Wednesday, April 30, 2008

This is the UVPAFUG Meeting You Have to Attend!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 10 May 2008, from 9 am until noon in the LDS "Red" Chapel at 4000 North Timpview Drive (650 East), in Provo. The main presentation this time will be NEW FAMILYSEARCH SYCHRONIZATION WITH ANCESTRAL QUEST (Gaylon Findlay), FAMILY INSIGHT (John Vilburn), AND ROOTSMAGIC (Bruce Buzbee) .

These presenters are the primary authors of these programs and as such will be able to give us a really good overview of how their programs will work with New FamilySearch (NFS) which the LDS Church is releasing a few LDS Temple Districts at a time. It is presently in operation in over 50 of the more than 125 Temple Districts of the Church and will be in more, if not all, by the end of 2008.

NFS is designed to fulfill President Gordon B. Hinckley's concern of how to make temple names submission simpler, while still avoiding duplication. It is a massive effort by the LDS Church and has been many years in the planning and programming. The LDS Church has encouraged private ventures to work on making their genealogy programs capable of synchronizing (communicating) with New FamilySearch.

In the case of Family Insight (new name for PAF Insight), the program allows PAF (Personal Ancestral File) databases to communicate with New FamilySearch. This synchronization allows editing of New FamilySearch data, e.g. searching and combining names in NFS, as well as downloading data from NFS databases to update the patrons' personal genealogy database.

These are programs that Gordon J. Clarke referred to in his presentation when he mentioned third-party products to work with New FamilySearch as he spoke to the Utah Valley PAF Users Group a few months ago. These presentations and questions and answers by the authors will take the entire time of this meeting, so there will be no classes this time. Other programs to synchronize with NFS besides these three will undoubtedly be announced later, but these are the first.

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. Several of the officers, including Gerhard Ruf, President; Brian Cooper, 2nd VP; Lynne Shumway, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker and Gerry Eliason working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill, Eileen Phelps, and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD & Video Library, will all be there. They will help with membership, questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's and videos of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org . For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org(801-225-6106), VP1 Elder Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu, or VP2 Brian Cooper at vp2@uvpafug.org.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing - Week 40

Well, I've reached the big 40 - I've consistently been indexing for 40 weeks! If that hasn't developed the habit in me I don't know what else would have. And you thought I was talking about it being my birthday - NOT. So I didn't index on Sunday - Monday is still in the same week! Flexibility gives you less stress. I was busy making backup DVD copies of my hard drive.

My computer has been acting very weird lately. Loud beeping alarms sound, sometimes it freezes up and I can't even get the task manager to come up so I can shut it down. I have to power off the surge protector to get it to shut off and then the clock reverts back to 1999. I don't know how to repair computers but I know enough that something big is planning on blowing up on me!

It is such a struggle to get things done with it at times. One night I had to hard boot the computer seven times. Then on other days it works fine - kinda slow but it works. I think this 8 year old computer's end is coming near. I have used it every day. It has been a loyal faithful friend and I will continue to push it until it is no more. The computer store I bought it from went out of business a couple of years ago, so I called the company that is honoring their warranty - labor only and they told me they couldn't get parts for it anymore. They will give me $200 as a trade in value for it to apply towards a new one for the starting price of $1,450, with a lifetime warranty. Lifetime warranties don't impress me anymore because the last company said that and went out of business. I guess I need to start shopping and comparing prices.

At least I have one comfort if my computer dies, excuse me, when it dies - I have great backups. I have backups on DVDs, CDs, and an external hard drive, plus Mozy. The computer guy was trying to prepare me over the phone that I needed to do that and he was amazed this old lady knew about backups. Been there, done that! The major pain in the butt will be installing all my old programs. I wonder how FamilySearch Indexing runs on Vista? I ignored some comments about it on the message boards a few days ago. I guess I better find out.

No matter what happens FamilySearch Indexing will still happen and so will my articles. I have an old laptop that is working much better than my PC right now. In fact I am going to have to take a long look at if I should buy a laptop or a PC this time around. Isn't life just grand - never a dull moment.

Well back to FamilySearch Indexing - I was surprised to see two messages from Headquarters this week. Here is the first one.
From: Headquarters
Subject: Freedmen Letters project
Date: 24 Apr 2008

We need your help! We have partnered with the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and its volunteers to index the Freedmen Letters. Our goal is to finish in early June. This means we need help from as many indexers as possible, especially those with an inherent interest in African American history and genealogy.

