February

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 84, February 28, 2011

In this issue:

Taking Action & Deploying Technology to Preserve & Share Great Genealogies Accounts Audited of Claims Growing Out of the Revolution in South Carolina

Technology Tip of the Month--Adding Footnotes in Microsoft Word

Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Storing CDs and DVDs

March Madness--Genealogy Style

Getting Started in Family History & Genealogy Research

Create Your Own Story @ Your Library

Down to the Fine Print: Exploring The Genealogy Center

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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Taking Action & Deploying Technology to Preserve & Share by Curt B. Witcher

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February was a month of incredible activity, with some amazingly positive activities and a sobering, sad reality. An incredible high was the first RootsTech Conference, hosted and principally sponsored by FamilySearch and held in Salt Lake City on February 10-12. More than 3100 individuals came together to engage in a new, more synergistic conference experience while discussing, exploring, and demonstrating the intersection of genealogical pursuits and technology. It definitely set a new standard for 21 st century genealogy conferences. The second RootsTech will be February 2-4, 2012 in Salt Lake City. You really do want to mark your calendars for this event! These truly are the best of times for genealogists. With the application of new scanning technologies, exploding social media opportunities, and increasingly sophisticated online search routines, we can find more information, access more digital images, and have better opportunities to collaborate in our research than we have ever had before. All the countless days and weeks we used to spend just to find one relevant piece of information can now be spent doing more enjoyable and productive activities such as more carefully analyzing the data we have gathered, constructing better documented and more complete histories for all our family lines, and taking the time to actually reproduce and share our family histories--to tell our stories! How many of us devote most all of our time to gathering and precious little to telling? Technology applied in the genealogy space can be such a positive game-changer. Less than a week after the RootsTech Conference, many in the genealogical community began mourning the loss of Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, who died on February 17, 2011, after a courageous battle with cancer. For those who may not recognize the name, you would likely recognize the face, the smile, and the always-helpful attitude. Sandra was a tremendous writer and editor, a phenomenal teacher, a trusted mentor for so many, and a dear friend to countless individuals. The one hundred issues of the Federation of Genealogical Societies‛ “FORUM” she edited will continue to bring instruction and enlightenment to those who read the articles as will her numerous other published works. The many thousands of individuals who attended her classes at Samford University over the years or listened to her lectures at national conferences, state society meetings, and local society seminars from coast to coast will continue to honor her memory by the good work they do based on what she taught them. Those who were fortunate enough to benefit from her wise counsel will do their part in honoring her by sharing that counsel with others working in this wonderful field of family history. My challenge to all who read this, whether to honor Sandra or because you know it is the right thing to do, is to engage regularly in the community activities in which Sandra engaged. Take advantage of what twenty-first century technology offers to compile and publish your genealogical findings. Make sure your research and compiled findings are as many places as you can find Sandra‛s. There are so many ways you can tell your story at low or no cost. Use both the traditional venues and the more contemporary social media venues to instruct, collaborate, and publish materials. Take the time to offer advice and encouragement to new researchers, remembering when you were first getting started and how you welcomed such gifts. Commit to supporting worthwhile causes in the genealogy field with your time and treasure . . . as Sandra did.

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Great Genealogies by John D. Beatty

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What are the hallmarks of a great published genealogy? Since The Genealogy Center houses more than 59,000 volumes of compiled family histories, our staff is sometimes asked for recommendations of outstanding examples in the collection. These books come in many different formats and styles. Some begin with an ancestor from the distant past, often an immigrant ancestor, and trace some or all of his descendants. Others follow an “all my ancestors” format, tracing all of the known direct ancestral lines of one person. The best genealogies of either type are well-documented with footnotes, allowing the reader to reconstruct the research of the author and locate the original sources of information. A variety of numbering and arrangement schemes exist, but the best genealogies follow wellestablished systems that are familiar to readers. The two most widely used are the so-called Register and NGS systems, which are explained in detail in the National Genealogical Society‛s publication Numbering Your Genealogy: Basic Systems, Complex Families, and International Kin (929 C92nb). The better genealogies will also place families into larger historical contexts, drawing information from a variety of primary sources. By providing more than just names and dates, they attempt to reconstruct ancestral lives. Unproven statements will be clearly labeled, and when conflicting evidence is found, it will be cited. The best works will offer proof arguments which carefully evaluate all of the pertinent evidence. A well-written and documented genealogy exhibits the skilled craftsmanship of any great work of scholarship. Since 1974, the Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists have presented the Donald Lines Jacobus Award to writers of outstanding genealogies in an effort “to encourage sound scholarship in genealogical writing.” For a list of winners, see . A personal favorite is The Burling Books: Ancestors and Descendants of Edward and Grace Burling, Quakers (1600-2000), by Jane Thompson-Stahr, published in two volumes in 2001 (929.2 B9248th). Using the NGS numbering system, Thompson-Stahr created a detailed study that is meticulously documented with citations from many primary sources. She also uses proof arguments effectively. When more than one man named Samuel Burling lived in New York during the same period, she carefully lays out her evidence that distinguishes them. Her prologue assesses the challenges in using Quaker records, while the index includes a complete list of names and places.

