Thursday, February 21, 2013

Gresham resident traces family tree back 2,000-plus years

Gresham resident Veraun Chipman looks
through the 3,000-plus names of his own
family history he has discovered through
years of genealogical research. His
massive pedigree chart will be on
displacy at the Mount Hood Family
History  Conference on March 8-9
in Boring.
When longtime Gresham resident Veraun Chipman was 12 years old, he once took a trip to the Lakeview Cemetery near Seattle, Wash. He spent the day cutting grass, trimming bushes, and cleaning headstones with other volunteers. And when the work was done, he wandered the cemetery looking for tombstones of famous people.

In his search, he discovered the gravesite of Chief Sealth, also known as Chief Seattle. Chipman pulled a piece of charcoal and paper from his pocket and carefully made a copy of the headstone of this American Indian leader.

That was almost 57 years ago for the retired school teacher who has lived in Gresham for the last 36 years. But it was the beginning of a lifelong interest in genealogy and a tireless quest to discover his own family history.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

One Billion Names...


That's how many records are available at www.FamilySearch.org. The site gets 10 million hits per day from people trying to track down their own family history. And the number of records available grows every day. Learn more about your own family history at the Mount Hood Family History Conference March 8-9.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Like a Good Mystery?

If you like a good mystery and the thrill of looking for clues like a detective, then you'll love the Mount Hood Family History Conference on March 8-9 at the Mount Hood Stake Center. You'll learn how to look for clues to discover your own family history, mine sources for information, and put the pieces together. Learn more at www.DiscoverYourFamily.org.