THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition August 15, 2019

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership? We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!

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

Free August GenTalk: Women in your Family Tree

“Why don’t I recognize all those names on my DNA match list?” Half of your ancestry comes from women, yet we tend to focus our genealogical searches on men. No wonder those matches are mysterious!

Join Barb Schrag at the GFO Library on Saturday, August 17, at 2:00 p.m. for a fascinating talk focused on the comprehensive genealogy of all of the descendants of your third-great-grandparents. Not only will you begin seeing the relationships, but you’ll be creating the genealogy that future generations can refer to and build on. Barb is a member of the GFO as well as the Clark County Genealogical Society and has given numerous presentations for both organizations. As always, GenTalks are free and open to the public, so, member or not, check out our Calendar page and come spend an hour or so with us!

Newspapers Galore: Do You Know What GFO Offers?

GFO President Vince Patton learned a lesson, a bit belatedly, about historic newspapers. He’d combed Newspapers.com at the GFO and found good material on his great-grandfather before he headed to New Mexico for a genealogy research trip. In Santa Fe, he found the ballot results for his great-grandfather’s election as Attorney General, winning by a razor-thin margin. But only after he came back did he check Genealogy Bank at the GFO, where he found hundreds more articles from small town New Mexico newspapers. It turns out that his great-grandfather ran for the state Supreme Court later, but lost that election. Alas, this information came too late to look for details at the state archives. Vince says he’s learned his lesson. “Newspapers end up in many different databases. Now I need to attend Janice Seller’s Half-Day Seminar on September 8 to make sure I’m getting the most out of the GFO’s newspaper subscription services.” He signed up for the seminar. Have you? The session will be held in the GFO Library, Sunday, September 8, from 9:30 a.m. – Noon. For more detailed information, download the flyer. Registration is $25.00 for GFO members, $30.00 for non-members.

Register Here

GFO Star of the Month: Mark Grafe

The GFO Board unanimously named Mark Grafe as GFO Star of the month! Mark took on the job of layout editor for the Bulletin and has done a wonderful job. Sometimes learning as he goes, Mark has introduced new style to our quarterly journal and new functionality to the electronic version. He works quickly and remains positive even as editors ask repeatedly for revisions. Mark is a joy to work with. Thank you, Mark, we’re lucky to have you!

The Insider needs you!

We’re looking for stories for the October 2019 Insider issue at this time, and we need your help. Please email insider@gfo.org by September 1st to get your news and items of interest into October’s issue. What we’re looking for: genealogy and history centric articles, tips, resources, ideas, serendipity stories, techniques, events, call for GFO volunteers, etc. Again, submissions are due by September 1st, please. Images and text should please include permissions details so we can publish in good conscience.

Oregon City wants to party like it’s 1844

As the ending point of the Oregon Trail, the Oregon City community is marking this historic year with celebrations and unique activities commemorating the dreamers, risk-takers, and those who gambled everything for a new life. Mark your calendars, this party only happens every 175 years! Saturday August 24th, 10 a.m. – 9:15 p.m. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive & Visitor Information Center 1726 Washington St., Oregon City, OR 97045. You can find more details here.

Shop, Help GFO, Pay Nothing Extra!

Are you doing back to school shopping for kids or grandkids? You can help us a the GFO while you shop at Fred Meyer.

All you have to do is click here and select the Genealogical Forum of Oregon as the charity you’d like to help. Link your Rewards Card to the GFO and then Fred Meyer makes a donation to us based on your shopping. Everything is automatic after you register your card. Best of all, it does not affect the prices you pay. Please register your card today and help us to provide genealogy resources to northern Oregon and southwest Washington.

Surplus Book: Mohawk Valley History

If you have New York roots, our surplus book of the week may be just right to add context to how your ancestors lived. Mohawk Valley: Its Legends and Its History captures colonial history of the earliest settlers to this region sandwiched between the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. Our copy is a first edition, hardcover copy from a library, written by W. Max Reid and published in 1901 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons The Knickerbocker Press. It is filled with dozens of marvelous photos of the region.

Overall, the book is in average to good condition. The core is sound, pages bear some library stamps and the spine seems strong. However, some pages at the beginning and end of the book are cracked and a few have separated from the binding. Due to those defects, we are pricing well below the market for a first edition hard cover copy.

Your price to pickup at the GFO Library: $15 Price to mail it: $22 Contact booksales@gfo.org if you’d like to buy it. (Please don’t just come to the library to get it.)

Survey Results: Extreme Heat and Drought

Responses to last week’s survey were pretty lackluster. Perhaps we can attribute it to our ancestors taking hot spells in stride—not the stuff that family stories are made of. Two people indicate that their parents suffered major difficulties due to hot spells or drought, and two people said that their grandparents were the ones impacted. All other respondents marked that they did not know. And for the first time, no one shared any stories. Undaunted, we move on to our next disaster, and while we hope your family has not suffered, we also hope for more responses.

New Survey: Water, Water Everywhere

This week we’re asking about water-related disasters: floods, tsunamis, and storms at sea. Take our survey and share your family story, if you like.

Take the Survey Now

This week at GFO …

Saturday, August 17th African American Ancestry Group 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Stephen Hanks, who has spoken to our group previously, will return with new results of his research. The title for his talk is “Tracing Your African American Roots to 1619 and Free Persons of Color.” He will discuss how to trace your roots to free persons of color and to descendants of the Africans in America prior to the establishment of chattel slavery. This talk will be of special interest to those who have taken DNA tests. He will also discuss the work of genealogist Paul Heinigg. Stephen is the author of “Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Search for His Slave Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantations.” For more information, contact us at african_american@gfo.org. GenTalk: Another Look at the Women in Your Family Tree 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Join GFO’s Barb Schrag for to learn more about the women in your family tree can help you learn how DNA surname matches may fit into your family history. See full description above. GenTalks are free and open to the public. Sunday, August 18th Library Work Party 9:00 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. Family Tree Maker® Users Group 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Join other users who want to work through the 2017 Companion Guide to Family TreeMaker.® Bring your laptop with 2017 version of FTM installed and an empty USB thumb drive. Facilitated by Joyce Grant-Worley. FTM@gfo.org Tuesday, August 20th Beginners Boot Camp 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Note: Registration closed – event is full. Laurel Smith presents a day of beginning genealogy. There will be sessions about the census, vital records, immigration and naturalization, discussions about genealogy software and database use, organizing your research and more — all geared toward beginners. Those registered should bring a sack lunch so the discussion can continue while we eat. Wednesday, August 21st Irish Interest Group 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Our first hour will be a presentation by Kate O’Hara titled “Coaxing Info Out of a Victorian Photo Album.“ In our second hour we will address members’ brick wall issues. If you would like the group to discuss your brick wall, please bring the following information with you to the meeting: ▪ The name of your ancestor, ▪ Dates or time period, ▪ Location, ▪ What resources you have already tried, ▪ What type of information you are seeking. We will get to as many brick walls as time allows. Contact Irish@gfo.org for more information. Note: New Program Coordinator Needed for the Irish Interest Group Current Coordinator, Barbara Schrag, will be stepping down. Barbara has done a wonderful job finding interesting speakers for our meetings and will be missed. We are looking for a volunteer to fill this position staring with our February 2020 meeting. Please contact Karen Hubbard at our August meeting or at irish@gfo.org if you are interested or have questions. GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m.