The project is available from the Download From... menu. It is different from most of the other indexing projects. Please read the project-specific instructions before indexing your first batch. If you still have questions, please call Indexing Support at 1-866-406-1830 or send an e-mail to indexing@support.familysearch.org.

The Freedman Letters from Virginia are the first collection we have worked with from the Freedman's Bureau records, held in the National Archives. Data created by this and subsequent Freedmen's Bureau projects will enable historians and descendants of emancipated slaves, freed Blacks, and Black Union soldiers to access historical information, much of which was never before available.

The Freedmen's Bureau records provide the earliest major compilation of information on many freedmen, documenting for the period 1865-1872 their names, legalized marriages, educational pursuits, work contracts, and receipt of rations, health care, legal, and other support.
This inspired me to do a batch of the Freedmen Letters. It wasn't hard to do, I indexed 41 names. I guess I didn't quite feel the spirit of the project yet. There were no vital records or facts in my letters to help me feel a connection to the individuals. I guess I need to work on it some more.

Here is the second message for us.
From: Headquarters
Subject: Indexing Support E-mail Address Change
Date: 24 Apr 2008

TO: EVERYONE

The Indexing Support e-mail address will be changing to indexing@familysearch.org in the next few days. The old address (indexing@support.familysearch.org) should work for the time being. If you are having difficulties sending e-mails to the old address, please start sending your e-mails to the new address immediately. The Indexing Support phone number will continue to be 1-866-406-1830.

Stake extraction directors and group administrators: Please update any presentation, training materials, or handouts that you use. We greatly appreciate your help in circulating this new information.
I decided I needed to do more indexing so I went ahead and indexed a batch of the Irish Death Indexes - 1945-1958. I indexed 216 names and got credit for 250 records indexed. Right now I have a total of 6,777 records indexed to date. I am really into my Irish records. I just love the names and feel so connected to them. I feel like they are my people but as of yet I have found no Irish ancestors - YET - I hope I do someday.

On the Washington Co, NY mailing list this week they were talking about how some Irish people settled in that area. I do have some cousins marrying people from Ireland but I hadn't given it much thought on how many where in the area. My dead end lines in Washington County are Bentley, Scranton, Green, Hewitt, Robinson (Robertson) and Lamphear. I have indexed some Greens, Hewitts and Robinsons in the Irish records and can just dream that they might be my distant relatives.

I don't know how many of you feel a connection to the names you index but I just have to in order to actually want to index. Without a connection to the people you would feel like you are just wasting your time. When you get a connection, indexing becomes the adventure and a reward in itself. You don't really have to be related in order to feel a connection to them. It's the human story the captivates you. Are there twins in the families, how many died young or really really old. What kind of adventures did the family have moving from the east to the west and having children in different states along the way. There are just so many stories its the human element that compels you.

Projects do warm and grow on you and I guess thats how I am now with the Freedman Letters. It's a tragic and marvelous story all at the same time. I don't have slave ancestry in my family and I only know of one ancestor that had a slave. I guess I need to get into the letters and feel their story. It's kind of hard without the dates to identify anyone with. At least my first batch was that way. Yup it is going to take some time to grow on me, but I'm game enough to give it a try.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day.

Church Announces Plans for Two New Temples in Arizona

LDS Church News
Published: Friday, Apr. 25, 2008

Plans to build two new temples in Arizona, one in the Gila Valley and the other in Gilbert, were announced by President Thomas S. Monson. This will bring the total number of temples to 134 already in operation or in the planning and construction phases.

"It is my personal priority to make sure members of the Church have access to the blessings of the temple," said President Monson. "It is here where members learn of their divine origin and destiny; where they are strengthened spiritually as individuals and as families. Temples are sanctuaries from the storms of life."

There are currently two temples in Arizona: one in Mesa and another in Snowflake. The temples in the Gila Valley and Gilbert will bring the total number to four.

The two new temples are the first to be announced by President Monson since he became president of the Church on Feb. 3.

The history of the Church in Arizona dates back to the earliest days of the western migration of the Church. The Mormon Battalion marched through the area now known as Arizona in 1846 on its way to California.

Various efforts to colonize the area followed with the first large-scale effort coming in March of 1873. By Jan. 27, 1878, the Little Colorado Stake, the first stake in Arizona, was created.

