The Heritage_LGS_SEPT 2024

THE HERITAGE LINN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY EMAIL NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2024 • ISSUE 3 • VOLUME 38

SEPTEMBER CONTENTS

WHY YOU BECOME A LINN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBER There are many reasons to join LGS, including: NETWORKING You can meet and work with others who are researching similar topics, and share your findings and experiences. RESOURCES Access to libraries, collections, and databases that are only available to members. WORKSHOPS & LEARNING Some societies host regular meetings, workshops, webinars, and other events. You can learn how to do research and tell your story, and build your skills. PUBLICATIONS LGS publishes The Heritage Newsletter, houses index records, and digital resources. ACCESS TO RECORDS You can gain access to records that can help you break through brick walls in your research. page 1

President’s Message............................ 3 Fall Monthly Meeting Info................... 3 Property Research in Albany.......................... 4 Virtual Meeting Info..................................... 6 Oregon Encyclopedia.................. 7 Editors Note by Liz Rapp...................... 8 Membership Form................................... 9

In Memoria...................... 9

Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We are stretched thin! If you are willing to volunteer just three hours a month, please speak up! We need your help! Call Susan at 541-926-8153. REMINDER: The venue for all future public program meetings and board meetings will be the large meeting room at Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon Street SE. See details in this newsletter for information about dates and times. I hope everyone’s summer has been a good experience and the rest of your summer is even better! See you at our September 7th celebration! FALL 2024 MONTHLY MEETINGS Albany Regional Museum 136 Lyon St S, Albany 97321 First Saturday, Monthly at 1:00 PM Please note change of location for all future meetings. Saturday, September 7th We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Linn Genealogical Society! This will be a dual celebration of this major milestone AND Grand Opening of Linn Genealogical Society at Albany Regional Museum. Come enjoy light refreshments and take the opportunity to acquaint yourself with our new reference room and tour the museum’s exhibits. Saturday, November 2nd Researching TB Sanatoriums & Hospitals Speaker Kim Jardine Dickerson will talk about the treatments and cures for tuberculosis researching ancestors who may have lived with or died from tuberculosis in the United States in the late 1800s. Treatment ranged from caves and spas in isolation to sanatoriums. Oregon Trail Pioneers Beth Lambright returns to us in period costume with a presentation about the trials and tribulations pioneers experienced traveling the Oregon Trail in search of a better life. Saturday, October 5th

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE David Devin, President devindaca@hotmail.com

We’re Celebrating! This year is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Linn Genealogical Society! Our September 7 meeting will be a dual celebration of this major milestone AND Grand Opening of Linn Genealogical Society at Albany Regional Museum. Come enjoy light refreshments and take the opportunity to acquaint yourself with our new reference room and tour the museum’s exhibits. In late June LGS volunteers met at Albany Regional Museum to prepare the space for our library. Walls were cleaned and painted, shelving installed and our research library was shelved during the first week of July. Our library opened July 9th and volunteers began staffing the room a week later. New desks finally arrived July 29th and were immediately assembled and installed. Two computers give access to Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and Fold3.com. We are open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. The society held a fundraising yard sale to sell surplus furniture, equipment, and supplies in early July. Several members donated additional items and helped organize and conduct the sale at which we raised $353. Thank you to the ten volunteers who have worked diligently for the past nine months to facilitate our successful move from the library to Albany Regional Museum. Kudos go to the following “LGS Movers and Shakers”:

Dulca Bailey George Davidson David Devin Paul Huzefka Susan Messersmith

Bev Morgan Tom O’Brien Bill Pintard Liz Rapp Liza Wilson

Remember to thank this team for all their efforts on behalf of all our members. Many of the above individuals plus Ed Loy, Christie Locke, Gina Darby, and Colleen Cook also staff your research room to keep it open for you and the general public and happily assist with research queries. This support allows us to be open thirty hours each week, Tuesday through

Saturday, September 7th

Annual Holiday Potluck and social where members share breakthroughs, brick walks, and highlights of 2024!

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PROPERTY DEED RESEARCH IN ALBANY

by Kate Porsche

In 2007 Kate and Rod Porsche, longtime Albany residents and lovers of historic homes, purchased the Chamberlain House on the southeast corner of Baker and 7th Streets. The ornate three-story Chamberlain House had been built for George Earle Chamberlain years before he became governor of Oregon. Kate journaled her efforts to learn more about George Chamberlain and his home. Within that journal are informative details of her deed search at Linn County Courthouse.

