February 2017

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 156, February 28, 2017

In this issue:

Time to Take another Look at the Future of Your Past

Guides for Genetic Genealogy

Reclaim the Records Technology Tip of the Month--Reviewing Scanning Procedures and Archiving Our Family Photos, Journals, Diaries, etc.

Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Your Digital Assets

PERSI Gems

History Tidbits: Women’s Suffrage--A Story for Women’s History Month

March Madness Genealogy Style – Out of the Box Genealogy

Celebrate Women’s History – Saturday, March 25, 2017

DNA and Genealogy Interest Group

Keep Up with Upcoming Events

Staying Informed about Genealogy Center Programming

Area Calendar of Events

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Genealogy Center Queries

Publishing Note

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Time to Take another Look at the Future of Your Past by Curt B. Witcher

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There are dozens upon dozens of reasons that individuals give for beginning the research into their families’ histories, their families’ stories. While we have heard most of the reasons, I sense at least a few of us believe that underlying these reasons is what Alex Haley famously called a hunger. “In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage--to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness. ” Whether we cumulatively have spent moments, months, or many years researching our families’ histories, what we have collected is important to us. Why else would have we invested the time and often the expense? And because it is important to us, it should be important for us to actively and persistently take steps to preserve the information we have found--preserve the stories we have discovered. It will be meaningful to our grandchildren and their great grandchildren. We should take steps to incorporate what I call simple preservation techniques into our overall research process. The future of our past depends on us consistently and purposefully taking meaningful steps to ensure our stories live on beyond our years. One of the first, best things we can do is to write-up our research. So many just collect. Indeed, I fear many of us could more accurately be called “stuff gatherers” rather than researchers. We conduct searches on all kinds of databases, we sometimes use books and other print sources, we save countless images (sometimes without really noting where specifically we found those images), we place items in folders (physical or virtual) that make sense to us without reality-testing our organizational schemes to see if they make sense to others, and we more or less call it a day. It is so very useful to actually take the time to explain your findings in writing. So you made a copy of a probate packet. Who are all the individuals mentioned? What property of all kinds is mentioned? Is there an inventory? Are there receipts, and if so, what do they indicate? Why is a doctor’s bill a part of the estate? Writing an analysis not only helps with preserving our discoveries in an organized way, it may also enlighten our thinking. Collecting “stuff”--finding documents to support a notion or belief that particular individuals are our ancestors--should be the beginning of a process that includes seriously analyzing what we have collected followed by an articulation of that analysis. If you have six documents that evidence a particular ancestor’s life, articulate how those documents truly are evidence and narrate what they indicate. Engaging in that process gives the documents meaning and the “story” can be more easily understood and retold. Many will tell you there is no one right way to put together one’s documentation, to organize, and to tell one’s story. That may be true; however, there are clearly wrong ways. One such misguided way is to create such a complex filing or numbering scheme and then don’t provide a key. You are tempting your descendants to declare your gathered documents to be little more than clutter, and relegate those items to the land-fill. Recall the KISS approach, keep it simple & straightforward, making sure there are plentiful copies of an easily understood key. Another clearly wrong way to ensure your stories live on is to do a lot of assuming, e.g. assume everyone will understand your filing system, assume everyone will know how a particular set of documents link together, and assume everyone will get the same story from the assembled pages or images without your narrative. We frequently have heard what assuming does--well, it’s true! When creating folders, physical or virtual, for the documents we have gathered and narratives we have compiled, it is so helpful to have a table of contents, a summary document describing the gathered materials, or even a general statement of topics covered by the items in a particular folder. It makes dealing with physical folders so much easier and clearer, and it greatly facilitates discovery in virtual folders. Most of us have heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Why not make it a thousand words plus a few more? Take the time to label all your photographs and photographic images. Lamenting that you haven’t, or that your family members have been negligent in identifying photographs, will not help in the least. Begin identifying now. Don’t let one more day pass without identifying in some archival manner as least a couple of images, and don’t stop until you are done. It’s that important. Even if the identification cannot be individual-specific, identify what you can. Set the image in as many contexts as you can, i.e. time, geographic location, and setting. Use modes of transportation, clothing, backgrounds, and the like to establish contexts for images even if you don’t know the individuals represented. Many parcels representing lifetimes of genealogical work are donated to The Genealogy Center each week. We are grateful, indeed honored, to preserve and present this research for generations of genealogists to come. Our Center, though, is one of the few locations in the country that will take loosely organized documents and do the time-consuming work of organizing and describing what has been donated. It is not a trivial undertaking. Indeed, the majority of research centers will not take research collections that are poorly organized. Whether donated to a research center like ours or passed along to a family member, the future of your past rests largely in your hands.

