May 2018 — DISTANT VOICES — Page 1

PO Box 8254 | Bend, Oregon 97708-8254 | Phone: (541) 317-9553

Email: bgs@bendbroadband.com

DISTANT VOICES

23andMe… and Me By George Larson

Join us on Tuesday, May 15th at 10:00 a.m. for a morning of genealogy.

Williamson Hall—2200 NE Hwy 20—Bend (behind Jake’s Restaurant)

Lisa McCullough, DNA Specialist from Portland presents:

“I Took a DNA Test. What Does It All Mean?”

NOTES

General meetings

are the 3rd Tues-

day of the month

at 10 a.m. and will

resume in Sep-

tember.

Schedule a

Mentor for one-

on-one help dur-

ing the summer.

See p. 8.

Library Hours are

listed on p. 8.

BGS Writers

Group meets on

Tuesday, May 22.

See p. 6.

Yard Sale is June

16. See p. 5.

F our years after my first (and so far, only) DNA test, I still

consider myself a novice. I am very low on the learning

curve, and inquiries based on my test results have been haphaz-

ard, to put it mildly. Lately, I have been reading up, and found

some problems with my approach. The initial advice out there

emphasizes the need to identify specific goals and questions one

wishes answered, before purchasing a test kit.

Alas, I did no such thing. I chose 23andMe because a cousin had recently done so. I had

little or no thought toward what I wanted or expected from the results. Yet I have

gained many immediate and long-term benefits.

As I wrote in an earlier article, my contact with the very first “DNA cousin” I reached

out to, more or less at random, was worth far more than the test had cost, in several

respects!

Joanne Lillevold, my predicted “third

to distant cousin,” also turned out to

be an avid genealogist, who had lever-

aged her one year of college Norwe-

gian into an excellent family tree of

her own, researching in-person at

Norway's regional and national ar-

chives. Joanne did some of her work

before the Internet age, and has help-

ed many relatives like me learn stories

about their Norwegian ancestors.

(Continued on page 2)

May 2018 | Vol. 25—No. 5

end

ociety

enealogical

Newsletter of the Bend Genealogical Society

Our mission is to provide essential resources for researching, teaching,

exchanging, and preserving the records of family history.

Joanne Lillevold helping an elder relative with

research during a visit to the Regional

State Archive in Hamar, Norway

May 2018— DISTANT VOICES — Page 2

Joanne and I are documented fifth cousins through a pair of fourth great-

grandparents in Norway. Our DNA connection dispelled a small, but nagging

doubt I had about the paternity of my great-grandfather, and the confusing fact

that his grandfather was one of two brothers with the exact same name. Finally,

Joanne researched and introduced me to the story of our shared sixth great-

grandma, Marte Østensdatter, a dramatic tale I shared at a BGS meeting last fall.

More recently, two second cousins on my mother’s side, whom I already knew

well, took the 23andMe test. When I compared their results with mine, I was

astounded to find that they both have a DNA match, predicted at approximately

fourth or fifth cousin, with first cousins of mine on my father’s side!

Now, while my Dad’s ancestors all came from Norway, all of Mom’s lines were in America by Revolutionary

times, having migrated earlier from Germany and Britain. However, a grandmother of these two maternal cous-

ins was Norwegian, although from a different region than my father’s ancestors. So I am launched into a whole

new project in documentary genealogy. Since their Norwegian grandmother is the most likely link to my father’s

line, I am in the midst of tracing this woman’s pedigree, looking for an ancestor who may have moved into her

region from Dad’s ancestral area. Such moves were uncommon, and usually well-documented. My hope is to

find such an ancestor, and identify his or her relationship to my own ancestors.

I am fairly deep into this project, and have not found my target person yet. It may turn out that I am barking up

the wrong tree (ha ha), but no other possibilities have come to mind. Currently awaiting a second batch of docu-

ments from a reference library, and hoping one of them may shed some light.

Here is my takeaway message: I didn’t follow even the most basic rules, and I’ve barely scratched the surface, but

my DNA test has paid good dividends anyway. Think what could happen if I succeed in learning a little more

about this rapidly evolving tool!

(Continued from page 1)

APPOINTED POSITIONS

Parliamentarian: Maggy Wilcox

Membership Committee: VACANT

Program Committee: VACANT

Librarian: Cynthia Stubenrauch

Education: George Larson

Finance Committee: Patricia deWitt

Records Preservation: Eileen Krueger

Publicity: Sandy Thompson

Newsletter: Sandy Thompson

Yard Sale Co-Chairs: See page 5

ELECTED OFFICERS

President: Marsha Lakes

Vice President: VACANT

Secretary: Susan Agli

Treasurer: Sandy Thompson

Director at Large #1: Linda Beilby

Director at Large #2: Ann Evensen

Past President: Glen Roberts

To reach any of the BGS Officers or Committee Chairpersons, send an email to the BGS general email box, and it will be forwarded to him/her.