DNA FOCUS GROUP & OPEN FORUM

We have switched to virtual meetings via Zoom, which means our capacity has greatly increased. DNA Focus Group Meetings are held from 5 to about 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on the second Monday of each month, except July and August. In addition, we welcome you to join us on the remaining Mondays, same time frame, for “Sharing Time.” The venue is open forum and open discussion where anyone may ask questions or just chat with other attendees. Everyone can come and go as they like. On the morning of the meetings, a reminder email should be in the email boxes of all LGS members who receive their Heritage Newsletter via email.

KATE’S JOURNAL WEEK 1

So this is the beginning of my journal. I want to just use this space to keep track of my efforts, record how things are going and have a specific spot to record thoughts and ideas. As I’m getting into thinking about this project I’m trying to get organized and create a plan of attack as to how I want to approach this. Here are my thoughts going in: Places to go Linn County – can research the chain of title on the house here. I think you must start at modern day and work your way back. I did this a while ago on our other house but could only get so far – hopefully will have better luck with this house. The good news with this research: 1) when complete I’ll have a list of names and dates of ownership, I’ll be able to say, “We’re the BLANK owner of the Chamberlain house.” Also, this work opens the possibility to research the previous owners or reach out to living relatives (or the people

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Albany. I had also run out of time – and I was only back to 1982! Another lunch hour and another trip back to the assessor’s office, I’m now feeling more comfortable with the procedure. I get right in and start where I left off – 1982. As I’m going through the information I’m writing it all down in my little notebook. I started with a column for “buyer” on the left (or “indirect” as the county refers to it), and a column on the right for “seller”, or “direct”. I’m recording the document numbers, the date they were executed, the seller’s and buyer’s names and any other items of interest. In the sales document for 1982 I find a reference in the document to a piece of personal property that was included in the sale. In the entryway on the newel post there’s an interesting statue. One friend thought it to be a conquistador, another said it certainly was not. At any rate, he’s on a horse, wearing some sort of Spanish-styled armor. When I looked at the deed, I saw that it noted the “spelter figure on the stair post.” I was most excited thinking this would finally end the debate with our friends. I hopped on Wikipedia only to find out that spelter is synonymous with Inc, which is what the statue must be made out of or it has that look. During that lunch I was able to pick up the pace. Made it all the way back to 1957 (14 buyers and sellers later). At this point I was at the end of my handy reference list of documents that the assessor had given me and on my next trip it would be time to change my tact. WEEK 3 & 4 Editor’s note: Week 3 of Kate Porsche’s research sends her on to many of the other resources genealogists use in our research. She searched the internet, visited Linn Genealogical Society, researched the Albany Democrat Herald, browsed Find A Grave and returned to the Carnegie Library. Because her subject had been Governor of Oregon at one time, plenty of photographs and books were available to research,

themselves, if recent enough) to get more information (pictures?!) and stories; 2) the location is great as it’s right across the street from where I work!’’ WEEK 2 I figured I would start where I felt most comfortable, so my first stop was the Linn County Courthouse. Conveniently located across the street from my work, it was no trouble at all to go over on my lunch hour and start doing some digging. My main interest lies in researching the home’s history, since that’s what I am most connected with. My first stop was the County Clerk’s office to see if there were records I could browse. I talked with a friendly gentleman who let me know that if I’m interested in researching the history of my house I should first go to the tax assessor’s office to get a tax roll history of the house, then come look at the chain of title to see who the owners are. After a brief trip across the hall and $0.75 later I had in my hands the list of deed numbers going back to the late 1950s. I was feeling pretty good about things until I realized that’s less than half the house’s history! Now armed with my little sheet that shows deed reference numbers for each owner, I was able to begin backing my way through the history of the house. It may seem strange, but you start at present day and work your way backward. The most recent buyer of the property was, of course, us. From there I worked my way backwards through the list of deed volumes looking at the actual deeds on microfilm. My hopes were high as to how much progress I’d be able to make during my lunch hour. Alas, the pace turned to be slower than anticipated. It takes time to locate the correct microfilm, then fast-forward to the correct page number (as far as I can tell each microfilm container holds two volumes with 999 pages each). Once I found the right page, I had been instructed to check the legal description to make certain that I was on the right track. After seeing just a few deeds I had it memorized – Lot 3700 of Block 9 in the Eastern Addition of PROPERTY DEED RESEARCH continued

WEEK 5 Linn County Courthouse continued

The next time I headed back to the county I went back and checked in with the helpful guy (who now waved every time I came in - seemed I had reached the status of being a “regular.”) Since I was now done with my hand list of

