Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Events

Thank you so much for sharing GFO’s events with your patrons!

Below are links to flyers for our upcoming events at GFO.

If your organization has events or news items you’d like GFO to share, please email news@gfo.org.

If you’d like paper copies of any of these flyers, please email publisher@gfo.org. We’ll happily send your organization a color copy and multiple black & white copies.

Saturday, March 3rd thru Sunday, March 11th, at GFO’s Library

GFO’s Annual Open House

Multiple Presenters! Free & Open to the Public!

See the full list of events at our Calendar.

Open House – Flyer

Saturday, March 17th, 2 – 3pm, at GFO’s Library

GFO GenTalk – Finding James

“A World War II Repatriation Project”

Presenter: Kate Eakman, MA

Finding James GenTalk – Flyer

Saturday, April 14th, 10am – 4:30pm, at Oregon Military Museum

GFO’s Spring 2018 Seminar

“Your American Soldier: Then And Now”

Presenter: Michael Strauss, AG

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Sunday, April 15th, 9:30am – noon, at GFO’s Library

GFO’s Spring 2018 Half-Day Workshop

“A House Divided: The Civil War”

Presenter: Michael Strauss, AG

Spring Seminar & Workshop – Flyer

Saturday, May 19th, 2 – 3pm, at GFO’s Library

GFO GenTalk – Finding and Following the Paths of My Cuban Cousins

Presenter: Janice Sellers

My Cuban Cousins – Flyer

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

1 February 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 February 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!

 

Don’t Miss GFO’s Open House, March 3rd – 11th

 

Click for the Flyer and schedule HERE. Click the picture above for a video.

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GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

25 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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Smile with us! Donate to GFO while shopping Amazon!

Did you know you can contribute to the success of GFO while SHOPPING on Amazon? WOWZERS!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, remember to lend a helping hand to GFO by shopping as smile.amazon.com.

Don’t want to deal with the hassle of searching for us at Amazon’s Smile website? Simply click our unique AmazonSmile link HERE to go directly to amazon, sign into your account as you normally would, and let the magic take hold!

Once you’re at this link, GFO will receive 0.5% of the price of all your eligible smile.amazon.com purchases, regardless of whether you use the unique AmazonSmile link to return to the site.

Thank you again!

 

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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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piggy bank thinker

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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hamburg-germany

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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GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Wednesday Evening

E-News, Edition

10 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!

 

GFO’s 2018 Elections Need Some Super Superhero’s!!

The following positions are available for new candidates this coming fiscal year:

GFO President
Director-at-Large
Secretary

Interested in taking on one of these roles! Please email president@gfo.org today! We need candidates candidates candidates. And there is on-the-job training available for all of these positions.

These people help keep the GFO going in so many ways. Just curious?? Send a note to Laurel Smith at president@gfo.org for more information!

Insider Editors Needed

We also need two or three people to help take over editing and publication of the Insider this summer.

This is our monthly newsletter and our fearless editor is stepping down this summer. Interested in helping out? Email Jackie Olson at insider@gfo.org.

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GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Wednesday Evening

E-News, Edition

3 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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GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Wednesday Evening

E-News, Edition

27 December 2017

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 November 2017, 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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It’s almost the new year! Don’t miss out on your tax write-off.

Because GFO is a 501(c)(3) organization, your donations are tax deductible.

Give now by visiting our Annual Appeal page HERE.

Remember GFO is a 100% volunteer-reliant organization. That’s right! We have no paid staff.

So every gift goes directly to keeping the lights on, the doors open, and to providing the best resources possible for family history researchers!

The simple truth is: GFO relies on donations for our continued existence.

If you prefer to send a check or money order, you can use our paper form HERE and mail it with your gift to: Genealogical Forum of Oregon, 2505 S.E. 11th Ave., Suite B-18, Portland, OR 97202.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Psst! GFO belongs to the Oregon Cultural Trust (now easier to find as “Genealogical Forum of Oregon”) and has attained a silver-star rating on GuideStar.

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Save those January 2018 dates! Upcoming GFO Events:

African American Special Interest Group – Jan 27th

Come here Stephen Hanks talk about his book Akee Tree!