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Guides for Genetic Genealogy by John D. Beatty, GC (sm)*

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The last decade has seen a rising interest in genetic genealogy, and with widespread television and electronic advertising by AncestryDNA, that trend shows no signs of slowing down. Using DNA evidence in its various forms to solve genealogical problems has become an indispensable element in establishing proof, especially when it is used in conjunction with textual sources. The rise of DNA applications, whether they be autosomal, Y-line, X, or mitochondrial, present researchers with a variety of challenges. How do we interpret the findings accurately and apply them effectively to various research problems? How do we solicit samples from cousins and at the same time safeguard their privacy? How do we cite DNA evidence appropriately in our documentation? What are the most effective strategies for designing large-scale DNA projects? For many researchers, the DNA phenomenon has been so new and the technological innovations so rapid that it has taken the genealogical field a while to catch up with the many scientific applications. Fortunately, Blaine Bettinger has come to the rescue with two genetic genealogy guides that have proven indispensable for genealogy library shelves. The first of these, Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy (Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2016) (929 B466fa) is the perfect guide for the beginner. Bettinger covers all of the basics in genetic genealogy, giving concise but cogent explanations for the different types of DNA while offering clear guidelines for its ethical use in genealogical applications. He offers helpful overviews of testing companies and tips on solving complex questions. Bettinger’s second book, Genetic Genealogy in Practice (Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, 2016) (929 B466ge), co-authored with Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, is the more scholarly of the two and more appropriate for the advanced genealogist. The authors delve deeper into a variety of tangential topics, such as the ethical use of DNA information and how the use of genetic evidence might be applied to the Genealogical Proof Standard as part of doing “reasonably exhaustive research.” They examine such questions as how much DNA evidence is needed to support a claim, how to measure and report sequencing results, and how to draw legitimate, scientificallysound conclusions about that evidence. Each chapter closes with a set of helpful exercises, and there are numerous case studies to illustrate various points. The use of genetic evidence will likely grow in importance as more people test and more raw data, especially autosomal DNA, becomes available. Genealogists who ignore it do so to the detriment of their research. The greatest challenge comes in networking with people that share genetic matches and getting cooperation for more detailed analyses of test results. All too often such cousin matches do not reply to emails, and as a result, genealogists cannot undertake the kind of analytical work that these works espouse. Nevertheless, Bettinger offers some very sound, practical ways of understanding and interpreting genetic evidence, and his volumes should be regarded as the seminal works at the moment on this subject. However, Bettinger also cautions, “an education in genetic genealogy will never be complete,” and the field is likely to experience many more changes in coming years. The best that any genealogist can do is test for all types of DNA that one can (including obtaining samples from a variety of relatives), understand the applications, and hope for cooperation from others. Undoubtedly some genetic “surprises” will be revealed in the process. But hopefully, researchers will find affirmation of the validity of some conclusions drawn from more traditional sources and with luck, they may see a few brick walls demolished along the way.

“CG” and “Certified Genealogist” are service marks from the Board for Certification of Genealogists® and are used by authorized associates following periodic, peer-reviewed competency evaluations. Certificate no. 1050, awarded 8 August 2014, expires 8 August 2019.

