April 2011

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 86, April 30, 2011

In this issue:

Springing Into Spring

Researching Our Routes (Route 66)

The Cotton Bureau

Technology Tip of the Month--Creating and Using Color Channels in Adobe Elements

Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Disaster Preparedness

Down to the Fine Print: Exploring The Genealogy Center

German Genealogy: A Two Day Mini-Course

One-On-One Consultations

Fort Wayne Ancestry Day 2011

Out and About

Area Calendar of Events

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Queries for The Genealogy Center

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Springing Into Spring by Curt B. Witcher

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During the spring of '11, we are truly springing forward in the number of new records and images available for free use on our GenealogyCenter.org website. If it has been a while since you conducted a site search or browsed the site, you may want to take a few minutes to explore it again. This month we eclipsed fifty thousand records and images in the "Military Heritage" portion of The Genealogy Center website. Our friend, Anne Budd, also has continued her work on the “Evangelical Messenger,” most recently transcribing the earliest obituaries--back to the first issue of the paper! Now there are nearly ninety-eight thousand records in that data set. On April 12th of this month, the commemorative activities for the War Between the States started in earnest with the commemoration of the firing on Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor. Most consider that event the official start of the American Civil War. During the next four years, there will be many hundreds of programs, publications, and web sites providing interested researchers with access to amazing amounts of data on the lives of the men and women who lived during that historic time period. Add to that the fact that Memorial Day 2011 will take place in just a few weeks and one cannot help but think of military ancestors and the role they played in securing the freedoms we enjoy today. I urge you to take time over the next several weeks to preserve and share information about your ancestors' military service. Whether your ancestors served in the 21st, 20th, 19th, or 18th century, The Genealogy Center here in Fort Wayne would be honored to preserve information about that service in the "Military Heritage" portion of our website, where the data you share could benefit many generations of researchers. Certainly we want you to protect the privacy of living veterans in your family. Consider, though, for your living veterans what a neat honor it might be for you to share a photograph of your loved one in uniform with his or her name and unit identification, or a picture of your veteran hanging-out with his buddies on base, in a mess hall, or just before going out on patrol. Scan the documents and photographs at 300 dpi, save them as "tif" images, and send them to us on a disk. We would be grateful, and you would be honoring your military ancestor. There are a number of exciting learning opportunities in May as well as in the coming summer months. In the very first week in May, the series of programs called “Down to the Fine Print: Exploring The Genealogy Center” is a great way to learn the details necessary to successfully navigate The Genealogy Center for your maximum research benefit. More details can be found further on in this ezine. May 23 through May 28, 2011, we are hosting our friends from the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) as they conduct a first-ever research tour to The Genealogy Center here in Fort Wayne. NEHGS is the society that produces the wonderful “American Ancestors” collection of databases that is available to users of The Genealogy Center. A direct link to register for their tour can be found on their website at: http://web1.americanancestors.org/Content.aspx?id=23511 They have invited all who are interested to attend their presentations at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 25th (“Preserving Your Personal Family Papers”) and Thursday, May 26th (“Going Digital: Organizing Your Research Files Electronically”). If you have New England ancestors, registering for this tour might be just the ticket to solving some of your research road-blocks. Registered members of the tour are entitled to extensive research consultation sessions. And speaking of first ever, The Genealogy Center and Ancestry.com are hosting “Fort Wayne Ancestry Day 2011” on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, which is right across the street from the library. For twenty dollars, you will get a day packed with genealogical information--five sessions in all--presented by recognized experts, with one of the sessions being a panel discussion. Session details and registration information are further on in this ezine. It could be a great, summer genealogical outing! Fill your summer with some family history fun--come “play” in The Genealogy Center!

