GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Wednesday Evening

E-News, Edition

17 January 2018

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932. We love hearing from you!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for January 2018, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy HERE. NOTE: The Insider issues are now located under the “Learn” > “Our Publications” menu at www.gfo.org.

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

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A big Thank You to everyone who donated to GFO’s Annual Appeal!

Each and every donation matters, and we are very grateful for your support. If you haven’t contributed yet and want to, it’s not too late!

Simply send us a check, or go to our website at http://gfo.org/support-us/annual-appeal.html to give safely and securely.

Thank you again!

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Guten Tag!

Instead of meeting at GFO on Saturday, February 3rd, the German Special Interest Group (SIG) will be at Concordia University to spend the day researching in the German from Volga library section, which is upstairs.

WHERE? NE Liberty St., behind the campus which is at 2811 NE Holman St., Portland.

If you send Mike Fernandez and Tia Cobb general questions, e.g. book on a location/city, time period, map, the volunteers at the library might be able to pull documents, books, etc. beforehand. Contact: tjuana52@yahoo.com.

Mike and Tia are trying to have the library open earlier than our regular 1:00 meeting. We’ll keep you posted!

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Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity!

Come here Kate Eakman as she gives tips on researching African Americans in the Civil War as well as information about the Freedmen’s Bureau!

Did you know the Freedmen’s Bureau was created to provide assistance to both former slaves and impoverished whites in the South?

This half-day workshop is not only for African American researchers, but for all those with family history or interest in the Civil War.

Register HERE today!

WHEN? Sunday, February 25th, 9:30am – noon
WHERE? GFO Library (map)
WHO? Speaker, professional genealogists, and former college history professor, Kate Eakman
HOW? Registration can be accessed HERE!

 

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A Computer Coffee Break?

GFO’s Library is scheduled for a network maintenance this Friday morning, January 19th.

What!? What’s this mean??

All computers and the internet network, including WiFi, will be unavailable in the morning. Prep work will start before opening and the work is scheduled to be completed by noon.

What a great opportunity to practice utilization of our analog resources! A morning filled with perusing the good ole fashioned library stacks and microfilm records. Sounds super fun, educational, and relaxing!

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey for meeting times!

GFO’s newly revitalized Irish Genealogy SIG will be meeting on the third Wednesday of every other month from 6 – 8pm at the GFO.

Their first meeting will be on February 21st​.

Check out their webpage HERE for more details and to contact the leaders of this group with any questions.

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Scandinavian Genealogical Society Meeting – Jan 20th

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Don’t miss out! This Saturday, January 20th, SGS is having their monthly Scandinavian Genealogical Society meeting from 9:30am – noon.

Location:

Finnish Room (room 124), Cramer Hall,

Portland State University

721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201-3300

Parking is available in the garage a block south and directly to the east between 6th and Broadway. It costs about $7 for an all-day parking permit on Saturdays.

Topic: The title of the class this month is “Finders, Keepers: Basic Terms and Sources.”

Speaker One: Kena Petersen will begin the meeting by covering the fundamental procedures and forms we utilize in genealogy research. She will cover the standard ways in genealogy of recording names, dates, and places. Then, attendees will work together to trace and record the ancestry of a famous person. Who? Come and find out!

Speaker Two: During the second half of the meeting, Jim Huff will share information he gathered from a deed to two family plots in Chicago. We will search for clues to figure out how all of the people in the two family plots are related using a variety of resources including Ancestry.com, Chicago and Cook County Vital Records, the Newberry Library, Police Department, Coroner’s Office, Public Library, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, the National Archives, and other sources. Then, he will model different ways you can display the information.

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A very special book to review this month!

Lovers of genealogy and the written word, We humbly ask for your help with reviewing the following book:

THE RESEARCHER’S GUIDE TO AMERICAN GENEALOGY by Val D. Greenwood, 4th Edition

Anyone interested in reviewing this book, please pick it up from the book shelf between the two offices and fill out the clipboard form. There is also a book review form on the shelf that can be used. For further information, please contact Joan Galles at bulletin@gfo.com.

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Our third video just went live on Facebook! Give it a look and a like!!

You can also see this revised version on GFO’s very own YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/9MTo4qBt95k.

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This Week at the GFO…

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Go on! Click the calendar. I dare ya!!

SATURDAY, January 20th

Italian Group noon – 2pm

Newspaper Research – Genealogists frequently search newspapers to find obituaries, but don’t stop there! A surprising amount of genealogical information is printed within their pages for you to discover. Articles printed in newspapers sometimes provide information, found in no other source, needed to solve difficult genealogical problems. Come get excited about newspaper research. Facilitated by Keith Pyeatt.

GenTalk – Making the Most of Your DNA Holiday Gift 2 – 3pm

Presenter: Lisa McCullough

Perhaps you are one of the many people who received a DNA test kit during the 2017 holidays. Now your results are in! What do you do with them? What do you want to find out? Or perhaps you have received a surprise. Or maybe you found your long lost cousin! Lisa will help you learn how to interpret your DNA test results and plan a course for your next steps in managing your DNA matches and how they can be used to verify your genealogy.

Lisa McCullough has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. She became interested in genealogy as a teenager after attending annual family reunions every summer in Indiana. In September 2011, Lisa learned about autosomal DNA testing, signed up to test immediately and has been hooked ever since. Lisa has attended several national advanced DNA courses, and has taught classes in DNA at several local societies. At the GFO, she chairs a bimonthly group devoted to help people interpret and analyze their DNA results.

SUNDAY, January 21st

Library/Labeling Work Party 9am – noon

There’s another work party at the GFO library today for those of you who can come. We need book labelers again this weekend! Doors open at 9 and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so and you’re welcome to do the same. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there!

Family Tree Maker for Beginners 1 – 3pm

This is a beginning class for Family Tree Maker users and for those considering a purchase. It will be repeated quarterly.