My RootsTech Week Day 1

Here is the plan, let's see how it goes!

Hello, all.

I roll like this. Crazy Texas librarian writes post at 5am and forgets to publish to readers. Yes, I was too excited to stop and pay attention. What really happened was, the shower in our room was broken and it squirted icy cold water straight into my face, and thus, my RootsTech 2025 adventure began. Here is what I wrote. Next, I will write about how the day actually rolled. Short version of my TLDR: “Researched. Met cousins. Laughed”

Here’s my plan for my first day of RootsTech 2025 week:

Heading to the FamilySearch Library to get myself oriented, check out what’s new from last year and anchor for the day. Research a few hours, when I’m ready for a break, I’m going to head next door to the Church History Museum.

My Goodwin family came on the Ship Brooklyn from New York to Buena Vista (San Francisco) in 1846. I have a new project to create a community space for descendants of the Ship Brooklyn to collaborate, share research and stories and get to know each other. (Stay tuned for that!) There are artifacts there at the museum to see and I will also talk to the curator and volunteers there to determine if there are other items of interest. One relative, James Harwood Goodwin, was a very prominent early Utah artist, and some of his work is there to see as well.

Next, I plan to go to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, then the Church History Library and then finally end up my day back at the FamilySearch library. They have “Special Magic Hours” this week - they normally close at 6, but this week it is 8pm, just for us crazy genealogists. Just like a theme park, I will be opening and closing down the FS library. Yes, indeed this is just like DisneyLand for me.

Stay tuned for a research report tonight!

Where ever you are today, I hope you get a chance to roundup some ancestor stories, too!