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Researching Our Routes (Route 66) by Delia Cothrun Bourne

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Summer always takes me back to the 1960s, when my family moved twice to California and back, and took vacations back east other years to visit relatives. Usually at least part of each of these trips was spent on Route 66, the “Mother Road.” The Lincoln Highway, from Philadelphia across the Midwest (including right through downtown Fort Wayne) is older and, with its own well-respected historical society, gets lots of attention from scholarly sources. Route 66 is newer, brash, born in the 1920s and came of age during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. It thrived during the boom in family travel in the 1950s and 1960s and seems like a road-side souvenir stand compared to the museum-like quality of the Lincoln Highway‛s image. Some historical attention has been paid to Route 66, however, and The Genealogy Center has several volumes that detail its history and scenery. Michael Wallis‛s “Route 66: The Mother Road” (973 W158RO) includes information about the roads that existed before Route 66 was created, then devotes a chapter to the route in each state with history and pictures, interspersed with biographies and memories of those associated with the highway. “Route 66 Remembered,” by Michael Karl Witzel (973 AA1WI), has chapters on filling stations, motels, restaurants and tourist traps. And “Route 66: America‛s First Main Street,” by Spencer Crump (973 C888RO), contains a directory of American automobiles built during the route‛s heyday, as well as historical notes, photos and detailed maps. Several other books in the collection deal with Route 66 by state, county or city, and many are part of the Images of America series, each volume including brief historical notes and wonderful black and white photos with detailed captions. One is “Route 66 in Chicago,” by David G. Clark (977.302 C43CKY), which includes a map showing the route through city and suburbs. Some of these volumes provide information on the surrounding area‛s history and tourism, while others concentrate on the road itself, and what could be seen along the way, such as “Route 66 in New Mexico” by Joe Sonderman (978.9 SO572R), which includes many photos of motels and restaurants. Local groups also have paid homage to Route 66, as with Terri Ryburn-LaMonte‛s “Route 66: Goin‛ Somewhere: The Road in McLean County,” published by the McLean County (Illinois) Historical Society (977.301 M22RM), which contains historical material and the turn-by-turn tour of Route 66 in the county. The main library collection has additional copies of some of these volumes that are available for checkout. There are no lists of travelers, but these books are wonderful sources for learning about what your family‛s experiences may have been like as they got their kicks on Route 66.

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The Cotton Bureau by Melissa Shimkus

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Before the Civil War, cotton was in great demand by Northern U.S. textile manufacturers and European firms. The Confederate government tried to exploit this need during the early years of the war by blocking the sale of cotton to the Northern states and limiting cotton exportation to Europe in an attempt to convince foreign powers to support the Confederacy. The Trans-Mississippi Department, created in 1862, directed the Southern war effort in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and the section of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, as well as in the Indian and Arizona Territories. In March 1863, the Department began seizing supplies, including slaves and crops, for the Southern campaign. Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith, head of the Trans-Mississippi Department, recognized that the seized cotton could be a financial bonus for the Confederacy and ordered agents to begin selling the cotton to Northern traders. Smith created the Cotton Bureau in August of 1863 to regulate the sale of Southern cotton to Northern firms. “Records of the Cotton Bureau of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate War Department, 1862-1865” is a fifty-reel microfilm set in The Genealogy Center that includes documents and correspondence of the Cotton Bureau. The set does not have a comprehensive index, but some individual sections of the records include indexes on the films. For example, the general correspondence of the Cotton Bureau‛s headquarters office in Shreveport, Louisiana is on Rolls 1 through 9 of the set, and the index to those papers is on Roll 10. Besides general records of cotton commerce during the Civil War, the Cotton Bureau records include gems that illustrate the history of the time and can provide important nuggets of genealogical data. For example, an 1863 letter from W. H. Darnum describes John Harrison, Sarah Chitton and Mary Lou Harrison fleeing to Selma, Alabama. There is also documentation for the 1864 court martial of Andrew W. McKee, convicted of selling Confederate cotton for his own use in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, and sentenced to be “shot to death with musketry.” Those researching African Americans can find listings of slaves, as well as information on slave owners who conducted business with the Cotton Bureau, such as William J. Tolbert who was due $30.60, in 1865, for the hiring of his slave Henry under the Impressment Act. The value of the Cotton Bureau records is threefold: They are a source of data about the cotton industry during the Civil War, provide general historical information on life in the western regions of the South during this time period, and may include genealogical tidbits for particular families who were directly involved with this organization.

