August 2010

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 78, August 31, 2010

In this issue:

Great Things a‛ Happenin‛--Summer and Fall!

Publications of the Huguenot Society of London

The Gerritsen Collection of Women‛s History, 1543-1945

Technology Tip of the Month--TIFF vs. JPEG

Preservation Tip of the Month--Some Real Basics . . . Celebrate Family History Month 2010!

Attention! Military History Symposium!

Start Sharin‛ the News!

Family History: Beyond the Basics Update

Librarians on Parade

Area Calendar of Events

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Queries for The Genealogy Center

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Great Things a‛ Happenin‛--Summer and Fall! by Curt B. Witcher ***************************************

I can‛t begin to count all the individuals who exclaimed (or lamented!) sometime this past month about how fast this summer has gone by. Though most all of the K-12 schools and colleges are back in session, summer is not technically over until 11:09 p.m. on September 23rd! Make the best of the next twenty-three days--there is so much to do and explore. This summer truly has been filled with amazing numbers of new records appearing online, many accessible for free. At the recent Federation of Genealogical Societies‛ conference in Knoxville, TN, FamilySearch announced the release of 200 million new names on their beta site, FamilySearch Records Search . Add to that the 300 million names they released around the time of the National Genealogical Society conference this spring and you have more than half a billion new names with associated data available for research. Now there‛s a treat to explore! As a number of us have advised in recent years, FamilySearch is the site to watch and interact with for the immediate future. It has been announced that there is a whole new look coming to the FamilySearch websites that will integrate many of their extraordinary products and services into one, easier to use, and more intuitive interface. The research wiki at FamilySearch  has really taken off. It contains an amazing amount of useful data and links contributed by many hundreds of individuals worldwide. More than forty thousand articles are a part of that wiki--and it grows every day! Many state and local archives are presenting new indices and larger databases on their websites. If you‛re researching in a particular geographic area and have not visited the USGenWeb site for that county (or counties) or the public library websites for that region, you‛re potentially missing a tremendous amount of key data that may make a big difference in your research. The march toward more online digital data for little or no cost continues to enhance our record finding opportunities. In many areas of the country, this summer was among the hottest on record. If the oppressive heat kept you from your usual cemetery canvassing, courthouse exploring, and other family history related travel, September could be the perfect time to re-schedule those activities. September is also the best time to get those important Family History Month activities of October scheduled. New this year in our Family History Month offerings are four Tuesdays of one-on-one consultations. And it‛s not too early for you to schedule your consultation. Call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info to claim your spot. Our third annual Military Symposium is scheduled for October 8th and 9th. With the impending sesquicentennial commemorations for the War Between the States starting in 2011, our focus this year is on the Civil War. We are grateful to the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana for sponsoring this year‛s symposium. Our featured speaker is Amy Johnson Crow, a certified genealogist from Columbus, OH who has done much Civil War research and was the charter editor of the Ohio Genealogical Society‛s “Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.” The symposium is described in more detail later in this e-zine. You really need to make plans now to attend the exciting end-of-October celebration we are calling “Start Sharing the News.” The event will kick-off with a family style dinner, served by Goeglein‛s Catering, in the historic Baker Street Train Station on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. After good food and great conversation, I will be presenting a look back at how The Genealogy Center became a national tourist attraction. On Saturday, October 30th at the Main Library, several programs will be offered focusing on some aspect of using technology to share historical and genealogical data, and to help each other do better research. Twenty-first century cemetery research, Flickr, WeRelate.org, organizing and cataloging 3-D items as well as being creative with your family history will all be discussed. The weekend will conclude with a tour of historic Lindenwood Cemetery on Sunday morning. Support the Genealogy Center and enhance your abilities and avenues for sharing your genealogical data. There are just thirty days to the start of Family History Month! Have you registered for our events? I look forward to seeing many of you throughout this month--and the next!

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Publications of the Huguenot Society of London by John D. Beatty

