GFO Spring Seminar

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

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.

GFO Open House: Call for Presentations

GFO Open House: Call for Presentations

Call for PresentationsMarch 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon! We welcome everyone to join us at our annual Open House where we will mark this milestone among others. As in past years, this year’s Open House will feature a week of free presentations at GFO’s regional genealogical library, and online.

Open House takes place March 15-21.  Presentations are provided free of charge as a service to the genealogical community.  
We invite speakers and groups to provide a presentation, panel or workshop on any subject of genealogical interest. We are particularly interested in talks that highlight resources available in the Pacific Northwest, “getting-started” talks aimed at novices embarking on a new locale or ethnicity, and lectures on methodology.

This is a great opportunity to publicize your genealogical or historical group, or introduce the genealogical community to an under-appreciated resource.
Please submit a proposed title and/or brief description to openhouse@gfo.org

GFO From the Indian Wars to Taxes Military and Other Federal Records

Join us for this all-day, online event!

Federal records are invaluable tools for genealogists because they often preserve detailed, first-person data that may not appear in local or family-held sources. These records — ranging from pension applications and service records to land bounty files and employment records can reveal not only dates and locations but also personal experiences, physical descriptions, family relationships, and even financial or medical hardships. They provide context to an ancestor’s life by situating them within national events such as wars, migrations, or public service, often uncovering stories of resilience, sacrifice, or opportunity that enrich the broader family narrative. Our speaker will focus on several historical periods that affect a wide range of the U.S. population.

The seminar will take place via Zoom.

Saturday, November 8

9:00 am – 10:15 am – Fighting on the Frontier: Researching the Indian Wars

10:30 am – 11:30 am – That Splendid Little War: Researching the Spanish-American War

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Enemy Aliens: Registering Our Immigrant Forebears

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Federal Taxes and the Genealogical Records They Created

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm – Closing, including door prizes and final words

Pricing: $70 (members $55)

Registration: gfo.org/seminar

Meet Our Speaker:
Our speaker, Michael L. Strauss, AG®, is an Accredited Genealogist and forensic investigator. He holds a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran. He is a licensed Private Investigator and qualified expert witness in Surrogate Court and Circuit Court in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.

He is best known in the genealogical community as an expert on military and federal records, and is a national genealogical lecturer and instructor for military courses at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR).

Mr. Strauss has worked on identifying MIA remains from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars, and was the film historian for the 2015 Academy Award nominated movie “Finding Vivian Maier”.

GFO Beyond the Click The Power of Onsite Research

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

GFO Open House

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is pleased to host our annual Open House this month!

* Join us for 20 free online classes

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

* Free beginning research help

This year’s topics include

* Classes on RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker, the leading genealogy software programs

* Jewish genealogy

* Eastern European research

* Virginia roots

* Free online resources hosted on GFO’s website

* Find a Grave

* Finding enslaved ancestors

* Surprising resources for Oregon ancestors

* Writing stories your relatives will read

* Finding the burial ground of the Oregon Hospital for the Insane 

Find the entire program and register at https://gfo.org/openhouse

(We still have room for a two evening presentations — contact openhouse@gfo.org)

GFO Gen Talk August 17, 2024

Friedrich Eiler: Building an Identity from Scant Clues

When we are offered little information, how do we proceed? Research planning, research strategy development, and the importance of collaboration are all illustrated in this case study, which focuses on methodology of identity. Not all our ancestors were exemplary individuals!

Join us for GFO’s August GenTalk. This event if free of charge.

Jill Morelli, CG, CGL, loves to share her passion for genealogy with others. She is a writer, lecturer, and researcher specializing in methodology, the American Midwest, and Scandinavia. Jill is the founder of the Certification Discussion Group and a co-founder of the Applied Genealogy Institute, a practicum-based educational opportunity for intermediate and advanced learners. Jill has been published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the Swedish American Genealogist, and many others. Jill is past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society and contributes to many local genealogical societies.

Genealogical Forum of Oregon 2023 Fall Seminar

Announcing GFO’s Fall Seminar, A Day of Tools & Tech

This online seminar is hosted by Genealogical Forum of Oregon and offers a full day of techniques and tips to get the most out researching on the computer. From using common apps in creative ways to squeezing the most out of Google, you are sure to learn something new! The main speaker is the charismatic and always entertaining Thomas MacEntee.

Session 1 – You Use WHAT for Your Genealogy?

Session 2 – Google Tools for Genealogists

Session 3 – Genealogy Tech with Thomas

Session 4 – Tech Troubleshooting – What Would You Do?

Closing and Door Prizes

For the full program and registration, go to http://gfo.org/seminar

GFO Open House Celebrating 77th Anniversary

GFO To Hold Open House Celebrating 77th Anniversary

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is pleased to announce that its 2023 Open House will take place March 11-19.

This year’s annual event celebrates GFO’s 77th anniversary, and features 27 speakers and 29 classes for researchers at all levels. All classes will be offered online.

In addition, the research library in the historic Ford Building in Portland’s east side, 2505 SE 11th Avenue, will be open Sunday through Friday. We invite anyone to use the library’s resources for research during this event. We will also offer tours and beginning research help each afternoon.

All classes and research library activities are free and open to the public for this nine-day event.

For more details and registration, visit our website at gfo.org/openhouse.