Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New UVTAGG Blog

The Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG) has moved to a new web address at: 




Please redirect your readers to this new location.


(UVTAGG formerly known as Utah Valley PAF User Group)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 8 Oct 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 8 Oct 2011

28 Sep 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow


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, 8 Oct 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 the latter URL will also be changed eventually.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Loretta Evans on DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES.   When someone dies, a number of records are created – obituaries, sexton records, death certificates, probates, funeral home documents, and even coroner’s reports.  These can be invaluable for family historians. Many original documents are available online and this presentation will illustrate finding and using them.  Loretta Evans, AG®, is a freelance writer and lecturer with over 35 years of genealogical experience.  Accredited in Midwestern research, she specializes in 19th and 20th century United States genealogy.  Loretta has lectured regularly at genealogical events, including the FGS Conference, BYU Computerized Genealogy Conference, and the BYU-Idaho Family History Conference.  She is the author of six family histories and numerous magazine articles.  She and her husband recently returned from serving as missionaries at the Family and Church History Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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)  Mormon Data, including the Nauvoo Databank, Don Snow;  (2)  Tips and Tricks for Using Ancestry.com on MACs & PCs, Cathy Magleby;  (3)  Personalized Help, Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen;  (4)  llustrating Your Family History, Loretta Evans;  (5)  Video of last month's main presentation: The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships, Ugo A. Perego;  (6)  Ancestral Quest, Gaylon Findlay;  (7)  Legacy 7.5, Joel Graham; and  (8)  RootsMagic 4, Bruce Buzbee.

All meetings of the Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Renee Zamora, Secretary; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter TAGGology, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvtagg.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG)


Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 10 Sep 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 10 Sep 2011

31 Aug 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow


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, 10 Sep 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 the latter URL will also be changed eventually.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Dr. Ugo A. Perego on THE POWER OF DNA IN UNLOCKING FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. This presentation will provide a general overview on how genetic testing can be of great assistance to family historians to trace, verify, expand, and link genealogical records and pedigrees. Particularly, we will cover the paternally-inherited Y chromosome and the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA with the purposes of showing how these two markers can play a powerful role in the search for our ancestors. Ugo A. Perego, PhD, is the Director of Operations and a Senior Researcher and Senior Genealogist at the non-profit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation ( http://www.smgf.org/ ) and a Scientific Consultant for GeneTree ( http://www.genetree.com/ ), both located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ugo earned a BS and an MS in Health Sciences at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and a PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Pavia, Italy. In his nearly eleven years with SMGF, Ugo has supervised the worldwide collection of more than 110,000 DNA samples and corresponding genealogical records and contributed numerous lectures and publications on DNA and its applications to population genetics, genealogy, and history. He came to the UVTAGG meeting (Then it was the UVPAFUG.) more than 10 years ago when the Sorenson Foundation collected DNA samples and pedigree charts from our members. Some of his recent publications include “The Book of Mormon and the Origin of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint” (in No Weapon Shall Prosper, 2011); “Joseph Smith: The Question of Polygamous Offspring and DNA Analysis” (in The Persistence of Polygamy, 2010); “Expanding the Concept of Family History through DNA” (in Family Chronicle, 2010); “Mitochondrial DNA: A Female Perspective in Recent Human Origin and Evolution” (in Origins as a Paradigm in the Sciences and in the Humanities, 2010). He is married to the former Jenna McAllister and they are the parents of three boys and a girl.

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) Three Wikis: FamilySearch, Ancestry.com and Wikipedia, by Marilyn Thomsen; (2) MAC: Q & A, by Ron Snowden; (3) More Best Practices - Surviving in the Trenches, by Laurie Castillo; (4) Personalized Help, including information for new Family History Consultants, by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen; (5) Q&A: The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships, by Ugo A. Perego; (6) Video of last month's main presentation: New Family Search Best Practices, by Laurie Castillo; (7) RootsMagic 4, by Sue Maxwell; (8) Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay; (8) Legacy 7.5, by Dean Bennett; and (9) Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg.

