RootsTech and FGS - Together in 2015 in Salt Lake!

It's never too early to plan ahead! The following are recent announcements about the 2015 FGS Conference (Federation of Genealogical Societies) and RootsTech being held in conjunction with one another in Salt Lake City in 2015!

Federation of Genealogical Societies Announces 2015 Conference
FGS and RootsTech Events To Be Held In Tandem
February 12-14, 2015 in Salt Lake City

22 August 2013 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announced today that its 2015 National Conference will be held February 12-14, 2015, in Salt Lake City, Utah in conjunction with RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch. RootsTech is held each February in Salt Lake City and helps thousands of attendees from around the world discover and share family connections, stories, and history.

With the Salt Palace Convention Center as the common venue, both FamilySearch and FGS are committed to producing a one-of-a-kind genealogy event addressing the educational needs of the family history, technology and genealogical society communities. As the logistics of this sizeable event are still being worked out, both FGS and FamilySearch will work together to share resources and provide cost benefits for all parties, including attendees and exhibitors. Attendees can expect to see familiar elements of previous FGS and RootsTech events including keynote presentations, a Society Showcase and Expo Hall.

Registration for both events will begin in August 2014, six months prior to the February 2015 dates. FGS will also hold a smaller national event for its members in late 2015, with details to be announced at a later date.

FGS President D. Joshua Taylor states, “FamilySearch has been a valued partner and sponsor for FGS during its past conferences. It only makes sense for both organizations to work together and produce what will be the most talked about genealogy events of 2015.” Taylor added that such an event brings the best of RootsTech and FGS conferences together under one roof and will offer genealogists and family historians a wide array of activities and educational opportunities.





FGS and RootsTech Team Up to Co-Host RootsTech 2015

RootsTech announced today that The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) will hold its 2015 National Conference in conjunction with the popular RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 12-14, 2015. RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, has quickly become the largest family history conference in North America. The unique culture of the RootsTech conference attracts growing throngs of attendees from around the world both in-person and online seeking to discover and share family connections, stories, and history.

FGS represents the over 500,000 members of hundreds of genealogical societies and presents an annual national conference program that helps strengthen and link the genealogical community. Conducting both conferences at the same time in the same facility gives interested attendees the option to conveniently benefit from both conference programs for a nominal additional cost.

The Salt Palace Convention Center will be the common venue, and both FamilySearch and FGS will produce a unique event addressing the educational needs of the family history, technology and genealogical society communities. Attendees will see familiar elements of both events including dynamic keynote presentations, hands-on workshops, a Society Showcase and free Expo Hall.

“The FGS conference attracts genealogy society leaders that serve the needs of genealogy patrons worldwide, and RootsTech caters to a very different audience of all ages seeking to discover, preserve, and share their family stories and history,” said Dan Martinez, RootsTech Director of Marketing. “Holding the two annual conferences in the same venue will create a rich learning environment and increase benefits to all attendees.” ...

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 will be on Saturday, 10 Aug 2013, 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.

The main presentation this month will be by Janet Hovorka on ZAP THE GRANDMA GAP:  THE TEN BEST IDEAS TO LEAP THE GENERATION GAP IN A SINGLE BOUND.  These are the 10 most important ideas to connect to your posterity by connecting them to their past.  If they are bored, you are doing it wrong.  Go from snoring and boring to exciting and inviting.  Janet Hovorka received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient History and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from BYU.  She accepted teaching and library positions at BYU and Salt Lake Community College before having her three wonderful children. She and her husband, Kim Hovorka, own Family ChartMasters -- https://familychartmasters.com/php/index.php -- an online genealogy chart printing service that was the first company to be FamilySearch Certified by the LDS Church. She writes The Chart Chick blog -- http://thechartchick.blogspot.com/ -- winner of the 2009 Geneablog award and is currently serving as Past President of the Utah Genealogical Association.  One of Janet's greatest genealogy accomplishments was the completion and publication of her mother-in-law's oral history just one year prior to her untimely death.  She has presented 100s of lectures all over the country to help countless people find out more about their family’s history.

