Category Archives: Out-of-Area News

Colorado Chapter Palatines to America

by Charles Hansen

The Colorado Chapter of Palatines to America has several upcoming events this fall, and we would be grateful if you could share them with your members, post them on your websites, or include them in your newsletters.

Monthly Focus Group Tuesday, August 11 at 6:30 PM MDT Zoom only Featuring Karen Ellingson Topic: Free and Frugal Genealogy Resources To receive the Zoom link, please email Jennifer Bigham at dbigham72@gmail.com.

Fall Seminar Saturday, October 3 In-person and Zoom Registration coming soon Featuring Gail Blankenau Topics include: • Power Combination: German Church Records and Farm Histories • Finding Your Family in Numbers: How to Find and Navigate German Census Records • Finding Your Germanic Home Village and Parish • Mountain Peaks and Trails: Your Swiss Ancestral Journey

GFO Spring Seminar

by Charles Hansen

Title: Researching Your Norwegian and Swedish Roots with Fritz Juengling Ph D, AG®, AGL™

Are you interested in learning more about your Norwegian and Swedish roots? Join us Saturday, May 9, from 1-5 PM Pacific, for a full afternoon of Researching Your Norwegian and Swedish Roots, presented by Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG,® AGL.®  The event is available both online via Zoom or in-person at Portland’s Sons of Norway Hall.

Sign up here: https://gfo.org/learn/spring-seminar-2026.html

Sessions include:
– Scandinavian Surnames – It’s Complicated!
– Using the Norwegian National Database
– Calendars and Feast Days
– Using the Swedish National Database
– Tips for reading records when you don’t know the language.

Pricing:
Non-Member: $65

Member: $55

Meet our Speaker:

Our speaker, Doctor Fritz Juengling, earned his doctorate in Germanic Philology from the University of Minnesota, where his studies included Swedish, Norwegian, other Germanic languages, and Medieval Latin. He is the former head of the International Team at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Dr. Juengling is an Accredited Genealogist® for Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. He currently operates a genealogy research and translation business.

GFO Open House Grow Your Family Tree

by Charles Hansen

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is pleased to host our annual Open House this month, from March 14 through 22.

This year’s Open House features 18 classes across a wide variety of interests, tours and orientation of the Pacific Northwest’s largest genealogical library, and individualized research help. Most of the events will be hybrid — come in-person or participate online!

* Join us for 16 free online classes

* The GFO library will be open every day with no day-use fee

* We will be hosting in-person tours of the library — and, the same tour will be presented online on Saturday, March 21.

Registration and details can be found at https://gfo.org/openhouse.

Online classes include:

* Pacific Northwest Special Interest Group

* Game of Names

* From Paper to Pixels: Digitizing, Organizing, and Preserving Your Family History

* Introduction to Family Tree Maker Software (presented by GFO’s FTM SIG)

* Using the Free DNA Tools at GEDMatch (presented by GFO’s DNA Q&A SIG)

* The Mayflower Society

* RootsMagic Level 101: Overview & Basics (preesented by GFO’s RootsMagic SIG)

* Using AI in Genealogy: a Beginners Guide(presented by GFO’s AI SIG)

* Bureaucracy to the Rescue: Unlocking Family Mysteries with Washington State Records

* Using Homestead Records in Genealogy: Four Case Studies

* GFO’s Genealogy Problem Solvers group 

* Introduction to Black American Genealogy

* Dual Citizenship/Second Passport Panel Discussion

* Online Tour of the GFO Library

Registration and details can be found at https://gfo.org/openhouse.

All Open House events are free of charge.

Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board Free Virtual Event

by Charles Hansen

The Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board and the Arizona State Library, Archives, & Public Records are pleased to present the sixth annual Arizona Genealogy Day, a free, virtual event on Saturday, March 21, 2026 from 8:30 am–3:00 pm MST.

Speakers will include Stefanie Ojibway Gerberding (“Honoring Ancestors: Native American Genealogy”), Ryan Ehrfurth (“Finding Family: Genealogy in the Arizona Memory Project”), Allyson Maughan, AG (“Add a Snapshot to Research”), Taneya Y. Koonce, MSLS, MPH (“Liberate Your Family History Research: Using an ‘Open Access’ Preservation Model”), and Ari Wilkins, FTxSGS (“How the Weather Affected Your Ancestor”).

