Riverton FamilySearch Library/Events

Saturday Seminar
The library offers a free seminar every third Saturday of the month. An opening session is held at 9:00 a.m. featuring a keynote address. Following this session attendees are offered four choices of presentations at both 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

 * Keynote Address - "How to Inspire Priesthood Leaders and Members to Participate in Family History" - Russell Lynch

Description: Come learn how to increase the support from stake and ward priesthood leaders. Gain tips for encouraging members to participate in their divine responsibility to redeem their ancestors.

Russell S. Lynch has an Honors BA in French from the University of Utah and a Masters of Library and Information Science from Brigham Young University. He served as the treasurer for the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) from 2004 to 2008. Previously Russell served as a Director, Associate Vice-President, and President of UGA. He has taught classes on record sources, software products, and research methodology at local, state, and national conferences.

Russell works in the Family History Library as a Collection Management Specialist. He has worked in the LDS Family and Church History Department since 1985. From 2007 to 2011, he served as Secretary to the Genealogy and Local History (GENLOC) Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). He has participated in recent World Library and Information Congress sessions on various continents.

Russell is married and has one daughter. Beside music, genealogy, and computers, he enjoys camping, hiking, photography, and gardening.

10:00 a.m.

 * “How Can I Do British Research from Home? " - Paul Smart

Description: Whether by correspondence, internet, use of local libraries, etc. there is much that can be done in tracing ancestors from home. This session will focus on conducting British research by using local and home based resources. Resources and communication processes such as Snailmail, Email, Internet, Interlibrary Loan, Local Libraries/Archives, Local Societies, Family History Centres, Networking with relatives, Others.


 * What to do with a Letter Collection Using Erastus Snow's Family Letters as an Illustration" - Donald and Diane Snow

Description: Letters give different insights into a family than journals or official documents. A letter collection that we have transcribed and edited contains about 300 personal and family letters of Erastus Snow's family. The presentation will show some things that we learned about the family from the letters and what life was like for them and discuss how we made the text file database and website to post them online. Updated notes for this presentation will be posted at http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-lettercollections.html and the Erastus Snow website is http://erastussnow.org.


 * "Danish Research – Using the Internet" - Orla and Karen Pedersen

Description: This class teaches about the growing number of resources available online in Danish genealogy research. You will learn how to access these resources on your home computer at danishroots.blogspot.com.


 * "Early Handwriting – Can You Read It?" - Pat Jensen

Description: Whether researching original records or indexing for FamilySearch, reading early records presents stumbling blocks for many family history enthusiasts. This class takes beginning and intermediate learners through many of the pitfalls of reading original records and includes document transcription. It gives additional resources, such as alphabet templates, a book list, and practice websites.

11:00 a.m.

 * "The Best Approach for Conducting British Research" - Paul Smart

Description: A step-by-step approach to conducting research. When conducting British research there are many approaches that could be taken. During this session we will look at the logic that tells us which source(s) to search and in what order to search them. Examples of sources and analysis of findings will take place.


 * "Fabulous Finds Using FamilySearch Filters" - Linda Baker

Description: Ever had the experience of knowing information about an ancestor is somewhere in the FamilySearch system, but you just can't seem to find it? Understanding the features and filters of the FamilySearch.org search engine will help your returns be more successful and effective in gleaning both new and previously known data you are looking for. This class will demonstrate several strategies for customizing your search parameters on www.familysearch.org to confirm or find information about your deceased ancestors?


 * "Using Irfanview :  a Free Software Imaging Program" - Rose Ann Fisher

Description: This class is designed to teach and illustrate how to use  Irfanview , a free software imaging program, to capture, resize, reformat, and save family history documents available on the Internet.


 * "Blogging for Genealogy Success"- Larry Cragun