"Relatives At RootsTech" Is Back Until 12 April 2025

 FamilySearch has officially launched the popular cousin-connecting feature "Relatives at RootsTech" until 12 April 2025.  This is a regular RootsTech conference feature.  

Log in to either the Relatives at RootsTech website or the FamilySearch mobile app (for Apple or Android phones) and choose "Relatives at RootsTech" to see how many folks that are related to you in the FamilySearch Family Tree have signed up for RootsTech. 

I am often surprised to find fairly close cousins (second, third, fourth) that I was not aware of, or to find out that I am related to my genealogy friends (even if it is a 15th cousin, three times removed...). It also reminds me that my family history isn't really finished, especially if I see 70,000 relatives in my list! 

Sign in to your FamilySearch account and check it out here.

At this time, I have 12,384 Relatives at RootsTech.  In past years, I have ended up with over 70,000 Relatives:

By clicking the "View Relatives" button I can see the list of my relatives (according to the FamilySearch Family Tree) and can sort them by Location, by Ancestor, by Family Line, or by Searching.  

Selecting the "By Location" tab shows me the Relative list for "All Locations":

You can select a specific country from the dropdown list.  

For "All Countries" it shows you everybody on the current list with their country, and listed with the closest relationships at the top of the list as above.

Any of the lists that show the Relatives names is limited to 300 Relatives.  You cannot see Relative 301 to whatever on the list except by using a "Location" (use state or province) or by using the "By Ancestor" tab.

Selecting the "By Ancestor" tab shows me the list of the common ancestors available from my current relatives at RootsTech, and the number of Relatives for each Ancestor:

Right now, I don't have a lot on the list.  There will be many more on this list during and after RootsTech 2025.  If I click on one of the names, it shows me the Relatives that share that ancestor with me.

Selecting the "By Family Line" tab shows me my parents and my grandparents and the number of Relatives at RootsTech for each one.

Lastly, I can "Search" for a specific person (say, a friend) by entering their user name in the search field on the "Search" tab at the top of the screen.  My user name for this is "randyseaver1" without the quote marks.

For every Relatives at RootsTech listed, I can click on the "Relationship" tab to see how I am related to the Relative at RootsTech:

For the screen above, it tells me that I am related to this person as a 5th cousin with common ancestors of my 4th great-grandparents Joseph Champlin and Nancy Kenyon, and shows my relationship list and my Relative's relationship list.

I can also chat with a Relative at RootsTech using the "Chat" tab to send them a message using the FamilySearch Notifications tab.  I can also add a Relative to my "Contact List" using the "Contact" tab.

This Relatives at RootsTech feature works best if you and your ancestors are in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  

Every year I peruse the Relatives list and try to identify new Relatives at RootsTech who are 5th cousins or closer.  I then add the Relative and their relationship list to my RootsMagic family tree database on my computer, and put them in the "Relatives at RootsTech" group in addition to the group for our common ancestors.  Occasionally I find that the Relatives line to the purported common ancestor is wrong (by critically evaluating each relationship;  the FamilySearch Family Tree can be wrong!), so I don't add that person.   

Are you my Relative at RootsTech 2025?  Search for my username "randyseaver1" to find out.  If so, please comment with your username.

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Disclosure:  I am a RootsTech Connect 2025 Influencer and have committed to providing regular publicity about the conference.  I have received free registration, snacks, meals and other benefits from FamilySearch over the 15 years of RootsTech.  I will be an Online attendee at the RootsTech 2025 conference.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/02/relatives-at-rootstech-is-back-until-12.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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