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Many Americans can trace their ancestry to the so-called Huguenots – Protestants who were persecuted and driven from France in the seventeenth century during the reign of Louis XIV. Some of these refugees settled in the Low Countries of northern Europe, some came to America, and a significant number also fled to England and Ireland, even before their formal expulsion in 1688. There they established French-speaking congregations that were separate from the established Church of England. Many of the parish registers of these congregations have been transcribed and printed as part of a series published by the Huguenot Society of London, more recently the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland (942.006 H87pu and H87pua; many volumes are not yet listed in our online catalog). All of the volumes in the series reflect a high degree of scholarship. In addition to the register transcriptions, they also often include introductions that trace the history of the congregation. Some of these churches included not only Huguenots, but other Flemish and Dutch immigrants, known as Walloons, who settled in England after the Reformation. For example, the first volume in the series, published in 1887-88 and titled “The Walloons and their Church at Norwich: Their History and Registers, 1565-1832,” features a detailed history of the congregation that discusses the strained relations Huguenots and Walloons sometimes endured with the English Crown. In addition to the record of baptisms and marriages, which is transcribed in the original French, the volume contains a complete index. A lengthy appendix includes transcriptions of letters, official orders, certificates, and records of aliens (sometimes called “strangers”) in subsidy rolls and local wills. Other Huguenot and Walloon congregations in the series include churches from the Channel Islands and Southampton, as well as London (Threadneedle Street, Spitalfields, and Soho), Dublin, Cambridgeshire, Bristol, Plymouth, and Leicester, among others. In addition to these congregational records, the series also publishes other records of “strangers,” including three volumes of denizations and naturalizations for aliens in England and Ireland spanning from 1509 to 1800. Many persons of German birth, so-called Palatines, in addition to French and Dutch, are included. Several more volumes are devoted to lists or returns of aliens living in London from 1522 to 1625. One volume in the series lists foreign-born veterans from William III‛s regiments in Ireland, while another records inmates of the French Protestant Hospital in London from 1718 to 1957. An important and often overlooked volume pertaining to America is “Naturalizations of Foreign Protestants in the American and West Indian Colonies” (volume 24 of the series), which lists many Germans living in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania. The Publications of the Huguenot Society of London provide a rich source of information especially useful for tracing persons of French or Flemish birth in England and Ireland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. If you suspect you have Huguenot or Walloon ancestry, these volumes are worth a closer look.

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The Gerritsen Collection of Women‛s History, 1543-1945 by Steven W. Myers

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The Gerritsen Collection of Women‛s History, 1543-1945, is one of the single best sources for the study of women‛s history, including the suffragist movement and the evolution of feminism. Begun in the late 19 th century by Dutch physician and feminist Aletta Jacobs and her husband C.V. Gerritsen, the collection includes more than 4,700 books, pamphlets and periodicals in 15 languages. The English language portion of the collection is available on microfiche in The Genealogy Center and features works representing both anti- and pro-feminist viewpoints, as well as those presenting an “objective record of the condition of women at a given time.” A printed “Bibliographic Guide to the Microform Collection” (973 G321) includes useful subject indexes. The Gerritsen Collection is not just a vital source for academics studying women‛s history, but also a mine for the local historian or genealogist who wants to understand better the life of female forebears or who finds a suffragette hiding in their family tree. Among works covering every conceivable topic concerning the lives of women, researchers will find numerous biographical collections and sources on women‛s clubs and organizations. The “Annual Announcement of the Chicago‛s Woman‛s Club” dating from 1889, for example, includes an extensive list of its members with the address of each. The “Connecticut State Federation of Women‛s Clubs Official Directory” for 1900 prints reports and rosters of officers for dozens of clubs and includes photographs of prominent leaders. The “Biennial Review of the Great Hive, Ladies of the Maccabees” in Michigan includes reports, long lists of the commanders of local “hives” and accounts of disciplinary actions against individual members. Proceedings for conventions of national organizations such as the “Woman‛s Relief Corps” are also present. A special strength of the collection is that complete or extensive runs of these periodical sources are present. This increases the likelihood of finding your ancestress mentioned, if she was active in these organizations. In addition to the wealth of material for exploring the general context of women‛s lives, researchers may also discover sources providing useful historical context specific to the time and place in which their ancestors lived. The 1920 report on “Colored Women as Industrial Workers in Philadelphia” is just one example. Researchers with access to university library collections may be able to access the entire collection online through a subscription offered only to libraries.

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Technology Tip of the Month--TIFF vs. JPEG by Kay Spears

