Sneak Peek: What I’ll Be Sharing at RootsTech 2026

RootsTech 2026 is just around the corner, and I have been deep in preparation for my two sessions. Today, I want to pull back the curtain a little and share why these topics, lineage societies and oral history, are so close to my heart, and give you a taste of what to expect if you join me in Salt Lake City (or online!) next month.

Behind the Session: Lineage Societies

I will be honest: when I first looked into joining a lineage society years ago, I found the process intimidating. The applications felt like a test I had not studied for, and the terminology—“collateral lines,” “supplemental applications,” “dovetailing”—made it sound like I needed a law degree just to get started. But once I understood the system, I realized that lineage society applications are really just well-structured proof arguments dressed up in their Sunday best. And for genealogists, that is something we already know how to do.

DAR Library, Washington, D.C.

There is a rich history behind these organizations. The oldest hereditary societies in the United States date back to the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and they were founded in a fascinating intersection of patriotism, social identity, and the early professionalization of historical research. Understanding that context changes how you approach the application process today, and I think it makes the whole experience more meaningful.

In my RootsTech session, I will walk through a real-world application example, showing how to move from a pile of research notes to a polished submission. Here is one thing I can share now that trips up so many applicants: the difference between what you know and what you can prove on paper are two very different things. A lineage society does not care about your family story; it cares about your sourced, documented evidence chain. Getting comfortable with that distinction is half the battle.

Behind the Session: Oral History

If lineage societies are about the paper trail, oral history is about everything the paper trail misses. I grew up listening to my father, a history teacher, tell stories about our family, and those stories are what pulled me into genealogy in the first place. But here is the thing I have learned over the years: memory is fragile, and the window for capturing it is smaller than we think. Every family reunion we skip, every phone call we put off, is a lost opportunity.

For this session, I have been testing and comparing recording equipment across a range of budgets, from free smartphone apps to semi-professional portable recorders. I will share what actually works in real-world conditions, not a quiet studio, but a noisy kitchen table at a family gathering or a care home visiting room with background chatter. I have also been refining a set of question frameworks that go beyond the standard “Tell me about your childhood” prompts. The goal is to help you draw out the stories people do not even realize they are carrying.

One ethical dimension I will address that does not get enough attention: what do you do when the stories you uncover are painful, sensitive, or contradict the family narrative? Oral history is not just a recording exercise, it is a relationship exercise, and navigating those moments with care is essential.

A Quick Note on the Keynotes

I also want to flag how well this year’s keynote speakers tie into the “Together” theme. I am particularly looking forward to Tara Roberts’s Friday keynote. As a National Geographic explorer who dives to sunken slave ships to recover lost stories, her work sits at the intersection of history, memory, and preservation, which is exactly what genealogists do, just on a different scale. And the Gardiner Brothers’ virtual keynote about staying connected to Irish heritage through dance? That is oral tradition made physical. These are going to be powerful sessions.

Want to Join Me?

Registration is still open at RootsTech.org. In-person passes are $129 for all three days, and virtual attendance is free. My lineage societies session is on Friday, 6 March at 5:00 PM, and my oral history session is Saturday, 7 March at 3:30 PM. I would love to see familiar faces in the audience!

Next up: my final pre-conference post will be a practical guide to making the most of RootsTech 2026, including the sessions (beyond mine!) that I am most excited about and tips for navigating the conference whether you are a first-timer or a seasoned veteran.

Citations

“Look Who’s Coming to RootsTech 2026: Keynote Speakers Announced!” FamilySearch Blog, 8 January 2026 (https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/rootstech-2026-keynotes : accessed 8 February 2026).

“RootsTech Invites Participants to Come ‘Together’ at 2026 Worldwide Event,” Church of Jesus Christ Newsroom, 17 December 2025 (https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/rootstech-invites-participants-to-come-together-at-2026-worldwide-event : accessed 8 February 2026).

Davies, Thomas A., “The Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America: A Brief Historical Overview,” The Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America (https://hereditary.us : accessed 8 February 2026).

Ritchie, Donald A., Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).