By Janene Pack
No more excuses — genealogy has become easier and more fun.
A Personal Ancestral File users group has formed to make genealogy research easy and enjoyable.
“We support computerized genealogy,” said Jay Markham, president of the PAF group.
The group sets up classes to teach people how to conduct genealogy work on the Internet, Markham said.
To further meet the need for education, monthly speakers explain the use of featured genealogy research tools, he said.
“I helped form this organization because I noticed there were many people who wanted to know how they could use computers to conduct genealogy work,” Markham said.
The PAF user group was formed in 1991 and now has a membership of about 400.
“Our group in Provo has been very successful,” said Donald R. Snow, vice president of the PAF group.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages local PAF users groups to assist in successful genealogy work, he said.
People from all over the Wasatch Front come to these meetings, Snow said.
The PAF group provides classes for people with various levels of computing and family history knowledge, something for the beginner up to the very accomplished, he said.
“Also, PAF is not limited to just the Personal Ancestral File the LDS Church produced. Our classes feature other computer programs such as Family Origins and Legacy,” Snow said.
Steve Fox, product manager of the Family History Library Catalog will speak on Nov. 11, at 9 a.m. at the LDS Red Chapel at 4000 N Timpview Drive and 650 East in Provo.
Fox will discuss how to use the Family History Library Catalog, which he helped produce.
This genealogy tool is available on FamilySearch, in family history centers and on the Internet, he said.
After the main presentation by Fox, genealogy classes will begin.
All meetings of the PAS users group are open to the public.
“The Utah Valley PAF users group is a non-profit organization devoted to helping people with their family history,” Snow said.
For more information visit the group’s Web site at www.uvpafug.org.
