Genealogical Forum of Oregon Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey

From THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON

Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon would like to extend our warmest wishes to all our members and patrons for a safe and lovely Thanksgiving holiday.

The GFO Research Library will be closed from 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2015, and all day on Thursday, November 26, 2015 so that our volunteers may celebrate the holiday with their families.

May your turkeys and/or tofurkeys and many spoonfuls of cranberry sauce find all our mouths successfully.

We will be open for research again Friday, November 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., once we wake our staff from their turkey-slumber.

 

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Genealogical Forum of Oregon Wednesday News

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S  Wednesday Evening E-News
18 November 2015

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 go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/15-Nov.pdf.

Holiday Special – Amazon, did you say?

You shop. Amazon gives.

This holiday season, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of all eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Just think, you can send a gift to your favourite non-profit research library while sending gifts to your loved ones!

And no need to be frightened, as AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know and use everyday. Same products, same prices, same service.

So there, you see? No excuses! Support the GFO this holiday season by shopping at smile.amazon.com.

GFO’s November 2015 Volunteer Star: Ray Ashman!!

Ray

The GFO would like to honorably recognize Ray Ashman this month for all his work in getting our publications to the public.

Ray Ashmun has provided ‘behind the scenes’ service many members are unaware of. For numerous years, he assisted with mailing the Bulletin and the Forum Insider publications, by attaching mailing labels to the printed publications that were mailed to all members, and sorting them by zip code before the bundled publications were taken to the Post Office.

Today, the majority of GFO members receive their publications electronically and a mail house handles the Insider. But Ray has continued to help with the printed Bulletin, separating by zip code and delivering the sorted trays to the post office.

Thank you, Ray, for your many years of service to the GFO!

More Stars Needed! Several Volunteer Position Openings.

Volunteers are the life-breath of the GFO. Don’t miss out on one of the opportunities below to shine, not to mention to keep this organization going and going. We need help with the following:•Managing emails between the quarterly Bulletin staff, authors and proofreaders, to make sure the workflow is continuous and on time.
•Indexing our archived Bulletin publications from 1974 to current.
•Scanning and extracting data from obits and other newspaper items.

Anyone interested in any the these positions should immediately (no! don’t wait! these are going to go fast!!) send an email to volunteer@gfo.org.

GFO’s Facebook Page Reaches 500 Likes? Say, what??

Come Like Us!! Won’t you please be our friend?

Three Cheers for our Social Media Master, Marcia Hicks!

The GFO’s Facebook feed gives updates on what’s going on in the world of genealogy, not only at our own library, but all over the globe! Thank you, Marcia for keeping us all current and helping us reach the four-corners!

Come follow us to get all the news. Marcia posted one such piece last week in honour of Veterans Day on requesting family military records.

We’re also on Google+ and if you’re wondering what this means, here’s a blog all about it!

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Please NOTE: November’s Family Tree Maker Classes have been cancelled. Our apologies!

Hunting and Gathering – Saturday, November 21th, 9:30am – 11am

Join us for this monthly support group, were you’ll have the opportunity to share expertise about resources and search strategies. Beginners and intermediate researchers are encouraged to attend and bring specific problems to work on. Free to members. Visitors may request a guest pass at education@gfo.org.

Monthly Program – Saturday, November 21th, 2pm – 4pm

This week we’ll be hearing from Kristin Winn and Richard Santee as they talk about their efforts to place the cremains of Jennie Fisher in her family plot.

Ellis Film Screening – Saturday, November 21th, 7pm-10pm

Don’t forget to join us for this amazing short film screening, with discussions on genealogy and immigration afterwards. The library will be open downstairs for visitors to browse after the film also. RSVP today by emailing reese@frankcreative.com.

Sunday Work Party – Sunday, November 22th, 9am – Noon

This upcoming work party will be focusing again on labeling and stamping. As described above, we need all hands on deck to make sure we aren’t leaving our new books in the dust. Come out this Sunday to help us get these little beauties ready for the researchers’ ball! All are welcome. Interested parties are encouraged to drop into the Library each Sunday anytime between the hours listed above to help out at their convenience.

Holiday Schedule – Wednesday, November 25th, the Library will close at 1pm (no Wed Eve E-News that day in recgonition of the next day’s holiday). We will also be closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26th.

Italian Group – Saturday, November 28th, Noon – 2pm

Ciao to everyone interested in Italian genealogy research. Please come take advantage in this great opportunity to learn, share, and enjoy others with a common interest. Italian genealogy research in the Portland area now has a home. This group is led by Keith Pyeatt.

Learn and Chat – Wednesday, December 2nd, 10am – Noon

Join us to talk about your genealogy questions and help provide support to others. This class is facilitated by our very own Connie Lenzen.

DNA Q&A – 1pm – 2pm

Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions.

©2015 Genealogical Forum Of Oregon | 2505 SE 11th Ave., Suite B-18, Portland, OR 97202

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Meetings and other News

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S  Wednesday Evening E-News

11 November 2015

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Genealogy Book Group – Saturday, November 14th, 11:45am – 12:45pm

We will be discussing The Parrett Migration: Their Story is America’s Story, by Dawn Parrett Thurston. Come joing the discussion!

