Buckland parish registers. Wait, there was also a son William baptised on 29th August 1779 to John and Betty! Another perfect fit. Interesting. Was there also a Mary, John and Thomas, the other siblings that had married in Charlton? No. Okay then. Probably not the right family, right? There were however baptisms for a Sarah in 1770, and two James’s in 1785 and 1786.
A Full House of Townleys
So who were the John and Betty Townley of Buckland? The only John Townley and Betty (or Elizabeth) that I could find a marriage for were John Townley and Betty Oldaker in 1769 in Withington, 13 miles away. Could this be them? It would fit with Sarah being baptised in 1770. But there was a big gap between her baptism and William’s in 1779. Was I looking at two separate families? I spread the net a little wider. At Chipping Campden, less than 5 miles away, a John and Elizabeth Townley had baptised Mary in 1772, John in 1775 and Elizabeth in 1777. This perfectly filled the gap, accounted for two of the other known children and added one more unknown. Still, just because it fits, doesn’t mean it’s true. It still could be coincidence.
A London link
I looked for burials around Buckland of any of the children that I knew to have grown to adulthood and settled in the Charlton area in an attempt to rule them out. None of them was buried in the area. I did notice though that many burials in the second half of the 18th century were of people ‘of London’. So plenty of Londoners seem to have been recruited to Buckland for work in this timeframe. Perhaps it wasn’t so unlikely that John Townley had gone 100 miles for work after all. I have found no record of major works occurring in this time period in or around Buckland but perhaps the Lord of the Manor, Thomas Thynne (at that time 2nd Viscount Weymouth) needed workers for his lands and gardens.
Townley as a name in the Buckland parish registers seemed to be confined to this family, though there were some Townley families in Winchcombe, just a few miles away.
Who was Betty Oldaker?
What about Betty Oldaker, the wife of this John Townley, where was she from? Her baptism to Thomas and Mary Oldacre was found in the Buckland parish registers in 1747. She had siblings Robert, Mary, James, Thomas, Sarah, William and…Joyce! Many names already known to have been given to Charlton John and Betty’s children. And Joyce was actually baptised in Charlton. I was beginning to believe that these were in fact the same family. Betty Oldaker’s paternal ancestry shows many Joyces through the generations, so though it wasn’t a really common name at this time, it had significance in her particular family.
If the John and Bettys were the same people, given that they moved to Charlton when their eldest child was still only in her teens, I should be able to find records of her and the other previously unknown children Elizabeth and James in the Charlton/London area then, right?
Sarah Townley 1770
Once I knew of Sarah’s existence, she wasn’t hard to find. She married in 1793 to John Embleton at St Botolph Bishopsgate. How do I know it was the Buckland Sarah Townley? A witness was James Oldaker, now known to be her uncle.
Elizabeth Townley 1777
Elizabeth Townley was also found quite quickly. She married John Blasdall in 1804 at St George the Martyr, Southwark. Not only was this where her brother William was baptizing children at the time, but her brother Thomas had married Frances Blasdall there the year before.
James Townley 1785 and/or 1786
James remains a sticking point. I can find no trace of him yet. Was he baptised twice? If so, why? Is the second baptism actually a misrecorded burial? Or is one of the baptisms actually a misrecorded Thomas for whom I have not yet found a baptism but who is known to be part of this family? The search continues. This did sow a seed of doubt, the one thing that didn’t fit, until…
The Death of John Townley’s Mother-In-Law, Mary Oldaker
Mary Oldaker (nee Bravel) of Buckland died in 1786. Her probate documents sealed the deal. The administrators of her estate were James Oldaker her eldest son (Betty’s brother) of Charlton, Kent and John Townley of Buckland (remembering that John and Betty were still in Buckland at that time). There is the definitive link to Charlton, and to the James Oldaker who witnessed Sarah Townley’s marriage!
James Oldaker and John Townley named together on Mary Oldaker’s probate documents, linking Charlton in Kent and Buckland in Gloucestershire
James’ signature on each document was definitely made by the same person…
The signature of James Oldaker (and lack of signature of John Townley!) on his mother’s probate documents in 1786
James Oldaker’s signature on his niece Sarah Townley’s marriage record in 1803. Undoubtedly the same man.
So there was much circumstantial evidence that led me to believe that Buckland John and Betty and Charlton John and Betty were one and the same. But this single document definitively tied the places and people together.
John Townley, born 1738 in Chelsea, moved to Buckland sometime before 1769, met and married local girl Betty Oldaker, moving back south together in the late 1780s with their family. They settled in Charlton, where Betty’s brother was already living and John’s living siblings were close by. Just waiting for some DNA pings from the descendants of the ‘new’ children now!
RootsTech Pass Giveaway Winner!
Congratulations to Becky Smith who won the three-day pass to RootsTech in Salt Lake City next week. Have a wonderful time! A reminder to those who aren’t making the journey that virtual RootsTech is free to attend online. If you haven’t yet registered there is still time…and while you are at it, Relatives at RootsTech is happening again, giving you the chance to find cousins and compare notes. Why not register for that too?
It’s been two weeks since RootsTech 2022, so I’ve decided it’s time to come out of RootsTech Recovery mode and tell you a little bit about my experience. Well, so carried away by the excitement was I that I basically went nocturnal for the entire time! I got up at 3 in the mornings to catch the live sessions, because I live in a very unfriendly time zone for things that happen in the US. But it was worth it. See here for some of the highlights!