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.  
(1)  Zap the Grandma Gap: Leave a Heritage Hands-on Workshop, by Janet Hovorka;
(2)  A genealogy Tour of the BYU Map Collection, Physical and Digital, by Rick Grapes;
(3)  Advanced AniMap. by Marilyn Thomsen;
(4)  Video from last month's main presentation: Treasures in Your Own Backyard: Genealogy Resources in the BYU Library, by Terry Dahlin;
(5)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Finn Hansen, Beth Ann Wiseman, and Bud Wood;
(6)  RootsMagic, by  Sue Maxwell;
(7)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay; and
(8)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett.
Note: There will not be a MAC class this day.

All meetings of UVTAGG 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 about 100+ attending the monthly meetings on second Saturdays.

Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Meeting and Classes (UVTAGG)

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the UVPAFUG will be on Saturday, 13 July 2013, 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.

The main presentation this month will be by Terry Dahlin on TREASURES IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD: GENEALOGY RESOURCES IN THE BYU LIBRARY.  This will be a discussion of the wealth of services, technology, and print and online collections available to genealogical researchers at the Harold B. Lee Library on the BYU Campus.  Terry Dahlin is the Family and Local History Librarian at BYU.  He was born in Bremerton, Washington, raised in Utah, and served an LDS mission to Chile.  He met his wife in a BYU singles ward and they have two sons and two daughters.  He completed a bachelor’s degree in U.S. social history and a master’s degree in library science, both at BYU.  He pursued advanced graduate study in public and educational policy at the University of Utah.  He has worked in a variety of positions in the Harold B. Lee Library since 1974, including head of government documents and maps.  He has served as a bishop and a high councilor with responsibility for temple and family history work.  His genealogical research interests have been in the western U.S. and England and more recently on pursuing his family lines into Sweden.  

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.
(1)  Q&A: Treasures in Your Own Backyard:  Genealogy Resources in the BYU Library, by Terry Dahlin;  (2)  Evernote:  The Genealogist's Workhorse, by Don Snow;
(3)  MAC Help: Individual Help With Problems & OSX, by Ron Snowden;
(4)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom, Finn Hansen, & Beth Ann Wiseman;
(5)  Video of last month's main presentation: Techniques for Successful Searching, by Alan Mann;
(6)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;
(7)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett; and
(8)  RootsMagic, by Diana Olsen and Renee Zamora.

All meetings of UVTAGG 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 about 100 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays. 

Riverton FamilySearch Library Free Seminar for July

The Five Most Important Resources for Finding Your U.S. Families

With an ever-growing number of sources, websites, and research tools, today’s family historian can be overwhelmed at the possibilities. Where to start? How to be sure you have not missed anything? Here are the tools that will help you be sure you have made a broad and deep sweep of the possible sources.
These five resources are true power tools. They can accomplish great searches in just a little time. Learn all their features and functions, so their power will work for you.

Kory Meyerink, one of the founding partners of ProGenealogists, has been involved in nearly every aspect of genealogy and family history for the past 30 years, beginning as a record searcher while attending Brigham Young University, where he received an associate degree in family and local history, as well as a bachelor of science degree in psychology. He later completed a master of library and information science degree. He has written extensively and contributed numerous articles and columns for both Ancestry and Heritage Quest magazines. He recently served as the lead editor for the ground-breaking new methodology book, Becoming an Excellent Genealogist, published by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), where he served for eight years as a commissioner. His volunteer work also includes serving as an officer and on the board of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and as past-president of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA).