Stephen Hanks is a legal process server in the state of Oregon, and a specialist in African American genealogy, volunteering his time in helping to promote African American genealogy through his network, Genealogical Networking Services. In 2006 Hanks was a contributor to the PBS special “African American Lives—Oprah’s Roots” which examined the genealogy of Oprah Winfrey. He lives in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Search for His Slave Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantations. He will discuss – helpful hints to African descent genealogy; overcoming roadblocks in your research; and share his personal family research.

Beginner’s Boot Camp

Come join GFO’s President, Laurel Smith, for a day of beginning your genealogy adventure!

WHEN: Wednesday, Jan 31st, 9:30am – 6pm

WHERE: GFO’s Multipurpose Room (map)

WHAT: There will be sessions about the census, vital records, immigration and naturalization, discussions about genealogy software and database use, organizing your research and more — all geared toward beginners.

HOW: Bring a sack lunch so the discussion can continue while we eat. GFO members may attend for free, and non-members should please bring $20 to pay at the door. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops, but it is not required.

RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to attend by sending a message to RSVP@gfo.org. Handouts will be emailed in advance.

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Special Saturday Schedules – January, March, May, September 2018

Due to all the wonderful Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) at the GFO that we’ve been trying to squeeze in for the benefit of our patrons, our library will close to researchers at 12:45pm on the last Saturday of the four months listed above. We ask that you kindly plan accordingly.

See our online CALENDAR for more info.

Remember, all our SIG’s are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

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voting booth

The GFO needs help from its members getting ready for 2018 elections!

The following positions are available for new candidates this coming fiscal year, and we need a very special Nominating Committee from our membership to help find people to fill these positions. Interested?? Email president@gfo.org today!

Candidate Proposals Needed For:
* GFO President
* Director-at-Large
* Secretary

Also, if you’re interested in being one of the potential candidates, again email Laurel Smith at president@gfo.org.

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

Holiday Schedule this Week:

GFO’s library will be closed Sunday, December 31st, and Monday, January 1st. We reopen at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2nd, in observation of New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Additional Note: Monday, January 8th, is a First Free Monday day!! If you don’t have a regular membership, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the holiday quiet to use the library resources for free on this date!

We sincerely hope you enjoy ringing in the New Year this coming weekend! All the best wishes from your friends at the GFO.

Free Family History Library Webinars for January

Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for January 2018

If your New Year’s resolutions include free, how-to family history classes, then look no further than the array of webinars and classes offered by the Family History Library starting in January 2018. Participants can attend in person or online. The January schedule includes informative classes for Ireland, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom, Norway, and United States research, using the FamilySearch Family Tree, learning how to use the FamilySearch tools more effectively, how to index, and other useful tips and instruction. Some classes are available in Spanish. See the full schedule below. Mark your calendars for events you want to join so you don’t forget.

Online classes are noted on the schedule as webinars. Webinar attendees need to click the link next to the class title on the scheduled date and time to attend the class online. Those attending in person simply go to the room noted. Invite your family and friends. All class times are in mountain standard time.

If you are unable to attend a class in person or watch it online at the time it is scheduled, you may be able to watch it later. Most sessions are recorded and can be viewed later online at your convenience. To view these recorded sessions, go to the archive for Family History Library classes and webinars.

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Family History Fanatics eConference

Family History Fanatics is presening an eConference Finding Family Stories and Passing Them On January 19th at 6:45am Pacific Time.
Speakers will be Randy Seaver, Eric Wells, Victoria Woo and Tammy Hepps. Participants will learn about how to find, preserve, and share their family stories.  Five hours of interactive instruction for the early bird price is $19.99 through January 10th and $24.99 thereafter. More details and registration can be found at: https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/jan2018. Feel free to let any of your friends or family know about this eConference.
Thanks,
Andrew & Devon Noel Lee
Family History Fanatics
Humble, TX | 281-552-7288

Seasons Greetings from GFO 2017

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

GFO’s Research Library will be closed tomorrow, Sunday, December 24th, and Monday, December 25th, until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 26th.

We will also be observing the world’s most recent revolution around the sun the last week of this month. In other words, the Library will be closed Sunday, December 31st, until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Don’t forget! Monday, January 8th, is a First Free Monday day!! Tell your friends and remind yourself if you don’t have a regular membership to take advantage of the holiday quiet to use the library resources for free that day!

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