Eventually, more than 30 colonies were started, with others in northern Mexico. These hardy pioneers overcame severe hardships in the early years, including drought, crop failures, difficulties with neighbors and floods.

Over the years, members gained prominence and were involved in the progress of the state. They earned a good reputation for their industry and integrity.

On Oct. 23, 1927, the first Arizona temple was dedicated in Mesa. Prior to that time, members traveled to the St. George Temple in Utah. So many bridal parties traversed the trail during the early years that the wagon road to St. George became known as the Honeymoon Trail.

President Spencer W. Kimball, 12th president of the Church who served from 1973-1985, was reared in the Gila Valley community of Thatcher.

Today, membership continues to flourish with approximately 370,000 members divided among 84 stakes and four missions.

(This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News. The contents of each week's edition of LDS Church News is available to subscribers online at ldschurchnews.com. To subscribe to LDS Church News, please click here.)

Friday, April 25, 2008

New Resources Available for Family History Leaders

Press Release 25, 2008 — News from the Church

New training resources for priesthood leaders who oversee temple and family history work are now available on LDS.org.

These resources include interactive lessons designed to help leaders provide direction and leadership to family history efforts. Additionally, the Administrative Guide for Family History, which supplements the Church Handbook of Instructions, is now available in 19 languages.

These resources can be found at LDS.org by following links from Serving in the Church, to Family History, and then to Priesthood Leadership of Family History.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

FindMyPast.com Completes AncestorsOnBoard Passenger Lists

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com has completed its project to scan and index the complete set of outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages from all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

Working in association with The National Archives of the United Kingdom, the project took a team of 125 people over a year to scan in the 1.1 million full colour individual pages - some handwritten, some typed. In total 24 million passengers are recorded travelling between these dates. Their reasons for travelling varied from emigration to diplomatic missions, to business trips or purely for pleasure.

The final decade to go live covers the years 1950 to 1960 and includes the so-called "Ten Pound Poms" travelling under the Australian government assisted passage scheme. In most cases the old UK address of the passenger is given, enabling family historians to trace back the roots of their British ancestors. Accompanying some of the 1960 lists are scans of the handwritten departure cards completed by each passenger. These show the full date of birth of the passenger as well as their UK address and occupation, with the names and dates of birth of any children travelling with them on the reverse - a goldmine for the genealogist.

There are also a number of famous people recorded travelling in the records during the 1950s. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair can be found listed as Anthony Charles Lynton Blair travelling on the Iberia to Adelaide on 24 December 1954, aged one, while on 5 August 1958 the young Bee Gees are recorded emigrating with their parents on the Fairsea to Sydney.

All seven decades of the passenger lists are free to search at findmypast.com. The images and transcripts can be viewed with either a 12 month Explorer or a 1 month Voyager subcription to findmypast.com, or alternatively with pay-per-view units or vouchers.

Careful Roll-out of NFS Starts Up

I recently asked my source at FamilySearch about the current rumors that the roll-out of new FamilySearch was starting up again. You will be happy to learn that the careful movement of new temple districts going live with new FamilySearch is true.
Sister Zamora,
Yes, a few additional temple districts have been added. These include Bismarck ND & Monterrey Mexico on April 8th and Toronto Canada & Oaxaca Mexico on April 15th. Dallas TX, Melbourne Australia, and Perth Australia were deployed today, April 22nd. The only other temple with a rollout date is Bern Switzerland which is scheduled for April 29th.
Thanks
For those of you keeping track I have updated my "New FamilySearch Roll-out" spreadsheet. I am so happy that we are seeing progress in the roll-out again. Personally I am very excited about this new list because my sister and nieces live in the Toronto Canada temple district. WAHOO! maybe I can get them excited about genealogy and come play with me.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing - Week 39

Well again, no New York projects to work on. In fact I didn't notice any new projects to work on. It also seems like the Irish vital records have been around for a long time. I wonder if the Irish records have to be done before they will get me the New York records? I sure hope people aren't loosing interest in indexing. With spring here you sure don't like to be cooped up inside.

Yeah, I know about being stuck inside! All this past weekend I was home sick in bed. On Sunday I actually slept all night and day until 6pm that evening. Thats a long time sleeping. At 9:30pm I was back to bed again. I guess you can tell I wasn't up to indexing Sunday - but I was today. I decided to actually time myself and it took 62 minutes to index 211 names on the Irish Death Indexes 1945-1958. I got credit for indexing 250 records but I call it close enough. To date I have indexed 6486 records. It sure felt good to do some indexing today.