Following the keynote presentation from 9:00–10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that cover topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts.
The classes available from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. are:

• “ResearchTies: A Quality Tool for Logging and Tracking Research” - Jill Crandell

• “Find Your French Ancestors Online” - Heidi Sugden

• “Installing and Using IrfanView Software” - Colleen Willis

• “Basic Indexing” - Rose Scott


The classes available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. are:

• “Research Fundamentals for Consultants and Novice Genealogists” - Sherry Zealley

• “Fundamentals of Legacy Family Tree” - Carl Holland

• “Find Green Arrows through Descendency Searches” - Cathy Anderegg

• “Using Billiongraves.com as a Source on Family Tree” - Linda Baker

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 in Riverton, Utah. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

PAF users have a new home at RootsMagic; Upgrade offer and Free Quick Start guide

If you are a current user of PAF genealogy software take a look at this RootsMagic offer for you. RootsMagic will make your transition as easy as possible and you will find a whole new list of possibilities for your family tree.

Remember that as of July 15th, 2013, PAF will no longer be supported by FamilySearch nor will it be available for download.

So take advantage of this great offer and read all the detail at PAF Users Have a New Home. You will even receive a free quick start guide.

100 Years of Change

Source: MoneyChoice.org

FamilySearch No Longer Supports PAF or Provides Downloads

FamilySearch has announced that beginning July 15, 2013, PAF will be retired and will no longer be available for download or support from FamilySearch. PAF users should consider alternative products to meet their ongoing personal genealogy management needs.

For full details and for information on alternative products, please visit http://familysearch.org/PAF.

FamilySearch has worked hard to establish partnerships with third-parties to provide the best experiences for patrons.

• PAF users should consider third party products as a solution that provides similar functionality but added benefits (such as connecting to FamilySearch Family Tree)

• FamilySearch encourages patrons to use third-party products that are certified to work with FamilySearch FamilyTree.

This is a great opportunity to explain the value of this partner eco-system and focus on those benefits and the quality of partner solutions, rather than focus exclusively on the discontinuation of PAF.
 

Anyone using PAF currently is encouraged to visit http://familysearch.org/PAF  and get started in migrating to one of the recommended products.  It is appropriate and encouraged to have Family History Consultants and Library support personnel host events and/or train patrons on how to migrate to the various products, discuss the advantages, and allow them to make their own choices.  

NOTE: When using LDS church buildings and resources for these activities, products will not be sold nor will sales be solicited to exclusively promote only a specific product to patrons, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will maintain a neutral position whilst providing informative guidance.  Also, third-parties must abide by these guidelines if their employees or representatives are invited to participate in the activities in person or by phone or web conference. 

Riverton FamilySearch Library Free Seminar-June 15th

Come join in the fun and learn more about ways to get your family involved with Family History!

Riverton, Utah

Zap the Grandma Gap
This keynote presentation shares the ten most important ideas for you to connect to your posterity by connecting your posterity to their past.  If they are bored, you are doing it wrong.  Based on the book and workbook Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How to Connect to Your Family by Connecting Them to Their Family History, (www.zapthegrandmagap.com) Janet Hovorka helps you figure out what will work in your family. You can take your family history from snoring and boring to exciting and inviting.

Janet Hovorka owns Family ChartMasters, an award winning genealogy chart printing service and is the author of the Zap the Grandma Gap–Connect to Your Family by Connecting Them to Their Family History book and workbooks.  Janet writes The Chart Chick blog and the Zap the Grandma Gap blog, writes for numerous genealogy publications, and widely lectures about genealogy.  She is the immediate past president of the Utah Genealogical Association and teaches genealogy and library science at Salt Lake Community College.

Following the keynote presentation from 9:00–10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that will cover topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts.

The classes available from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. are:

•   “Using Neighborhoods to Solve Difficult Problems: A Case History from New York State” - Bart Kowallis
•   “Naturalization Records” - Pat Jensen
•   “The Bred, the Wed, and the Dead: U.S. Vital Records” - Beth Taylor
•   “Introduction to Ancestral Quest” - Bud Wood


The classes available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. are:

•   “U.S. Migration Patterns” - Mary Hill
•   “Where There’s a Will There’s a Probate: U.S. Probate Records” - Beth Taylor
•   “Organizing and Presenting Your Photos: Picasa and Other Freeware” - Don Snow and Linda Snow Westover
•   “Using ‘My Source Box’ on FamilySearch and Family Tree” - Linda Baker

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.

