Last Thursday’s OLHD meeting was a great success. Thirty five people attended our annual meeting, with members renewing their membership and others joining for the first time. We were very pleased, and honored, to have nearly a dozen descendants of Jacob S. Risley present and it is our sincere hope that we will continue seeing them in the future, and continue the Risley/Bradshaw conversation.

The “Risleys On The Willamette” program was well received by the attendees. What could easily fill an entire book was squeezed into one hour, covering the period from about 1808 to 1930+. The Risley, Starkweathers, and Bradshaw families were icons in the Oak Lodge community, their legacy extending well beyond Clackamas County. The amount of historical information available about them is staggering, and comes from a multitude of sources.

Just one example of the amount of information available comes from the Oregon State Archives’ Historical Records Index. The Archives house all kind of documents about Oregonians. A search of “Risley” produced three pages of hits, including one for the Multnomah Co. Estate record for Orville Risley.

Copies of these documents can be obtained from the Oregon State Archives. “Delayed Births”, for example, were submitted by individuals born before Oregon required birth certificates – – primarily so that they had documentation to apply for Social Security. Delayed Birth records sometimes contain affidavits from family members, sometimes a drivers license, bible record, or other type of source of birth information.

Thank you Risley family for a very enjoyable evening!