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Technology Tip of the Month--Creating and Using Color Channels in Adobe Elements by Kay Spears

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In a previous article, I mentioned the ability to correct photographs using the “layers channel,” a feature only available in Adobe Photoshop. Well, I have found a way to duplicate this fix using Adobe Elements. A few extra steps are required, but the results are almost the same. Open the image you would like to correct, then go to your Layers palette, right click on Background and choose Layer From Background. When the New Layer dialog box appears, name the layer blue. Then right click on the blue thumbnail on your Layers palette and choose Duplicate Layer. Name that layer green. Then right click on the green thumbnail, choose Duplicate Layer and name it red. You should have three layers in your Layers palette: Red, Green, and Blue. Next, in your Layers palette, click on the red layer and go to Menu>Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels, or press “Ctrl+L” on your keyboard. Either of these methods will open your Levels dialog box. You should see a Channel drop down box. The default setting will be RGB. Click on the drop down arrow and choose red. While you are still in the dialog box, locate the slider bar under the Input Levels Chart and move the white slider on the far right all the way over to the left. Your image should be red. Click ok. Now go to the green layer, and repeat the same steps, but choose green instead of red. Click ok. Then, repeat the process on the blue layer. When you finish these steps, the large image in your workspace will be red, but your Layers palette will have red, green and blue thumbnail images. The thumbnail layer at the top of the list in your Layers palette will be displayed in your workspace. Check the quality of the red image, and then turn it off by clicking on the “eye” to the left of the thumbnail image. The next layer on the list will display. In a similar fashion, check and compare the quality of the image for each layer. After you decide which layer looks best, discard the other two by dragging them to the trash can located on the Layers palette. (It may be in a different location depending on the version of Elements you have.) Lastly, to remove the color from your image go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. When asked if you want to discard color information, say ok. At this point, you will have a black and white image which you can tweak a little more, as needed. If desired, you can add the color back in by going to Image>Mode>RGB.

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Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Disaster Preparedness by Curt B. Witcher

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All the horrible weather that has plagued such a large part of the country reminds us again of how important disaster preparedness is for our genealogical materials and family heirlooms. Typically we don‛t think about what to do with these items until it‛s too late. When you‛re in a tornado shelter or being evacuated because a critical dam or levy just broke--that is not the time to begin your disaster planning. Many have heard the acronym LOCKSS, which stands for Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe. And that is the best way to prepare for a disaster when it comes to your genealogical documents. With the ease and low cost of scanning and digital technology, and the high quality of the scanned images, think very seriously about creating a digital archive of your family photograph albums and other important family documents. And then don‛t store that digital archive right next to your computer, or even in the same house! Send it to a relative in another town, or create a space for your family history on WeRelate.org and post your digital documents there. You can also consider what many thousands of people are doing--using cloud storage such as Mozy, Dropbox, and Carbonite. Most offer significant storage space at a reasonable cost. Prepare to preserve your family treasures before disaster strikes.

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”Down to the Fine Print: Exploring The Genealogy Center”

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Mark your schedule the first week of May to learn more about The Genealogy Center and take advantage of virtual tours of our new website and our new catalog, as well as a behind the scenes look at some of our projects. Some events are repeated in hopes you‛ll find several that fit your schedule. Sunday, May 1, Genealogy Center Tour, 1:00-2:00 p.m. -- Take a tour of The Genealogy Center! Learn something new or be reminded of what you've forgotten. Meet in The Genealogy Center Orientation area. Monday, May 2, Website Tour, 2:00-3:00 p.m. -- Lost in the new Genealogy Center website? Take a guided virtual tour through all of the information awaiting your visit! Meeting Room C. Tuesday, May 3, Catalog Tour, 2:00-3:45 p.m. -- How do I locate a book? Where are the call numbers? How do I make a list? Find out all this and more by taking a virtual tour of The Genealogy Center catalog! Meeting Room C. Wednesday, May 4, Genealogy Center Tour, 6:30-7:30 p.m. -- Take a tour of The Genealogy Center! Learn something new or be reminded of what you've forgotten. Meet in The Genealogy Center Orientation area. Thursday, May 5, Processing, Scanning and Fine Materials Tour, 10:00-11:00 a.m. -- This behind-the-scenes tour will show where our material is ordered, cataloged and processed for the collection, and where material is scanned for easy access via the Internet, as well as take a peek into the Fine Book Area. Meet in The Genealogy Center Orientation area. Friday, May 6, Catalog Tour, 10:00-11:45 a.m. -- How do I locate a book? Where are the call numbers? How do I make a list? Find out all this and more by taking a virtual tour of The Genealogy Center catalog! Meeting Room A. Saturday May 7, Genealogy Center Tour, 10:00-11:00 a.m. -- Take a tour of The Genealogy Center! Learn something new or be reminded of what you've forgotten. Meet in The Genealogy Center Orientation area. Space is limited, so register early for these free tours by sending us an email to Genealogy@ACPL.Info or by calling 260-421-1225.