All meetings of the Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter TAGGology, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvtagg.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG)


Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 13 Aug 2011

3 Aug 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow


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, 13 Aug 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 the latter URL will also be changed eventually.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Laurie Werner Castillo on NEW FAMILYSEARCH IN THE TRENCHES - BEST PRACTICES. There are many day-to-day issues facing genealogists today, including new FamilySearch. This presentation is designed to help with practical information that will clarify the best approach to dealing with things like: Do I need to keep a personal database? What contact information should I post? What do I need to know about Family Ordinance Requests (FORs) and Ordinance Cards? How can I correct information on an Ordinance Card? How can I get help with Temple Ordinances? Where can I get the latest information on how NFS works? Where can I find out about software that is compatible with NFS? A mother and grandmother first, Laurie works as a professional researcher, speaker and free-lance writer. Currently serving at the BYU Family History Center, she has been a consultant and teacher there for 20 years. She also served 8 years as a trainer of consultants at BYU and 7 years as an LDS Family History Missionary Trainer for those called to staff Family History Centers around the World. Other Family History service opportunities included three years as Stake Family Records Extraction Coordinator and 20 years as Ward Family History Consultant. She has spent 18+ years as a Family File volunteer, first at the Provo and then at the Mount Timpanogos Temples. Laurie is Past President of the Utah Valley Chapter of the Utah Genealogical Association and former vice-president and member of the Board of Directors of UGA. She currently serves with the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group where she is First Vice President and teaches and writes about family history research on the Internet. Her research specialties include: German, Swedish, Dutch, early LDS, and the U.S. regions of New England, Mid-West and the Western Frontier. She loves to teach people how to maximize their research time and effort by using all the Internet has to offer.

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 From Ancestry.com, by Lisa Arnold; (2) Where's Your GPS (Genealogy Proof Statement) - Navigating the Research Process, by Bret Petersen; (3) Personalized Help, by Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen; (4) Q&A on NFS Best Practices, by Laurie Castillo; (5) Video of last month's main presentation on FamilySearch Products and Features, by David E. Rencher; (6) Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg; (7) Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay; (8) Legacy 7.5, by Dean Bennett; and (9) 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvtagg.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG)


Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 9 Jul 2011

29 Jun 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow


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, 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG)

--

Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 11 Jun 2011

31 May 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow


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. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.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 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG)


Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Thursday, May 5, 2011

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting on Saturday 14 May 2011

5 May 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow

UTAH VALLEY TECHNOLOGY AND GENEALOGY GROUP (UVTAGG) MEETING
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley echnology and Genealogy Group (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group) will be on Saturday, 14 May 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ .  With the change in name of the organization these URL's will also be changed later.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Suzanne H. Curley on RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT THE RIVERTON FAMILYSEARCH LIBRARY.  Whether you are new to family history research or a seasoned genealogist, the new state-of-the-art Riverton FamilySearch Library near Bangerter Highway and 134th South, Riverton, Utah, offers you a wide range of genealogical tools.  Their website is http://www.familysearch.org/fhc/riverton/ .  This presentation will discuss their facilities, popular free monthly seminars, patron classes, access to subscription websites, help from expert research consultants, how to make group bookings, and more.  Suzanne H. Curley is the Director of the Riverton FamilySearch Library and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Utah Genealogical Association.  She is also a licensed attorney and member of the Utah State Bar.  She received her B.A. in Communications from Rider University (in New Jersey) and her J.D. from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.  Prior to law school she worked for 10 years as a print journalist, professional writer, and manager of marketing communications for a national company.  She has been involved in family history work for the past thirty years and is a frequent presenter on a wide range of family history topics.

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)  Tips to Avoid Barking Up the Wrong  Family Tree, by Bret Petersen;  (2)  An Introduction to the US Census, by Jerry Castillo;  (3)  MAC: Using Keynote and Reunion Help Topics, by Ron Snowden;  (4)  Personalized Help, by Finn Hansen & Don Engstrom;  (5)  Q&A: The Riverton FamilySearch Library, by Suzanne Curley;  (6)  Video of last month's main presentation: Eating an Elephant One Bite at a Time, by Marilyn Thomsen;  (7)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;  (8)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett; and  (9)  RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell. 