Or call the BGS Office/Library and leave a message for the individual you want to reach, and it will be passed on.

BGS Phone: (541) 317-9553

BEND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COMMITTEES

BGS EMAIL ADDRESS:

bgs@bendbroadband.com

BGS WEBSITE: http://www.orgenweb.org/deschutes/bend-gs/

For the best year ever,

we need your help!

Contact BGS,

to volunteer today.

23andMe… and Me

I’m looking forward to learning more from Lisa on May 15! See you soon. — George

If you missed the telling of the

tale about Gramma Marte last

fall, you can read it on George’s

family history website, Ole Lar-

son’s Folks. Goto: https://

olelarsonsfolks.net/marte-bo-

great-grandma-murderess/

Ole Larson’s Folks is a terrific

example of a family website!

Be sure to check it out.

May 2018 — DISTANT VOICES — Page 3

H ave you taken a DNA test for genealogy or are you

thinking about taking a test?

Lisa is coming to Bend from Portland on May 15 to

explain DNA testing to us.

What will a test tell you?

And what it won’t tell you.

Are the ethnicity estimates reliable?

Will you find long lost relatives?

What do you do with a list of hundreds to thou-

sands of matches?

Lisa can explain DNA very clearly and will help you make

the most of your autosomal DNA test results. She has

experience with many of the major testing companies.

Bring all your DNA testing questions when you come to

learn from Lisa on May 15. Share your ideas and enjoy a

morning cup of coffee with your genealogy friends!

Enjoy your Summer! Monthly genealogy programs

return in September.

SC

HE

DU

LED

PR

OG

RA

MS

May 15, 2018— 10 a.m. At Williamson Hall, 2200 NE Hwy 20, Bend

I Took a DNA Test.

What’s It All Mean?

Presentor: Lisa McCullough

DNA Specialist from Portland

PR

OG

RA

M

? ? ? ?

2017—2018 PRESENTATION

10 a.m. to noon At Williamson Hall

(behind Jakes Restaurant)

Visitors are Always Welcome!

May 14, 2018 BGS Board of Directors Meeting

10 a.m. – All members are welcome

May 15, 2018 After the Program Meeting

First Meeting of the DNA Interest Group

Bring a Brown Bag lunch, if desired.

We will spend more time with Lisa and

can discuss any DNA topics that are on your mind.

We should all have a clearer understanding of using

DNA for genealogy after May 15.

June 16, 2018 BGS YARD SALE Help BGS & clean out the

unwanted items in your house!

The Yard Sale is happening!

See p. 5 for details.

From Trash to Treasure

May 2018— DISTANT VOICES — Page 4

Finding the Online Genealogy Resources at the Library

Your Deschutes Public Library has several useful online resources for genealogists and we are very pleased to

announce that we are adding Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest to our genealogical databases. The

new resources go live on May 1st.

To find the genealogy resources from the DPL home page,

select History & Genealogy from the Research and Learn-

ing drop-down, or go to the page directly with this link:

https://www.deschuteslibrary.org/research/history

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition is for in-library use only, meaning you will have to visit one of the branches of

Deschutes Public Library to access the content. We have six branches: Downtown Bend, East-side Bend,

Redmond, Sisters, La Pine, and Sunriver. You can visit any of them to use the Ancestry Library Edition.

For more information about Ancestry Library Edition, click this link: https://proquest.libguides.com/

ancestrylibraryedition. With the Library Edition, you can search, view and download billions of worldwide rec-

ords available on Ancestry.com. You cannot use the Library Edition to build an online tree or look at your DNA

results, since you are not accessing Ancestry as yourself.

HeritageQuest—HeritageQuest can be accessed either in the library, or remotely, which means you can use

your library card to access this database from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. For more in-

formation about HeritageQuest, click this link: http://proquest.libguides.com/hqo. HeritageQuest has a compre-

hensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, such as the census collec-

tion; many local and family histories; and a map collection. PERSI (the Periodical Source Index) is also available,

which is the largest subject index to genealogy and local history periodical articles in the world. If you find a

promising record in the index, you can usually order a copy of the article from the Allen County Public Library

Genealogy Center. Searching PERSI is also free on FindMyPast.com, but if FindMyPast has an image of the arti-

cle, there is a fee to see the image.