Our next meeting will be January 9th. Harold Hinds has offered to discuss (and get extra copies of his book for us to borrow to read ahead of time), Crafting a Personal Family History, A Guide Plus a Case Study: Three Generations of the Hinds Family in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. We also have a copy in the GFO Library.

Writers’ Forum – Saturday, November 14th, 1pm – 3pm

Purpose: This is a peer group of genealogists, who meet to learn about writing and to share our writing with each other. Peggy Baldwin facilitates this group and can be reached at peggy.baldwin@family-passages.com or 503-916-9410.

Sunday Work Party – Sunday, November 15th, 9am – Noon

This upcoming work party will be focusing on labeling and stamping. As described above, we need all hands on deck to make sure we aren’t leaving our new books in the dust. Come out this Sunday to help us get these little beauties ready for the researchers’ ball! All are welcome…even evil step-sisters. Interested parties are encouraged to drop into the Library each Sunday anytime between the hours listed above to help out at their convenience.

DNA Q&A – Wednesday, November 18th, 1pm – 3pm

Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions.

Please NOTE: November’s Family Tree Maker Classes have been cancelled. Continue reading

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Meetings and News

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S

 

Wednesday Evening E-News 4 November 2015

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Virginia Group – Saturday, November 7th, 10am – 12pm

Peggy Baldwin will be discussing Mind Mapping, which is a process for organizing pieces of information into a more manageable format. It is a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally “maps out” your ideas.

We will also have a brick wall presentation and continue our discussion on solving those problems.

German Group – Saturday, November 7th, 1pm – 3pm

Tia Cobb and Bonnie Randolph will be talking about their recent trip to Germany and neighboring countries. Come to learn about how they got ready, some of their adventures and misadventures, and the information that they found about their families.

Learn and Chat – Wednesday, November 11th, 1:30pm – 2:30pm

Join us for a discussion of how to use Photoshop Elements to present your family history research, pictures and stories. We discuss scanning techniques, photo restoration, creating pages for presentation, resources and anything else participants want to know related to this topic. All are welcome, from beginners to more advanced users. Come, learn and share your ideas and questions. Taught by Sarah Holmes.

Please NOTE: November’s Family Tree Maker Classes have been cancelled. Continue reading

Genealogical Forum of Oregon 2016 Save The Dates

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Some Dates to Remember for 2016!

January 31st – House History Workshop with Connie Lenzen

March 12th –  Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation will be presenting a program on Irish Genealogy.

March 13th – Our guests from Ireland will present a workshop on Irish research.

April 9th through 17th –  The GFO’s Annual Open House with days full of free classes for all.

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Meetings

GenForum

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S

Wednesday Evening E-News

28 October 2015

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 go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/15-Nov.pdf.

YD@W…What’s Happening to My Donation Money?

Your Donations At Work (YD@W)

Scanner
This week, we’re featuring the following accessibility and preservation tools that were made possible by your donations and ongoing support: •Microfilm and Microfiche Scanner! Finally. A way to not only search through and view the GFO’s massive microfilm and microfiche collections (see our Oregon Donation Land Claims, for example), but to save scanned copies of the records. Thanks to the generosity of our members and others, we were able to purchase this wonderful tool. Come give it a spin! But please beware, the GFO cannot be held responsible for any addictive or compulsory microfilm researching you may experience as a result.
•Flatbed Patron’s Scanner! What a wonderful way to scan and share some of those family photos and letters that you know are not being seen or even remembered among the dusts of your attic. The flatbed scanner is located in the Research Area, and is free for members and guests to scan and save and/or email copies of their personal family history treasures. For more information about preserving family photos and manuscripts, the GFO encourages you to visit  the Library of Congress and the National Archives websites on these topics! Continue reading

Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Events, Seminars and Classes

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON Events, Seminars & Classes Monthly e-news, Updates September 2015 This e-newsletter brings you useful and timely

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON Events, Seminars & Classes Monthly e-news, Updates September 2015

This e-newsletter brings you useful and timely information regarding Genealogical Forum of Oregon (GFO) Seminars, Classes, Interest Groups and Events.

Questions and more information: visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932.

For a complete GFO CALENDAR of Events, Classes, Meetings, Special Interest Groups, Work Sessions and more go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm._

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CATCH THE ORANGE – SEPTEMBER 12TH
Trimet

Saturday, September 12th, 11 am to 6 pm
SE CLINTON & 12TH STREET STATION

Come and join the GFO at the grand opening of TriMet’s Orange Line that runs south to Milwaukie. This is the first day of operation, so TriMet is throwing a party at every new station with food, music, and MUCH, MUCH MORE.

GFO’s booth at the station will have a prize wheel—spin to win chances to enter the raffle and other prizes.

RAFFLE PRIZES INCLUDE: Genealogy Research Packages (2-10 hours each) • DNA test kits from Family Tree DNA and Ancestry DNA • Genetic Genealogy (book) • Eastman Plus Edition subscription • FindMyPast World subscription •Mocavo Gold subscription • Legacy Family Tree software •1 year GFO e-memberships •Registration at the GFO Fall Seminar • Internet Genealogy subscription • Your Genealogy Today subscription •HistoryGeo subscription • GenealogyBank subscription • and more!

• PARKING IN THE AREA WILL BE DIFFICULT, BUT ALL TRIMET TRANSPORTATION IS FREE on the 12th! •

Continue reading