Resources
For additional information and help with family research, please consult the links in the sidebar.
Oregon State Archives - Access to birth, death, adoption, census, land, and naturalization records. A search for certain records can be requested by e-mail. The only cost is postage for mailing copies of the records to you.
Genealogical Forum of Oregon - The Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1946. The objectives of the Forum are to instruct in research, to create an interest in genealogy, and to share, compile and publish genealogical and historical materials.Multnomah County Library The Central (downtown) branch provides access to Portland City Directories, The Oregonian and The Journal newspapers on microfilm, historic Portland maps, and directories for identifying the current location of old Portland addresses. Also available at the Third Floor reference desk is a very useful book for determining the current location of addresses before 1931. Most Portland addresses were changed in 1931. The title of the book is Directory of Street and Name Changes by Crane Direct Mail Service, 1931. The library catalog number for this book is 3 1168 05435 6157.
Library of Congress - American Memory - Search for "Portland, Oregon" on this site to find maps, photos, and articles on Portland. A great site!Oregon Newspaper and Magazine Index
The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability offers an excellent online resource list of Portland street name changes. The list is in Microsoft Excel format and documents name changes from the 1800s to the present.
Finding Naturalization Records for Multnomah County Residents
When searching for naturalization record of a person in Multnomah County, when the court of naturalization is not known, is the Multnomah County Record Archives at 2505 SE 11th Avenue (corner of SE 11th and Division), Second Floor. You must call for an appointment at 248-3741. The archives have microfilm of Foreign Registration Cards prior to 1927. A naturalized citizen who was registered to vote was required to list his date of naturalization (often the number is listed) and the court where this took place. In many cases, the registration cards for the spouse and the children of the naturalized citizen, also showing his place and date of naturalization, are included in this record group.
If the search for Foreign Registration Cards is not successful, the next step is to contact the Multnomah County Circuit Court file room located at the Multnomah County Courthouse, 1021 SW Fourth, Room 131, Portland, OR 97205 (phone 503-248-3003). The file room staff will check the Multnomah County Naturalization Indexes. The Circuit Court staff needs advance notice of at least a week for this search since the microfilm and record books are at a remote location. If the name you are researching is found on the microfilm index, the staff will photocopy the naturalization records for you from the books.
The next place to search if the Multnomah County Circuit Court does not bring results, is to contact the U.S. District Court Clerks Office located in Room 503 of the U.S. District Court at 620 SW Main, Portland, OR 97205. The office staff will check their card index for the names you are researching. The records that correspond with the index cards are in three locations: (1) The National Archives and Records Administration in Seattle, (2) the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Office in Portland at 511 NW Broadway, and (3) the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Office in Washington D.C.Finally, if naturalization records are not found in the archives listed above, or if information on naturalization after 1906 is needed, contact the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Office in Portland at 511 NW Broadway.
Naturalization records can also be found by searching the LDS family history records. Use the Locality Search available on the computer system. List "Naturalization" under the topic and then enter the city and state.
For more information see the National Archives and Records Adminstration web page on Naturalization Records.
Cemeteries and Funeral Homes
Rose City Cemetery & Funeral Home at N.E. 52nd and Fremont Phone (503) 281-3821 - Many Germans from Russia are buried at this cemetery. Burial records are available at the business office for $4.00 per copy. If you know the date of death, the cemetery staff will look up the burial records for you for a nominal fee. A good source of information.
Pearson-Allen-Caldwell Funeral Home (formerly Pearson Funeral Church) at 1515 NE 106th - Funeral records for many German-Russian families. If you know the date of death, the office staff at Pearson will look up the burial records for you.Ross Hollywood Chapel at 4733 NE Thompson - Funeral records for many German-Russian families.
Columbian Cemetery in North Portland is the final resting place for some German-Russian families. Surnames include Helser (Helzer), Hohmann and Schnell.
Lone Fir Cemetery located at Southeast 20th Avenue and Morrison Street in Portland.
Portland and Vancouver Cemetery List
Books and Publications
Portland Names and Neighborhoods by Eugene E. Snyder (available from the Oregon Historical Society)
The Volga Germans: Pioneers of the Northwest by Richard D. Scheuerman and Clifford E. Trafzer, 1980 (available at the Mult. Co. Library)My Mother's People by Emma Schwabenland Haynes - an unpublished genealogy of the Miller Family, 1957 (photocopy available through AHSGR Library)
A History of the Volga Relief Society by Emma Schwabenland Haynes, 1982 - (available through the AHSGR Online Book Store)
Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant Portland: Binfords & Mort, 1970 (available from the Oregon Historical Society)
AHSGR Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Fall 1987) Includes an article on "The Portland Community of Russian Germans" by Marie Krieger
Russian-German Settlements in the United States by Richard Sallet, 1974. This title available from Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at North Dakota State University.