April 2022

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne No. 218, April 30, 2022

In this issue:

Preserving Our Memories and Stories with Photographs

Review of Trafford Cole’s “Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, & Other Records in Family History Research.”

Upper Peninsula Digital Network

Technology Tip of the Month: Adobe Elements 2019--Exploring the Shape Tool

PERSI Gems: Harrowing or Heavenly Handwriting

History Tidbits: The State of Franklin

Genealogy Center’s May 2022 Programs

Staying Informed about Genealogy Center Programming

Genealogy Center Social Media

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Genealogy Center Queries

Publishing Note

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Preserving Our Memories and Stories with Photographs by Curt B. Witcher

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Many have written about the importance of photographs and images when researching and telling our families’ stories. Indeed, a number of articles have appeared in “Genealogy Gems” over the years addressing the importance of discovering and preserving the photographs evidencing the lives of our ancestors. And I want to spend a few moments doing the same again this month. Likely showing my age, whenever I think about photographs and family history, I am reminded of the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Bookends.” Part of the lyrics are, “. . . I have a photograph. Preserve your memories. They’re all that’s left you.”  Those lyrics ring so true for so many of us. We are almost over-the-moon excited when we or another family member discovers a photo we have never seen before. We work to not only identify the relative in the photograph but also the surroundings and context--the place, the event, and others in the image. Some websites and information providers report that this year 1.72 trillion photographs will be taken around the world. It is such a blessing that so many photographs can be taken and live completely digitally on devices we carry with us all the time. It’s also such a challenge that it’s so easy to take hundreds of images a day because it’s just as easy to forget about these images. It is increasingly easy to be quite casual with our memories, forgetting that those photographic images may be all that is left for our grandchildren’s grandchildren. I believe it is as important as ever to take good photographs, capturing the best, full images of those people and entities we want to save, remember, and pass along to our descendants. Have you looked at photographs where there is a lot of empty space above family members’ heads? Why is that empty space there? It certainly can’t be because all the ceilings and sky shots are so interesting. Oftentimes too little attention is paid to image composition. Instead of half of a photograph being a plain ceiling, why not get a closer image of the person whose picture is being taken, or get the full person from their smiling face to their shiny (or worn) shoes. Now if it’s a family member standing in front of the gas station they own, well of course you will want to get the individual in a picture with the gas station sign in the background or over the person’s head. Being intentional about image composition can really make a difference in the images you have to preserve and present to family members. We have all likely viewed photographs of individuals with a bright sun or very bright lighting behind them. Such settings typically hide the details of the faces you’re trying to capture. One almost ends up with shadows or silhouettes of the people whose picture is trying to be taken. Being aware of one’s light source and taking pictures where the light source is in front of the subjects being photographed often gives one better images. That can make a very substantial difference. We have a virtual program on May 17, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. EDT to help us all take better photographs. Entitled, “I Came, I Saw, I Captured: Photography Skills for Beginners,” this program with Louis N. Hodges Jr. will provide useful tips for taking better photographs.  We have another virtual program on May 24, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. EDT entitled “Preservation Primer, Part One: The Basics of Preserving Our Physical Artifacts.” In that presentation, I will be sharing some good, common sense things we should be doing to ensure the physical items that evidence our families’ stories will last long after we are gone. There will be some mention of how to preserve and share photographs.   On that last day of May, we will be offering a third program that may be of use in ensuring our photographs are properly preserved. Kay Spears will be presenting “Preserving Your Family's History Through Scanning” at 2:30 p.m. EDT that day.  I am sure she will be using photographic examples during her presentation. You will find all three of these virtual programs listed again in the complete listing of May program further on in this ezine. Taking good photographs and doing a good job preserving and sharing those images is so vital to sharing our families’ stories. One final very important point is that photos are critical in reminiscence therapy, which our friends at Vivid-Pix define as “the discussion of past activities, events, and experiences with another person or group of people, usually with the aid of tangible prompts, such as photographs, household, and other familiar items from the past, music, and archive sound recordings.” Research done by Vivid-Pix indicates that this therapy done with family pictures has been proven to be of great help to those on the dementia spectrum, making them calmer and improving their quality of life. Yet another reason to treasure photographs . . .