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realize that I’ve got another alternative. Since I’m lucky enough to know who one of the previous owners was I could look for him and simply work my way forward using the same method, only reversed. I find one of the older books that seems to span the correct timeframe and skip excitedly to the “Ch” section. George Chamberlain… searching… I find him pretty quickly, my heart skips a beat. But then I see a notation on the side that it was for 200 acres somewhere outside of Albany – dang! I keep looking. Toward the end I see another entry for Chamberlain. No remarks, so I’ll just have to check the microfilm. As the page comes up I hurriedly scan the legal address…block 9… eastern addition – a match! Now I’m back in business. From this point I’m able to work my way back to 1876 and forward to 1919. I’m still left with a 25 year gap, but the trail is cold on both ends. At least I’ve got a fairly comprehensive list!

deeds it was time to change how my research was going. He indicated that this was the point at which the research got really interesting. Now I go to look through the old deed books, then reference the microfilm, to read the deeds. Like my research before, there’s one book for sellers (listed alphabetically) and one for buyers for a given time period. In this little room there are probably 25 large bound books of this type. I took a deep breath and dove right in. I started with the last seller I had recorded, W. W. & Elva V Case. The trick now is to look for them in the buyer’s book, or indirect book. So I grabbed the latest one (1956 going back to 1943). That part was easy, go to the “Ca” section (editor’s note Ca for the surname Case) and start looking for their name. Found it pretty quickly. Now, each entry reference is a deed. So, now go back to the microfilm and find the deed, check the legal description to make sure it’s the right property (this is really important at this step as the same people may have bought or sold multiple properties in a given time period). If you’ve got the deed for the right property then bingo- you’ll be able to get the seller’s name off of the deed. Now you start the process all over again, this time looking for the person that sold the house to try and find them as the purchaser. And on and on it goes like this. PROPERTY DEED RESEARCH continued As you can imagine, this process is considerably slower than my handy reference sheet. Interestingly though, I found it to be much more exciting and gratifying. I don’t know, just seems like there’s something special about being hands on with these large books of records, thumbing through lists of names, looking for the right match. Even then, when you think you’ve found the correct one, you won’t know until you look at the deed and see if it’s the right property. For each step of this process I probably had one false alarm for every two owners I was tracing. So, when I came across a match it was pretty darn exciting. Okay, so now it’s late in the week. I go to the county on my day off to keep going through the records. I hit a road block at around 1944. Can’t find Mr. Arthur Boynton listed as a buyer. I’m just plain stuck. I give it some thought and

LINN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

The Society holds monthly program meetings September through May. Meetings are on the first Saturday of the month at 1:00 pm, open to the public, in the meeting room at Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon St. SW, Albany, 97321. [also available via Zoom] LGS is not part of the Albany Regional Museum. We are guests of the museum. LGS board meetings are held the third Thursday, six times a year in Jan., Mar., May, Aug., Oct., & Dec. at 1:00 pm and are open to the public. [also available via Zoom…]

2024 COMMITTEES Membership: David Devin, devindaca@hotmail.com

Website Coordinator: David Devin, devindaca@hotmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Liz Rapp LizMRapp@gmail.com

Librarian: Susan Messersmith messersp@comcast.net

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AN INTRODUCTION TO OREGON ENCYCLOPEDIA by Liz Rapp

In your research about people, events, and places in Oregon, have you discovered the Oregon Encyclopedia? If not, take a few minutes online to browse their site and you might just get hooked! The website can be found at www.oregonencyclopedia.com. The website is filled with curated educational content about the history and culture of Oregon Country. A project of the Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Encyclopedia is a scholarly publication that invites selected authors to submit entries for content. Individual’s entries and essays showcase a full picture of Oregon, its luminaries, as well as previously unknown people, places, and events. As stated on the website, content must meet one or more of the criteria of: Constitute a contribution to Oregon culture Establish a basis for subsequent activities in Oregon Represent the spirit of an Oregon community, time, or place Represent events that were pivotal in a community’s history Represent something unique or significantly inventive or creative Represent a national or international accomplishment or recognition On the website you can explore entries in an alphabetical search from A-Z (Athapaskan Indians to Zigzag Ranger Station), or use a Theme search of twenty-eight categories. Themes listed alphabetically include Architecture and Historic Preservation. Black History, Exploration and Explorers, Folklife, Labor, Native Americans, Oregon Trail and Resettlement, Oregoniana, and Women among others. Included on the Explore tab of the home page are three Oregon Historical Society Digital History projects including Wayfinder, Oregon History Project, and Oregon TimeWeb.