MyHeritage—For the time being, we will also maintain our subscription to MyHeritage, which can be accessed

either in the library or remotely with your library card. MyHeritage is a major competitor to Ancestry.com and

offers billions of records, some of which Ancestry does not have, such as indexed ArchivDigital images of Swe-

dish Household Examination Books (1860-1930). There is also a new collection of US school yearbooks.

Gale Genealogy Basics—Learn or review genealogical research basics with an online Gale course you can

view at home: https://education.gale.com/l-deschutes/online-courses/genealogy-basics?tab=detail.

Need Help? Consider the “Book A Librarian” service for a tutorial on using our databases or for help with in-

depth research questions. Click this link for info: https://www.deschuteslibrary.org/services/book-a-librarian

DESCHUTES PUBLIC

L I B R A R Y

New Online Resources at the Library

By Nate Pedersen, Community Librarian

May 2018 — DISTANT VOICES — Page 5

It’s Coming – The BGS YARD SALE Saturday, June 16, 2019 8:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.

Time is flying! A major BGS fundraiser is only a month and a half

away and we need your help!

First, we need lots and lots of sellable items. Now is a good time to

do some “spring cleaning,” and certainly ask your friends and

neighbors for unwanted items, too.

Please price your items – and remember, we do not want

clothing or electronics (computers, printers, TV’s, etc.), but small

kitchen appliances are acceptable. Also, if items are broken or un-

sellable, please DO NOT bring them to BGS. It is expensive to dispose

of those items at the dump.

Second, to have a successful yard sale, we need your help! Tasks that need to be done:

If you have a pickup, we need help transporting the signs and items stored at Vern and Kay’s house on

Thursday morning, and help transporting larger items to Williamson Hall that will be for sale.

Setting up all the tables in the Hall on Thursday morning (9 am—10 am).

Sorting and pricing items on Thursday and Friday. There are 4 shifts: Thursday, 10 am—12:30 pm &

12:30—3 pm, and Friday, 9 am—12:30 pm & 12:30—4 pm.

Early on Saturday, the day of the sale, signs need to be placed at key intersections.

Also on Saturday, we need morning helpers for set-up, sales and to be cashiers (7—11:30 am). There is an

afternoon shift (11:30 am—4 pm) for sales help and cashiers, and clean-up, if you can stay until 4 pm.

At the end of the sale, help with final clean-up. We need to leave the Hall in pristine condition.

Sign-up sheets will be at the May 15 meeting, or email Sandy Thompson (thompss@bendbroadband.com) or call

Sandy at (541) 388-0700 to volunteer.

If you think you will have large items that need to be picked up, contact Sandy, too.

Your willing hands and donations of sellable items will make the Yard Sale a success!

Marilyn Cotton, Maggy Wilcox, and Sandy Thompson, the Yard Sale Intrepid Trio of Leaders

ELECT BGS OFFICERS IN MAY

On May 15, we will be voting for the officers for the Board of Directors.

Notice in the proposed slate that there is not a candidate for Vice Presi-

dent. Maybe you are interesting in serving on the Board. Nominations

for Board positions can be made from the floor on May 15.

A big to , who

have both served on the Board with distinction

as Directors at Large. We will miss their sage

advice, and hope they will come to Board meet-

ings now and then.

From Trash to Treasure

Drop-off times for donations

at Williamson Hall are:

Thursday, June 14, 10am–3pm

Friday, June 15, 9am–4pm

President: Susan Agli

Vice President: No candidate

Secretary: Maggy Wilcox

Treasurer: Sandy Thompson

Director #1: Linda Beilby

Director #2: Gary Putnam

Ann Evensen & Eileen Krueger Thank You

May 2018— DISTANT VOICES — Page 6

B

GS

F

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AIS

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If you shop at Amazon, use AmazonSmile, and BGS will earn a donation on eligible purchases. Select the Bend Genealogical Society, Bend, OR, as your charity of choice the first time you log into Smile.

Then, every time you shop, by logging into Amazon through smile.amazon.com, you will help earn a donation from Amazon for BGS.

https://smile.amazon.com/

And sign into your Amazon Account as usual.

GoodShop AND GoodSearch Using GoodShop for online shopping & Good Search

for web searches , you help support BGS.

Select the Bend Genealogical Society as your charity of choice and search or shop to your heart’s content.

Amazon purchases do NOT generate a donation to BGS from Good Shop. Please use AmazonSmile.

http://www.goodsearch.com/

Earn a donation for the Bend Genealogical Society by shopping at

Fred Meyer with your Rewards Card! Link your Rewards Card to BGS by log-

ging into your Rewards account. Search for us by name or number 93496.

NOTE: Fred Meyer requires that you select your charity of choice annually.

