Novice family historians with Hispanic heritage learned to use electronic and other resources to find their ancestors at the ninth annual Hispanic Family History Conference on Saturday, (Oct. 14) at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family History Library in downtown Salt Lake City.

Employees and volunteers from various genealogical organizations taught classes and workshops at the conference, which was taught entirely in Spanish for the first time in its nine-year existence.

Classes covered a range of topics such as how to begin research, use a Personal Ancestral File (PAF), utilize family history centers and navigate genealogical websites. Instructors also helped attendees to locate specific cities or towns using geographic dictionaries, and find municipal and parish records in Spain and Central and South America.

Leonardo Sanchez became involved in family history research many years ago, before he joined the LDS Church in his native Colombia. While attending Saturday's conference, he picked up some useful tips on accessing Catholic parish records in his country, he said.

"The teachers know about a lot of different topics," Sanchez said. "They are very professional and have a lot of patience."

Many of the teachers at Saturday's conference were volunteers from genealogical organizations like Legado Latino, the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy, and the Family History Library itself.

Leandro Soria, a BYU graduate from Argentina, said he began teaching at the conference because he knows how hard it is to start researching.

"I do it because I wish I had the help that I needed when I started [researching] in Argentina," Soria said.

The conference was advertised through local Spanish-language wards and branches, flyers, Church publications and even the Internet.

"I was amazed by everything the Church has done," said Romero Sofia, a mother of three from Mexico. "I thought I couldn't do [family history research], but it is possible."

The conference began in 1997 as a cooperative effort between Legado Latino and the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy. Originally held at BYU, the conference was recently moved to the Family History Library, adjacent to Temple Square in Salt Lake.

In addition to Saturday's session for beginning researchers, an advanced session for more experienced family historians occurred Friday.

Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Oct 2006