Monthly Meeting - June 19, 2010

Our June meeting is coming up so I'd like to tell you about our Presenter for this meeting.

Meet Max Turpin.....
June Meeting: Max Turpin to Teach Picasa Max Turpin was born and raised in Illinois where
most of his family still live. He has returned home at least 40 of the 42 years since he left central Illinois.
He served LDS mission to Texas, and has lived in Texas, California, where he met his wife
Karen, and Utah.
Max and Karen moved from Richfield to St. George in 1992. He is retired from the US Post Office. Max has been involved in Family History/Genealogy for last 30 years and has nearly 18,000 family names collected in his PAF program.
While collecting those name he also served served as bishop in Washington 2nd Ward, and in the bishopric of the Dixie College 8th Ward. Max and Karen served a proselyting mission to Spokane Washington Mission in 2006-2007 in the Coulee Dam area and after their return he was called as the St. George Transient Bishop. He has put in papers to serve 18 month mission at St. George Regional FHC this fall, and writes the column on Findagrave that appears in this
newsletter. He also serves on the Board for the WCPAF Users Group.
His hobbies are, of course, related to genealogy and he is our resident expert on Findagrave. He has visited cemeteries in 12 states, taking photos of gravestones on these visits and posting them on line.
He will share his knowledge, of how to deal with photos on our computers, using Picasa. Picasa is a free tool, available from Google, that helps with digitized photos. It has tools that allow us to edit pictures as well as, to organize and to share the pictures we have collected.
The meeting is Saturday June 19th at 10 am in the Morningside Stake Center at 881 River Road.

All visitors are welcome to our meetings.

Washington County PAF Users Group is more than using PAF. We use the various genealogy programs available and have monthly presentations on various software and research information.

Check us out at www.wcpafug.org/

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Vice-President Bob Kroff welcomed all in attendance to the meeting and to our Presenter - Darlene Odenwalder, and made the following announcements:
1. Footnotes.com is offering free access to all historical newspapers at it's website.
2. The FamilySearch Community has many resources we should be aware of: FS Research Wiki - helps find resource information about a specific geographical area; where to best look for records in a specific time periods; information about records or archives that can be of help in your research, etc. http://wiki.familysearch.org/ FS Forums - help you find answers to any questions that you may have. http://forums.familysearch.org/ FS Beta and Pilot programs allow you to browse through the historical Record Collections compiled through the FamilySearch indexing program. http://pilot.familysearch.org/ and or http://fsbeta.familysearrch.org/
3. Bob again spoke about the tv program: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Bob then introduced Darlene Odenwalder - Coordinator of DNA/Genetics for Ancestry.com:
Darlene has researched and studied genealogy for over 20 years, and has been teaching in-person genealogy classes in her local community. After two decades of corporate work, Darlene built a new career around what she loves -genealogy. She retired to St. George and now works from home for Ancestry.com. Prior to working for Ancestry.com DNA, Darlene was a Genetic Genealogist at Realative Genetics. As a counselor, she worked with individual customers to select the right DNA test for their unique genealogy goals.
Darlene currently travels and lectures on Genetic Genealogy. Her maternal ancient ancestral group is The Colonists, haplogroup H and her paternal ancient ancestral group is The Artisans, haplogroup R1b.
Darlene explained, that each person carries within them a DNA genetic marker. These markers can help tell if you are related to other people. We can discover our genetic genealogy and ancient ancestry with a DNA cheek-swab test through Ancestry.com
Darlene began her presentation by explaining to us Mitochondrial DNA (mtDna)
Your greatest of grandmothers finally share ancient family secrets. The DNA handed down from mother to child reveals the story of your maternal origins from 20,000 to 100,000 year ago.
Your father's father's father's father is just waiting to give you a hand with your family history. The DNA handed down from father to son through generations has gone unchanged over time.
Your MRCA (most recent common ancestor) is viewed through a mathematical equation to establish relationship.
DNA is simply: Another tool, like a census record: it doesn't lie: it does not replace paper records: however, non-paternal events happen...and this could help explain them.

Darlene's presentation was very interesting and gives us insight into just what DNA can be for each of us. Thank You!