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German Genealogy: A Two Day Mini-Course

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The Genealogy Center is pleased to offer a new two day mini-course, German Genealogy, on June 9 & 10, 2011. Led by instructors John Beatty, MA, MLS, and Steve Myers, MLS, this workshop is an excellent introduction for researchers with little or no experience in German records and covers basic sources and techniques that lead to success. Classes will cover the following topics. ”An Introduction to German Genealogical Research” - Identifying an immigrant ancestor and their specific place of origin are the keys to research in German records. Learn about North American sources for finding these essential starting points. ”Using German Church Records” - Learn how to locate, access, and utilize German church records. Search strategies and examples will be discussed. ”Advancing Your Research with the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)” - Learn how to plan a successful search, gather evidence, and record and document what you find. ”German Maps, Gazetteers & Other Important Printed Sources” - Learn how to use maps and gazetteers to locate your ancestor's place of origin and its associated record-keeping jurisdictions. Other important German-language genealogical publications will also be introduced. ”Swiss Genealogical Records” - Learn how to begin your Swiss research, find American sources for Swiss immigrants, utilize Swiss biographical and heraldic sources, and locate and interpret Swiss church records. ”Palatines Along the Hudson: Researching 18th Century Settlers on Livingston Manor” - Learn about sources available to genealogists tracing ancestors on this important New York manor, including surviving manuscript collections such as the Robert R. Livingston Papers. Additionally there will be a tour of The Genealogy Center and assisted research/consultation times both days. For more information, see the brochure at http://www.genealogycenter.org/Libraries/Brochures/German_Gen_brochure_2011ReducedSize.sfl b.ashx. As with all of our mini-courses, space is limited. Registration is $50 (Please make check payable to: "ACPL Foundation"). Cancellation after May 26, 2011 will incur a $20 administrative fee. Attendance is limited, so register early to avoid disappointment. For more information, call 260- 421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info. ***************************************

One-On-One Consultations

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The Genealogy Center is offering a new monthly program: 30-minute “One-on-One Consultations” with a staff member! Consultations are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month, from 2 pm to 4 pm. Just contact us by email at Genealogy@ACPL.Info and provide a detailed summation of your research quandary, and indicate which fourth Wednesday works best for you. Based on your research challenge, a staff member will be selected, and a date and time established. Space is limited with this popular program, so contact us in advance to insure you get the date you need. If you have questions, contact us at Genealogy@ACPL.Info, or call 260-421-1225.

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Fort Wayne Ancestry Day 2011

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The Genealogy Center is pleased to announce that the experts at Ancestry.com are coming to Fort Wayne July 22 and 23, 2011 to share their knowledge and expertise with you! The fun and learning will start Friday night, July 22, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., when you can pick up your name tag, handout materials, and chat with the experts at the Fort Wayne Hilton Atrium. The actual classes will start Saturday morning, July 23, 2011 at the Grand Wayne Center, which is connected to the Fort Wayne Hilton. The schedule for that Saturday includes the following classes. 9 a.m.--Insider Search Tips for Ancestry.com 10:15 a.m.--How to Find Civil War Roots at Ancestry.com. 11:15 a.m.--Lunch break: Catch a bite at restaurants nearby and/or talk with the experts 1 p.m.--Hidden Treasures of The Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne 2:15 p.m.--A Dozen Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Project 3:30 p.m.--Ask The Experts Panel The cost for the full day's classes, held at the Grand Wayne Center, right across from the library, is just $20. For more information and to register, click http://fortwayneancestryday.eventbrite.com/. Register for this event today! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to join us for Ancestry Day!

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Out and About

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Curt Witcher May 11, 2011, National Genealogical Society Annual Conference, North Charleston Convention Center, Charleston, SC, 4 p.m.: “Mining the Motherlode: Using Periodical Literature for Genealogical Research.” May 14, 2011, National Genealogical Society Annual Conference, North Charleston Convention Center, Charleston, SC, 11 a.m.: “Roll Call: New Sites and Sources for Military Records and Research.” May 16, 2011, Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society, Portage District Library, 300 Library Lane, Portage, MI, 7 p.m.: “Researching Your Civil War Ancestors.”

