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The great American holiday of Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. It is a time traditionally when families gather together to share a feast, give thanks for their bounty, and watch football. It is also one of the few times of the year that multiple generations of a family assemble under one roof. It is thus a great time for sharing family stories, looking at photographs, and remembering the past.

This year, why not participate in the Great Thanksgiving Listen, taking place from November 26 to November 29? The sponsor of this event is StoryCorps, a nationally-known oral history project whose mission is to capture the stories of thousands of people across our country. You may have heard excerpts of StoryCorps sessions on National Public Radio. They have made it easy by providing an app that is easily downloaded to a cell phone. This is a convenient way to record the stories of family members and preserve them forever.

Everyone has a story tell, whether it is a family tradition, a childhood memory, a military service experience, or a recollection about a particular place or event. What is the earliest memory that you can recall? Where were you when you heard about President Kennedy's assassination? Did you watch the Apollo 11 moon landing on television in 1969? Where were you on 9/11? What stories have you heard about your family's history?

Let's pause a moment from our feasting this week and take time to remember and record. You'll be glad you did.

by Cynthia Theusch

This past summer, The Genealogy Center acquired two new microfilm and microfiche reader/scanner/printer machines. With their new technological features and updated scanning software, you will definitely want to make use of these machines during your next visit.

New features include:

• Larger monitor to display microfilm page or microfiche file.
• Digitally zoom in where the smaller print can be easily read.
• Subtract (remove) unwanted articles and/or paragraphs from a 2-column scan image.
• Merge 2 or more images together which is a great feature to use when your article has been divided into 2 or more pages.
• Digitizing your film negatives and slides.
  • Black and white
  • Color negatives

The new Microtext Machines are a great way to capture images from microfilm, microfiche, negatives and slides; and add them to your group of displayed photos or in your family history files and stories.

Have a brick wall in your research? Would you like a greater understanding of some aspect of your research? The Genealogy Center is offering 30-minute personal research consultations with a staff member on some troublesome aspect of your research. The Consultations will be offered on Wednesday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 8th, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info for an appointment, requesting a Consultation and providing basic information concerning the nature of your quandary. A staff member will be assigned and a time established for your consultation. Be sure to bring your research notes to your consultation.

Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. Register today!

 

As you visit The Genealogy Center in the coming weeks, you may notice a bit of unusual activity, especially in the Microtext Reading Room. When we reopened our expanded and renovated building in 2007, we had a large space devoted to using our extensive microtext collection—a collection that included census and military records, newspapers, city directories, and documents from many states and countries. However, digital copies of these important documents continue to grow exponentially in use.  Microtext usage, on the other hand, continues to diminish greatly.

What has grown in the last decade is our dedication to expand service to include more classes and consultations, as well as meeting our customers’ desires to collaborate with us and one another. In response, we are repurposing more than half of the former Microtext Reading Room into our new Discovery Center, a space for presentations, panel discussions, group activities, pop-up demonstrations, collaborative dialog, and one-on-one consultations.

We also have become increasingly aware that in this digital age, people’s stories are slipping away. Email and texting have replaced written correspondence between friends and family members so much so that information that had been preserved in the past on paper is now being lost. Headliners and other “big” stories get preserved in other forms, but the day-to-day lives of firemen, teachers, industrial workers, veterans, emigrants, attorneys and the histories of communities, churches, businesses and ethnic groups get lost in the shuffle. To preserve and present these every-day stories, we are repurposing our former Orientation Area into a Life Stories Center. We want to better facilitate the preservation of everyone’s experiences, memories, and life stories.

While all of this activity is occurring, we hope that you will tolerate the small inconveniences caused by a limited amount of noise and some dust. We are looking forward to the great possibilities that our new spaces will bring. Thank you for your understanding.

There are some new or expanded Allen County items available for use online!

At one time, Bass Foundry was one of Fort Wayne’s largest employers, with more than a thousand employees. Among other product lines, the Foundry made boilers for railroads, businesses and homes. Bass Steel Heating Boilers is a six-page brochure showing photos and descriptions of some of the products available for residential use.
 
The North Side Yearbook Index is now complete from 1929 to 1024, with more than 187,000 entries and has an updated the search page.