Space is limited. Watch parties are encouraged. You can see more details and register at: https://azsos.libcal.com/calendar/starl/azgenday26.

This program is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Linda McCleary

AzGAB Secretary

GFO Beyond the Click The Power of Onsite Research

by Charles Hansen

September 6 @ 2:30 p.m. PT (online)
Free!

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is pleased to host this GenTalk as part of our monthly series of talks.

Presenter:  Colette Hokanson, AG® and FamilySearch Research Specialist

In today’s world of digitized records and searchable databases, it’s easy to think that every answer to our family history questions is just a click away. Yet some of the most meaningful discoveries – those that bring our ancestors’ stories to life – still require us to step beyond the computer screen.  

This session explores the irreplaceable value of onsite research: walking through cemeteries where generations rest, paging through local archives filled with documents never scanned, and swapping stories with relatives during spontaneous visits. These experiences reveal family history in ways no search bar can.

Colette Hokanson, AG® and FamilySearch Research Specialist, will share her personal experiences finding missing family from the mountains of Norway to the valleys of Wales. She’ll illustrate how combining traditional onsite research with the power of innovative tools—including artificial intelligence—can break through decades-old brick walls and open new paths of discovery.

Registration: gfo.org/gentalk

California Genealogical Society French in California

by Charles Hansen

CaliforniaAncestors.org

Don’t miss this free talk on the French in California.
Learn about French genealogy records!
CGS is happy to announce this opportunity to discover your heritage, and save!
Register today for the Saturday, July 12th lecture, held online from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. PDT.
French genealogists will get special access to bonus lectures at a SPECIAL PRICE! Free! Register Today! When you register for Anne Morddel’s free lecture Revolution or Gold: What Sent the French to 1850s California, which is scheduled for JULY 12, you will have the option to access four of Anne’s video lectures covering vital and other French records at an incredibly reduced rate.
These essential video lectures will be available to you online for four weeks only beginning June 12. Anne Morddel is the renowned author of The French Genealogy Blog. Her video lectures are available on her website for $15 each, but the California Genealogical Society has arranged to provide all four of them to you for the special price of only $20. During the July 12 online presentation, Anne will answer your questions about the content of the lecture series, as well as any questions about her Revolution or Gold lecture, all to help you learn about your French ancestors. Please sign up today, and help get the word out by sharing!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/revolution-or-gold-what-sent-the-french-to-1850s-california-registration-1352000482839 Free! Register Today!
California Genealogical Society | 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2 | Oakland, CA 94612 US

International German Genealogy Partnership Celebrate Your German Speaking Ancestors

by Charles Hansen
 
Hello IGGP partners and friends, Time to register for the 2025 German genealogy conference is running out. Registration is closing May 28!The conference will be held June 12-15 at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event is in-person only for attendees.
You can register online and pay by credit card. (The mail-in option has closed.)If you want to have recordings of the weekend presentations, including three bonus sessions not being given live, you can purchase access as an add-on when you pay for a registration — even if you are not able to attend in person.Our speakers and topics are all available for review. As is the weekend schedule. And don’t forget to plan for the social activities on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.Our conference app, Whova, is already live and attendees are “meeting” each other and sharing information even before suitcases are packed. You can join the fun by registering today.Questions may be sent to info@iggp.org. For questions specific to registration, email iggp.registrator@gmail.com.We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
 LogoCopyright © 2025 International German Genealogy Partnership, All rights reserved.
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International German Genealogy Partnership1385 Mendota Heights Road, Suite 100c/o Minnesota Genealogy Center Mendota Heights, MN55120-1367Add us to your address book

Arizona Genealogy Day Conference — Free & Virtual

by Roxanne Lowe

You are invited to attend the fifth annual Arizona Genealogy Day conference on Saturday, 29 March 2025. Registration is now open (https://azsos.libcal.com/calendar/starl/azgenday25). The free, virtual conference is sponsored by Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board and the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records.

Arizona-based as well as national speakers are presenting, and the subjects cover Story Telling/Sharing to DNA to Artificial Intelligence. We think there is something for everyone! And the topics are NOT necessarily Arizona based subjects, so anyone can learn something. If you cannot attend on the day of the conference, go ahead and register because the conference will be on the Arizona State Library’s YouTube channel for a limited time afterward.

If you have any questions, please contact myself or Kori Tueller from the Arizona State Library: ktueller@azlibrary.gov.