Be Prepared-Changes Coming to Genealogy Software Syncing to new.FamilySearch

Exciting changes abound! Yes, you need to look ahead and be prepared if you are currently using a genealogy software program version that still sync's your data to the "old" new.FamilySearch only. FamilySearch has released cutoff dates to vendors for writing to the "old" new.familysearch. 

As of 30 June 2013 write capability for the Family Tree API version 2 (the program that FamilySearch built for 3rd party vendors to access) will be turned off. The Software versions that still use this Family Tree version will be able to read the file until the end of 2013 but not write to it. Remember that beginning on 3 May 2013 you could no longer combine or separate records in new.familysearch. This is the next step in removing new.familysearch possibly by the end of 2013.

A collaboration toolkit will be included in the new version of the API which includes sources and discussions. To maintain FamilySearch certification, all the vendors must re-certify by 15 September 2013 after the collaborative features are added. This will be terrific for users because we will be able to start adding sources to the FamilySearch Family Tree from our genealogy software as soon as our particular software vendor adds these features to their program!

Here is the Windows status of FamilySearch partners as of  2 June 2013. The key to understanding the icons is listed below. 

As an example, the only software programs currently certified to work with FamilySearch Family Tree have a check mark to the left of their name. Also, if you currently use PAF you may want to consider moving to another certified software program if you want to read, write, and share data to the FamilyTree. There are free software versions available that will provide you access. The only one that currently reads and writes to FamilyTree is RootsMagic version 6 or the free version, RootsMagic Essentials version 6.

Here is the key to the above icons:

To continue to follow the status changes of the Windows programs listed above or to see those certified for the Web, MAC, or Mobile apps, click here.

Come Join Me at UVTAGG Group Meeting and Classes - June 8th

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, 08 Jun 2013, 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.uvtagg.org . Saturday morning 08 Jun 2013 will be the marathon races down University Avenue in Provo, so expect delays when trying to cross University Avenue to get to the meeting in Edgemont.

The main presentation this month will be by Alan Mann on TECHNIQUES FOR SUCCESSFUL SEARCHING.  This presentation will demonstrate how different search parameters and terms give different results, with some suggestions specific to FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindMyPast, and Google.  Alan E. Mann, AG®, is an accredited genealogist in England, Australia, and the Channel Islands and is a popular speaker.  He is a senior research consultant in the FamilySearch's Family History Library in Salt Lake City and in the past has been a community manager for the FamilySearch Community Services team and the Information Services manager for the Family History Library.  He has taught British Research for BYU (History 412, 413, and 481) and various computer courses for Salt Lake Community College.  Alan writes columns, reviews, and articles for several magazines, and presents around the country about genealogy, the Internet, and British research.  He has been on the Board of Directors of the Utah Genealogical Association (2004-2009), was program chair for GenTech 2000 in San Diego, and was co-founder and co-chair of the BYU Annual Computerized Genealogy Conference (1998-2002,2006-2010), now replaced by the annual RootsTech conferences.  He was born in Phoenix, Arizona, has lived in 9 states and Puerto Rico, France, and England, and has visited 46 states and 14 countries.  He attended the University of North Dakota and BYU majoring in accounting and minoring in French and speaks fluent French and some Spanish.  You can find much more information about him and his presentations and publications at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/User:MannAE .

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.  