It was time for Headquarters to give us some news and we have two messages from them this week.
From: Headquarters
Subject: Ask a Question
Date: 15 Apr 2008

To all indexers and arbitrators:
  • Another tip for Irish indexers: When there was a year recorded in parentheses after the given name, index that number in the Year field for that record. Remember to index the year from the top of the page again for the next record.
  • Please remember that each project has its own set of instructions. Reading these instructions before working on a batch from an unfamiliar project will make your indexing (and arbitrating) life much easier. To review these instructions, at the top of the data entry area, click the Project Information tab. Then click Indexing Project Homepage. Or you can view these instructions online at www.familysearchindexing.org. Click the Projects tab at the top of the page. Click the name of a project to view the instructions for that project.
  • There are many instructive items available on the Publications page; including instructional guides and Family Record Extraction memorandums which contain more news and tips regarding FamilySearch indexing and Universal Data Entry (UDE). To find the Publications page:
  1. Go to www.familysearchindexing.org in your Internet browser.
  2. Click the Help tab.
  3. Click the Publications link near the top of the page.
I actually needed the tip for the Irish records this week. I had two people on my batch with a different year next to their names. I was a good girl and made the change to reflect the right year. Here is the second message from headquarters.
From: Headquarters
Subject: Ask a Question
Date: 18 Apr 2008

TO ALL INDEXERS:

We are excited to announce the new Ask a Question feature on the FamilySearch indexing Web site! With the newest update to the system, the Ask a Question box was added to the Help tab. This will give indexers, arbitrators, group administrators, and stake extraction directors an additional way to have their questions answered.

To find the Ask a Question box, do the following:
  1. Go to the FamilySearch indexing home page, www.familysearchindexing.org.
  2. Click the Help tab.
  3. Click the Ask a Question link near the top of the page.
Type your question about FamilySearch indexing in the space provided and click the Ask button. Refer to the tips and examples on the Ask a Question page for guidance and suggestions.

***There is one specific tip we would like to point out. If you type in the name of a project you will find a link to an article specifically dealing with that project - including questions and answers about specific situations that have come up, with example images and other tips and suggestions.

We hope you will make use of this new resource. We will continue to strive to make your time volunteering with indexing as enjoyable as possible.
I didn't have any need to ask a question this week but it's nice to know this other option is there. I don't have much else to tell you this week. It's been kind of slow around here with me not feeling to well. I have a ton of emails to get through. In fact I have 83 emails in my in box that need some type of reply or action. Nearly all are genealogy related. At least my project for my distant relative is completed. Just need to make my shareable CD in RootsMagic and send it off to her. I am glad thats done. I guess what I am trying to say is if you are waiting for an email reply from me I promise I will get to it shortly. Hopefully my spring fever is over and I can get back into a better routine.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing - Week 38

I know, I didn't write my usual article on Sunday. But I promise you I did do some FamilySearch Indexing. I was vegging out on my laptop and it started to take forever to move to a new column or new row. It was frustrating enough and late enough that I decided to call in quits and work on it tomorrow, which is now today. It was only after I shut down the indexing program that I realized my anti-virus program was running in the background. Duh, no wonder it was running so slow.

Well, it's a good thing I waited and finished my batch today. I was finally able to test working on a batch, saving it to the server and then finishing up that batch while working on another computer. The whole process worked flawlessly. I guess the only thing I need to test now is making sure I am working off line on a batch. I'm not sure that I have done that yet.

As usual when I started the FamilySearch Indexing program I looked for messages from headquarters. There weren't any. Which isn't surprising since they told us last week that they would have messages twice a month for us.

I looked again for a New York project and there wasn't any. That's not getting very surprising now either. I really hope when they do start a project that it's the state censuses. Oh, well time will tell. Once again I picked the Irish records. I worked on the Irish Death Indexes 1845-1958. This time I actually indexed 219 records and received credit for doing 250. I didn't think that was to bad. I now have a grand total of 6,236 records indexed.

It's funny how I don't seem to notice how much time the Irish records are actually taking me. I don't know why maybe because I am not concentrating so hard while I am doing them. I keep forgetting to time myself but I know I'm taking more time indexing these records than if I did one batch of the census records. Of course there are more records but I don't mind how long it takes it's really just kind of fun.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention a dilemma I had while indexing. I wasn't exactly sure what to do while indexing my batch it had an extra name typed in at the end of the first column. I realized that it was misplaced and belong alphabetically where the "*" was. Now my dilemma do I put it where it belongs alphabetically, type where it was in the column or include it at the end of the batch?