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Reclaim the Records by Sara Allen

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Reclaim the Records is a group of ordinary citizen genealogists and historians who organized in 2015 to work together to gain access to genealogical records that have not yet been formally released to the public. They have used Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits (when the FOIA requests are denied) to obtain access to public birth, marriage, and death indexes from New York, New Jersey, and Missouri, with plans to expand to more states and record types. Their extraordinarily-successful requests have resulted in countless genealogical record indexes being scanned and placed freely online at Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/reclaimtherecords. New York records: Since the group began its effort by focusing on New York City, they have obtained and released three sets of records thus far for this locality, including two marriage indexes. First, they acquired on microfilm the “Index to New York City Marriage Applications, Affidavits, and Licenses, 1908- 1929.” It has since been scanned and placed online at Internet Archive. The index was digitized in yearly increments by borough and then arranged alphabetically. There is no searchable name index at this time. This Applications index is different from the better-known and more widely-available “New York City Marriage Certificates Index.” The marriage application consists of a three-page document, filed when the couple applied for the marriage license, and contains significant genealogical information. By contrast, the marriage certificate is a brief, two-page document filed when the event actually took place. After the group digitized the original microfilms, they donated them to the New York State Library in Albany. In addition, Reclaim the Records also acquired the “Index to New York City Marriage Records, 1930-1995.” The scans of the indexes from 1930 to 1950 are now online at Internet Archive, arranged by borough and year. While there is no searchable index covering the earlier years, there is an index to years 1950 to 1995 available at http://www.nycmarriageindex.com/. To obtain copies of the actual marriage certificates or applications referenced in the index, researchers should contact the New York City Municipal Archives for pre-1950 records, or the New York City Clerk’s Office for records 1950 and later. Be advised that New York City marriage records less than fifty years old are not available to the general public, although there are exceptions to this rule as detailed at the Clerk’s Office website http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/records.shtml#under50 . Finally, the group obtained the “List of Registered Voters in New York City for 1924,” scanning and uploading it online with the others at Internet Archive. These records are arranged first by borough, then by assembly district, election district, and address in that order. They can be searched through the website’s “search inside the book” function, which is fairly accurate, but since it is a computer-generated index, it contains some omissions. If you find a name of interest on this list, you can obtain a voter registration application for that person from the New York City Municipal Archives (for Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island) or the New York City Board of Elections (for Bronx and Brooklyn). The types of useful information found on these applications include the exact date and court location of naturalizations for foreign-born persons. You can then use this information to request naturalization records. The group has requested access to several other New York record sets, including the “Index to New York State Deaths (Outside of New York City), 1880-1956” and “New York City Birth Certificates, 1910-1915.” Stay tuned to the Reclaim the Records website for the latest news on these requests. New Jersey records: The “New Jersey Birth and Death Indices, 1901-1903” and “New Jersey Marriage Index 1901-1914” are also digitized and available online at Internet Archive. The Groom’s Marriage Index is only available for 1901 to 1903, but the Bride’s Marriage Index goes through 1914. The scanned records are arranged by year and then alphabetized. No searchable name index exists at this time. Once you find a name of interest in these indexes, you can obtain copies of the actual records from the State of New Jersey (http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/referenceFees.html). Missouri records: Two Missouri records requests are currently in process: the Missouri Birth Index, 1910-2015 and Missouri Death Index, 1965-2015. Keep an eye on the Reclaim the Records website  for new developments. Also, follow its newsletters, its Facebook page, and its Twitter account for updates on group activities. Thanks to this wonderful organization, family historians now have access to records that were closed to the public or kept under limited access just a few years ago. Think of what each of us can accomplish if we band together and work strategically on projects as this group has.

