THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition January 24, 2019

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 503-963-1932. Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR. Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider

BlackProGen Host Speaks to GFO Saturday, Jan. 26

Genealogist and BlackProGen host Nicka Smith. Photo Courtesy Nicka Smith. The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is pleased to welcome BlackProGen host Nicka Smith to its next African American Ancestry Group meeting on Saturday, January 26 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. She will appear in a remote presentation from her home base of Tennessee, and her topic will be “The Future of African American Genealogy.” Smith is a professional photographer, speaker, and documentarian with more than 20 years of experience as a genealogist. She is the host of BlackProGen Live, a web show focused on people of color genealogy and family history. With rapid digitization of crucial record sets to the explosion of DNA testing, the landscape of African American genealogy and family history research is constantly evolving. Attendees can discover why these advancements are key for all types of genealogy and how they can help break down years-long barriers in personal research efforts. The meeting is free and open to the public at the GFO Library in the basement of the historic Ford Building at S.E. 11th Ave. & Division in Portland.

Golden State Killer Sleuth is Coming to the GFO!

Barbara Rae-Venter. Photo by Brian L. Frank. We have exciting news for this year’s Open House! You have a chance to hear directly from the genetic genealogist who cracked the Golden State Killer case. Barbara Rae-Venter is coming to speak at the GFO during our DNA Days. On Saturday, March 30th, she will talk in the afternoon about DNA genealogy research techniques. On the morning of Sunday, March 31st, she’ll speak about the Golden State Killer case itself. Many thanks to Emily Aulicino for arranging this rare opportunity. Barbara’s sleuthing has been profiled in the New YorkTimes and she was named one of the 10 People Who Mattered most in 2018 by Nature magazine. This will be popular so you must register for these limited seats. Registration opens on Friday, March 1st at 9:00 a.m., at our website.

GFO Library Remains Free for All Federal Workers

The record setting government shutdown continues, and so does our offer to federal employees who are getting no pay. You are welcome to come and use the GFO Library FREE as long as this shutdown lasts. You may have extra time on your hands; feel free to come tap all the resources the GFO has to offer, including 50,000 holdings and access to subscription databases that would cost you an arm and a leg at home. Please show your government employment I.D. at our reception desk for free admission.

We Love a Success Story

If you know about our Boot Camp for Beginners, you know there are virtually no breaks and only a half hour for lunch at the most. Yet one recent participant managed to parlay that short break into a successful search at the GFO library. Patricia emailed this marvelous note to us: “I decided to do a little research on my 2nd great maternal grandmother. I’ve being focusing on her husband for the last number of months, so I thought I would peek in and see what I could find about her. They were the ones who first immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland. I not only found her baptismal record, which was wonderful, but what we always love to find is bonus information. I now have her parents names! So happy!” You never know what you’ll find tucked away in the GFO’s vast collection!

Fred Meyer/GFO Rewards: A Small Change

We’d like to thank everyone who has registered their Fred Meyer Rewards cards to benefit the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. You generate regular donations without paying any more for groceries. Fred Meyer has made a small change to our account number. If you’d like to do your part, be sure to link your card to Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Account #PB444. Community Rewards is easy to use, The more you shop, the more money the GFO earns!

Library Tours Available in Person … and on Video!

Did you know we offer free group tours of the GFO Library? If you know people who’d like to learn all we have to share, please have them contact tours@gfo.org. Or, if you have 15 free seconds, you can just click over to our YouTube Channel for our Fastest Library Tour Ever! (The personal tour is far better, and your group gets four hours of time to research after the tour!)

This week at GFO …

SATURDAY, January 26th DNA Advanced Group 9 a.m. – noon Tim Janzen will speak on merging duplicates in master match list spreadsheets, GEDmatch, and phasing. Each topic will be about 1 hour on each. Jef Treece will do about a half hour on GEDmatch, and Tim will do the other half. Library Closes Early 12:45 p.m. (to allow multiple Special Interest Groups) African American Ancestry Group 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. We will enjoy a remote presentation from Nicka Smith, a professional photographer, speaker, and documentarian with more than 20 years of experience as a genealogist. She is the host of BlackProGen Live, a Web show focused on people of color genealogy and family history. She will speak on “The Future of African American Genealogy.” (Full note above.) British Ancestry Group 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. At this meeting we will discuss online sources. Tom O’Brian will explain the ins and outs of the FamilySearch website, and we can help with your brick walls. The focus of this group is on researching in the British Isles: England, Wales, Scotland, and Scots-Irish. SUNDAY, January 27th Library Work Party 9 a.m. – noon There’s another work party at the GFO library today for those of you who can come. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have your help. Doors open at 9 and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so; others work the full time. You are welcome to do either. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there. WEDNESDAY, January 30th Library Open late to 8 p.m.