We all appreciated the information given by Darlene. It was very informative and timely, and for some of us the way we should go to help breakdown our brick walls. Thank You Darlene!

Darlene has agreed to come back as a presenter in October and tell us of one of her favorite subjects, Searching Newspapers

Up-coming Saturday class schedule

Class Schedule
Saturday, June 19, 2010 - Board Member Max Turpin - How To Use Picassa - Picassa is a free photo program. Come and learn how to use this program and bring any questions you have along.

Saturday, July 17, 2010 - we are working on scheduling this class presentation.
August 2010 - no meeting is held in the month of August.
Saturday, September 18, 2010 - we are working on scheduling this class presentation.
Saturday, October 16, 2010 - Darlene Odenwalder of Ancestry.com will be presenting a class on newspapers. We all know what information is available to us on newsletters - come see learn what you may not know.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 - we are working on scheduling this class presentation

If you have a particular class presentation subject that you would like to see at one of our Saturday meetings, please give your suggestion to one of our Board Members at a Saturday meeting.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Vice-President Bob Kroff welcomed members and visitors to this meeting.
Newsletter Editor Julie Hammons wanted all to know that the newsletter was not her's, but it belonged to the membership. She noted that she would welcome any ideas or articles for the newsletter.
FYI - the WCPAFUG Family History/Genealogy Newsletter is sent to all members each month. Aritcles are on helpful subjects and keeping us updated on doing our research.
You can view the front page of the newsletter, or for more information on our group, on our web site: www.wpcafug.org You can receive the full newsletter by joining our group. Annual dues are $12.00 per family.

Bob then introduced this months Presenters - Dave and Manja Midgley and their class on scanning. Dave & Manja are currently serving a mission at the St. George Family History Center and have served missions to Germany (Dave only), Korea and Illinois (together).
The presentation began with .... How Do I Scan Something, with major points to remember: Scanning is more 'art' than 'science' so you need to experiment: Always have a notepad next to scanner: Keep a Journal and log what works and what doesn't: Build YOUR personal checklist of each type of item scanned.
He with talked about Desired Features - Top Brands: Epson - Cannon and HP Microtex.
A flat bed is more desirable than an All-In-One. Getting started: Understanding DPI & Resolutions: File Formats: Enlarging and cropping and other tips.
Thank You Dave and Manja for your presentation. Many oh's and ah's were heard because of the great presentation, and the massive amount of information to help us each in our scanning journey.

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 Morningside Stake Center - 9th and River Rd. - St. George. You can find more information or our web site: www.wcpafug.org

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Our meeting opened with President Connie Stewart welcoming members and visitors to our meeting.
Announcements - Connie suggested that we all check out the classes that are being held at the St. George Large Multi-Stake Family History Center. You can contact the Center at: 435-
673-4591 for further information. Classes are at low cost or no cost.
Presenter Deric Wortham on County Court House Records: Deric delighted us with a short history of how he became employed by the LDS Church and how he became involved in microfilming the records in the state of Kansas, the National Archives in Kansas and the RLDS records in Missouri.
Deric started with a copy of a Family Group Record...He then began researching this family using county court house records. This presentation keep our attention and so much information on researching available records. He then showed the Scholastic Census Records of the school which were found in the land office, the probate records of the father along with the estate inventory. Deric had many more records which time did not permit us to view.
His final notation was that we need more than simply genealogy - names, dates, places, we need to source all our information and learn more about our families - family history, through these various records which are available.
The presentation was very informative and enjoyed by all. We all now want to run, not just walk to those local county court houses of our ancestors...And if that is not possible we need to check out the microfilm available for our respective research counties.

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - Morningside Stake Center on 9th South and River Road - St. George, Utah.

Presenters will be on scanning and taught by Dave and Manga Midgley .

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

All are invited to attend......