1. Doing English Research in the 21st Century, by Alan Mann
2. MAC: Genealogy and Law: How Law Helps You Understand Records, by Stephen Ehat (Bring information about an ancestor for him to do a legal search for you there.)
3. Ward Family History Web Sites: A Unifying Tool, by Abe Martin
4. Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom, Finn Hansen, and Beth Ann Wiseman
5. Video of last month's main presentation: Writing A Personal or Family History, by Don Norton
6. Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay
7. Legacy, by Dean Bennett
8. RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell.

All meetings of UVTAGG 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 about 100 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

Behind the Scenes of Image Capturing

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of indexing and image capturing? There are more than 1. 5 million images are captured each week. Who makes this possible? Records preservation missionaries, contractors, FamilySearch employees, archive employees, and many volunteers are responsible for capturing millions of images each year. These historical records are captured so that they may be indexed, preserved, and published on FamilySearch.org.

There are about 222 cameras located all over the world; 92 cameras in the Western Hemisphere, and 130 in the Eastern Hemisphere. These industrial cameras can each take millions of images ranging from 16 to 50 megapixels. Computer software is used to calibrate the camera, capture the image, manage the project, and capture metadata or information about the records. Clamps and foam wedges are used to keep the book level and the image in focus. All images are saved on an external hard drive at the end of each week, placed in a protective case, and sent to Salt Lake City, Utah. Once the hard drive arrives in Salt Lake, it is sent through an auditing process where rejected images are sent back for rework and approved images are processed and published. View the video, “FamilySearch Records Preservation Missionaries,” to see the record preservation missionaries in action. 

Once these images are captured, they need to be indexed to be searchable on FamilySearch.org. Volunteer to index these images today. 

Current and Completed Projects 

To view a list of currently available indexing projects, along with their record language and completion percentage, visit the FamilySearch indexing updates page. To learn more about individual projects, view the FamilySearch projects page. 

New Projects Added 

· België, Oost Vlaanderen, Sint-Lievens-Houtem—Burgerlijke Stand, 1901-1910 [Deel 2] 

· Brasil, Rio de Janeiro—Cartões de Imigração, 1900–1965 [Parte 3II] 

· Brasil, Rio de Janeiro—Cartões de Imigração, 1900–1965 [Parte 3JJ] 

· Canada—1911 Census 

· Colombia, Antioquia—Diócesis de Sonsón y Rionegro, 1814-2008 [Part 3] 

· Deutschland, Hessen, Landkreis Marburg-Biedenkopf—Sterberegister, 1946–1980 

· Italia (Antenati Italiani), Bergamo—Nati, 1875-1894 [Part 2B] 

· Italia (Antenati Italiani), Modena—Nati, 1875–1902 [Parte 2] 

· Magyarország, Szabolcs—polgári anyakönyvi adatok, 1895–1978 [5. Rész] 

· South Africa, Orange Free State—Estate Files, 1951–1980 [Part 2A] 

· Suisse, Fribourg—1834 Recensement 

· U.S. (Community Project), New York—New York Passenger Lists, 1942–1957 [Part J] 

· U.S., Indiana, Wayne—County Marriages, 1811–1959 

· U.S., Iowa—1905 State Census [Part A] 

· U.S., Iowa—County Marriages, 1838–1992 [Part D] 

· U.S., Massachusetts—State Vital Records, 1841–1920 [Part A] 

· UK, Kent—Register of Electors, 1825–1900 

· UK—WWI Service Records, 1914–1920 [Part 3] 

· UK—WWI Service Records, 1914–1920 [Part 4] 

· Zimbabwe—Death Notices, 1904–1976 [Part 1] 

· Россия, Тверь—Метрические книги церкви, 1722–1918 [часть 1] 

View the FamilySearch projects page to see the full list of available projects and to learn more about how to participate in various projects. 

Recently Completed Projects 

Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process. They will be published at FamilySearch.org in the near future. 