We now have issues of Wayne High School’s newspaper “The Dispatch,” “The Wayne Dispatch,” or “The Wayne High School Dispatch,” from 1971-1991.

And, finally, The Allen County Courthouse was an architectural gem when it opened in 1902, with statues, murals and stained glass, but the next ninety years took their toll. In 1994, Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust, Inc. began a project to restore and preserve the building, which was completed in 2002. The Genealogy Center now has 792 images of this restoration available through our ContentDM link. The photographs are divided into sections: Circuit Court, First Floor, Second Floor, Superior Court One,  Superior Court Three, and Third Floor. Treat yourself to some browsing today!

The Genealogy Center, like all facilities of the Allen County Public Library, will be closed on Thursday, November 26th, for Thanksgiving. We will be open our regular hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25th, and reopen on Friday, November 27th, at 9 a.m.

As your family and friends gather, participate in the Great Thanksgiving Listen on Thursday and the National Day of Listening on Friday, as an alternative to shopping. This holiday, feed your mind as well as your stomach!

A special program on "Genealogy and the Holocaust"  will be presented on Sunday, November 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library Main Branch to learn about resources relevant to the Holocaust, including the recently opened International Tracing Service Archives and what’s available locally.

Speakers include  Robert M. Ehrenreich, Director of University Programs, and Elizabeth Anthony, International Tracing Service and Partnerships Program Manager, both from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. Curt Witcher, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Manager and Director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies; and Irv Adler, a Temple member who will share his experience researching what happened to his family during the Holocaust and discovering new relatives in the process.
 
“What makes this kind of research different from other genealogy research is that it is more than simply compiling a list of family names,” said Dr. Steve Carr, director of IPFW’s Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “Rather, it asks us to think about the hard questions and choices family members had to make under the harshest of circumstances.”

The program is sponsored by Congregation Achduth Vesholom, the IPFW Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center,  and the Campus Outreach Lecture Program of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, supported by Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller.
 
Do you have a family story about the Holocaust or a more recent genocide? Tell it at tellmyfamilystory.tumblr.com.

In honor of Veteran's Day, we want to share news of some recent additions to Our Military Heritage from three conflicts, starting with the Civil War pension file of Samuel Rose of the 22nd Iowa, who died in St. James Hospital in New Orleans on September 28, 1863 of chronic diarrhea, leaving a wife and three children. The file includes affidavits on his service, death and needs of the family, including the dates of birth for all three children and the date and place of death for his widow in 1895.
 
For the Spanish-American War, we have digital of the Official Souvenir of Michigan Volunteers of ’98, published by G.F. Sterling Company in Detroit. The document includes muster rolls for the 31st through 35 regiments of Michigan volunteers and naval reserves, as well as a chronology of events and photographs of companies, groups and individuals. Accompanying the document is an every name and key word index.
 
Finally, we have the World War II collection of John Perry. Perrey served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946 and recounts his service activities, and includes images of his honorable discharge and other documents, photographs and the souvenir booklet of the Third Graduating Class of the U.S. Naval Radio School (1944).

Thanks to the donors who allow us to share these items with you.

Thanks to our wonderful contributors, additions to our Family Resources database continue to be posted to our Free Databases site.

Jane Thompson Kuitems has allowed us to post Benjamin Thompson, an Early Settler of Penfield, New York and Samuel Thompson and Grizzil Ingalls of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Both are name and keyword searchable and both are filled with detail and richly documented.

Ewing Family File, published by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding and available through The Genealogy Center, indexes the almost 6500 individuals in the Ewing Family Association & Related Materials that we have had on our site. Using this index, one may search by name, or select an advanced search and locate a person by birth, christening, death or burial dates or places, or by spouse’s name.
 
And, finally, Brian Paul Kaess has sent corrections to Notes on the Kaess Family, which has been added to what he had already submitted.
 
Our thanks for these donations!