Here is what I did and I hope I am right. I decided to look at the "Project Specific Indexing Instructions". I had read them before and I knew if it was handwritten on the margins to include them at the end of the batch. Well I looked and looked for the typed add ins and couldn't find anything written about where to add them. Sooo, I decided to put them right where they were at the end of the first column and then just started indexing the second column right afterwards. I guess I should of called headquarters and asked them but it seem the logically place to put them. I hope I am right in doing that. If not I'm sure one of my readers will enlighten me.

I guess I will wrap this article up. I've been so busy lately working on some genealogy for a distant relative of mine. It's actually her husband's line so I'm not even blood related to the people. As much as I love doing genealogy I actually prefer to work on my own line. I am just itching to get back to my genealogy.

The only plus right now is that it's giving me a good chance to test out RootsMagic ease of entering data verses Legacy. You really get to know the flow for the program when you enter a lot of data into it. It is amazing how quickly you can pick up a new genealogy software program once you understand how one program works. Well I guess I actually knew two before hand - PAF was the first program I ever used, but I would be hard pressed to teach anyone how to use it now.

My relative wanted me to print out all the information for her and mail to her when I was done. I already have around 6,000 people in the database. That is an awful lot of paper and postage. I'm going to make a RootsMagic shareable CD and send it to her, then she can decide what to print out. Well, I'm off to work on that project now.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing - Week 37

It was conference weekend and I felt so lazy and slow about getting anything done. Must be all the sitting around and watching conference. Ok, I actually slept in and listened to the morning sessions while in bed. By Sunday afternoon session I was ready to do some FamilySearch Indexing while I listened to conference.

I always look for any messages from Headquarters and I was not disappointed.
From: Headquarters
Subject: Semimonthly Message
Date: 01 Apr 2008

TO ALL INDEXERS:

This message is the first of many we will be sending out on the 1st and 15th of each month. We may include tips on using the indexing program, general indexing information, instructions for specific projects, and answers to situations show up in arbitration.
  • Batches in the Philadelphia 1885-1051 Marriage Indexes are set for eighty lines per image, but many batches will have more than eighty records. Please index all of the names on the image by adding lines as needed
  • There are quite a few Chinese and American Indian names in the 1870 census. If you cannot determine which name is the surname and which is the given name, do not separate the names into the Given Name and Surname fields. Instead, keep each name in the same order as it was written in the record and type all of the information in the Given Name field and mark the Surname field as blank. If the name contains any hyphens (-) or apostrophes ('), please include them with the name.
  • Wisconsin State Censuses: Please remember to add any recorded designations (village, town, city, etc) to the names of the localities. The designation can be capitalized or not, it does not matter. For example, Arlington Town and Arlington town are considered identical in the system.
  • Irish indexes: Be sure to look at the Previous or Next image for the year and quarter if this information is not on the page you are indexing. Also, remember to add they y in the Age field in the Irish death indexes.
  • Indexing Tip: If you do not see the field helps while you are indexing, look for the two little black arrows on the right side of your data entry screen. Click on the top arrow that points to the left to show these valuable instructions that explain what to index in each field.
We greatly appreciate all of your indexing and arbitration efforts.
It's nice to know they will be giving us regular updates. I can't tell you how long I sat and agonized over whether or not I actually put the "y" after the age on the Irish death indexes. I'm really good about reading the project instructions so I could only hope the notice to put the "y" was included on the instructions. As you can see those little reminders are going to be very useful for everyone.

Here is the other message for us:
From: Headquarters
Subject: System Response to Update
Date: 02 April 2008

We thank you for your patience as our system adjusts to the update that occurred on Monday. If you have not restarted the indexing program since Monday, March 31st, please close the program and restart it using the Start Indexing button on the FamilySearch indexing home page, www.familysearchindexing.org.

Some projects may be temporarily unavailable and there are currently fewer than normal arbitration batches ready for download. We are working to remedy this situation.

We hope you will not become discouraged if any of these issues have affected you. We truly appreciate your understanding and dedication.
I didn't have any problems getting in today so everything must be up and running ok now. It did take a long time to get signed in then I realized that the program was updating and doing just what it was suppose to be doing.

