THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition August 22, 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

Newspapers Galore: Do You Know What GFO Offers?

Did you know the GFO offers access to two different databases filled with historic newspapers? We pay for Newspapers.com and Genealogy Bank, both of which would cost you a pretty penny at home. What’s the difference between the two? Here’s a great way to find out how to get the most out of each. Join Janice Sellers for a half-day workshop, Using Subscription Newspaper Websites at the GFO Library. The session will be held in the GFO Library, Sunday, September 8, from 9:30 a.m. – Noon. Click here for more detailed information. Registration is $25.00 for GFO members, $30.00 for non-members.

Register Here

Register for GFO Fall Seminar!

The 2019 GFO Fall Seminar, featuring Fritz Jeungling, Ph.D., AG, will be an exceptional educational opportunity that we are exited to be bringing to our membership and the community at large. Dr. Juengling is an Accredited Genealogist® (through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists) for Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden, and he is certified by the Verband deutschsprachiger Berufsgenealogen. He is also a German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Research Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The full-day session on Saturday, October 5th, will be held at the Center for Self Enhancement (3920 N. Kerby Ave., Portland) and will focus on German Research, while the half-day presentation at the GFO Library on Sunday, October 6th, will provide an introduction to Dutch research. Download the flyer for full details. Mark your calendar, spread the word, and register early!

Register Here

NGS and FGS Announce Intent to Merge

In a historic move, the boards of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) and the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announced on August 21st, 2019, their intent to merge. The two organizations, both non-profit leaders in the dynamic genealogy industry, will form one consolidated group that will continue to operate as the National Genealogical Society. Both boards approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) earlier this week, and jointly announced the news at the Opening Session of the FGS Family History Conference in Washington, D.C. Leaders of both organizations believe this merger will serve the genealogy community by improving support of both individual members and societies in the pursuit of genealogical excellence. The organizational structure of NGS will be modified to increase functions that support genealogical societies and family organizations. Digitization projects of genealogical importance such as the War of 1812 pensions will continue. The two groups will continue to operate independently while all details of the merger are completed, no later than October 1, 2020. Plans are still in place to hold the annual FSG Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2020. Starting in 2021, the combined organization will hold one conference with four full days of genealogical lectures and a fifth day dedicated to society management topics. We will keep you apprised as plans continue to develop.

BCG to Host Six Free Webinars

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) will host six free webinars live from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 6 September 2019. The hour-long webinars begin at 11 a.m. U.S. Eastern time (9 a.m. Mountain time, 1500 GMT) and continue throughout the day.

The sponsored lecture series is in memory of BCG’s former trustee and vice president, Joy Reisinger, Certified Genealogist Emeritus. The schedule for the lectures and broadcasts is: 11 a.m Eastern time. Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, “Reasonably Exhaustive Research: The First Criteria for Genealogical Proof.” 12:15 p.m. Eastern time. Martha Garrett, PhD, CG, “Finding Immigrants Who ‘Disappeared’: A Research Approach Based on Recognizing and Challenging Assumptions.” 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, “Share and Share Alike: The Rules of Genealogical Privacy.” 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. Karen Stanbary, CG, “Details of New and Modified DNA-Related Standards.” 4:45 p.m. Eastern time. Melinda Henningfield, CG, “How to Write a Case Study that Meets the New Standards for DNA: As Codified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.” 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, “Reconstructing an Entrepreneurial Woman’s Life: From Family Intrigue to Water Rents.” Free registration for the live webinar broadcasts, as well as additional information on speakers and lecture topics, can be found here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. In order to accommodate those who might have schedule conflicts, each webinar can be accessed at no charge for a week after the broadcast.

Learn About Train Operations in Southeast Portland

We all know how freight trains paralyze southeast Portland near the GFO, sometimes multiple times a day. In response, the GFO has donated to a group raising money to study rail solutions. Here’s a chance to learn more from the railroad’s perspective. Bill Burgel spent 50 years in the railroad industry and he knows well the issues specifically related to the streets, rail lines, and rail yard near the GFO. Bill has offered to talk about the factors involved and Ford Food & Drink has offered him its stage as a venue. You can come hear Bill talk at the café just one floor up from the GFO on Monday, August 26 at 6 p.m.

