Multnomah Park Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, Internment Map (PDF)

As I am out and about doing cemetery work, I have noticed that not a lot of cemeteries have maps for their internments published online.

Often you have to go to their office and get a photocopy before you can find your way around.  If you're lucky.  Word to the wise: call and know before you go.

As a service to the public, I'm publishing here a link to the PDF copy of the Multnomah Park Cemetery burial layouts and numbering in Portland, Oregon.

While there are many cemeteries in Portland, and I do not have the space to do this for all cemeteries on this blog, I thought I would add a few of the more historical and prominent ones I have worked with.

I actually just got back from a historic and very very large cemetery that had this issue and wished someone else might have published the info for me.

So, to whoever, wherever, here you go!

Local Genealogy Societies

Depending on where your research is concentrated, you may wish to consider joining a genealogical society dedicated to the locale you are primarily working in.

One of the local ones to this region is the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.   They have a library with over 30,000 hard-copy titles, actively work to index records that aren't as publicly accessible, membership gives you access to Ancestry.com for a fraction of the price as buying Ancestry outright as well as they have seminars from time to time and personal help that you can request.

There are many others in Oregon, but I just use this for an example - for a list of genealogical organizations in Oregon, click HERE.


If you're stuck, look for a genealogical society to the locale you work with primarily and see what benefits they offer and whether membership is for you!

Genealogy: A Personal Responsibility

Of the commandments of the Lord to the children of men, redeeming the dead is one that can *only* be done by the members of this church.  Note, I did not say "it can only be done by the church" but that it can only be done by the members.  That's.....you.  You're a member.  You have ancestors.  They brought you to life over centuries and millenia.  Have you done their work?  Have you thanked them for bringing you to this state of your eternal progression?

Well, here you go, this is one of your personal responsibilities.

How to Complete Your Entire Family Tree Fast and Easy!

(Notice I didn't say it would be accurate). 

I don't know if the stuff you'd get from "plying" a family member with liquor is anything you'd want to put in your tree, there's skeletons enough without that kind of info....but I've seen a bit of work that looks like this is how it was done....and then done some myself that probably left questions as to my own sobriety when I was tired or rushing.  

Slow down! And have fun.  Speed is impressive, accuracy is useful.

Salvation For the Dead: A Missionary Activity

This is a great talk from General Conference in 1975 on temple work.  The brother speaking was the then-driving force behind the church's family history program, Brother Theodore M. Burton, Assistant to the Twelve.

Back then, very little of what we have now was available, and the availability and access we have to our records is unbelievable.  Brother Burton would have thought he went to heaven to see what we have now, and yet...more needs to be done and we don't do nearly what we should!

Some things have changed between then and now in terms of focus and expectations, but the one part that stuck out to me was that the dead have no other way but through us doing this work to receive the salvation that is available to them.  Anyways, here's the video with a link to the conference talk afterwards.




And here's the link to read the talk:

Unexpected Discovery

Along with "Prayer" I guess we can add "The Force" or for some people even "The Internet" to our toolkit I suppose. Just make sure you use genealogy for good, not evil, okay?

Genealogy Made Simple

Well, they say we all go back to Noah.....