It’s true! I’m almost too late to give away a 3-day pass to the inaugural RootsTech London genealogy conference! The conference will be held Thursday, October 24th through Saturday, October 26th, 2019 at ExCel London! See RootsTech.org for further details.
My deadline for the giveaway is August 16th, so there’s still time. It’s going to be simple!
Recently I posted a photo to Instagram of an interactive board I discovered on a wall in the hallway leading to my research destination. It asked a simple question. “If you could say anything to one of your ancestors, what would it be?” I also posted a series of photos with responses given by unknown individuals. Some who saw the post added their own thoughts.
This question has been fun to think about, so if you would like a chance to win a free 3-day pass to RootsTech London, here is what I ask you to do:
respond to the question in the comments below
OR
go to this specific Instagram post and submit a response of your own
OR
find this post pinned to my Twitter profile and post your response as a comment
OR
find my neglected Facebook page and do the same
OR
connect with me via my Let’s Talk Family History page, which rarely is neglected.
Since it is impossible to have been to RootsTech London and speak from personal experience, I can’t report on the actual event except what is posted on the site. I can tell you that the RootsTech team does an amazing job each year to host a spectacular event. RootsTech London will mirror the elements of RootsTech held Salt Lake City and this is what I have I looked forward to each year for the past decade:
- Keynote addresses from individuals whose life experiences and successes are varied. RootsTech has brought in speakers from the tech industry, the science community, the writer’s circle, the political realm, the entertainment industry, the sports arena, the bloggers’ sphere and, of course, the field of family history and genealogy. I have never been disappointed. RootsTech London will host Donny Osmond as a keynote speaker and a few that have yet to be announced, but I hear are not to be missed!
- RootsTech offers a customized learning opportunity with over 150 sessions from which choose. A common problem for those attending is that there are too many choices and the participants are given the difficult task of choosing one favored session over another. The good news is that if a session fills quickly, there is always another quality session to attend.
- The Expo Hall provides the greatest gathering of organizations, societies, and vendors to explore the latest in the field of family history and genealogy. For those who loved WDYTYA Live, this will be your happy place.
This 3-day pass allows entrance to the daily keynote addresses, your choice of over 150 RootsTech sessions, entry into the Expo Hall, and all of the evening events. This 3-day pass does NOT include transportation to and from the conference, lodging accommodations, meals, or any other expenses that you may incur. It’s just the 3-day pass.
Again, how do you enter this giveaway? It’s simple.
If you would like a chance to win, here is what I ask you to do:
respond to the question in the comments below
OR
go to this specific Instagram post and submit a response of your own
OR
find this post pinned to my Twitter profile and post your response as a comment
OR
find my neglected Facebook page and do the same
OR
connect with me via my Let’s Talk Family History page.
Participants may submit more than one entry if the entries are submitted separately. Each entry is one chance to win. This contest is void where prohibited.
Not Your Cup of Tea?
If you’re not interested in responding to the question above, but you’d like a chance to win, send me a description of one of your genealogy touchdowns, a.k.a., genealogy happy dance moments. Tis’ the season for genealogy football and another way to enter.
What is a genealogy touchdown?
In my opinion, there is no better way to connect with others about family history than to share a brief replay of a genealogy touchdown—that glorious moment when research came together, you entered your genealogy end zone, and you felt like spiking the ball in celebration (a.k.a., doing the genealogy happy dance as it has been described for generations). This option is open to all interested in family history and genealogy, including those who do not like American football, but it is void where prohibited. Football terminology is not required and entries may be of any length. Submit entries via my Let’s Talk Family History page. Each entry is one chance to win. Participants may submit more than one entry if the entries are submitted separately.
I ask your permission to include quotes from your entry in future posts. If your submission is used, proper attribution will be given. If you’d rather not be quoted or you would rather remain anonymous, please indicate this with your submission or through the Let’s Talk Family History link. The more you enter, the greater your chance to win!
As mentioned, this contest is void where prohibited. Please remember that I will not use your contact information for any purpose other than entering you into this contest and to notify you if you are the winner. The contest runs from Monday, August 12, 2019 to Friday, August 16th, 2019 at 5 p.m. MT.
The winner will be notified that evening by whatever means they entered. If you have already registered for RootsTech London and your entry is drawn, RootsTech will reimbursed you for the full amount that you’ve prepaid.
Enter today! Good Luck! Hope to see you at RootsTech London!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I am designated as an official ambassador to the RootsTech Conference and RootsTech London. As such, I am provided complimentary admission and other services to accomplish my duties. Nevertheless, I have been with RootsTech since its inception and with its predecessor for many years as a paid participant. As always, my coverage and opinions are my own and are not affected by my current status. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
© 2019 Lynn Broderick, a.k.a., the Single Leaf. All Rights Reserved.
The Single Leaf 
Thanks for setting a great example of what it means to walk in His footsteps.
There are so many ancestors I would like to talk to! Perhaps my 3x great grandmother, Mary Atcherley, to tell her about all her descendants and to say that I visited her grave nearly 200 years after she passed away (and maybe to broach the delicate subject of who fathered her first child, Henry Atcherley, my 2x great grandfather!). Maybe my 9x great grandfather Roger Atcherley, to talk about the Atcherleys who were around in his day, what his daily life was like, and what he knew about his ancestors. But in the end, I would give up those opportunities to talk to my late mother, the Atcherley who sparked my interest in tracing my roots, to tell her about her grandfather playing truant, to ask her about some of the family photos she left behind, but above all to say how much I and the rest of her family miss her.
Things will get better! Your sacrifices will bear fruit. Your descendants will have food, healthcare and votes. They will owe it all to you, and they will honour you for it.
“If you could say anything to one of your ancestors, what would it be?”
It would be my Mum, who recently passed away-
Tell me about your family – your two older half brothers.
Stuart
I would like to talk to my maternal grandmother. So many things I would love to ask her about, how she met my grandfather as they were both born quite near to each other though in different towns. Also want to know when they moved to the area where my mother was born, and did my grandfather’s family move there at the same time. And then, what life was like for her as a young girl with a very strict Methodist father who did not believe in fun apparently. Just a few of the things I would like to sit down and chat with her about.
I would ask my 3x great grandmother, a Wiradjuri woman, what life was like in the 1830’s in outback New South Wales when she gave birth to two daughters to Robert Hayward an English convict. Was she initially frightened of these pale skinned people? Was her liaison with Robert Hayward a happy one? What became of her after the birth of the girls? I would also ask her to pass down to me the stories of her kin, their culture and their land. The stories of the Dreamtime.
I would like to ask my 2x great grandfather, Daniel Leahy, “Who murdered you?”.