At this time, when a piece of property exchanges hands, a title search company researches the deed, looking for any legal impediments to clear title of the property. These impediments include any legal action in which the current or past owners may have been involves, such as law suits, probate cases and liens on the property. But in the past, an abstract of the title, detailing the history of the property to that point, was passed with the deed to the new owners or mortgage holders. In the past thirty years, these abstracts have fallen out of use. Some owners still passed them along, but the new owners may not have understood the significance of the abstract which many ended up in the attic, or worse, in the trash. Many of these have been donated to The Genealogy Center in the past and can be found through our catalog and can be found by searching on “Allen County Indiana” plus abstract plus the addition or location, such as Elzey’s.

However, the most recent donations, consisting of 43 from all across the county, have been scanned and are available online under Abstracts of Title, Allen County, Indiana. There is no index to the names contained in them at the time, but can be located by addition name, section and or lot number. If you are searching for a property in an addition for which we have an abstract, much of the earlier information will be identical from one abstract to another. For example, there is one for Walden Addition that consists of more than 100 pages and includes details of the exchange of property from the beginning to the 1970s, including law suits, probate and inheritance details and a petition to widen Trier Road. If you are doing family history on any of the families involved in these properties or doing house research in any of these additions, these are an important source. If you have an abstract gathering dust at home, please remember that we would be happy to add it to our collection!

Ah, the last week of October brings the end of Family History Month, but first, we have a week full of events and opportunities!

Sunday, October 25, starts off with John Beatty sharing his knowledge about “Ancestry’s Public Member Trees: How to Explore, Evaluate, and Add Value.” This talk will explore some of the benefits and pitfalls of the Public Member Trees and will offer advice on how to make your own Tree outstanding. Be there, 1-2 p.m., in Meeting Room A.

Kay Spears concludes her computer assistance series with “Mysteries of Microsoft for Beginners: Excel, PowerPoint and Access” on Monday, October 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Computer Classroom. Explore Excel, PowerPoint and Access and how you can use them, with helpful hints on some things you should do, what each program does, and some of the things to avoid. Register early. Space is limited. Call 260-421-1225 or send an email to register.

Tuesday, October 27, offers “Finding Billy Yank and Johnny Reb: Beginning Research on Your Civil War Soldier,” 6:30-7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A. Join Delia Bourne and learn about service records, pensions, regimental histories, salt lists, questionnaires and more to help you discover your Civil War soldier.

Melissa Tennant will present “City Directories: More than Basic Facts,” 6:30-7:30 p.m., Meeting Room A on Wednesday, October 28. City directories provide more than just a name and address for a particular year. Discover the stories held within these volumes.

Thursday, October 29 we will have John Beatty with “Death Heads and Clasped Hands: Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography for the Genealogist.” Many tombstones of the past had icons and carvings that had deep meaning at the time but are lost on us today. This talk will explore some of those symbols and offer a guide on how to interpret them. Be in Meeting Room A, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Friday, October 30 brings our “Midnight Madness Extended Research Hours,” 6 p.m.-Midnight, in The Genealogy Center. You know you've always wanted to stay to research after everyone else leaves! So stay until Midnight to research and celebrate the end of another great Family History Month! As an added bonus, we are also offering three mini-programs:
6:30 p.m. – “Family Connections via Facebook,” presented by Melissa Tennant. Discover a place where everyone wants to hear your latest genealogical discovery or help you find the answer to your latest family query. Learn how family connections and an entirely new genealogical community is waiting on Facebook.
7:30 p.m. – “What Can I Find in The Genealogy Center’s Free Databases?” Curt Witcher will guide you on a tour of the many useful resources available for free on GenealogyCenter.org.
8:30 p.m. – “Seeking Michigan Ancestors?” Kris Rzepczynski will explore search strategies and the growing array of genealogically rich Michigan resources available for free at Seeking Michigan (http://seekingmichigan.org). Current content includes death records from 1897-1939, The Detroit News card index, state census records, and Civil War enlistment records.
Note: No preregistration is necessary for Midnight Madness, but you must be in The Center by 6 p.m. You may leave at any time, but there is no re-admittance. Call 260-421-1225 or send an email for more information.

Saturday, October 31, brings the end of Family History Month by presenting one last program, “Success with Fold3,” presented by Delia Bourne, 10-11 a.m., in the Globe Room. Millions of documents await discovery at Fold3! Learn how to browse and search records in this premier collection of military records, newspapers, and city directories.