There was a LOT going on! Live sessions, the Expo Hall, Relatives at RootsTech and of course over 1500 pre-recorded lecture sessions as well as cultural education through food and dance. In my last blog, I stressed the need to pre-prepare to keep the FOMO in check, and I’m very glad that I took that time to know what my priorities were.
I remained super-focused on what was live during those days only. This meant I could really relax and get into the moment, without panicking that I would never get to everything I wanted to see.
RootsTech 2022 Keynote Speakers
The keynote speakers were inspiring as always. The way they told their stories, interweaving the importance of their families’ influence and often learning something new about them (courtesy of FamilySearch) was both exhilarating and moving. I especially enjoyed Maysoon Zaid, Matthew Modine and Diego Torres.
RootsTech 2022 Sponsor talks
It was also great to hear of some of the new tools and resources available from companies. There is a new DNAPainter tool from Jonny Perl ‘Shared cM Investigator’, which predicts how much DNA your parent would share with your DNA match. Ancestry is collaborating with Photomyne to improve the gallery experience. MyHeritage has released Live Story (your ancestors narrating their own life story!). The Society of Genealogists gave a wonderful presentation about the exciting Roll Pedigree project. They are scanning, indexing and placing online the beautiful collection of roll pedigrees in their collection, some dating back several hundred years.
Other RootsTech 2022 Live Sessions I especially enjoyed…
I made sure to attend all three of the Talking Family History sessions. I’m already a subscriber to Talking Family History which is run by Michelle Patient and Fiona Brooker. Therefore I knew the time would be well worth spending here. They ran Q&A sessions on DNA, Australian and New Zealand research and Brick Walls, with lots of discussion.
Prerecorded lectures
I have barely scratched the surface here. But you know what? That’s fine. I prepared for this. I have my playlist sorted. My plan is to work my way through those sessions I’ve marked on a needs basis throughout the year. As I work on Irish projects, I’ll go watch the Irish sessions, etc. I can relax.
RootsTech 2022 may be over. But it’s barely begun.
There are so many amazing genealogical events every year that give us all the opportunity to learn, connect and advance our skills from beginner hobbyist to professional. With the challenges of the past couple of years, the genealogical community has pivoted beautifully. Virtual offerings have increased accessibility to all.
The biggest by far has been RootsTech, the annual conference run by FamilySearch. Last year, there were over 1.5 MILLION registrants for over 1500 virtual presentations. This year, the number of registrants looks likely to beat that! The virtual nature of the conference makes it accessible not only because of the comfort of watching without travelling, but you can spread most of your viewing out indefinitely.
I am thrilled to be an Ambassador for RootsTech this year! I’d like to help ensure that everyone gets the best out of this totally free event so that they can climb their family tree more successfully after attending. It was amazing to attend RootsTech London in 2019, but I’ve had equal pleasure and value from attending virtually since.
As with anything though, the key to getting the most out of something is to prepare before going in. So today I’d like to help you prepare for RootsTech. Read on to learn what has helped me navigate this huge and somewhat overwhelming experience so that you get the full benefit!
Preparing for RootsTech – Sessions
Sooooo many sessions to choose from, where do you start? Firstly, when do you start? Now. Sign in to your FamilySearch free account, and register for the conference if you haven’t already done so.
First, let’s tackle the live sessions. At the top of the page is a ‘Main Stage’ tab. This is where all the time-sensitive content is. There are some great keynote speakers, such as Matthew Modine, Azumah Nelson and Diego Torres. There are also presentations on what’s new from some of the key industry players that you won’t want to miss. I’m especially looking forward to hearing about some of Jonny Perl’s new tools at DNA Painter! As a global event, you will be relieved to know that session times will display in your local timezone (so you don’t need to count on your fingers to work out what time that really is for you!). Add the ones you want to see into your diary so you don’t forget to tune in.
Next, check out the list of pre-recorded sessions. Unsurprisingly, it’s under the ‘Sessions’ tab, which will take you to this screen:
From here you can filter in multiple ways to zero in on the sessions that are of most interest and select them. They are then in your own personal playlist. These sessions are all pre-recorded and can be watched at your leisure for at least the next year.
Preparing for RootsTech – Connecting
One of the key themes for RootsTech is connecting with family. This can be achieved by becoming a better researcher through the learning you take away from the sessions. But you can also directly connect with relatives also attending. This can make up for being unable to network in person at the virtual event and in some ways is better. You don’t need to spot them in a crowd, you can find them using the ‘Relatives at RootsTech’ feature.
If you have your ancestors entered on the FamilySearch Family Tree, and consent to being part of ‘Relatives and Rootstech’ when you register for the conference, the tree will be searched to find others who descend from the same ancestors.
Remember this is a collaborative tree, so I recommend checking that you are connected to the correct people. So go check that you’re happy with where you are sitting in the tree first so you get the right relatives on your list. So far I have a couple of thousand relatives identified with a handy summary of how and from whom we connect, with the ability to message them.
You can also see if and how you are related to famous people, for example, Charles Dickens!
Preparing for RootsTech – Research Help
Everyone attending RootsTech has the opportunity to book a 20-minute one on one session with a professional genealogist for assistance with a brick wall. This is great because we all have brick walls in our research!
Preparing for RootsTech – Bargains
And last but definitely not least, don’t forget to visit the Expo Hall to visit the multitude of sponsors. Many of them have special offers available at their stand and people you can speak with to get information about their offerings. For those who are as into further education as me (and of course you are, you’re attending RootsTech aren’t you?), I am especially tempted to pick up more discounted courses at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies, even though I’m already working my way through three certificates at the moment! I can’t wait to see what else I can save money on!
So here we are, two days out. So use the time to get prepared and have a great time!
