THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

August 30, 2018

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932.

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here. The current Insider newsletter awaits you HERE.

You’ve probably heard of Cyndi Ingle and her invaluable website, Cyndi’s List.

Now come hear from the guru behind one of the most comprehensive reference lists there is online! GFO is proud to bring Cyndi Ingle in for our Fall Seminar November 3rd and 4th.

Topics include: Ten Resources I Use Every Day, Advanced Googling for Grandma, Unappreciated Treasures, Digital Research Plans, Google Maps & Google Earth and Online Resources for the Western U.S.

Register HERE now!

We’d like to offer deep gratitude to this month’s GFO Star, Steve Turner.
Steve came to the GFO’s rescue when the previous library chair resigned. Since then, he has been a regular at the library on Tuesdays, assigning call numbers to any new books received during the week. He led the Library Committee in the development of a collection development policy and selection guidelines.
Steve was instrumental in establishing a new system to renumber our entire collection, to help make things easier to find. He has assigned new numbers to about 80% of the collection. He also arranges trades of our surplus books with Wilsonville Public Library and several local booksellers—enabling the GFO to get some wonderful new selections without any cash out of pocket.

Thank you, Steve, for your hard work and dedication!

Just because we knew your week needed this!

Purchased, thanks to your support, from the GFO Library budget:

▪	White Slave Children of Charles County, Maryland: the search for survivors

▪	“Lazy, loves strong Drink, and is a Glutton” White Pennsylvania Runaways, 1720-1749

▪	“Sly and artful rogues” Maryland Runaways, 1775-1781

▪	“Given to drinking and whoring” White Maryland Runaways, 1720-1762

▪	The Dawes Commission: Citizens and Intruders in Indian Territory 1901-1909

Donations from Harold Hinds:

▪	Black Southerners in Confederate Armies: a collection of historical accounts

▪	The Southern Debate over Slavery, volume 2

▪	Runaway Slaves: rebels on the plantation

▪	Presidential Executive Orders: Numbered Series 1862-1938, 2 volumes

▪	Tennessee Colored Confederate Veteran Pension Applications

▪	Getting it Right: the definitive guide to recording family history accurately

Library Committee

Your Library Could Really Use Your Help!

We’re constantly adding more to our collection of nearly 50,000 holdings.

Our overworked library team needs your help with these assignments:
Evaluating, cataloging, labeling and filing books. Ongoing volunteers needed.
Assistant to the Library Chair on Wednesdays, various tasks. Ongoing volunteers needed.
Shelf reading: Review shelves using a printed list to insure books are shelved in correct order or identify missing items. Ongoing Volunteers needed.
Special review: Review items on office reserve. Use online tools to determine whether backup copies should be retained or sold. Add the keepers to the catalog. This project will NOT be long term. When the books in the workroom have been reviewed, the job will end.

Have an hour to spare two or three times a month?
Time to take on a short term project?

Remember, the GFO is an all-volunteer organization. No one’s ever been paid in 72 years. Our members keep the rent paid with their dues and donations; it’s our volunteers who keep the library operating.

Please join the team to keep the largest genealogy library in the Pacific Northwest a thriving place.

Please contact library@gfo.org to volunteer. (Please do not hit reply to this email.)

Grants Committee

Do You Have Experience Seeking Grants?

For 72 years the GFO has relied only on membership dues and donations to fund our services.

We’d like to increase what we offer and who we reach. That takes money. We’d like to apply for some grants.

If you have experience pursuing grants, we’d love your help!

Please contact president@gfo.org if you can assist us. (Please do not hit reply to this email.)

An expert tells us you’ll have the highest probability of finding German ancestors in church records.
We were thrilled to see Volumes 8, 20, 21, 22, and 23 of German Immigrants in American Church Records become available at a reasonable price.
The German Immigrant series of books has a history of selling out quickly when it becomes available. These are very hard if not impossible to locate, or priced outrageously when we find them.
We already have many volumes in this series and this will fill substantial gaps.

But how to pay for this sudden acquisition opportunity?

Two generous GFO members happened to be here. On the spot they gave us the money. One donated $100 outright, and the other donated $350 with the hope we can reimburse him.

These books would have been snapped up if we had not ordered them promptly, so we jumped at the chance.

Will you help us reimburse this magnanimous donor who helped us snag the books while they were available?

Please donate HERE: and specify “German Books” in the Comments field.
If you have questions, please write to library@gfo.org.

SATURDAY, September 1st

Virginia Group 10 a.m. – noon

This meeting will include reports on our genealogy experiences over the summer, and discussion of our plans for this year. One often-requested topic is the history and genealogy research information for North Carolina. To start this topic, we will have some discussion of the very early exploration and settlement attempts’ of North Carolina.

For more information see our blog: “Virginia Roots and Vines.”

Research in Virginia can be difficult, with the complication of burned counties, as well as the ordinary difficulties of using historical documents. But it is not impossible. We discuss the history of Virginia and explore various methods to do sound genealogy research. We hope to foster collaboration among our many Virginia researchers and work on our varied research problems, our brick walls, together. Each month we will have a discussion or presentation on a topic related to our research. There will also be time each meeting for discussion, suggestions, and perhaps research on individual research. We’ll also explore the settlement of Kentucky, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Group leaders include Judi Scott and Carol Surrency.

German Group 1 – 3 p.m.

Christine Rainer will talk about visits to several ancestral villages on a trip to her native country, Germany. The German Interest Group was formed in the spring of 2011. It is intended to be a source of information and inspiration for anyone with German speaking ancestors. One goal is to provide information on a variety of topics related to Germanic history and migration. We also will provide time for members to share their research journeys and connect with others who may be researching the same region or time period. Mike Fernandez and Tia Cobb facilitate this group.

SUNDAY, September 2nd

Manuscripts Work Party 9 a.m. – noon

Explore our manuscript, personal papers and Bible collection while we organize, scan and create finding aids. Drop by at the time that works for you. Questions? Send a note to manuscripts@gfo.org.

MONDAY, September 3rd

Labor Day Library Closure Free First Monday will be observed on September 10th. Come on out and give us a visit.

WEDNESDAY, September 5th

Learn & Chat 10 a.m. – noon

Learn and Chat reconvenes following its summer hiatus welcoming your voice as we plan our 2018-2019 calendar, structure with lots of room for spontaneity.

As a group we support one another sharing skills and resources. As we parted company in June thoughts included “Back to the Basics: Walking the Shelves” and “Selecting a Software Program: Featured and Foibles.” What do you need? What can you contribute? Facilitated by Jean Quan.

DNA Q&A 1 – 3 p.m.

Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions. Questions? Write to Lisa.

Washington State Genealogical Society Blog

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News