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Review of Trafford Cole’s “Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, & Other Records in Family History Research.” by Elizabeth Hodges

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With approximately 4 million Italians immigrating to the United States through New York between 1890 and 1914, they comprise one of the largest ethnic groups to arrive in the United States in the early 20th century (Cole, 6). Italian genealogical records are incredibly rich with information, but from an American perspective, they can appear daunting at first. Trafford R. Cole’s guidebook “Italian Genealogical Records” (945 C67I) is an essential guide for anyone researching Italian ancestors. This guide offers a thorough outline of existing, available sources, where to find them, how to read them, and how to obtain additional information by mail. While he stresses the need to know your ancestors’ town of origin, Cole does include methods of finding that information in Italian records after exhausting records in the United States. “Italian Genealogical Records” is broken up into three parts. The first part gives researchers context for how historical events and figures influenced Italian genealogical records. The second part explains the types of records: civil vital records, Napoleonic civil records, parish records, and non-Catholic ecclesiastical records (i.e. Greek Orthodox, Jewish records, etc.). This section also includes a chapter dedicated to such sources as conscription and military records, tax lists, censuses, and passenger lists/emigration records. The third section of “Italian Genealogical Records” includes thorough explanations of where to find records and how to access them. This section also includes advice on how to read the records themselves and an immensely helpful list of translations of common words, occupations, months, days of the week, and numbers in Italian, Italian Ordinal, Latin, and Latin Ordinal with their abbreviated counterparts. After detailing what information to look for in civil and parish records, Cole has a section in Chapter 12 dedicated to handwriting. Most historical handwriting can be a challenge, but the handwriting in Italian records is an entirely different beast. Cole provides examples of handwriting variations of alphabet characters found in documents from the 1500s through the early 1900s. This is a helpful resource for those struggling to decipher difficult handwriting. Since this book was first published in 1995, there are some updates that the 2022 researcher would need to know. Most importantly, most of (if not all) the Family History Library microfilm that Cole references has been digitized and is now located on FamilySearch. The FamilySearch Research Wiki is the best place to start looking for those digitized records. Despite the advancements with the FamilySearch digitized microfilm, the information and advice Cole’s “Italian Genealogical Records” is still an invaluable resource for researchers at any skill level. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Italy_Genealogy

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Upper Peninsula Digital Network by Melissa C. Tennant