If you do NOT see Bend Genealogical Society as your charity of choice at

the bottom of a receipt, please select BGS again on the Rewards website.

www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards

BGS Writers Group

If you have an interest in writing,

join the BGS Writers Group. If

you have missed prior meetings,

it’s okay. You can join the group

anytime; everyone is welcome.

4th Tuesday of the Month

2:00–3:30 p.m.

Location: Williamson Hall

Topics to write about are preselected and purposely

vague. Interpret them however you would like.

When you read your story to the group, sugges-

tions for improvement may be offered in gentle,

supportive ways. Sally Brown makes the group fun,

and helpful at the same time! Upcoming Dates:

May 22, 2018—Write about “Parents”

(or a topic of your choice).

June 26, 2018—Write about “Entertainment”

(or a topic of your choice).

July 24, 2018—Write about “Odd Stories”

(or a topic of your choice).

B efore this program year ends, BGS wants to thank

all our wonderful members and volunteers. With-

out you, BGS would not exist!

Here are a few people to thank by name, but there are

countless others of you for whom we are thankful.

Thank you to Barbara McGee and her hospitality

team that brews fantastic coffee; the greeters that

make everyone feel welcome; George Warren and oth-

er meeting set-up folks that make Williamson Hall

comfortable; LaVerda Gallagher, who keep member-

ship entry up-t0-date; Cynthia Stubenrauch, our new

head Librarian; Lori Hill, who is invaluable to the Li-

brary and the Society in many ways; Jenny Wegner,

who helps at the Treasurer’s table during meetings;

Sally Brown, who facilitates the Writers Group;

George Larson, mentoring coordinator; and eve-

ryone who helps at the Seminar and Yard Sale!

May 2018 — DISTANT VOICES — Page 7

15-minute Histories at the Deschutes Public Library

In 1953, Kessler Cannon with KNBD, recorded 15-minute interviews with

early Central Oregon pioneers for the radio. The Library has digitized 43

of the old recordings. You can check them out and listen at home. Find the

link on the History & Genealogy page, where the resources described on

p. 4 are, or use this link: https://dpls.overdrive.com/search/series?query=15%20minute%20histories&sortBy=title

Just imagine how precious an oral interview with your Grandma today will be to your family in 65 years!

Congregational Library and Archives Hidden History Project Reprinted from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, 16 April 2018

The Congregational Library and Archives’ “Hidden History” pro-

ject is locating and digitizing New England church records from

1630 to 1800 and putting them online for free. According to the

project’s web site, “Congregational church records are an unparalleled source of information about the religious

activities of the early colonists, and about many other aspects of early American life. The Congregational Library

and Archives, in partnership with the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale is currently preserving these records and

making them available to the public.”

Since 2005 the Congregational Library, in partnership with the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale and many local

churches across New England, has been rescuing old records from church attics and basements, and making

them widely accessible through preservation and digitization. Many of the documents also include transcrip-

tions. The project is a “work in progress.” That is, only a small percentage of the documents have been digitized

and placed online so far. The project just received a $300,000 grant to continue the work.

The same web site also has an online database of more than 30,000 obituary listings for clergy and missionaries

spanning more than three centuries. You can learn more and can access the digitized documents by starting

at http://www.congregationallibrary.org.

Philip Dayton Thorpe’s Obituary

"I told you this would happen." Philip Dayton Thorpe, born in Salt Lake City, April 1, 1934, to

Ward R. & Phyllis Dayton Thorpe, and whose birth probably marked the beginning of April

Fools' Day, died April 10, 2018, from causes related to life-long obesity and sleeping standing

up. His grave marker will read "This corpse, is Phil Thorpe's."

To read the full obituary that Bishop Thorpe wrote, go to: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/

obituary.aspx?n=philip-dayton-thorpe&pid=188725649

I wish I could find a fun obituary like Philip’s for one of my ancestors, but alas, it hasn’t happened. I get excited

though when I find any and all obituaries.

THAT THIS &

15-minute oral his-

tory with A. B.

“Frenchie” Estebe-

net, who first arriv-

ed in Bend in 1904

via horseback from

Ashwood. Estebenet opened a sa-

loon in downtown Bend, which he

operated until 1909 when he relocat-

ed to Shaniko.

By Sandy Thompson

May 2018— DISTANT VOICES — Page 8

BGS Genealogical Library Williamson Hall—2200 NE Hwy 20

Normal Hours of Operation

Tues. & Wed. 1:30–5:00 p.m.

Thursday 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Occasionally, a volunteer is not available to open the library. Feel free to call ahead of your visit

to make sure someone is there.