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Technology Tip of the Month--Reviewing Scanning Procedures and Archiving Our Family Photos, Journals, Diaries, etc. by Kay Spears

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Let's talk. Lately it has become clear to me that there is a need to review scanning procedures. These are procedures and guidelines which we follow here in our digital library at The Genealogy Center. Maybe someday technology will advance far enough and we will do our digitizing/scanning differently, but for now this is how we scan. The purpose of scanning our keepsakes, mementoes, letters, journals, photographs is to preserve them electronically. Not every scan will be spectacular; after all you can only work with what you have. Scanning will probably not improve the image, but it will preserve it. Some handy tools you may need for your scanning: a soft cloth, black construction paper and some earbuds plugged into your favorite music. Here are four basic rules/guidelines/procedures. 1. Regardless of the kind of scanner you have, scan your image at no less than 300dpi/ppi. 2. Scan your image as a color image whether it's color, black and white, sepia, etc. 3. Do not use any of the "extra" settings that may come with the scanner, such as contrast, sharp, threshold, etc. This is a scanner not a photoshop program. 4. Save the image as a TIFF - Tagged Image File Format. In the next few articles we will go through in detail the reason for the above basic rules and some other helpful hints. We will also be reviewing naming conventions and how to store our "stuff" when we are done with it. Next article: Why 300dpi/ppi and When to Use More.

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Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Your Digital Assets

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Though a few months old, this article on ensuring the future of some of one’s digital assets is worth a look. Entitled, “Pass on Your Passwords, or Your Family's Digital Memories Will Die with You,” the article can be found at the following link. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/18/pass-passwords-familys-digital-memories-will-die/

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PERSI Gems by Adam Barrone and Michael Hudson

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This month, we bring you a selection of the 2,918 basketball articles cited in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). Try a search here: http://search.findmypast.com/search/periodical-source-index It’s March Madness, PERSI style: Aroostook State Normal School girls basketball team photo and note, 1924-1925 Paper Talks: The County Edition (Jonesboro, ME), n.4, 1985 Basketball fever in Columbia City Whitley County Historical Society Bulletin, v.25n.3, Jun. 1987 Basketball shot of 1948 still remembered Alger Footprints (Alger Co. Hist. Soc., MI), v.19n.2, Spr. 1995 Bloomer controversy in basketball at Washburn Shawnee County (KS) Historical Society Bulletin, n.55, Dec. 1978 Chris Kramer, Purdue University Basketball Player, in Heritage Days Parade, photo, 2010 Packet: Huntington County Historical Society News, Jun. 2010 Denver as basketball mecca Colorado Heritage, Aut. 1994 Elgin police basketball team, 1898 Crackerbarrel (Elgin Area Historical Soc., IL), v.36n.5, Sep. 1999 Helen Hunt School donkey basketball game photo and note, c. 1942 Paper Talks: Greater Bangor Edition, 1987 Lambert Will & invention of basketball Legacy-Annals of Herkimer County (NY), v.2n.1, 1987 March madness, basketball win, 1936 Mount Pulaski Township (IL) Historical Society Newsletter, v.1n.4, Spr. 1996 Paradigms of Kentucky white girls' basketball, 1891-1919 Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, v.102n.9, Spr. 2011 Pretty Vineland girls who play basketball Vineland (NJ) Historical Magazine, v.62n.1, 1986 Reece Tatum, basketball hero, d. 1967, AR Tracks and Traces (Union Co. Gen. Soc., AR), v.18n.1, May 1996 Spelling bee and basketball, 1925 Intikba (McCurtain Co. Gen. Soc., OK), v.10n.3, Dec. 1994 Streator Weasels, basketball note, 1920s Unionville (IL) Dispatch, Feb. 2000 Waltonville Commandos, basketball, 1942-43 Prairie Historian (Waltonville, IL), v.18n.2, Jun. 1988

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History Tidbits: Women’s Suffrage--A Story for Women’s History Month by Allison DePrey Singleton