WAYFINDER

Wayfinder is an interactive map of notable places, people, and events of Oregon history. Clicking on the map shows hundreds, perhaps thousands of pinpoints that lead to more details. Map enlargement and a focus on Albany brings the inquisitor to ten articles in Albany:

Flax and Linen History of Oregon Albany Democrat Herald history Lewis F. Linn Conviction of Robert Folkes Civil War Newspaper Suppression Albany Albany Streetcar System Samuel L. Simpson Linn County Promotional Brochure Albany Arts Festival

OREGON HISTORY PROJECT

Oregon History Project connects to the Research Library at the Oregon Historical Society providing access to digital materials and narratives from Pacific Northwest Historians. My random search for “Chinese labor” resulted in nine articles including one about Chinese gardens in Portland in 1905, a telegram sent to Oregon’s Governor Pennoyer in 1892 about the Chinese Exclusion Act, and an article about Portland’s Chinatown in 1886. TimeWeb is a timeline of the history of Oregon from the beginning of human history to the present time. It includes photos, letters, objects, archival material and encyclopedia entries by experts who study the history of Oregon. Using TimeWeb, a search combining Exploration and Explorers, Biography, and Oregon Trail resulted in nine “hits” between 1838 and 1859. One such hit was a probate notice announcing Ewing TIMEWEB

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OREGON ENCYCLOPEDIA continued

Young had died without a will. The subsequent article states “The need to settle his estate after his death in 1841 led directly to the

creation of Oregon’s first Provisional Government.” A hyperlink from TimeWeb takes one directly to Ewing Young’s biography.

With many different types of searches about Oregon’s people, places, and events, the curated research available at Oregon Encyclopedia is an excellent goldmine of Oregon Country’s history. With curiosity driving the reader, one article quickly leYoung had died without a will. The subsequent ads to another and another and another, an online journey easily facilitated by hyperlinks. Consider spending a “way too hot” summer day or a “way too rainy” winter day digging deep into Oregon history at www.Oregonencyclopedia.com. You might get hooked on it as I have!

EDITOR’S NOTE by Liz Rapp

Over the past few years, the Linn Genealogical Society has hosted several speakers who extolled the value of courthouse record searches for the information they can provide. The presenter’s work always shows a compelling reason to do this type of public records search. However, exactly how do you do a deed search? What are the steps? Is it difficult? Is it time consuming? Nine years ago when trying to sell property in Linn County, it became important for my family to know the property lines. It seemed a deed history might help us learn what we needed to know. My siblings and I paid a title search company to do a deed search. A few weeks later we received the results. After reading the information a few times I called my brother and said “I am completely underwhelmed by the title company’s work.” It was a complete waste of money and totally useless for what we wanted to know. I asked “Do you mind if I dig into it myself?” I hoped my genealogical research skills and my personal interest might be more thorough. I reached out to Bob McCormick (lifelong Linn County resident and the most informed Linn County historian and researcher I know) asking how to complete a deed search in Linn County. Fueled with his instructions I headed to the Linn County Courthouse to give his instructions a try! My successful research was instrumental in proving a scrivener’s error made about a hundred years ago! Fast forward to this summer as I began writing this issue with the intent of compiling comprehensive deed search instructions for you from my own personal experience. At the same time, I began tangential research on George Earle Chamberlain (Oregon’s first Attorney General and our eleventh governor) and his Victorian home in Albany. During my research for the Chamberlain House I came upon a research journal written by former Albany resident Kate Porsche and received her permission to reprint the path she followed to research her home. Much of her journal is included in this issue. Some of you know of my passion for Oregon history. My George Chamberlain search referenced above took me once again to one of my favorite online sites, Oregon Encyclopedia. I am including an overview of the website in the hope that you, too, may be tempted to take a look and find the website fascinating.

Happy Reading! Liz

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THE HERITAGE NEWSLETTER

Copyright ©2024 Linn Genealogical Society All rights reserved.

Linn Genealogical Society P O Box 1222, Albany, Oregon 97321 Phone 541-791-1618 Home page: http://www.LGSOregon.org Business email: LinnGenSoc@gmail.com Queries email: query4lgs@outlook.com Newsletter editor: LizMRapp@gmail.com The Heritage Newsletter is a publication of Linn Genealogical Society, produced quarterly in March, June, September & December. Linn Genealogical Society is a 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to promote research of family history and to preserve historical data.

LGS officers (2024):

President –David Devin, devindaca@hotmail.com

Vice President – Dulca Bailey, todulca@gmail.com

Secretary – Liz Rapp, lizmrapp@gmail.com

Treasurer – Bill Pintard b.pintard@comcast.net

IN MEMORIA

Linn Genealogical Society member Rosemary A. Fieber (nee Johnson) [previously married Williams] of Albany passed away 13 June 2024 at the age of 92.

LINN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP/RENEWAL FORM Send to P O Box 1222, Albany, Oregon 97321 Phone 541-791-1618

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INDIVIDUAL ANNUAL: $15

LIFE MEMBERSHIP: $250

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