RootsTech London has attracted people from across the UK, with participants from a total of 42 countries. Visitors are seeking new ways to discover family connections and make family ties.
Mark travelled to RootsTech from Surrey with questions about his grandfather’s Irish heritage. At the conference he was pleased to receive his grandfather’s British service records from the Ministry of Defence in a matter of hours, a service which usually takes much longer to acquire.
“I didn’t know anything of his military career or anything like that,” said Mark. “My dad never met his father and now I’ve got a photo him, and so now we can put a face to a name. It’s amazing.”
Hugo De Giorgio came to RootsTech London to learn more about his family lineage. He recently became interested in family history and had questions about his European forebears who founded his ancestral town in Argentina.
“It’s fantastic,” he said about the conference. “It is my first time participating in such a huge family history event and, with the help of experts in German ancestry, I have added generations to my family tree.”
Shaynah Wanga and Jessica Kuijf travelled to RootsTech from the Hague in the Netherlands.
“My family is from the Caribbean,” Shaynah said. “I’m searching for records that are difficult to find, and I have met people who have helped me discover ways to find these records.”
“I’ve enjoyed the short seminars and learning about new technology to help me find my family,” Jessica said.
Robbie Read of Winchester signed up to volunteer because he thought it would be a good opportunity to learn more about family history.
“I have Peruvian and Chinese ancestry, and it’s something we have always really struggled to find information for,” said Robbie. “I found an expert here who specialises in Peru and China, so I certainly feel like it’s the right place to be.”
Kenya Carroll also volunteered for the event. She recently moved to London from Australia and was surprised to see how much specialised information was available for so many countries and regions.
She said being at the conference “helped me realise how much more I want to learn about my ancestors and how important is it to learn about their stories.”