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A remote region of the country with a unique cultural environment, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is often underrepresented in Michigan historical resources available online. With late 19th and early 20th century immigrants from Italy, Scandinavia, Norway, Poland, Austria, and more migrating to work for the copper and iron mines, lumber, railroad, and shipping industries, the Upper Peninsula offers a diverse array of genealogical records and ethnic groups for researchers to explore. The “Upper Peninsula Digital Network” called “UPLINK,” https://uplink.nmu.edu/ is a centralized access point to Upper Peninsula cultural, historical, social history, and genealogical sources from university archives, public libraries, and local museums. Resources that can be found online for free at “UPLINK” include newspapers, photographs from around the region, and oral history projects. Each of the collections are housed by different entities and can have varying formats, so researchers are encouraged to review the searching and browsing tips. Access options include searching for a name, company, or town from the main page, scroll to the list of institutions available at the bottom of the main page and click on an institution and complete a search, or review the material available through each institution and search within the specific collection of interest. There are more details about the collections and what can be found as you move into the institution pages. For example, the Peter White Public Library page provides access to the “Marquette Mining Journal,” an important central Upper Peninsula newspaper published in Marquette, Michigan. The images currently available and searchable are 1868-1885 and 1916-1924, with more to be added in the future. The Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives has an ethnic focused project called the Italian American Oral History Project, a twenty-year project documenting Italian immigration to the Upper Peninsula. The project was in partnership with the Paisano Club of Upper Michigan and expanded into the nearby areas of Wisconsin and Ontario. Within this collection, there are 150 individuals interviewed. Details for some of the companies can be found from more than one local repository, such as the Champion Mine, located in Painesdale, Houghton County, Michigan. The Copper Range Historical Museum hosts the Copper Range Company Records 1898-1966, which primarily has documents from the Champion Mine, where one can find employees named within the material; and the Copper Range Historical Society Photograph Collection of the Copper Range Company covering 1900 – 1940. Under the Painesdale Mine and Shaft, Inc., a researcher can learn about the work being done to preserve the Champion Mine # 4 Shaft House. This collection features photos and videos of the area and interviews with former employees. They also have aerial photos from the United States Geological Survey from 1938-1980. Other genealogically rich materials can be found, such as the Menominee County Library collections, which includes an obituary index for the “Menominee County Journal” from 1893-2020, while the Ontonagon County Historical Society offers Ontonagon County plat maps for 1880-1940. When researching ancestors in specific regions and communities, search for digital collections from the local repositories to learn more about the social and cultural history of the area. “UPLINK” is an excellent example of a free regional resource with outstanding local collections.

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Technology Tip of the Month: Adobe Elements 2019--Exploring the Shape Tool by Kay Spears

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We’re going to have some fun now! Let me start out by saying “it all depends.” I am talking about shapes in relation to Elements 2019. If you have a different version, newer or older, the shape tool may be located in different areas of your Toolbar. So, look for something that looks like a rectangle and says: Rectangle Tool. This will be your Shape tool. All of the versions of Elements have the Shape Tool. The Shape Tool doesn’t have anything to do with restoring your old family photograph. It is all about adding an effect, or effects, to an image. This tool allows you to release your inner artist. If you have a version of Elements that has a Guided Tab, I suggest you find the Shape Overlay Effects in the Fun Edits and experiment. But for this article, we are going to be in the Expert mode. To get an idea what this tool can do, I suggest you create a white workspace instead of opening a photograph. To do that, go to File>New>Blank File. This opens up a dialog box. Because this is an experiment, set the size at what you want. Just make sure that your Background Contents are set at White. Click OK. Now you should have a white canvas on which you are going to experiment with your shape. Find your Shape Tool on your Tool Box. Depending on which version you have, it should look like a rectangle. In newer versions it is located in the Draw group next to the Color Picker. If you hover over the icons, there should be a pop-up button that says Rectangle Tool. If you have used the tool before, that icon will be the last tool you have used. Once you have clicked on it, the Shape – Rectangle options open up. There are a ton of options with this tool. You can pick any shape you want; even select the Custom Shape and then select from more shapes. Some of the other tool options are: Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse Tool, Polygon Tool, Star Tool, Line Tool, Custom Tool, Shape Selection. Also, there are Color Menu, Styles, Unconstrained Square, Fixed Shape, Proportional, Create New layer, Add to Shape Area, Subtract to Shape Area, Intersect Shape Area, Exclude Overlapping Shape Area, and Simplify. One of the important things to remember with the Shape Tool is that it is a Vector being used in a Raster program. Every time you create a shape, Elements creates a layer. Unless you change the default shape setting, each shape has its own little home. If you want all of your shapes on one layer, choose Add to Shape Area. Let’s click our Custom Shape and choose a shape. I’m going to pick the snowflake just because I can’t get enough snow. Move your cursor to the white canvas. Your cursor should change to crosshair. Drag and release. You should have a shape on your canvas. It will be whatever foreground color is on your palette. You can change that color by double clicking on the shape layer on your layer palette or opening the color menu in your tool options. Experiment with the colors. Actually, experiment with all the options. Check out the Styles Tool, and see all the amazing things you can do to the shape. The Shape Tool is one of those tools in Elements that you can have fun with. Flip back and forth with the Guided Tab and the Expert Tab. Change the colors and style. Stretch, rotate, distort. Do all kinds of things. Be creative, have fun, and explore. Next article: Adobe Elements 2019 the Text Tool