BGS Phone: (541) 317-9553

Just Beginning

Or Have Questions?

Try Genealogy Mentoring!

Work on your own genealogy question one-on-one

with a BGS volunteer mentor, or suggest mentoring to

a friend, who thinks he/she might be interested in ge-

nealogy. You don’t have to be a BGS member to

schedule a mentor. There is NO COST.

Make A Mentoring Appointment

Request an appointment for a date and time when the

Library is open that fits in your busy life. We will do our

best to accommodate your request.

Mentoring is Available

All Year, Including Summer

To help our mentors help you, submit a Mentoring Re-

quest Form to tell us about your question(s). Request

your preferred date/time on the form, which is on our

website, in the Library, or available at meetings.

On the website, the form is a computer-fillable

PDF. Attach it to an email and send to:

George Larson, Mentoring Coordinator

bgsmentoring@gmail.com

George will confirm your appointment via email.

Mentoring Location:

Williamson Hall. Wi-Fi is

available. Bring your laptop,

if desired.

Lori Hill George Warren

LaVerda Gallagher Cindy Larson

Tim Beilby Gary Putnam

Robin Robinson Valerie Munson

To Our Dedicated

Library Volunteers

During April

BGS Research Trip

to Salt Lake City

November 11 to 17, 2018

5 full days of research at the Family History

Library in Salt Lake City. BGS has reserved a block

of 3 double rooms at the Plaza, right next door to

the Library, that will accommodate 6 participants.

Space is limited. All expenses are paid by the par-

ticipants.

Contact Susan Agli for more information and to

reserve your spot for the trip.

Email: susana@bendproperty.com

See What’s in the Library Before You Come

Y ou can now review the

books that we have in the

Library at home using lists that

are on the BGS website (Click

here to see the lists).

There is an alphabetical list of

titles, so you can look for a specific book.

There are also lists by category, so you can see

what we have for Ohio, for example.

Then, come to re-

view the books that look promising for your re-

search. Our dedicated Library Volunteers are

there to help you.

Hang Out in the Library

May 2018 — DISTANT VOICES — Page 9

Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the

Humanities, and is committed to bringing people together across difference. The group pub-

lishes a free magazine 3 times per year with thought-provoking articles. In the current issue, “White Man’s Territo-

ry, The Exclusionary Intent behind the 1850 Donation Land Act” is interesting.

Go to: https://www.oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine/ and use the link to read the article. Also on the page

with the article link is a red button to use to subscribe to the free magazine, if you’d like a printed copy.

DISTANT VOICES is the official newsletter of the Bend Genealogical Society (BGS).

Mailing Address: PO Box 8254; Bend, OR 97708-8254. Phone Number: (541) 317-9553

Web Page: http://www.orgenweb.org/deschutes/bend-gs

BGS is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Oregon and is an approved charitable and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service.

A new season of

Who Do You Think

You Are? begins on

May 21 at 9 pm on

TLC. There will be 6

new episodes featur-

ing a wide variety of

stories. To see the celebrity line-up, go to: https://

abundantgenealogy.com/new-season-of-who-do-you-

think-you-are-starts-on-tlc-on-may-21st/

May 5, 2018: Grant County Genealogical Soc. Spring

Seminar with Pam Vestal, professional genealogist, John

Day, OR. Pre-registration cost is $35.00. Email: gcgsoci-

ety@yahoo.com

May 10, 2018: Finding and Following the Paths of My

Cuban Cousins, FREE GFO GenTalk at 2:00 p.m. by

Janice Sellers. Flyer: http://gfo.org/file_download/

inline/79dc092d-27de-40a5-802a-59a33a0c92cf

Huge event in

Los Angeles.

This is the 49th

year of the Jamboree, May 31 through June 2, pre-

sented by the S. California Genealogical Society. Na-

tional speakers, dozens of classes. Pre-registration

through May 12. Info: http://genealogyjamboree.com/

September 13-15, 2018 in Tarrytown, NY. Dozens of

classes. Info: https://nysfhc.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/

SAVE THE DATE Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018

FREE Family History Discovery Day in Bend, OR, at

the LDS Church, 1260 NE Thompson Dr. Details will

be available later this summer.

JOIN THE FUN TODAY! Our membership year runs from June 1 to May 31.

Please Renew or become a New Member for the

2018–2019 program year now. The membership form is

available at: http://www.orgenweb.org/deschutes/bend

-gs/membership.html. You can mail it, drop off at the

Library, or bring it when you come to hear Lisa’s

presentation on May 15. We want to help you

LIBRARY

SOCIETY & RESEARCH

BEND GENEALOGICAL