29 June 2011

UVTAGG Meeting and Training Classes - FREE

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 9 Jul 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website http://uvtagg.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ . With the organization's name change, these URL's will also be changed eventually.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by David E. Rencher on FAMILYSEARCH PRODUCTS AND FEATURES. FamilySearch continues to make a wide variety of products and services available to genealogists throughout the world. This presentation highlights the many uses of these new products from the view of the Chief Genealogical Officer at FamilySearch. David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA, is employed by the Family History Department in Salt Lake City as the Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch. A professional genealogist since 1977, he is an Accredited GenealogistCM with ICAPGenSM in Ireland research and a Certified GenealogistSM with the Board for Certification of Genealogists®. He is the Irish course coordinator and instructor for the Samford University Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1980 with a BA in Family and Local History. He is a past-president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 1997-2000, a national genealogical society umbrella organization, a past-president of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) 1993-1995 and a Fellow of that organization. He is a fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society, London and is a vice-president of the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). He is currently serving as the Chair of the joint Federation of Genealogical Societies and National Genealogical Society committee for Record Preservation and Access and serves as the Secretary for the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and as trustee for the Umpstead, Jr. and Elizabeth Jemima Philpott Rencher and the Winslow Farr, Sr. Family Organizations. There is further information about him online at http://www.apgen.org/directory/search_detail.html?mbr_id=176 .

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows: (1) Research at BYU: the Other FHL - 5 Levels, 3 Wings, and Online Resources, by Laurie Castillo; (2) MAC: Cemeteries, OSX Tips, and Reunion Reports, by Ron Snowden; (3) Personalized Help, by Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen; (4) Q&A: FamilySearch Products and Features, by David E. Rencher; (5) Video of last month's main presentation: Finding and Analyzing Collections of Personal Letters - Erastus Snow, by Don and Diane Snow; (6) Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay; (7) Legacy 7.5, by Joel Graham; and (8) RootsMagic 4, by Bruce Buzbee.

All meetings of the Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

09 June 2011

Come Celebrate the First Anniversary of the Riverton FamilySearch Library!

The Riverton FamilySearch Library Hosts Open House on June 21

RIVERTON, UTAH—Looking for the perfect free summer family activity? Why not come and explore the branches of your family tree?

The Riverton FamilySearch Library will celebrate its first anniversary on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, by holding an Open House from 2:30–8:00 p.m. This is an event for the entire family, including family history activities for children, youth, and adults.

Presentations will begin every half hour: 


*   Introduction to the FamilySearch Library and Computer Desktop
*   Introduction to Indexing
*   Introduction to the new FamilySearch
*   Introduction to Family History (Youth)

There will also be continuous video presentations:

*   The Granite Mountain Vault
*   Celebration of Family History

Perhaps you have hit a brick wall in your research. Experts will be on hand to give you some new research ideas. With approximately 30 million new records being added monthly to familysearch.org, there has never been a better time to find success.

The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

Free Seminar on FamilySearch Now and In the Future - Riverton FamilySearch Library - Saturday Seminar

The Riverton FamilySearch Library Hosts Event on June 18

RIVERTON, UTAH—FamilySearch is the free resource millions of people look to when searching for their ancestors. At this month’s seminar, keynote speaker Ron Tanner will address the topic “FamilySearch (and new.familysearch.org)—Now and in the Future.” Tanner’s humorous approach to family history work will entertain and enlighten participants seeking to discover their roots. The seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Tanner is a product manager for the Family History Department. He assists in the research and design of the new FamilySearch and companion products. Currently Ron’s assignments include: overall product delivery for new.familysearch.org; Asia rollout; and future product direction for FamilySearch. Ron has a master’s degree in Computer Science from BYU and has previously worked as a product manager and engineer at Novell, Citrix, and Bell Laboratories.

Following the keynote presentation, there will be two blocks of four classes that will cover topics of interest to both beginning and advanced family history enthusiasts.

Classes to be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. are:
“Online Member Trees: Ancestry’s Powerful Tool Keeps Getting Better!”—Crista Cowan

“The Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses, and the Wretched Refuse: U.S. Immigration from 1820 to 1954”—Beth Taylor

“Synchronizing Roots Magic Data with the New FamilySearch”—Sue Maxwell

“The Lay of the Land: Online Maps for Family History”—Don and Diane Snow

The classes available from 11:00 a.m. to noon are:
“Sharing Family History with the Genealogically Challenged”—Crista Cowan

“What’s New in German Research on the Internet”—Baebel Johnson

“Synchronizing Roots Magic Data with the New FamilySearch”—Sue Maxwell

“Where the Pros Search... Many Free, Wonderful Genealogy Sites Exist. Search from Your Home. Search for That Missing Link."—Ron Ray

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

The old: UVPAFUG -- The new: UVTAGG: Saturday Meeting

UTAH VALLEY TECHNOLOGY AND GENEALOGY GROUP MEETING (UVTAGG)

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 11 Jun 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. 

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Donald R. and Diane M. Snow on FORMING AND ANALYZING A DATABASE OF LETTERS USING THE ERASTUS SNOW FAMILY TO ILLUSTRATE. The Snows will describe procedures and freeware programs they have used to transcribe and form a searchable database of the nearly 300 personal letters they have of the Erastus Snow family. The tools and ideas include help in transcribing the handwritten letters, ways to name the files for ease in searching and forming a spreadsheet to analyze and draw charts, ways to identify and edit the names and places, programs that can be used to search the entire collection for names, words, and phrases, and keeping track of interesting items in the letters. The Snows gave a presentation on their database at the Mormon History Association meeting in St. George two weeks ago where the emphasis was on the text of the letters themselves. Here the emphasis will be on the technical aspects of forming and analyzing the database, but they will illustrate with the text, as well.

The Snows have been involved with family history for many years and both are retired faculty members from BYU where Don taught Mathematics and Diane taught Humanities. Don is a great grandson of Erastus Snow and they have been on four family history missions for the LDS Church, including being the Directors of the New York Family History Center in Manhattan, serving in Nauvoo, and serving at the London Family History Center in the Hyde Park Chapel in England. They have 6 children, 30 grandchildren, 4 great grand children, and now are "snowbirds" splitting their time between Provo and St. George. They are speakers at many family history venues.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows:

(1) Getting the Most Out of Family Tree Maker (PC and MAC), by Duff Wilson;
(2) Get Help From Strangers by Publishing on the Internet, by Merlin Kitchen;
(3) Increasing Productivity on the new FamilySearch Website, by Andrea Schnakenburg;
(4) Personalized Help, by Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen;
(5) Q&A: Forming and Analyzing a Database of Letters Using the Erastus Snow Family To Illustrate, by Don & Diane Snow;
(6) Video of last month's main presentation: Resources Available at the Riverton FamilySearch Library, by Suzanne Curley;
(7) Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;
(8) Legacy 7.5, by Joel Graham; and
(9) Roots Magic 4, by Sue Maxwell.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.