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PERSI Gems: Harrowing or Heavenly Handwriting by Adam Barrone and Mike Hudson

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Last month, in anticipation of the 1950 census release, we mentioned the adventures of Joanne Metcalfe in her role as a 1950 census enumerator. After the release, we sought the product of her work in Coos Co., Oregon, and found her signature, most often as “J. Metcalfe” on many census sheets throughout the county. As a crew leader, she signed off on the work of other enumerators. In addition to dealing with members of the population who did not appreciate her probing questions, she also had to decipher the handwriting of those canvassing under her supervision. “Writes neatly and legibly” was among the “requirements and desirable skills” for a 1950 census enumerator. In our experience, some enumerators were qualified in this regard. Others were quite deficient. Interpreting handwritten records is a vital skill for family historians and those authors and volunteers who work to transcribe and index historical records for the benefit of researchers. Federal census indexing is a particular challenge because of the large number of distinct individuals, each with a unique handwriting style, who set ink to this permanent record. Working through an enumeration district, an indexer becomes accustomed to the peculiarities of the script on the page just in time to start work on the next district’s entries recorded in a different hand. The Periodical Source Index (PERSI) cites a variety of how-to articles written to aid researchers. Deciphering handwriting from distant times and places is among the topics of these helpful articles. Also found in PERSI are references to tales of individuals who once held a pen or dotted an i. Try a search here: https://www.genealogycenter.info/persi/ Albert Watts Casboult-Lucy Sophia Arnold postcards written in code, c. 1910, Tasmania; Aus. Australian Family Tree Connections, Vol. 14, Issue 5 (May 2006) Analysis of Juan Pablo Grijalva colonial soldier's handwriting Somos Primos (Society of Hispanic Historical & Ancestral Research, CA), Oct 2004 Big Thunder saw handwriting on wall Missouri Historical Review, Vol. 46, Issue 3 (Apr 1952) Ease the pain of bad handwriting RCGS Quarterly (Rockwall County Genealogy Society, TX), Issue 2 (Apr 2000) Golden age of penmanship, 1850-1925 Quatrefoil (Adams Co. Hist. Soc., WI), Win 2006 Golden Jubilee Queen Committee Contest, most interesting handwriting winners, 1939 British Columbia Genealogist, Vol. 46, Issue 4 (Dec 2017) History of American script and how to read it, 14th-18th C. American Spirit (Daughters of the American Revolution), Vol. 151, Issue 1 (Jan 2017) Jan Duga, first female Ohio State University Marching Band member to dot the i in Script Ohio, 1979 Ohio State University Monthly (The), Vol. 71, Issue 2 (Oct 1979) Lack of cursive writing instruction in schools, implications for museums, editorial, 2017 MASSOG (Massachusetts Society of Genealogists), Vol. 42, Issue 3 (2017) Richard Barter a good scribe if he had a good pen, Longparish Register note, n.d., England Hampshire (Eng.) Family Historian, Vol. 11, Issue 2 (Aug 1984) Three Madden School students selected for handwriting demonstration, 1917 Lake County, IL, Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 30, Issue 3 (Jan 2010)

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History Tidbits: The State of Franklin By Allison DePrey Singleton

