| THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition January 2, 2020 |
| 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 |
| 2020: The Year of DNA |
| What’s the number one topic in genealogy circles? It’s got to be DNA. We’re learning so much more than many of us ever expected. If you want to know more than just a ballpark estimate of where your ancestors came from, it can get a bit complicated. On April 4 and 5, GFO is bringing the accomplished genetic genealogy educator Karen Stanbary in for our two-day Spring Seminar. To
get the most out of her lectures, we’re offering you a chance to bone
up on DNA basics and relevant tools between now and then! Jan. 25: DNA Advanced Group with Tim Janzen – 9 a.m. to Noon Feb. 5 & Mar. 4: DNA Beyond the Basics with Lisa McCullough – 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 19: DNA The Basics with Lisa McCullough – 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 22: DNA Beginners with Emily Aulicino – 9 a.m. to Noon Feb. 23: Workshop: Excel for Genealogy with Mary Kircher Roddy – 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Paid registration required.) March 14: DNA Day at GFO Open House – Five classes to choose from. March 18: Jumpstart Your DNA Discoveries with Lisa McCullough – 1 to 3 p.m. March 22: Excel Spreadsheet Basics with Kendra Blumberg – 9:30 to 10:30 a.m Except for the Feb. 23 workshop, all classes are free and open to the public. Drop in and join us! |
| Honored Collections Get Recognition |
| The GFO Library depends on far more than financial donations. We owe a great debt of gratitude for the library’s 52,000 holdings to donors too. Two people in particular gave us absolutely enormous donations of books focused on specific geographic areas. Now, we are giving them the recognition they deserve in the stacks themselves. Merrill Mosher donated a vast portion of our Virginia holdings, and we would not have such an extensive collection of French Canada resources without George T. Brown. Look for signs on our shelves paying tribute to these distinguished donors. |
| Free Monday Reminder |
| Don’t forget, the GFO Library is free to everyone on the First Monday of each month. Our first Free Monday of the new year is Monday, January 6th. |
| Mark your calendars! The GFO brings back its biggest event of the year March 13 through 22. The
library is free every day, and we’re offering 42 free classes during
this 10-day run! It’s like having a genealogy conference in your own
backyard. And it doesn’t cost a dime! There are too many classes to list here, but they’re all on our website. Here are some highlights: • An Evening with Guest Speaker John Schmal on Mexican Ancestry • Beginners Day • DNA Day • Software Day • Irish Day • Full Library Access Save time to come learn about your favorite topics. And do us a favor, please tell a friend! |
| News from the Library: Digitized Society Periodicals |
| The library team has been working for the last few months to make our periodicals more user friendly. We’ve created digital files so that you can search every word in the publications when you visit the library. Each digitized periodical will have an icon to indicate it is an ePublication. Here are society journals we’ve done so far: |
| • Boulder Genealogical Society Quarterly (Colorado) • Circuit Rider (Sangamon County, Illinois) • Diggers Digest (Sutter & Yuba Counties, California) • Ohio Cross Road of Our Nation • Petticoat Gazette 1957-1959 (Seward, Alaska newspaper) • Redwood Researcher(Northern California) • Roots and Leaves (Eastern Nebraska) • Santa Maria Valley Genealogical Society Quarterly • The Genie (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas) |
| Want to help? Send a message to library@gfo.org or come to the Sunday work parties on January 12, 19, and/or 26. As a team, we’ll be prepping more items for scanning and doing some scanning too. |
| CGGS January Meeting |
| The Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society will meet from 10:30 a.m. – Noon on January 11, 2020 in the downstairs classroom at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. This months program will be the “Individual Research Assistance” project, where members collaborate with other members to solve their research dead ends or brick walls. The
project will run both January and February. Members are encouraged to
bring their laptops and their research data. A short business meeting
will begin at 10:30 followed by the beginning of our research assistance
project. There is no admission charge to the Discovery Center for
attending our meetings. A $1.00 donation is appreciated to cover room
rental. In case of inclement weather please call the Discovery Center at 541.296.8600 after 9:00 a.m. for cancellation information. |
| The West Linn Historical Society and the Friends of McLean House Park and House are again presenting this historical fashion show and tea event, “From Petticoats to Poodle Skirts: A Historical Fashion Tea,” on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the McLean House; West Linn, Oregon. Tea begins at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets will be on sale SOON. We are letting you know early since both seatings sold out quickly last year. If you are interested, check the WLHS website frequently to ensure your ticket. |
| We have an unusual bit of surplus historical fun to offer this week. “The Kings and Queens of Great Britain” is a large genealogical chart showing royal descent and relationships. It is a reprint of a chart that was published in 1776 by Crown |
| Publishers and is arranged to read through the centuries from left to right. Our copy of this chart is nearly perfect and quite framable! It’s dimensions after unfolding measure roughly 34“ by 48”. |
| Our price to pickup: $35 Price to ship to you: $40 If you’re interested, contact booksales@gfo.org. |
| Survey Results: New Year’s Resolutions |
| Last week, we asked you about New Year’s resolutions. Of those who responded, 49.1% said they were making a resolution, 27.3% were not, and 13.6% were undecided. Writing and sharing family history research were mentioned most often, as well as the desire to get organized. |
| Here are a few of the responses: • Learn the genealogy program on my computer. • Start writing the history for relatives! • Saving spare nickels to apply for a passport and use it to research “over there.” • Try to get my DNA data organized and my genealogy papers too. • Complete 3 more books relating to early Oregon ancestors, with one including such people as the first mail express rider, the first ferry owner in Oregon City, and the couple who donated the first cemetery for Hillsboro. |
| • Finish and submit all the projects required for BCG certification portfolio. • I’d love to build my grandmother’s tree to 5 generations and make her a poster by her birthday in May! • Send old photos and letters to “closer” descendants – from 50 to 125 year old items. My grandmother saved it all! |
| New Survey: We’re Curious! |
| Of course we are—we wouldn’t be asking all these questions if we weren’t. But seriously, we want to know if you like our weekly survey or not. And we’re giving you a chance to tell us what questions you’d ask if you were writing the survey each week. |
| Saturday, January 4th Virginia Group 10:00 a.m – Noon Colonial Migration Roots: For many of us, our genealogy story includes at least one tale of traveling a well-trodden path to make a better life. From the Wilderness Road to the Oregon Trail, numerous waves of migration have swept across the continent. To understand our ancestors, we need to understand the reasons that fueled their migration. This month we will look at various early migration routes and some of the reasons they were traveled. For more information see our blog: Virginia Roots and Vines. Contact Judi Scott and Carol Currency, at virginia@gfo.org with questions. German Group 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. To lead off our meeting, Christina Rainer will talk about the genealogy courses she is taking online. For our second topic, we ask you to bring a New Year’s genealogy resolution and let’s see if we can help each other “solve it.” If you would like more information about this group or have questions, please contact Mike Fernandez and Tia Cobb at german@gfo.org. Sunday, January 5th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – noon Come on in and lend a hand. First Sunday is dedicated to the work of the Manuscripts Committee. 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, January 6th First Monday 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. GFO Library open to non-members for free. Tuesday, January 7th Italian Ancestry Group 10:00-11:30 a.m. The Italian group is dedicated to promoting Italian family history and genealogy through education using nationally-recognized genealogical standards and practices. If you have any questions, feel free to contact facilitator Stephanie Silenti at italian@gfo.org. Wednesday, January 8th GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 9th Beginner’s Boot Camp 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. -This Event is now SOLD OUT– |