· Italia (Antenati Italiani), Pesaro e Urbino—Nati, 1885–1902 [Parte 2] 

· Italy, Trento - Baptisms 1784-1924 [Part 2A] 

· Nicaragua, Masaya - Registros Civiles 1879-1984 

· Sverige, Örebro—Kyrkoböcker till 1860 [Del 6] 

· Sverige, Örebro—Kyrkoböcker till 1860 [Del 6] 

· U.S. (Community Project), Florida, Key West—Passenger Lists, 1898–1945 

· U.S. (Community Project), New York, Northern—Arrival Manifests, 1902–1956 

· U.S., Maine—Delayed Returns for Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1670–1891 

· U.S., Mississippi—Military Grave Registrations, 1936–1951 

· U.S., Ohio—County Births, 1856–1956 [Part C] 

· U.S., Oklahoma—Land Allotment Records of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1899–1907 [Part 1E] 

About FamilySearch 
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

Thanking a hero after 57 years!

It's the unexpected joys that make me love being a genealogist. Family is the most important thing we have. I had a favorite grandmother growing up and we lived about 700 miles apart most of my life. She and I would cry with joy whenever we got to see each other and cry from heartbreak whenever we parted. She just simply loved me. Life was simple and the little things made me happy.

Today I often wonder who was her favorite relative - a grand parent, and uncle, a cousin? I so wish I had asked her that simple question while she was still alive. That's why I get so exciting when I have the chance to help someone else discover someone in their life or the life of someone in theirs.

About two weeks ago one of my friends, Kathy Peavey Gritton, contacted me and asked if I could help her find someone from her late father's life. Her father had a serious accident in 1955 and she so wanted to locate the man who saved his life, if he was still alive. Kathy had a worn out newspaper article that didn't have a date nor did it identify the newspaper. The man's name was Richard Falkner. So we spend the next several hours piecing together her father's life including the accident that cost him both of his legs. And, we discovered that the hero in all of this was still alive and living just about 30 miles away. His name had been misspelled in the original article which made it a little more difficult to locate him.

Kathy decided she would contact Mr. Falkner the next day, however, she also wanted to publicly acknowledge his heroism so I suggested a local newspaper columnist, Lee Benson, who loves to share human interest stories. Kathy contacted them both the next day. They all met together a couple of days later... AND...here's the rest of the story...
*Hero thanked 55 years after Logan sawmill tragedy
*After 57 years, a family thanks its hero

Like I said...it's the unexpected joys in life! Thanks Kathy, for letting me play a part in your joy!

UVTAGG Saturday Seminar-Come Join Me!

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 May 2013, 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.uvtagg.org . 

The main presentation this month will be by Don E. Norton on WRITING YOUR PERSONAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. This presentation will help all of us write and preserve our own and our ancestors' life stories. Don Norton is a retired professor of BYU's Department of Linguistics and English Language. For thirty years he taught the Personal History class at BYU, as well as senior seminars in oral history. A special interest is oral histories of military veterans, notably veterans of WW II, but of other "wars" as well. He has interviewed literally hundreds of military veterans and compiled their stories. He has written books and articles and headed the Faculty Editing Service at BYU for more than 20 years. As a professional editor for 45 years, he edited several volumes in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series at BYU. More information about him is online here.  

After the main presentation the following classes are presently scheduled. Check the meetings page athttp://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions to the class offerings.

1. Effective Use of Websites and Their Search Engines or Why Didn't I Find Them the First Time?, by Laurie Castillo
2. Organizing Your Computer Files, by Robert Lasson
3. Using Dropbox, Keynote, and Skype for Genealogy, by Ron Snowden
4. Q&A: Writing A Personal or Family History, by Don Norton
5. Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom, Bud Wood, and Jim Kendall
6. Video of last month's main presentation: Are Your Ready Now That FamilySearch Family Tree is Live?, by James L. Tanner
7. Ancestral Quest, by Merlin Kitchen
8. Legacy, by Dean Bennett.
9. RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell

All meetings of UVTAGG 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 about 100 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

FamilySearch Indexing: How It Works

Help Index the US Immigration & Naturalization Community Project