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Accounts Audited of Claims Growing Out of the Revolution in South Carolina by Steven W. Myers

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Exiled after the fall of Charleston in 1780, the government of South Carolina operated on credit. The vouchers it issued were later used in support of claims for payment by those who had served in the military, furnished supplies, loaned money, rendered other services, or suffered damages. These vouchers, as well as a variety of supporting documents, are reproduced on microfilm in a series titled “Accounts Audited of Claims Growing Out of the Revolution in South Carolina.” Available in The Genealogy Center on 165 reels of microfilm (cabinet 50-B-4), these accounts are organized in some 10,000 numbered files arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the claimant. Papers in the series date from 1775 to 1856, but most claims were settled by 1815. Reel 165 contains three indexes to the claims accounts. Index A lists the names of the claimants whose folders comprise the series. Index B lists the files in the order filmed. Index C, the most important, includes the names of the claimants as well as a fairly comprehensive, but not complete, index to the names of other persons mentioned on documents within the folders. References to folder numbers can be converted easily to a reel number using Index B. Researchers also will find the names of claimants included in the South Carolina Archives‛ “Combined Index to Records Series, 1675-1929,” available at  Personal names, places and subjects mentioned in legislative petitions, reports and resolutions found in the files are included in the online index to “Legislative Papers, 1782-1866,” accessible at the same website. Documents in the first 300 files in the series (through Isaac Barnard) were transcribed and published in three volumes titled “Accounts Audited of Revolutionary Claims Against South Carolina” (973.34 So8sa), each of which includes an every name index. Files generally include affidavits and other documents supporting each claim. These items can provide the dates and places of military service, list supplies provided, or describe the circumstances of services rendered. Many include a receipt signed by the claimant. Gems include lists of Catawba Indians who served and Negroes recruited by the “Swamp Fox,” Francis Marion, as well as certification of a marriage. “Noveme 27 1778 this is to certify oll people home it may consarn that William Crosby and Susanna Couton was married by me…James Linant.” For genealogists with South Carolina roots, these account files are certainly worth a look.

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Technology Tip of the Month--Adding Footnotes in Microsoft Word by Kay Spears

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Many of us writing family histories using our word processing program will want to include explanatory notes or source citations to document our work. Fortunately, adding a footnote or endnote is one of the easier tasks to perform in Microsoft Word. For Word 2003 and older versions, make sure you are viewing your document in “print layout” view. Go to the menu bar and click on Insert>Reference>Footnote. In the Footnote and Endnote dialog box that appears, first choose either Footnote or Endnote, and then select the Number format that you prefer and click on it. Then click on Insert. By default, Word places footnotes at the bottom of the page and endnotes at the end of the document. As you insert additional notes, Word will automatically adjust the numbering for you. To add notes using Word 2007 and later versions, go to the Reference tab on your ribbon and click Footnote. The footnote will be inserted automatically in the document without a dialog box. If you want to use a dialog box, click on the small arrow beside the word Footnote to override the default and activate the dialog box. If you want to use keystrokes instead of your mouse, use Ctrl+Alt+F to insert a footnote. Double clicking on the footnote number at the bottom of the page will return you to the place in the text where you inserted the footnote. Adding source citations to your family history with Microsoft Word is easy, allows you to document your research, and will help give your work a professional appearance. Next: Remembering margins

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Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Storing CDs and DVDs

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Store CDs and DVDs in the same manner you would store books: on end, not flat. If you have a large number of discs, stacking them on top of each other can increase the chances of some cracking or being scratched by dust trapped between the discs. Ideally, each disc should be in its own case with each case bearing an appropriate descriptive label.