March Meeting - Deric Worthan and Courthouse Research
Deric Wortham was born in Boise, Idaho and at the age of 12 he moved with his family to Topeka, Kansas.
He graduated from high school there and attended one year at Brigham Young University.
Deric formerly worked for Department in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, in the Micrographics Department and the Microfilm Development.
His field work included Kansas and the Midwest. For 18-years he specialized in county courthouse records.
Two of those years he spent in the RLDS Archives and the National Archives in Kansas, Missouri.
He also worked as an Assistant Archivist for the Jackson County Missouri Historical Museum.
Deric has a Bachelors Degree in History and a Minor In Business Administration.

Our next monthly meeting - Saturday, Feb 20, 2010

For our February 20, 2010 meeting our Presenter will be Shaun McCausland.
You may know Shaun from his weekly articles in the St. George Senior Sampler on computers, repair, software, buying a computer, keeping your computer safe - all that is important to know for those of us with a computer.
Come and join this meeting and come prepared with questions as Shaun will be available to answer those questions.

Montly Meeting - Saturday, January 16, 2010

President Connie Stewart Welcomed all those attending today's meeting and introduced our meeting Presenter - Robert Kroff and is presentation: An Overview of Four Genealogical Programs which interface with newFamilySearch. PAF and FamilyInsight, RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest and Legacy.
Robert Kroff - is a retired Teacher/Administrator from the Tooele School District. While employed in the District Office in the Tooele School District, he was Teacher Trainer and traveled Utah and Idaho presenting skills in teaching. He taught and was principal at Hurricane Middle School in the early 70's and owned a Grocery Store in Springdale, adjacent to Zion National Park. Bob and his wife, Carol, are currently serving a Mission at the St. George Large Multi-Stake Family History Center. He has a special interest in personal histories....Remembering Uncle Verl, was an eye opener for all of us...Personal Journals are important! And, of course, we all know that Bob is currently serving as Vice-President of our Washington County PAF Users Group.
Bob's presentation included: A comparison of the main screens of the four programs.
Websites for each of the four programs that interface with new.FamilySearch: FamilyInsight - ohanasoftware.com: RootsMagic - rootsmagic.com: Ancestral Quest - ancquest.com: Legacy - legacyfamilytree.com.
All four of these genealogical software's have free trials and there are tutorials available.
All four of these software's can be viewed and used at the St. George Large Multi-Stake Family History Center at 410 South 200 East, St. George. Classes on each of these products are offered to help learn how to more effectively use the program.
Bob added that PAF is 'Not Dead' and is not going away, however it will not be updated to include all the bells and whistles some of the other programs have. You can us FamilyInsight with PAF and it will interface very well with PAF and new.FamilySearch.org.
Thanks Bob for this very good and helpful presentation as we move forward in our genealogy/family history.
A drawing was held for prizes and the meeting was adjourned.

WCPAF Users Group - January meeting...

Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 16th, 2010....10:00 a.m. at the Morningside State Center - 9th and River Road, St. George, Utah.

Our vice-president, Bob Kroff will present a class on genealogy/family history software.
Bob will bring PAF, RootsMagic and Legacy to us by teaching us what each of these programs will bring to us. He will review each program and help us get to know the program and help us understand how they work. The bells, whistles, ins and outs.

There have been many new and exciting, which brings many things we need to learn more about. This presentation will start us off and during this new year we will have classes to help us with our research.

Washington County PAF Users Group - Jan meeting

Our December business meeting and get-together was held on Saturday, December 19th.
The election of officers was held with the following elected to the board: Connie Stewart - President: Bob Kroff - Vice-President: June Morton - Secretary/ Membership: Pat Foster - Treasurer: Max Turpin: Marilyn Rohrer: Curt Rohrer: Helen Lenz: Russ Bateman: Fran Lightner: and a welcome to our newest board member - Julie Hammons.
A video was played which reviewed the year 2009 with the WCPAF Users Group in pictures and music.
Goodies brought were shared by all. All were really good.
We appreciate those who presented our classes in 2009. We had classes on many subjects by those who share their knowledge in these subjects. Thanks to all presenters!
We welcome you to come to our monthly meetings, except for August when no meeting is held, and join with our group. Visitors are welcome!
As you go forward with your family history we wish you the best of findings in this new year 2010!

