What's your new years genealogy resolution???



 
 
The new year represents a new beginning and a fresh start for ones promises to his or her self of personal future achievements. Losing weight, quit smoking, and being more organized are  three of the top five resolutions a majority of people make to themselves on January 1.  What about our genealogy resolutions?? Here are some to ponder. 

*Taking a road trip to gather info on Grandma Blanche and maybe getting that cemetery photo too. 
*Contacting that special court house in Maine where you just might find information on Great Uncle Sid. 
*Picking up the phone and calling Cousin Mary that you haven't seen or talked to in 15 years. 
*Taking all the old photos out of that cardboard box that's been in the attic for 40 years and spending a day or two scanning and preserving them. 
*Write that book, manuscript or personal essay on Great Grandpa Earl who was a Civil War officer or Grandma Ethel who worked in the shipyards in WW2. 
* And lets not forget to do something to help the genealogy community too. Do a lookup or several for researchers querying Find A Grave or Ancestry. Volunteer at the library or a museum, attend a seminar or lecture, join a historical society or preservation group.


                                                                 Happy New Year!

CGGS 2017 - Happy New Year!


The first program and meeting of the year will be on January 14, 2017 at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. "Genealogy Jar" , a family history question game which has been played in the past years. 
Members draw a question out of the jar and disscuss ,analyze offer answers to a research question or event. The program starts at 1:00 PM in the downstairs conference room. 
 Weather permitting. 


Uncovering The History Of The Dalles Chinatown- New exhibit, Columbia Gorge Discovery Center


The Columbia Gorge Discovery will be opening a new exhibit on January 28, 2017.
The new exhibit "A Community Forgotten: Uncovering The History Of The Dalles Chinatown" will start off with a dinner and lecture by  Priscilla Wegars, PhD, on “Chinese Tunnels: Myth or Reality?” Wegars is an Affiliate Assistant Professor and Volunteer Curator of the Asian American Comparative Collection (AACC) at the University of Idaho. For more information, ticket and reservations for this event please log on to the centers website. 

https://www.gorgediscovery.org/event/chinese-history/

For more information on The Dalles historical Chinese communites here are some suggested websites:

http://restoreoregon.org/the-dalles-chinatown/

https://www.facebook.com/thedalleschinatown/

Also, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture has a historical booket that can be downloaded in PDF form. This historical overview is about the Chinese community above Mill Creek
around 1900. " A Sense Of Place" can be downloaded here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_036427.pdf 


GFO Spring Seminar - Lecturer, author, John Colletta






 

Mark your calendars and register now for a great seminar presented by the Genealogical Forum Of Oregon featuring professional lecturer, teacher and author John Colletta . John is the author of such great research books  as They Came In Ships and Only A Few Bones. Mr. Colletta is also a expert genealogist in Italian and French research. His teaching career includes Library Of Congress, Boston University, Smithsonian Institute, and has taught workshops at the National Archives.
The seminar is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday,  April 29-30, 2017. This is a 2 day event with lectures on Saturday and workshop on Sunday. Saturdays lectures will be on immigration and naturalization.
For registration and event details please follow the links below.

 http://www.gfo.org/Colletta_flyer_2pg.pdf
Mr. Coletta's personal website and biography