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First, a brief Adobe Photoshop wrap-up: Almost all the tools mentioned in my previous Photoshop articles are also available in Adobe Elements. Adobe Photoshop is part of Adobe Creative Suite and costs about $600-$700. Adobe Elements is a scaled down, stand-alone product and costs between $80 and $150. Now, let‛s turn to the differences between the file formats TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). When I teach scanning, I am always surprised that some people are still scanning and saving their family‛s prized photographs as JPEGs. If the purpose of scanning your family photos is to preserve them, never save them as JPEGs! A JPEG is a “lossy” compressed file. This means that every time you save your image, part of that image is lost. In the beginning, you probably won‛t be able to detect the lost parts of the file, but eventually you will notice deterioration of the scanned photograph. These losses are often referred to as JPEG artifacts. “Jaggies” or jagged edges in your photo can be another sign of image degradation. Recently, I had to re-scan some of my own photographs – done before I knew better – because of losses in the digital images. Don‛t get me wrong – there are uses for JPEGs. They are great for populating websites or sending through e-mail, but they never should be used for archiving, retouching or restoring. All of that work should be done on a TIFF image. Later, you can convert it to a JPEG if needed. Also, always work, retouch, and restore on a copy of the photo. Keep the original photographic image stored safely away. Let‛s also dispel a JPEG myth. You can open a JPEG any number of times and nothing will happen to it. The only time anything happens to a JPEG is when you “Save” it. Saving automatically activates the compression programming of a JPEG, and that is when pixels are eliminated. If you put a JPEG on a CD, DVD or flash drive and never touch that image, you will not lose any of it. However, if you are scanning an image and save it as a JPEG, you have lost part of it already. So, if you are scanning family photographs for preservation purposes, start by using the correct file extension when saving your scans. The best file extension at this time is still a TIFF. It is important to mention that most digital cameras save their images as JPEGs. So, if you have an image shot with a digital camera and you want to save it without eventual JPEG artifacts showing up, I suggest changing it to a TIFF for archiving purposes. TIFFs will use a lot of memory, but get into the habit of taking those images off your computer hard drive and putting them on another storage device, such as a CD or flash drive – and keep backups. Eventually, there will be other ways to save and archive photos, but for now a TIFF is the only recommended way to do so. Next month: Inserting photographs into Microsoft Word documents.

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Preservation Tip of the Month--Some Real Basics . . . by Curt Witcher

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While there are complex preservation and conservation processes and practices available if you are interested in making major repairs or displaying artifacts for significant periods of time, sometimes it is good to review very basic preservation techniques. It is often the simple things, when done together and applied consistently, that make all the difference for the average person. When preserving any item, one very basic step is to ensure that it is clean and remains in a clean environment (drawer, folder, box, etc.). When cleaning a document, use a “progressive approach.” First, gently shake off any loose particles of dirt. Next, use a soft, long-bristled brush to gently remove other particles that are very loosely adhered to the surface of the document. For more strongly adhered particles, you can use dry cleaning pads (which have nothing to do with the dry cleaning we give our good clothes!). These pads are actually small bags of art gum eraser bits. You squeeze or bump the particles onto the document--never actually rub the pad. Then gently rub the eraser bits over the affected area with two fingers, brushing them off the document when they get dark from the dirt they have picked up. Soft “Magic Rub Erasers” are a last resort for very dirty documents and must be applied with tremendous care. Future preservation tips will explain how to use both dry cleaning pads and erasers in more detail. For now, remember that the more brittle the document, the less of these progressively harsh measures you can apply without damaging the document. It is also good to remember the following basics. When it comes to documents, water is not your friend. You don‛t want your documents in a place of high humidity and you definitely do not want them in an area prone to leaks or flooding. Light is good for viewing, but not much else. Protect your documents from the sun and other unfiltered light sources. Bring out photographs and documents at family gatherings and celebrations--but keep them stored in a dark, dry place the rest of the time. The next best thing to a perfect storage environment is a stable storage environment--stable in terms of temperature and humidity. A centrally located room or closet in your house is the best bet because its temperature and humidity are less susceptible to fluctuations present near exterior doors, windows, and walls.

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Celebrate Family History Month 2010!

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For several years, The Genealogy Center has offered a wide variety of events in October to highlight the joys of genealogical research and to share information about new sources and techniques. This year's calendar is packed with abundant opportunities for research, education, and just plain fun. General Week, October 1st through 9th, will include the popular ACGSI Beginning Genealogy Workshop, classes on land records and Footnote, and end with our annual Military Symposium. Preservation Week, October 10th through 16th, will include classes on writing your family history, scanning photographs, and scrapbooking. Technology Week, October 17th through 23rd, will include lectures on FamilySearch, online immigration sources, and building a family website, as well as an in-depth workshop on Adobe Elements. And Dead Week, October 24th through 31st, will feature discussions on death records and obituaries, a talk on the historic Lindenwood Cemetery, a presentation by ARCH's Angie Quinn on Haunted Sites in Fort Wayne, and end with our traditional Midnight Madness extended research hours in The Genealogy Center. Nestled in that last weekend will be our “Start Sharing the News!” program described elsewhere in this e-zine. In addition, every Tuesday afternoon you have the opportunity for a one-on-one consultation with a Genealogy Center staff member who will assist you about solving some of your hardest brickwall research problems. For more information, check our website at http://thing1.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/FHM2010c.pdf. Register via email or call 260-421-1225. Mark your calendar and take advantage of these great opportunities!