And don’t go anywhere! WinterTech is right around the corner!

Maureen Taylor brings The Photo Detective Seminar to The Theater on Saturday, October 24, 2015. All are welcome to this free event! Sessions are:

9:30-10:30 a.m. "Identifying and Dating Family Photographs"

Audiences love this interactive lecture on discovering who’s who in their family pictures. They’ll learn 10 easy steps for naming those unidentified pictures tucked away in shoeboxes.

 

11 a.m.-Noon. "Buns, Beards, Bodices and Bustles: Understanding Ancestors through Clothing"

• Ancestral fashions and the industry that produced them left behind a fascinating legacy of images and information.
• Paris fashion in America: north, south, east and west interpretations
• Fashion icons from Charles Dickens to stage star Lillie Langtry
• Fashion foibles and practical pastimes: how our ancestors designed and hand-crafted accessories.
• What’s old is new and what’s new is old? Repeating fashion trends and how to read the clues
• Labor records relating to hat, hair and accessory factories and home-work

2-3 p.m. "Google Images and Beyond"

Add new photographs to your family album by learning a few basic search techniques. A single photo can connect you to new genealogical data and a network of information.

 

3:30-4:30 p.m. "Eight Steps to Preserving Your Family Photographs"

Photo preservation basics from storage to labeling and everything in-between. Each step includes low-cost solutions that won’t bust your budget.

 

Reserve your spot by calling 260-421-1225 or sending us an email.

 

Maureen is also available for private, paid Consultations on Friday, October 23, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You must pre-register for these Consultations at her special event rate through her Eventbrite site. 

Kay Spears will start the week on Monday, October 19, 2015, with “The Mysteries of Microsoft for Beginners: Microsoft Word.” Explore the basics of creating a manuscript using Microsoft Word, including techniques on the manipulation of photographs and images, with helpful hints for preparing a book for printing. Be there, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Computer Classroom. Register early. Space is limited. Call 260-421-1225 or send an email to register.

 

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Sara Allen will help you with “Making Sense of Your DNA Test Results” at 6:30-7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A. Have you taken a DNA test for genealogical purposes? Learn the basics of how to interpret and understand your results, then move forward with your research using this new-found information.

 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015 will see the monthly meeting of the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana’s Genealogy Technology Group, 7-8:30 p.m., in Meeting Room C. Genealogical research is enhanced by using computers, iPads, tablets, smart phones and other devices, as well as social media. ACGSI  invites everyone to attend this free open discussion about anything related to Internet research, computers, social media, software, websites, genealogy programs – and more – and how they enhance our genealogical research. Bring your questions and problems.

 

Curt Witcher will discuss “Online Resources off the Beaten Path: A Look at NUCMC, DPLA, and other Alphabetic Soup Bibliographic Sites,” on Thursday, October 22, 2015, 6:30-7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room BC. With so much information online, often bibliographic sites of great importance for genealogists are overlooked. The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections, the Digital Public Library of America, and other mega sites will be explored.

To register for any of these free events, call 260-421-1225 or send an email.

 

Keep watching to see what’s up for Friday and Saturday. Or go ahead and check the brochure!

Kay Spears starts off Week 3 of Family History Month with Part 2 of her “Basics of Adobe Elements Workshop,” on Monday, October 12, 2015, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Computer Classroom. Remember to bring copies of photographs on a USB (“flash”) drive for hands-on instruction. Space is limited. Call 260-421-1225 or send an email to register.

Is DNA all Greek to you? Come and learn about the three major tests for genealogists - the Y-DNA, mtDNA, and autosomal tests when Sara Allen presents “Introduction to DNA for Genealogy,” Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at 6:30-7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A. By the end of the session, you will know how to use DNA testing to enhance your traditional genealogical research.

The Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana meets Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A. This month’s offering is “Diaries, Journals, and Day Books,” presented by Rodney Scott. When in the process of our genealogical research, if we are fortunate to uncover a diary or journal, there is an explosion of information about our ancestors. The style and type of these documents are reviewed with outlines of how such items can be created for your own family histories. All are welcome.

