| THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition December 26, 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 |
| This popular class is nearly sold out! The next Boot Camp won’t be until Saturday, May 30. Class is geared for beginners and computer skills are a prerequisite. |
| All communications are done via email, and you must be able to download and print the class notes. GFO members may attend for free, non-members $20. |
| News from the Library: We’re Digitizing Periodicals |
| ▪ Adams Addenda ▪ A Day to Remember (Aday) ▪ Agnewsletter ▪ The Alden Letter ▪ Alee’s All Around ▪ Alexander Agenda ▪ Alton-Allton-Aulton Family Association Newsletter ▪ The Anderson Album ▪ Babb Family Association News and Notes ▪ Backenstoss Family Association of America ▪ Baker Family Newsletter ▪ Baldwin By-Lines ▪ Francis Ball Bulletin ▪ Barnard Lines ▪ Barnett Banner ▪ Barrett Branches ▪ Canfield Family Association Newsletter |
| Want to help? Send a message to library@gfo.org or come to the work party on Sunday January 29. As a team, we’ll be prepping more items for scanning–and the work will probably go on all day. So, if afternoon is better for you–here’s your chance to help. |
| We’ve all long been frustrated with Union Pacific trains blocking SE 11th Ave. near the GFO for up to an hour. There’s nothing to be done about the trains, but now you can get a heads up if the trains are there. Save this website: https://isatrainblocking11th.com |
| Screenshot from website of isatrainblocking11th.com It’ll tell you if a train is currently blocking the tracks and for how long the blockage has lasted. A team from DevelopmentNow “used AI/machine learning, vision processing, predictive heuristics, and off-the-shelf hardware to build a cloud-based prototype of this application. After a bit of tweaking and testing, the application tells us with reasonable accuracy whether a train is blocking the intersection outside our window.“ |
| Shhhhhhh, We’re Researching |
| Have you noticed what’s not in the GFO Library any more? Screeching chairs! We found some better chair glides that don’t make such a racket on the concrete floors. They may wear down faster and have to be replaced, but we think it’s worth it. Several members have already commented they like how quiet the chairs are. |
| Here’s a fun book for the Oregon history aficionado in your family. Robert Carlton Clark published History of the Willamette Valley Oregon in 1927. He covers geography, boundary disputes, early settlement, pioneer life, the Pony Express and railroads, politics, and more. |
| It’s a large volume filling 888 pages, complete with a thorough index and pages of photos. This book is in sound shape with a great binding. However, as a former library book, it contains marks on some pages. Elsewhere we’ve seen this book for sale for $70. |
| Our price for pick up at the GFO: $40 Our price to ship to you: $48 Please contact booksales@gfo.org if you’re interested. |
| Survey Results: Giving the Gift of Genealogy |
| Seventy percent of the people who responded are giving genealogy-related gifts this year. Here are some of the replies: |
| A y-DNA test for one brother, and an autosomal for the other . Trying to find their grandfather thru dna. A 23andMe test kit destined for a friend interested in knowing more about his paternal and maternal lines (the y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroup designations are included in the 23andMe ancestry test). And for another friend searching for an unknown grandparent: a Family Tree DNA “Family Finder” (autosomal) test kit. |
| Photographs and family trees I have already gifted an electronic copy of over 300 pictures from my deceased husband’s family to cousins of his that most have never seen. |
| I have given of my time to help others break down brick walls and learn how to use resources new to them. Then I helped someone who had forty years of pedigree charts and family group sheets in paper form only create a database. Hoping to convince that person of the usefulness of having a personal database. We also scanned a book of family photographs to be able to share copies with other family members. |
| A Civil War publication Our Cards – playing cards with pictures, vital statistics and other facts of 52 ancestors. I am gifting family and some genealogy research groups (including GFO) a copy of the 1841 Missouri to Oregon book once the copyright office approves the copyright. |
| New Survey: New Year’s Resolutions |
| Many of us make New Year’s resolutions about our genealogy. “This year I’ll get organized,” or “This year I’ll break through my brick wall.” What about you? Are you making any resolutions? |
| Sunday, December 29th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m Come on by, any time this Sunday. We’ll be prepping periodicals for scanning and doing some scanning too! Tuesday, December 31st Library Closed: New Year’s Eve Wednesday, January 1st Library Closed: New Years Day |