THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition September 19, 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

GFO Brings Nationally Known German Expert to Portland

German Americans are the second largest ancestry group in the nation. But can you make sense of the names? Can you decipher records you find written in German? Sure you can, if you listen to Fritz Juengling’s lessons. Do a deep dive into locating German records using FamilySearch. Learn key German words, phrases and phonetics to decipher records, as well as naming conventions to identify who is who. Understand the well-known, and lesser-known, factors for emigration. The GFO is proud to bring Fritz to Portland for our annual Fall Seminar on Oct. 5 and 6. Saturday is all about German research and will be held at the Center for Self Enhancement (3920 N. Kerby Ave., Portland). Sunday’s half-day seminar, held at the GFO Library, focuses on learning the best way to approach Dutch research, what records were created and why, and how to access those records. Become familiar with key words, phrases and naming patterns to decipher and understand what you find. Seats are still available. Register now for one or both days! Download the flyer for full details.

Register Now

September Free Gen Talk

Join Dale Deatherage at the GFO for this free GenTalk, Evernote for Genealogy, Part 2, on Saturday, September 21 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Evernote is a cloud-based app designed for note taking, organizing, task lists, and archiving. Notes can be made up of written information, audio files, photos, and even video files. Once created, files can be viewed and worked on across all of your electronic platforms (iOS, Android, etc.). This is a continuation of the presentation Dale gave at the GFO Open House in March. He will review the basics and spend more time helping you dial in some of the more advanced features. We hope you will join us!

September Star: Maggie McNair

Many people don’t realize how deep the GFO website is. It features thousands of records. We can all thank our outgoing webmaster, Maggie McNair, for valiantly bringing our website into the modern era. She insured that everything made it from the old site to the new site and looks great to boot. Maggie has since shepherded the updated site through two redesigns. For her many years of managing our site, the board is pleased to name Maggie as our GFO Star of the Month.

GFO Membership Needs Volunteer

Are you comfortable with a computer and data entry? Our Membership team is facing some imminent long-term absences. We need to be able to keep up with member renewals and welcome new members without inordinate delays. We’re weeks away from losing a significant portion of our team. Please contact Membership Chair Jane McGarvin at membership@gfo.org if you could help us once a month (or more)! Remember, the GFO is all-volunteer. We’ve never paid anyone. You are the reason the GFO is so strong.

Mac Group Returns to GFO September 25th

The Portland Mac Users Group (PMUG) College offers free attendance for GFO members. The topic next Wednesday will cover:

▪ Email on the Mail program ▪ How to create and manage bookmarks ▪ Email on a web browser ▪ Find out how iCloud works ▪ Discover how iCloud synchs ▪ … And more!

PMUG meets at the GFO Library at 6:00 p.m. Sept. 25.

Volunteers still needed for GFO Fall Seminar

The Fall Seminar is just around the corner, and event preparations are kicking into high gear. Even if you do not plan to attend the seminar, there are still ways you can help fulfill one of the GFO’s core missions: Education! Volunteer opportunities are available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at both the GFO and the venue (Self Enhancement, Inc., which is on N. Kerby just above Fremont). Many positions are only a couple of hours, but those couple of hours are really important! Please click on the link below to see if one of the seminar tasks is a fit for your schedule. Thank you so much for your help!

Volunteer Here

PCS Offers GFO Discount to New Play “Redwood”

We are delighted that Portland Center Stage is offering friends of GFO two special offers for an upcoming play that happens to revolve around genealogy! Redwood is billed as “a beautiful, humor-filled excavation of our shared history. When Steve Durbin sets out to chart his Black family’s ancestry online, his revelations unwittingly throw his entire family into turmoil.” On October 26, GFO President Vince Patton and PCS Director at Large Julie Ramos, will talk before the performance at about 6:45 p.m. about all the GFO offers and why we find building personal links to history so valuable. Redwood runs from October 26 through November 17 at Portland Center Stage at the Armory. PCS has two offers for friends of the GFO: October 26: Use promo code “GFO” for $25 tickets. October 27-November 17: Use promo code “COMMUNITY” for $10 off tickets. Get tickets here.

Troutdale Historical Society particpates in Museum Day

Our friends at the Troutdale Historical Society are participating in the free Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day on Saturday, September 21. The Harlow House and the Barn Exhibit Hall will be open from 9am – 4pm. Museum Day is an annual celebration of boundless curiosity hosted by Smithsonian magazine. Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide free entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. The Museum Day ticket provides free admission for two people on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Follow this link to get your tickets to all participating museums.

This week at GFO …

Saturday, September 21st African American Interest Group 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Our presenter will be Harold Hinds, discussing the new bibliography of resources for black genealogical research within the GFO Library. This bibliography will be made available at the library and online as a reference for researchers. Attendees at the meeting will each receive a copy of the bibliography. You do not have to be a GFO member to participate! For more information, contact us at african_american@gfo.org. GenTalk: Evernote for Genealogy, pt. 2 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Join presenter Dale Deatherage for a continuation of his Evernote for Genealogy presentation given at the GFO Open House in March. He will review the basics, and spend more time helping you dial in some of the more advanced features. Sunday, September 22nd 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. Wednesday, September 25th PMUG College 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Free for GFO Members! This evening’s topics: * How to create and manage bookmarks * Email on the Mail program * Email on a web browser * Find out how iCloud works * Discover how iCloud synchs * … And more! Bring your Mac to participate with instruction. If you would like additional information for attending this class, please email us at college@pmug.org. GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m.