Curt Witcher will provide a basic preservation presentation on how to care for paper documents, photographs, and numerous heirlooms on Thursday, October 15, 2015 in “So What Do I Do With This? Caring for Family Documents & Keepsakes.” Be there 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Meeting Room A as both processes and products are shown.

Are you at a loss when it comes to using The Genealogy Center’s new microfilm and fiche printer/scanners? Join Cynthia Theusch Friday, October 16, 2015 for “Using the ST-ViewScan III Microfilm & Microfiche Printer/Scanners,” 10-11 a.m., in The Genealogy Center Microtext Reading Room  as she demonstrates these new machines and offers suggestions for getting the best prints and scans possible. Register early. Space is limited. Call 260-421-1225 or send an email to register.

On Saturday, October 17, 2015 Melissa Tennent will answer “Why Should I Look at Revolutionary War Pension Records?” 11 a.m.-Noon, in The Genealogy Center. Pension records are a valuable source for learning more about your Revolutionary War ancestor. Understand Revolutionary War Pension Records better by discovering how to access these files and what information is available in the documents.

Careful analysis of the 1880 census can help you solve genealogical problems with origins well before that year. Join Cynthia Theusch on Sunday, October 18, 2015, Meeting Room A, 1-2 p.m. for “Using Clues in the 1880 Census to Solve Earlier Research Challenges.” Learn to use all the categories of information recorded in every column of the 1880 census to your full advantage. Little pieces of data gleaned from censuses can help you make deductions that break down long-time brick walls, including those of the pre-1850 time period.

To learn more about these or any of our Family History Month events, see the brochure, To register for any of these free events, call 260-421-1225 or send us an email.

We have some additions of Fort Wayne interest to our Free Databases page that we’d like to share with you.

Local high school yearbooks continue to be of great popularity. The usual visitors are people wanting to see high school photos showing mom and dad with funny hair and clothes, but yearbooks are also of great interest to those organizing high school reunions, seeking old friends and distant relatives. There is also an interest in the photos of those who died during military service. Sometimes, these high school yearbooks provide the only photo of the person. Indices for three more years of North Side High School Yearbook Index, completing the index from the opening of the school through 1984.

The Huntertown Historical Society has allowed us to digitize and post their Family Files. The best way to access the material is to browse by surname and read the short family histories that have been compiled.
 
The last item is the Allen County pioneer, Jesse Vermilyea Estate Inventory. This 1847 handwritten document lists the property of his extensive estate, including livestock, furniture, farm equipment, crops, personal items and a clock valued at $3. Truly, a fascinating look at mid-19th century Allen County.

Family History Month starts week two with Kay Spears offering “Basics of Adobe Elements Workshop, Part 1,” on Monday, October 5, 2015, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Computer Classroom. She will demonstrate how to restore images of old photographs using techniques similar to those in Adobe Photoshop. Participants are encouraged to bring copies of their own family photographs on a USB (“flash”) drive for hands-on instruction in applying what they have learned to their photos. The class will continue on Monday, October 12th, at the same time. Register early as space is limited. Call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info to register.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 brings provides guidance on one of the most desired sources as Delia Bourne presents “Vital Records for Beginners,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A. This class will explain what can be found in a vital record, and what other sources may be used when an official record doesn’t exist.

In the past, some towns and villages issued warnings to some of the inhabitants to leave the area. On Wednesday, October 7, 2015, Cynthia Theusch will explain why in “Warnings Out Issued in the Colonies and Early United States,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A. Learn how to locate records to see if an ancestor or other family members received a warning.

At the meeting of the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne Meeting at 6:60 p.m. on  Thursday, October 8, in Meeting Room B, during “What Genealogy Has Done For Me—A Youth Presentation,” you will hear how young people have researched their families’ histories and what they have discovered about their families and themselves. All are welcome.

Meet up in the Microtext Reading Room of The Genealogy Center on Friday, October 9, 2015, at 10 a.m. for “Tech Talk: Microfilm & Fiche and Use of the ST200 Printer/Scanner.” Delia Bourne will discuss what types of materials are available in microtext format and how to use the ST200 printer/scanners. Register early. Space is limited, so register early by call 260-421-1225 or send an email to Genealogy@ACPL.Info to register.

