Welcome to my RootsTech 2026 Day 1 recap. The coffee held out, the notes are saved, and the calendar is gloriously green.
I was up and ready by 8 AM. Obsidian was open, my RootsTech 2026 folder was waiting inside my Education folder, and the first session note was already created. The Bunny Slipper Brigade was officially on duty.
How the Day Actually Works (For Me)
Before I get into this RootsTech 2026 Day 1 recap, let me explain how I track the day as it happens.
For every session I complete, I update the running time in my Google Calendar. One thing I learned quickly this morning is that “online” does not always mean “one hour.” Several of my scheduled sessions turned out to be under 25 minutes. Honestly? Welcome news. It meant I squeezed in more sessions than I originally planned.
Once a session is done, the calendar block turns green. That’s my signal that it’s finished, reviewed, and captured in Obsidian. It’s a small thing, but watching the calendar fill up with green felt satisfying in a way only a genealogist obsessed with systems can fully appreciate.
The Online Sessions: My RootsTech 2026 Day 1 Recap
Remember all of those classes that I picked yesterday? (See: “The Surprisingly Simple Secret to Scheduling RootsTech Sessions“) – I packed fifteen online sessions into today. Here’s how they landed in this RootsTech 2026 Day 1 recap.
Sessions 1 and 2 took me straight into Polish records. It’s Just an Index: Finding the Images of Records Online – Poland (18 minutes) gave me a solid look at a database I want to revisit for the Knysz line. Notarial Records in Poland: Treasure Troves of Family History (just under 18 minutes) was genuinely new territory for me. I wasn’t aware of notarial records before this session. My ancestors probably didn’t own very much, but now I know to check.
Session 3, How to Use the FamilySearch Research Wiki (about 21 minutes), was a good refresher. I don’t use the FS Research Wiki as often as I should. This was a helpful reminder to fix that.
Session 4, Timelines for Genealogy, left me eager to experiment. I have techniques I want to try as soon as Day One is officially behind me.
Session 5 was the standout of the morning. The GPS in Practice: Examples of Reasonably Exhaustive Research ran a full hour, and it earned every minute. I came away with a much clearer understanding of what “reasonably exhaustive research” actually looks like in practice, not just in theory, and how to demonstrate it effectively. If you’re working toward any kind of professional standard in your research, this session is worth finding.
Session 6, Demystifying the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), introduced me to a resource I’ll circle back to when time allows.
After updating my calendar and notes from the morning, the afternoon sessions picked up the pace.
Session 7, Untangling the Darling Web: Advanced Strategies for Same Name Resolution, delivered excellent methodology for one of the most frustrating problems in genealogy. Same-name research is a genuine challenge, and I walked away with a framework I can actually use.
Sessions 8 and 9 covered Family Tree Maker updates and location-based research. Mostly UK-focused for Session 9, but I still picked up something useful.
Session 10, Social and Civic Clubs: Discovering Your Ancestor’s Community Involvement, was a solid reminder that I need to get to physical archives more often. That silly job that pays the bills keeps getting in the way. One day.
Session 11 was Diana Elder’s When Nothing Found Means Something: Negative Search Results vs. Negative Evidence. Diana never disappoints. I always learn at least one new record source or search approach from her sessions, and today was no exception.
Session 12, Good Genealogists Don’t Guess: How to Evaluate a Record in 3 Simple Steps (about 15 and a half minutes), was a focused and practical primer on record evaluation. A good one to recommend to newer researchers.
Session 13, DNA Evidence Analysis with AI, was the session of the day for me. Nicole Dyer is so savvy with AI, and the ideas she presented were genuinely exciting. I’m going to have to watch this one again. There was too much good material to absorb in a single pass. I’m hoping what I learned here will translate directly into my current DNA research goals.
Session 14, DNA’s FAN Club: Using Shared Matches to Solve Genealogical Mysteries, is exactly what I need right now. FAN Club methodology (studying the Friends, Associates, and Neighbors of a DNA match) is central to at least two of my 2026 research goals. This one will get a second watch too.
Session 15, What’s New at Ancestry, was one I had to catch on replay. It ran live at 3:30 PM, right when I was watching Diana Elder, and Diana Elder wins that conflict every time. Crista Cowan, one of my favorite presenters, delivered this one, and Ancestry has some exciting announcements coming in 2026. The one that caught my attention most? Ancestry rolled out a much easier way to add source citations. As someone who takes citations seriously, that is very welcome news. More on the other announcements as those features roll out.
The In-Person Sessions: What I Could Reach
No RootsTech 2026 Day 1 recap would be complete without mentioning the in-person sessions. Several on my schedule were in-person only. A pleasant surprise today was discovering that RootsTech had posted slides for many of them, and slides alone can be worth a lot.
A few highlights:
Adina Newman’s session on locating immigrant ship manifests and Geoffrey Fröberg Morris’s session on essential databases for Swedish and Finnish research were both removed from my calendar after I downloaded the materials. The Swedish database list alone is a goldmine for my Svensson research.
Michael D. Lacopo’s session on onsite genealogy research came with 56 slides. Fifty-six. I’ve already flagged it on a future calendar date to remind myself to look for a live presentation of this material. That one deserves more than a quick skim.
D. Joshua Taylor’s session on New York research came with 111 slides. I want to review this one carefully and see if he presents it again. New York records are directly relevant to my Brooklyn research.
Dana Palmer’s session on effective FamilySearch search strategies I may save for the OGS conference next month. She’s presenting there, and I’d rather catch it live.
Nicole Dyer’s in-person session on AI-powered transcription of handwritten documents is a definite must-review. She’s also presenting this for NGS’s Gentech Toolbox in March, and I’m already registered. Timing could not be better.
A few other sessions covered professional genealogy, probate research, AI tools, and Irish research. The Rich Venezia session on Irish research is one I’ll be going back to. Anything that might help with the McAuliffe brick wall goes straight to the top of the list.
Day One: Done
Fifteen online sessions. A stack of in-person slides to review. Notes in Obsidian. A calendar full of green.
I’m exhausted. The family exists and deserves some of my attention tonight. But the learning was real, and my RootsTech 2026 Day 1 recap for Day Two starts tomorrow. I’ll be back.
Here’s a sneak peek at tomorrow’s schedule:
This post is part of the RootsTech Ride Along, a collaboration between Geneabloggers and Projectkin. Members are sharing their blogs, vlogs, and opinion pieces at RideAlongPartners.org throughout RootsTech 2026.
YOUR TURN!
Are you attending RootsTech this year, in person or virtually? Which sessions are you finding most valuable? Drop a comment below. I’d love to compare notes.
Flashback to Day 1 from RootsTech 2025
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