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Attention! Military History Symposium!

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As part of Family History Month, the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana and The Genealogy Center will present the third annual Military Symposium on October 8th and 9th, featuring Amy Johnson Crow. As the sesquicentennial of the Civil War approaches, special attention is being paid to the soldiers who served in that conflict. Amy Johnson Crow, CG, is a researcher, author, lecturer, and editor. She is the webmaster for the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and is currently pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Kent State University. An expert in Civil War research, Amy will present “The Last Full Measure: Military Burials” on Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday she will present “Researching Your Civil War Ancestors Online” from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., “State and Local Records for Civil War Research” from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, “After Mustering Out: Researching Civil War Veterans” from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and “For Benefit of the Soldier: Civil War Fraternal Organizations” from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Curt Witcher will present “Using Military Records for Genealogical Research” on Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Symposium will be in Meeting Room AB of the Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN. Cost for both days is $25. Class descriptions and registration forms are available online at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/programs.html or by calling 260-421-1225 for more information. Space is limited, so sign up today! Take advantage of this opportunity to hear these knowledgeable speakers and to discover the resources available at The Genealogy Center, online, and in other repositories for fully researching your Civil War ancestor.

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Start Sharin‛ the News!

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Finishing up Family History Month is a unique seminar focused on gathering and recording the wealth of information found in cemetery records. “Start Sharing the News! A Celebration of Collaboration,” will begin on Friday October 29th with a Welcoming Dinner at the historic Baker Street Station from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Genealogy Center's Curt Witcher will present "How the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne Became a National Tourist Attraction." The seminar continues Saturday October 30th at the Allen County Public Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Meeting Rooms AB. During the first session, "Cemetery Seekers Presentation: Sharing Your Cemetery Research," Jim Cox and Penny North will share their "tricks of the trade" for reading and documenting cemeteries. From 11 a.m. to 12 noon, select one of two concurrent sessions: "Flickr for Genealogists," presented by Sara Patalita, or "Relating through WeRelate.org," by Cynthia Theusch. At 12:30 p.m., bring your brown-bag lunch (or visit a nearby restaurant for carry out) and enjoy an opportunity to relax and ask questions about research that has you stumped or puzzled. Later in the afternoon, select from two more concurrent sessions: "Being Creative with Your Family History Online" presented by The Genealogy Center Staff, or "Cataloging 3-D Items and Heirlooms” by Dawne Slater-Putt. The day ends with individual research consultations available in The Genealogy Center. The seminar concludes on Sunday October 31st with a tour of historic Lindenwood Cemetery from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. During this walking tour, you will get to see examples of some of the earliest graves and tombstones in the area. The tour will include the grave sites of prominent individuals as well as examples of amazing tombstone iconography. The fee for the entire event is $25. Register early to take advantage of this opportunity. For more information and registration, see http://thing1.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/Start%20Sharing%20The%20News.pdf.

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Family History: Beyond the Basics Update

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Family History: Beyond the Basics, scheduled for Friday and Saturday September 17-18, 2010, is filled to overflowing. We are not accepting any more reservations at this time. This popular mini-course will be offered again next year. Watch our website http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/programs.html to keep informed about all of our courses, symposiums and classes.

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Librarians on Parade in September 2010

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Curt Witcher September 8, 2010, Allen County Genealogical Society, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program. Presentation: “What‛s New . . . In Online Resources at the Genealogy Center.” September 18, 2010, Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) Fall Seminar, University of South Florida, Marshall Student Center, Room 2708, all day seminar. Presentations: “Using Military Records for Genealogical Research,” “Using Church Records in Your Genealogical Research,” “Doing Effective Genealogical Research in Libraries,” and “Mining the Motherlode: Using Periodical Literature for Genealogical Research. September 25, 2010, Elwood Pipecreek Genealogy Society, Family Life Center, 2535 Main Street, Elwood, IN, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presentations: “Using Military Records for Genealogical Research,” “An Ancestor‛s Death-A Time for Reaping,” and “Historical Research Methodology.”

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Area Calendar of Events

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Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) September 8, 2010--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program. Curt Witcher will present “What‛s New . . . In Online Resources at the Genealogy Center.” Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN September 19, 2010, 2 p.m.--Bill Derbyshire will present “50 Years of the Wildcat Baseball League."

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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 halfhours, $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.Info. Scroll down toward the bottom of the first screen where it says, "Enter Your Email Address to Subscribe to "Genealogy Gems." Enter your email address in the yellow box and click on "Subscribe." 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