John Beatty will discuss “Using German Church Records” on Saturday, October 10, 2015, 10 to 11 a.m., in Meeting Room BC. This talk is intended for both the beginner and the more experienced genealogist wishing to learn more about how to locate, read, and interpret German church records. It will offer research tips, reveal some common idiosyncrasies found in records, discuss the steps needed in finding the right parish, look at ecclesiastical dates, and cover how to read various types of German handwriting found in church records.

How often have you bemoaned “I Can’t Find It on Ancestry.com!”? Sara Allen will address that on Sunday, October 11, 2015, at 1-2 p.m., in Meeting Room A. Learn about genealogical records that are not on Ancestry.com and how to access them.

For more information about any of these events, or other events in Family History Month, see the brochure. To register for any of these free classes, call 260-421-1225 or send us an email!

We have several new family sources on our Free Databases that you might want to explore.

The first is “From Pendleton Hall to Fremont: The Ancestors and Descendants of Julia A. Beckwith” by David Sprunk. This volume provides information on the family in medieval England, colonial Connecticut, and then to New York. A fine bibliography and an every name index completes this volume. 

“An Introductory History of the York Co. Pa. & Seneca Co. Ohio Deckers,” also by David Sprunk, follows the Decker family from The Netherlands to Ohio, and includes DNA information and Decker Family of Ohio reunion minutes from the mid-20th century, as well as two indexes.

“The Descendants of Thomas Carter,” by Terry L. and Carolyn Shumaker, details this family from 16th century England to modern day, including stories of hardship and success.
 
Margaret Rowe McCarthy has allowed us to post her “The Gasperini-Pedo Family of Dickinson & Iron Counties,” which follows the family as it came the Trentino region to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
 
William Lee Mercker complied “Henry & Mary,” about the Henry Mercker-Mary Catherine Witcher family of Indiana, which is filled with facts and reminiscences.

And Brian Paul Kaess has allowed two of his volumes to be posted “Notes on the Kaess Family (2016)”, which includes Dawson, Schwartz, Golz and other families, and “Kaess Ochiltree Swartz Family History," which also includes the Leach, Haller, Gibboney, Baldwin and Major families, among others.

All of these files can be searched by keyword or name, and all are copyrighted, and specific permission from the authors is necessary for re-publishing, reprinting, or in any other way disseminating these works. We greatly appreciate all of these authors allowing us to share this information with you!

Family History Month starts on Thursday, October 1st, with “An Evening of Storytelling!” Telling the stories of our lives is not only a great way to engage people in learning about their families and ancestors, it is a terrific way to share the family’s story. Join us at 6:30 p.m., in Meeting Room A for stories and music to inspire and entertain you!

Our Polish Heritage weekend begins Friday, October 2nd with our own Sara Allen presenting “Crossing the Pond with Your Polish Ancestors,” at 10 a.m., in Meeting Room A. She will tell us how to track Polish immigrants from the new world back to their ancestral village. Some information is applicable to Eastern European research in general, so make time for this great program!

Saturday, October 3rd will offer two exciting opportunities for Polish heritage researchers. “Polish Mission and Polonica Americana Research Institute (PARI),” presented by Ceil Jensen, will provide a survey of the Polish Mission’s collections and their new website Michigan Polish Heritage,  where families can come together to research their roots, discover the villages and records of their ancestors, and document their family history. This event starts at 10 a.m., in Meeting Room A.

At 2 p.m., also in Meeting Room A, Ceil Jensen will present “Advanced Polish Research.” In this class, Ceil will cover finding an ancestor’s parish and civil registration records in Poland, will dispel the myths that records were destroyed during the world wars, and that language barriers make Polish research difficult. She will also give examples and suggestions on how to use advanced records, databases, and archives.

Finally, on Sunday, October 4th, in Meeting Room A, Ceil Jensen will detail the case study of Eugenia Okruta in “Displaced Persons,” and will explore the archives, associations, and organizations that have record sets of interest to anyone researching displaced persons in World War II.