6th Annual St. George Family History Expo 2010

It's time to make your plans to attend the Annual St. George History Expo 2010 coming up Feburary 26 - 27, 2010.
This is a fantastic Expo every year with speakers and presenters who provide great information.
Take a look at the web site for speakers, presenters and class schedule, and register at:
www.fhexpos.com

Pre-registration, ends Feb. 1, 2010 - $65.00 for the 2 days.
At the door cost will be $75.00, $40.00 for 1-day, or $12.00 per class.

December 19, 2009 Annual Meeting

Our December meeting will be held on Saturday, December 19th. This is our annual meeting to handle all necessary business, and nominating and election of officers and board members.

All are invited to attend and guests are welcome. It's time to visit and enjoy each others company.

Don't forget to bring your favorite finger food.

We will show a video presentation on the Users Group in the year 2009.

Great year thanks to Connie, Bob, Ron, June, Max, Pat, Marilyn, Helen, Russ, Curt and Fran, the officers and board members.

We've had another year of wonderful classes with great presenters. A BIG THANK YOU to all the board members who got this all organized by inviting our presenters to share their individual knowledge on computer security - research - various software information - cleaning up our files both on our computers and in our drawers and boxes, or even on the floor! We revisited 'Uncle Verl', information on the newFamilySearch, a Crash Course in Genealogy, and learning how to 'Break down brick walls'

Our web site is up and running. It is still a 'work in progress', but we are making that progress.
Take a look at: wcpafug.org - or google Washington County PAF Users Group.

Our big THANK YOU to Russ Bateman for the many hours he has spent working on this site.

The Washington County Cemetery Project is on-going. Gathering obituaries and putting those on the web site on the grave site information; Gathering pictures and histories to also be added to the grave site information.

We are continuing our work on the Cemetery Project and would appreciate volunteers coming on-board to help get this work done. The data entry is done in your home, on your computer and you can put in whatever amount of time you have available.

Going out to the cemeteries takes more effort - taking pictures of grave stones. Again, going when you have the time available.

Max Turpin is also been working on getting local information on 'Find-A-Grave' and co-ordination to the area cemeteries.

If you can volunteer to help us on this please contact: Fran Lightner 688-1260. Or, email at: jflightner@skyviewmail.com.

Clean Up Your PAF File

Our class for 'Clean Up Your PAF File' and the presenter will be Tom Hitchcock from the St. George Regional Family History Center.
For those doing Family History it seems that we are the generation of 'clean-up'. Now for most of our files it's about time to clean them up and so this seems like a very timely presentation.
We invite all to attend on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 - Morningside Stake Center, on River Road at 700 South and enter at the back door.
Meeting starts at 10:00 a.m. until Noon.
See you there!

Class Schedule

We had a great class on Oct. 17, 2009 when Julie Hammons presented a class on 'Brick Walls'. Julie's class got us all thinking we could break through those walls and ready to get back to it.

Don't miss our up-coming classes to help you with your software and research.

Our Nov. class will be held on November 21st - 'Clean Up Your PAF File'. Now if you are using PAF, RootsMagic, Legacy or any other software we all need to clean up our files.

Tom Hitchcock from the St. George Regional Family History Center will be our presenter.

Come and join us on the 21st of Nov. - 10:00 a.m. until Noon -

'The Threads That Bind' Family History Fair

November 13th & 14th, 20009 'The Threads That Bind' Family History Fair will be held at the Ivins Stake Center - 290 East 1060 South - Ivins, UT.
Friday - Nov. 13th 6p.m. - 10p.m. and Saturday - Nov. 14th 10a.m. - 2:30p.m.
Friday evening at 6p.m. the Keynote Speaker will be Ronald T. Halverson.
Classes begin at 7:00p.m. ending at 10:00p.m. On Saturday classes will begin at 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Vendors representing RootsMagic and FamilyInsight will be available.
Classes will be held on - Training on the Internet - FamilySearch.org - US Census Searches - Family Search Wiki - Getting started with Family History - Descendancy (Collateral) Research - Organizing Family History Records - New Family Search How to get started and New Family Search How to Use it - Personal Computer Security - Making Time for Family History.
Display tables will present cultural and heritages.
All are welcome to come to enjoy the display tables and attend to any classes that interest them.