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Area Calendar of Events

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Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) May 11, 2011--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program. John Beatty and Curt Sylvester will present, “Colonial Era Research.” Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN May 1, 2011, 2 p.m.--Angie Quinn will present “‛Fearless Champion of the Oppressed, and the Advocate of the Slaves:‛ The Story of Alexander T. Rankin.”

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Driving Directions to the Library

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Wondering how to get to the library? Our location is 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the block bordered on the south by Washington Boulevard, the west by Ewing Street, the north by Wayne Street, and the east by the Library Plaza, formerly Webster Street. We would enjoy having you visit the Genealogy Center. To get directions from your exact location to 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, visit this link at MapQuest: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=900%20Web ster%20St&city=Fort%20Wayne&state=IN&zipcode=46802%2d3602&country=US&geodiff=1 >From the South Exit Interstate 69 at exit 102. Drive east on Jefferson Boulevard into downtown. Turn left on Ewing Street. The Library is one block north, at Ewing Street and Washington Boulevard. Using US 27: US 27 turns into Lafayette Street. Drive north into downtown. Turn left at Washington Boulevard and go five blocks. The Library will be on the right. >From the North Exit Interstate 69 at exit 112. Drive south on Coldwater Road, which merges into Clinton Street. Continue south on Clinton to Washington Boulevard. Turn right on Washington and go three blocks. The Library will be on the right. >From the West Using US 30: Drive into town on US 30. US 30 turns into Goshen Ave. which dead-ends at West State Blvd. Make an angled left turn onto West State Blvd. Turn right on Wells Street. Go south on Wells to Wayne Street. Turn left on Wayne Street. The Library will be in the second block on the right. Using US 24: After crossing under Interstate 69, follow the same directions as from the South. >From the East Follow US 30/then 930 into and through New Haven, under an overpass into downtown Fort Wayne. You will be on Washington Blvd. when you get into downtown. Library Plaza will be on the right.

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Parking at the Library

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At the Library, underground parking can be accessed from Wayne Street. Other library parking lots are at Washington and Webster, and Wayne and Webster. Hourly parking is $1 per hour with a $7 maximum. ACPL library card holders may use their cards to validate the parking ticket at the west end of the Great Hall of the Library. Out of county residents may purchase a subscription card with proof of identification and residence. The current fee for an Individual Subscription Card is $70. Public lots are located at the corner of Ewing and Wayne Streets ($1 each for the first two half-hours, $1 per hour after, with a $4 per day maximum) and the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison Street ($3 per day). Street (metered) parking on Ewing and Wayne Streets. On the street you plug the meters 8am – 5pm, weekdays only. It is free to park on the street after 5pm and on the weekends. Visitor center/Grand Wayne Center garage at Washington and Clinton Streets. This is the Hilton Hotel parking lot that also serves as a day parking garage. For hourly parking, 7am – 11 pm, charges are .50 for the first 45 minutes, then $1.00 per hour. There is a flat $2.00 fee between 5pm and 11pm.

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Genealogy Center Queries

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The Genealogy Center hopes you find this newsletter interesting. Thank you for subscribing. We cannot, however, answer personal research emails written to the e-zine address. The department houses a Research Center that makes photocopies and conducts research for a fee. If you have a general question about our collection, or are interested in the Research Center, please telephone the library and speak to a librarian who will be glad to answer your general questions or send you a research center form. Our telephone number is 260-421-1225. If you‛d like to email a general information question about the department, please email: Genealogy@ACPL.Info.

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Publishing Note:

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This electronic newsletter is published by the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center, and is intended to enlighten readers about genealogical research methods as well as inform them about the vast resources of the Allen County Public Library. We welcome the wide distribution of this newsletter and encourage readers to forward it to their friends and societies. All precautions have been made to avoid errors. However, the publisher does not assume any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, no matter the cause. To subscribe to “Genealogy Gems,” simply use your browser to go to the website: www.GenealogyCenter.org. Scroll to the bottom, click on E-zine, and fill out the form. You will be notified with a confirmation email. If you do not want to receive this e-zine, please follow the link at the very bottom of the issue of Genealogy Gems you just received or send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in the subject line. Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors