Published Article in the "Genealogical forum of Oregon"

Having started a formal education in genealogy in May of 2016 and having finished the Intermediate Level at the National Institute of Genealogy, I am proud to announce I got an article published in the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.  My article only required two edits, and my article was listed on the cover of "The Bulletin: Quarterly Magazine of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon"  Volume 73, Number 1.  September 2023.  https://gfo.org/learn/our-publications/gfo-bulletin.html. ; Fully sourced and cited.  Yes, I struggled through multiple courses on correctly documenting sources, but in the end, it was all worth it.  This is the story of my 1st cousin, 4X removed, and her descendants.  All of it started with the death of my Grandmother, Helen Louise Lints Clark Goettel, and I received two letters and a photograph giving me pieces of information to recreate the story of Jane Emmaline Owens.  The story of a girl born in Central Square, Oswego County, New York who was widowed by the Civil War, remarried and moved to Iowa, and then on to Tacoma, Washington Territory.  In the Washington Territory her husband died and she remarried.  In one letter from Jane she explains why she remarried for the third time. She was one of the Pioneers of Washington Territory.  What prompted me to write the article was the Washington Genealogical Societies Pioneer Project.  I submitted my document to the Washington State genealogical society and they suggested I submit the article to the Genealogical Forum of Oregon and to my surprise the article was accepted.  

I have been working on genealogy since I was 18 years old.  Starting on a large poster board and talking to all my living relatives which was quite numerous as everyone in my family seems to live to be almost 100 years old.  I made all the mistakes you could possibly make.  Accepting information without sources, believing family stories to be fact, not documenting where I found the information, and then having to search again to refind information.  Also, not having a plan on how to proceed and having paper documents and files all over the place.

Now, at the age of 75, I can finally say I have learned a lot and still have much more to learn. What I have learned the most is how to research and find sources other than using paid sites, like Ancestory or My Heritage.  Currenlty, I am researching my husband's Hungarian and German lines which requires using European archives in Central Europe.  Always a new adventure.