Nominate the Next GFO Star

Did someone at the GFO go out of their way to help you recently when you came in for research? Are you a volunteer who sees another volunteer go above and beyond? Please nominate our next GFO Star! Drop your nomination in the box behind the reception desk or email it to secretary@gfo.org. (Board members are not eligible)

Surplus Book: First Edition: Memoirs from 1863

The Rev. Dr. George W. Bethune wrote a short biography of his mother, Mrs. Joanna (Graham) Bethune, just a year before he died. “Memoirs of Mrs. Joanna Bethune. By her son, The Rev. George W. Bethune, D.D.” was published in 1863 by Harper & Brothers, Publishers in New York. He was described as an “eloquent and distinguished scholar, poet, preacher, and orator… but nothing from his pen will be read with greater admiration than this simple memorial of the mother who taught him to speak.” His tribute to his mother is joined by a 125-page appendix full of his mother’s own writings.

The tales include a sketch of the journey of Joanna’s mother in 1772 before the Revolutionary War, through lands of New York with the help of native tribes and then sailed to Antigua, then to Scotland and then back to New York in 1789. This first edition is a former library book containing library marks and stamps. Tape holes the cover to the spine, and pages inside show some separation. However, all the paper is in fine shape with text as clear and readable as when it was printed 156 years ago. Your price to pickup at the GFO Library: $10 Price to mail it: $15 Contact booksales@gfo.org if you’d like to buy it. (Please don’t just come to the library first to get it.)

Survey Results: Flood Survivors

Last week we asked if your ancestors had dealt with high water or floods. While only a few responded, several shared dramatic stories. 55% of respondents named a flood, 9% named a storm at sea and 41% said they didn’t know. Here are a few of their stories (edited for brevity).

After the great Iowa flood of 1851 carried off most of their stock, the Sunderland family hit the Oregon Trail. Being wary of flooding, they naturally established their new farm on the Columbia Slough. My great aunt and great uncle, an immigrant from Germany, lost their home and farm in Oklahoma Territory when the Canadian River flooded in 1904. Neighbors carried their two young daughters through the waters to safety; my great aunt carried her baby; my great uncle and his son got some of the livestock to higher ground. Mar. 19 / 1905 Mrs Molly St John Dear cousin – lost every-thing I had in the flood except a few dollars and the clothes I had on and my house, the house had no floors in it, and I cobbed it to a mesquite tree when I came out, the house floated, and the cobb was too close to the top and it turned over and every-thing I had floated off down the River or somewhere else, my house goods in the way of furniture, stove, table, dishes, and everything like that, with my trunk and all my clothing, my loss was about $300. – Your cousin Thos Knox

New Survey: Fire!

Were any of your ancestors victim of a fire?

Take our Survey

This week at GFO …

Saturday, August 24th Beginners DNA 9:00 a.m – Noon Using the questions our beginning members raised, this meeting will include a variety of topics: The basic DNA tests Suggestions for determining common ancestors Ancestry’s Dots, Stars, Notes, Shared Matches and ThruLines MyHeritage’s Theory of Family Relativity Spreadsheets Triangulation vs. In Common With Using a spreadsheet to organize the matches for whom you have found common ancestors for all companies A brief view of the Leeds Method and Auto Clustering We should have time for questions and your additional suggestions on the above topics. Please download the handout and review it before attending. Bring it with you! You are welcome to send your questions before the meeting. Email: dna@gfo.org Sunday, August 25th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – Noon We Really Need Your Help This Sunday! We have received several large donations of books and we need to check them against the books we already have. This will involve looking each book up in the online library catalog. If we have the book, the call number is written on a paper inserted into the book, and the book is checked against the one on the shelf. We have several hundred books to check. And we need to do so quickly because there’s another batch in the wings to be done next week. So we need YOUR help! The back door of the library opens 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, August 28th GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m. Saturday, August 24th Beginners DNA 9:00 a.m – Noon Using the questions our beginning members raised, this meeting will include a variety of topics: The basic DNA tests Suggestions for determining common ancestors Ancestry’s Dots, Stars, Notes, Shared Matches and ThruLines MyHeritage’s Theory of Family Relativity Spreadsheets Triangulation vs. In Common With Using a spreadsheet to organize the matches for whom you have found common ancestors for all companies A brief view of the Leeds Method and Auto Clustering We should have time for questions and your additional suggestions on the above topics. Please download the handout and review it before attending. Bring it with you! You are welcome to send your questions before the meeting. Email: dna@gfo.org Sunday, August 25th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – Noon We Really Need Your Help This Sunday! We have received several large donations of books and we need to check them against the books we already have. This will involve looking each book up in the online library catalog. If we have the book, the call number is written on a paper inserted into the book, and the book is checked against the one on the shelf. We have several hundred books to check. And we need to do so quickly because there’s another batch in the wings to be done next week. So we need YOUR help! The back door of the library opens 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, August 28th GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m.