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Often when we are researching, we find the names of locations we have never heard of. Where were the states of Franklin, Lincoln, and Jefferson? There were many times throughout U.S. history when new states were proposed and never came into fruition. Let’s look at what happened with the state of Franklin. The leaders of the proposed state of Franklin chose to name it after one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. Formed in 1784, the state would have been located in what is currently East Tennessee and, during the time period, part of western North Carolina. Its founders decided to appeal to the common man, by banning doctors and lawyers from running for the legislature and making the decision not to tax their residents for at least the first two years. Despite early hopes for its success, Franklin’s leaders were unable to garner enough support for its creation. More than half of the states in the union approved Franklin entering the United States, but it fell short of the required two-thirds majority. Proponents sought the assistance of its namesake, Benjamin Franklin, to win approval from the remaining states, but he did not support its creation and refused to assist them. Despite never being an official state, Franklin’s leaders decided to act as though it were one and elected a government. The end came when Native American tribes began attacking the frontier settlements in Franklin, and the government attempted to persuade Spain to rule the state. The North Carolina state government opposed this idea and arrested Franklin’s governor. Once the men of Franklin swore an oath to North Carolina, the government there sent the militia to aid in ending the attacks. The state of Franklin dissolved into North Carolina in 1789 and became part of the new state of Tennessee in 1796. Many notable men hailed from Franklin, including its governor, John Sevier (who also became the first governor of Tennessee), and Davy Crockett. Sources and Further Reading: Barksdale, K. T. (2015). The Lost State of Franklin America's First secession. The University Press of Kentucky. Driver, C. S. (1973). John Sevier, pioneer of the Old Southwest. Gerson, N. B. (1968). Franklin, America's "Lost state". Crowell-Collier Press. State of Franklin. North Carolina History Project. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/state-of-franklin/ Williams, S. (2020). History of the lost state of Franklin. Heritage Books.

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Genealogy Center’s May 2022 Programs

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Join us for another month of free, virtual programs! May 3, 2022, 2:30 p.m. EDT “Genealogy Research at the Alabama Department of Archives & History” with Courtney Pinkard - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6533727 May 5, 2022, 6:30 p.m. EDT “Continuing Use of the Genealogical Proof Standard and DNA as Power Tools in Your Research” with John Beatty - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6533717 May 10, 2022, 2:30 p.m. EDT “Researching at the Mississippi Archives” with Ally Mellon - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6533693 May 12, 2022, 6:30 p.m. EDT “Ask the Experts: Death, Dying, and Genealogy” with Allison Singleton, Curt Witcher, and Elizabeth Hodges - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6588393 May 17, 2022, 2:30 p.m. EDT “I Came, I Saw, I Captured: Photography Skills for Beginners” with Louis N. Hodges Jr. - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6588579 May 19, 2022, 6:30 p.m. EDT “What Happens After Death: Finding and Using Probate Records” with David Singleton - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6590390 May 24, 2022, 2:30 p.m. EDT “Preservation Primer, Part One: The Basics of Preserving our Physical Artifacts” with Curt Witcher - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6588624 May 26, 2022, 6:30 p.m. EDT “Preservation Primer, Part Two: The Basics of Writing our Stories to Preserve our Families' Histories” with Curt Witcher - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6588657 May 31, 2022, 2:30 p.m. EDT “Preserving Your Family's History Through Scanning” with Kay Spears - https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6588685 Please register in advance for these engaging programs.

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Staying Informed about Genealogy Center Programming

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Do you want to know what we have planned? Are you interested in one of our events, but forget? We offer email updates for The Genealogy Center’s programming schedule. Don’t miss out! Sign up at http://goo.gl/forms/THcV0wAabB.

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Genealogy Center Social Media

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenealogyCenter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genealogycenter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACPLGenealogy

Blog: http://www.genealogycenter.org/Community/Blog.aspx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/askacpl

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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%20Webst er%20St&city=Fort%20Wayne&state=IN&zipcode=46802%2d3602&country=US&geodiff=1 >From the South Exit Interstate 69 at exit 302. 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 312. 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 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 $85. 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. The meters take credit cards and charge at a rate of $1/hour. Street parking is free after 5 p.m. 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 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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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. Curt B. Witcher and John D. Beatty, CG, co-editors