RIVERTON — "Marriages, Death, Divorce and Munchkins: Grandma Poff's Legacy of Love and Family History" is the title of Dan Poffenburger's keynote address at 9 a.m. on Sept. 17 at the Riverton FamilySearch Library. Poffenburger, a senior content strategist for the patron services division of the LDS Church's Family History Department, credits his Grandma "Poff" for his love of family history.
She was a devout Baptist, the daughter of parents with seven marriages between them. She was also an orphan, who turned tragedy into triumph, and the lessons she taught have inspired young and old for generations.
He has been researching professionally for 23 years and is accredited in England research by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen).
After his presentation, there will be two blocks of one-hour classes. At 10 a.m., the classes include: "Lassie! Go for Free Genealogy Help!" by Robert Raymond; "City Directories: More Than Names and Addresses" by Jason Harrison; "Using State Archives and Local Libraries Online" by Luana Darby and "Everything You Wanted to Know about Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com)" by Bret Petersen. At 11 a.m., the classes include: "Best Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com" by Crista Cowan; "U.S. Land Research" by Beth Taylor; and "Research Strategies and Websites" by Diana Toland; and "Everything You Wanted to Know about Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com)" by Bret Petersen.
The seminar is free and registration is not required. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is at LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive at the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.
Salt Lake City classes
A seminar on England intermediate research will be Sept. 17 at the Family History Library in downtown Salt Lake City. Classes include: "Records of the Poor" at 9 a.m.; "Probate Records & Indexes" at 10 a.m.; "Practice Time" at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; "Nonconformist Church Records" at 1 p.m.; and "Pre-1837 Research Strategies" at 2 p.m. Other mid-week classes include " "English Census Records and Indexes" at 1 p.m. on Sept. 15; "Church of England Records and Indexes" at 2 p.m. on Sept. 22; and "Finding English Pre-1837 Marriages" on Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.
A mid-week series on Swedish research will be Sept. 20-21. Classes on Sept. 20 include "Swedish Church Records" at 9 a.m.; "Swedish Historical Maps" at 10:15 a.m. and "Other Online Resources and CDs" at 11:30 a.m. On Sept. 21, classes include "Emigration from Sweden During Late 1800s–Early 1900s" at 9 a.m.; "DIS (Computer Genealogy Society of Sweden) – How it Can Help" at 10:15 a.m. and "Introduction to Swedish Probate Records" at 11:30 a.m.
To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org. The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City. On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum. To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950.