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March Madness--Genealogy Style

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The weather is getting better. Travel is easier. So it's time to get out and participate in The Genealogy Center's “March Madness--Genealogy Style” events Sunday, March 13 through Saturday, March 19, 2011. Take advantage of The Genealogy Center's annual celebration to jump-start your research. This year's sessions include the following. “Why Do I Want to Look at a Revolutionary War Pension?” Sunday, March 13, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m., Meeting Room A “Searching the Internet for Your Genealogy (Using Google and Other Search Engines).” Monday, March 14, 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Meeting Room A “Writing Personal History: Doing for Our Descendants What We Wish Great-Grandma Had Done for Us.” Tuesday, March 15, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Meeting Room C ACGSI Computer Interest Group. Wednesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Meeting Room B ”Beginning Virginia Genealogical Research.” Thursday, March 17, 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Meeting Room A Registration is closed.* Irish & Scots-Irish Genealogy: Part 1 - A Two-Day Mini-Course. Friday & Saturday, March 18-19, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Meeting Rooms B & C. Check our website http://www.genealogycenter.org/Events.aspx for more information. Call 260- 421-1225 to register, or send us an email at Genealogy@ACPL.Info . ***************************************

Getting Started in Family History & Genealogy Research

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The Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana is hosting a workshop for beginning genealogists from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday April 9, 2011, in Meeting Rooms B & C at the Main Library. Genealogist Margery Graham will tell you how to begin your search into family history including how to gather and organize your information. She will inform you about basic research techniques and how to apply proven methods to keep your search on track. The half-day seminar finishes up with a tour of The Genealogy Center. Cost is $10. Space is limited, so register early for this wonderful opportunity to learn from the best. To register, visit the ACGSI website at http://www.acgsi.org/workshop.pdf or contact Linda Churchward at 260-459-7606 or lindachurchward@frontier.com. ***************************************

Create Your Own Story @ Your Library

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The 2011 theme for National Library Week is “Create Your Own Story @ Your Library.” One couldn‛t ask for a more perfect time to offer an engaging array of programs intended to remind everyone that we all have a story to tell--and that we all need to tell our stories! And The Genealogy Center is doing just that. We are offering several opportunities to inspire you to record and share your family stories for future generations to enjoy. The scheduled programs are listed below along with the date and program location at the Main Library. Storytelling, with Condra Ridley, April 11, 2011 6:30-7:30 p.m., Globe Room. Learn the elements of a good story, why storytelling is important, how to tell a good story, and listen to a couple of stories as examples. Scrapbooking Historical Photographs and Memorabilia, with Dawne Slater-Putt, April 12, 2011 6:30- 7:30 p.m., Globe Room. How can boxes of photographs and paper memorabilia inherited from three different family members and covering a period of almost 100 years be merged into a single, cohesive historical scrapbook? This session will discuss considerations and methods for scrapbooking your historical photos and memorabilia, including materials, organization and more. Recording Family Histories for the Ages, with Erik Mollberg, April 13, 2011 2:30-3:30 p.m., Globe Room. This class will cover the very basics of video production to help you record the best possible oral history for your family that will be both viewable and understandable for generations to come. Writing Your Family Stories, with Curt Witcher, April 14, 2011 6:30-7:30 p.m., Globe Room. Practical tips on how to write your family story after you have collected the data. Photo Restoration Using Adobe Photoshop, with Kay Spears, April 15, 2011 2:30-3:30 p.m., Globe Room. Learn basic techniques for restoring those old family photographs by using Adobe Photoshop. Take advantage of these opportunities to be inspired to Create Your Own Story @ your library. All classes are free, but please register by calling 260-421-1225, or send an email to Genealogy@ACPL.Info. There's no time like the present!

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

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If you enjoy looking forward to future activities, you‛ll be pleased to know we have planned some opportunities to explore The Genealogy Center during the first week of May, even taking a look behind the scenes. 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 to locate a book? Where are the call numbers? How to 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-thescenes tour will show where our material is ordered, cataloged and processed for the collection, where material is scanned for easy access via the Internet, and 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 to locate a book? Where are the call numbers? How to 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 calling 260-421-1225.

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Out and About

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Curt Witcher March 5, 2011--Plymouth Historical Museum, 155 South Main Street, Plymouth, MI, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Genealogy Workshop covering: “Using Census Records for Family History,” “Researching Your Civil War Ancestor,” “Roll Call: New Sites and Sources for Military Records and Research,” and “Doing the History Eliminates the Mystery!” March 24, 2011--Indiana Library Federation, District III Conference, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 10:10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Topic: “Family Health History: Making a Medical Family Tree.”

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Area Calendar of Events

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Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) March 9, 2011--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program. Delia Bourne will present, “Researching Your 1861-1865 Soldier at The Genealogy Center: An Overview.” Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN March 6, 2011, 2 p.m.--Craig Leonard will present “The W. B. Brown Company and the Arts and Crafts Movement.”

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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