All meetings are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library.  Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group.  Information about the Users Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above.  For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group

Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

[UVPAFUG] Press release for meeting on Saturday 9 Apr 2011

29 Mar 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 9 Apr 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Marilyn Thomsen on EATING AN ELEPHANT ONE BITE AT A TIME: IDEAS TO ORGANIZE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY TIME.  If you feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start on your family history, this presentation will help you set a goal, get organized, and show you how to use a personal coach to help you eat your genealogical elephant.  Marilyn Thomsen graduated with a B.A. in family history from Brigham Young University. Her internship was at the National Archive Branch in Atlanta, Georgia.  Twice she won BYU's award for her family histories.  Recently she served as a US & Canada consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and is currently the Director of the Utah Orem Sunset Heights Tri-Stake Family History Center (located across from Krispy Kremes.)  Her husband, Richard, shares a passion for digging up dead relatives and sharing it with living.

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)  Comparing Ancestral Quest, Legacy, and RootsMagic, by Debbie Gurtler;  (2)  MAC:  Recent DNA experiences--and Reunion Q&A, by Ron Hatch;  (3)  Personalized Help, by Finn Hansen & Don Engstrom;  (4)  Getting Genealogy Clutter Under Control, by Marilyn Thomsen;  (5)  Video of last month's main presentation:  Back-Door Research Breaks Through Brick Walls, by Stephen Ehat;  (6)  Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg;  (7)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;  (8)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett; and  (9)  RootsMagic, 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library.  Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group.  Information about the Users Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above.  For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            801-225-6106      end_of_the_skype_highlighting) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley PAF Users Group--

Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

[UVPAFUG] Press release for meeting on Saturday 12 Mar 2011

2 Mar 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 12 Mar 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Stephen Kent Ehat on BACK-DOOR RESEARCH BREAKS THROUGH BRICK WALLS. Steve will be showing what to do when you hit a brick wall in your family history research. What do you do then? Perform research on others, such as neighbors and those named in records in reasonably close proximity to the names of your relatives. This type of research helps you break through brick walls. Learn how to do it and be amazed at the results. Stephen Ehat is member of the State Bar of California. He recently served as the Director of a six-stake Family History Center in Lindon, Utah where he lives. A convert to the LDS Church at age 10, he has been doing family history research since 1967. He and his wife, Jeanine, have five sons and eleven grandchildren (with two on the way, but who's counting?).

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) MAC: Reunion Tips,Tricks, Q/A, and using Skype, by Ron Snowden; (2) Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com, by Sue Maxwell; (3) Personalized Help, by Finn Hansen & Rudy Johansen; (4) Q&A and Back-door Research Examples, by Stephen Ehat; (5) Video of last month's main presentation: The Future of New Family Seaerch, by Ron Tanner; (6) Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg; (7) Ancestral Quest, (TBA); (8) Legacy, by Joel Graham; and (9) RootsMagic, by Diana Olsen.

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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley PAF Users Group

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Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

[UVPAFUG] Press release about meeting on Saturday 12 Feb 2011

2 Feb 2011
Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first two paragraphs, and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.

Don Snow


UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 12 Feb 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Ron Tanner on THE FUTURE OF NEW FAMILYSEARCH. This will be a description of what is happening lately on the new.familysearch.org website and the planned integration of new.familysearch.org into www.familysearch.org. We will also discuss the vision of new.familysearch.org and how we are working to achieve this vision. The vision works to resolve some of the frustrations experienced by all users such as fixing or removing bad data, fixing relationships, sourcing, combining and separating, and recovering when someone messes up the data. Ron Tanner is a Product Manager for the Family History Department of the LDS Church and assists in the research and design of new FamilySearch and companion products. Currently Ron's assignments include overall product delivery for new.familysearch.org, the 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. Ron and his wife CheRee live in Provo and have four children.

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) Techniques & Tools for Streamlining Your Research, by Laurie Castillo; (2) MAC: Uploading to Ancestry and Creating a Web Site, by Ron Snowden; (3) Personalized Help, by Claudia Benson & Finn Hansen; (4) Q&A: The Future of New FamilySearch, by Ron Tanner; (5) Video of last month's main presentation: ePublishing, by Barbara Renick; (6) Ancestral Quest, by Merlin Kitchen; (7) Legacy, by Joel Graham; and (8) RootsMagic, by Diana Olsen.

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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Don Snow, 1st VP; Laurie Castillo, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology to the members, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu or 2nd VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net.

Don Snow, 1st VP of Utah Valley PAF Users Group
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Dr. Donald R. Snow, Retired Professor of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah - snowd@math.byu.edu