For more information on these and other Family History Month activities, see the brochure. To register for these free events, call 260-421-1225, or send us an email.

We are fortunate to be able to present a couple of new sources on our Free Indiana Databases.

The first is a Franklin County Landowners Map for 1858, brought to us by John J. Newman of Brookville. The Franklin County historian, staff from the Franklin County Public Library District, and the Franklin County Recorder's office indexed the 2982 landowners. The landowner index provides township and section number. View the entire county on the overview map, and click on the area you’d like to view in more detail. Or you can view an entire township, or browse through to see enlarged sections of each map. Do take a few minutes to read Mr. Newman’s excellent introduction to the map, in which he provides information on the map, how to use the index, and the history of wall plat maps.

The second item is a History of the Regulators of Northern Indiana, which was donated by Rita Lehner and Dalonda Young. In newly developing areas, miscreants abounded who took advantage of white settlers and Native Americans alike. Regulators were private citizens who formed groups to capture and prosecute criminals. This 67-page booklet provides a history of regulators in northern Indiana, a transcription of the 1852 legislative act that allowed the formation of regulator companies, a list of the companies and the number of members each boasted, and accounts of meetings, arrests, confessions and executions. This is a fascinating view of early Indiana’s history.
 
Take a few minutes to examine these unique items!

By Dawne

The Genealogy Center has thousands and thousands of books. Many of these are indexes to or abstracts of records found in courthouses, churches, cemetery offices, and other locations. How can you best use these resources and where can they lead you? Here are some FAQs and answers that might give you some ideas.

•    "I found an index to deeds. What do the numbers 6: 413 mean next to my ancestor’s name?"

Typically, two numbers separated by a colon in a record index book refer to volume or book and page number, although you will want to look at the prefatory material in the specific book to be certain. In the fictional example above, the most likely answer is that the deed will appear in the county courthouse deed volume number 6, on page 413.

•    "I found a county death record index that includes my ancestor. Do you have the records? If not, where are they?"

The answer to the first question is “maybe.” County governments nearly always retain their original record volumes, so if The Genealogy Center does have the records, they will be copies on microfilm or microfiche. You can find out if The Center has them by checking the State Records section of the Microtext Catalog, which is the second option under the Databases>Free Databases drop-down menu on our website. If you find that we do not have the records you need, you can request copies from the county courthouse in the county where the event took place, or check the Family History Library (FHL) catalog at FamilySearch.org to see if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has microfilmed copies of the records that you can borrow for $7.50 per roll and use at your closest Family History Center or affiliate library. Also, the FHL is in the process of digitizing and making available many of its microfilmed records, so when you check the catalog, you might be lucky enough to find that images of the records appear online at FamilySearch..

•    "I found reference in a book to a manuscript collection that might have information on my ancestor. Do you have those manuscripts here? If not, where can they be found?"

The Genealogy Center does not maintain a collection of manuscripts – any personal genealogy files, letters, and other papers that are donated to The Center are either preservation photocopied, bound, catalogued, and put on our shelves, or scanned and made available digitally on our website. The Center does have a number of books that describe manuscript collections held at other libraries and archives. Check the front part of the book that mentions the collection to see if it tells what facility holds the manuscripts. Then Google that facility to find contact information for inquiring about getting copies from the collection.
 
The advice that has been given in a couple of these examples will work to solve many of the questions you might have about record indexes and abstracts held in The Genealogy Center’s collection – after you find your ancestor’s name in the book, look at the front matter for an explanation of what the book includes, what abbreviations and symbols mean, when the book was compiled, and where the original material was held at that time. The book might even provide steps for securing copies of the original records – at least as the procedure was at the time of publication. Then you might Google the record facility to obtain contact information so you can inquire about current procedures. Whereas we used to have to request records by mail, enclosing a check and self-addressed, stamped envelope, you might be able to place your order online, pay with credit card, and receive the record as a digital copy sent to your email address!

And if the book has no explanation in the front (or back), or has an explanation you don’t understand – please bring it to the Ask Desk and let one of The Genealogy Center’s reference librarians try to help. We have seen (almost) everything and will be happy to try to help you crack the code and determine what your next step should be in securing a copy of the record you need.