I looked, as usual to see if any New York projects where available. There wasn't so I decided I would give the Irish Birth Indexes a try. That way I have worked on all the Irish vital records indexes. I picked the Irish Birth Indexes 1942-1958 and I don't know what the deal was but it took me over 2 hours to index 242 actual individuals. I got credit for doing 310 and this time I felt like I deserved the credit.

The system seemed to be running really slow when I would get to the last column in the row. There would be this long pause before it would start on the next line. It made me wonder if there were a lot of members indexing while watching conference? I wanted to try getting off line while I worked on it to see if that would speed things up. I just couldn't make myself stop to test out the theory. I was going to give it a go as soon as I finished that batch and went to do the next one. The next one never came. I was to tired to work on another batch. Either it's the system pauses that wore me out or I'm under the weather and it hasn't totally caught up with me yet.

I finish this article with nothing exciting to note other than I am almost at the 6,000 records indexed mark - 5,986 to be exact. It was so unlike me to not push myself to get a few more done so I could round the numbers up. It's just been an incredibly slow day and now I'm ready for bed again. Just dragging my feet to get up and move. Wow, that sounds so depressing! Maybe I need to good dose of cod liver oil or sulpher and molasses. Just the thoughts of that make me want to get up a run for the hills or duck under the covers! Come to think of it I guess I will go do the later.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Mark Your Calendars - UVPAFUG Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 12 Apr 2008, from 9 am until noon in the LDS "Red" Chapel at 4000 North Timpview Drive (650 East), in Provo. The main presentation will be by Prof. Larry EchoHawk on SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS FROM KNOWING MY NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTORS. He will describe his journey in searching for his Native-American ancestors, preparing their names for temple ordinances, and gaining a deeper appreciation of his Native American heritage. All of this involved many avenues of research including the Internet and the Family History Library. His wife Terry is also an avid genealogist and helped with this research.

There is a good article about Professor EchoHawk in Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_EchoHawk . He was born in Cody, Wyoming, raised in Farmington, New Mexico, and attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship, then received his Juris Doctor degree in 1973 from the University of Utah. He practiced law in Salt Lake City and in 1977 became the General Legal Counsel for the Fort Hall, Idaho-based, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He is a member of the Pawnee Tribe and was the first Native American elected to a constitutional statewide office, serving as Attorney General of Idaho from 1991 to 1995. Currently he is a Professor of Criminal Law at BYU's J Reuben Clark Law School and presides over the BYU 7th Stake. He resides in Orem with his wife, Terry, and they are the parents of 6 children with 20 grandchildren. On 7 Aug 2007 he gave the BYU Devotional talk about his conversion and his heritage and a copy of that talk is posted online at the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies at http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=435 . You can also listen to that devotional at http://ldsfiles.com/newforums/ldsfiles-com-talk-repository/
4598-byu-devotional-unexpected-gift.html .

Following the main presentation there will be several classes taught concerning technology and family history. As usual, there will be something for everyone at all levels of expertise. The classes currently scheduled for this meeting are the following:
  1. PAF5: Using Preferences, by Lila Sowards
  2. Using Google in Genealogy, by Duane Dudley
  3. Managing Genealogy Information Using PHPGedView (class 3 of 3), by John Finlay
  4. Q&A on his talk by Larry EchoHawk
  5. Individual Mentoring by Pat Andrus & Claudia Benson (including a German Internet Research mini class)
  6. Video of last month's main presentation on The Future of Family History Centers, by Don Anderson
  7. Legacy, by Joel Graham
  8. Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay
  9. RootsMagic, by Bruce Buzbee.
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. Several of the officers will be there, including Gerhard Ruf, President; Brian Cooper, 2nd VP; Lynne Shumway, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker and Gerry Eliason working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill, Eileen Phelps, and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD & Video Library. They will help with membership, questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's and videos of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and on their blog at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ . For additional information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106), VP1 Elder Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu, or VP2 Brian Cooper at vp2@uvpafug.org.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Mark Your Calendars! - UGA

No April Fool's Joke!!

Karen Clifford is going to speak on better organization for the Utah Valley Chapter of UGA on April 18th, 7 PM, 85 North, 600 East in Provo.

Calendar it now, you won't want to miss it!

Karen has recently moved back to Utah from California. She is a well known speaker and you will enjoy the presentation.