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It was a man’s world and some women were having none of it. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, women were seeking better education and becoming more involved with social issues, such as slavery and temperance. This is the story of how the suffrage movement came about. In 1840, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were barred from attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England. This was the impetus behind the first Women’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Five women, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Mary Ann M'Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Jane Hunt, organized the convention, which was almost unheard of for the time. Women could not legally enter binding contracts such as renting a hall or ordering pamphlets. Around 300 men and women attended the Convention, which produced a list of grievances titled the “Declaration of Sentiments”. This meeting was not the first nor would it be the last convention on women’s rights; however, the Declaration of Sentiments, which came out of the Convention, was "the single most important factor in spreading news of the women's rights movement around the country in 1848 and into the future". Soon after the Seneca Falls Convention, the Rochester Women’s Rights Convention was held. Although the Rochester Convention had many of the same speakers as the Seneca Falls Convention, the Rochester Convention was significant because it had the first female convention chair. The first statewide convention on Women’s rights was held in 1850 in Salem, Ohio. The first National Women’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1850 with Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Lucy Stone in attendance. The second National Women’s Rights Convention in 1851 had Reverend Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Mann in attendance. It was during this time period that Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met and became friends and allies within the Suffrage Movement. While some women were making strides towards being heard about the enfranchising of women, others were also working towards temperance and abolishing slavery. The abolition of slavery and the war between the North and South took precedence over the fight for women’s right to vote. Close friends and colleagues, Anthony and Stanton organized the Women’s Loyal National League to work towards abolishing slavery. The League collected an unprecedented 400,000 signatures on a petition to end slavery. After the end of the Civil War, the National Women’s Rights Convention was held again in 1866. The convention was a shift from ending slavery back to women’s rights. Some activists did not agree with pushing for the women’s right to vote until the black vote was established. After the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony created the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) to fight for equal rights. After the failed Kansas campaign to support a referendum that would give the right to vote to African Americans and women, AERA split into two factions. The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was founded by Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell and Julia Ward Howe to gain the right to vote through individual states. The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to gain the right to vote through a Constitutional amendment. The NWSA was very single-minded with their push towards the right to vote for women, to the point that the group refused to help push for the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in order to begin advocating for the Sixteenth Amendment. Susan B. Anthony cast a ballot for Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 Presidential Election and was arrested. The jury was directed by the judge to deliver a guilty verdict and was sentenced to pay a fine of $100. Anthony never paid the fine and the judge did not order her to be jailed until she paid the fine so she didn’t appeal the case. Sojourner Truth also attempted to cast a ballet in the election of 1872 but was sent away in Battle Creek, Michigan. Another organization that became a fierce proponent of the right to vote for women was the newly formed Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). It was founded by Annie Wittenmyer in 1874, but it was not until the leadership of Frances Willard in 1876 that it supported women’s enfranchisement. At the same time, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Ida Husted Harper began writing “The History of Women Suffrage”, which became a sixvolume set written over the next 41 years. The next 41 years brought forth great strides in the battle for the right to vote for women. It began with defeat of the Women Suffrage Amendment in 1878, but the exact same wording from the 1878 Amendment is used for the Nineteenth Amendment. In 1887, the first vote was defeated in the Senate on the enfranchisement of women. The National Council of Women in the United States (NCW/US) was created in 1888 with Frances E. Willard as the President, Susan B. Anthony as the Vice President, Mary Eastman as the Recording Secretary, M. Louise Thomas as the Treasurer, and May Wright Sewall as the Corresponding Secretary to promote women. The NWSA and the AWSA finally merged to join forces into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890 and the newly formed association focused on gaining the right to vote through individual states. The West was first in its adoption of women’s suffrage. The first success was that same year when Wyoming was admitted to the Union with a state constitution including the enfranchisement of women. Colorado granted women the right to vote in 1893. Utah followed Wyoming’s example and entered the Union in 1896 with voting rights for women. That same year, Idaho also granted women the right to vote. Washington followed several years later in 1910 by adopting women’s suffrage. California narrowly squeaked by its adoption of women’s right to vote in 1911. 1912 was a banner year for the suffrage movement in the United States when Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona all granted women the right to vote. Nevada and Montana followed suit in 1914. It was not until 1917 that an eastern state, New York, allowed women to gain suffrage. In 1917, Arkansas allowed women to vote in the primary election. 1918 brought the number of full suffrage states to fifteen with the addition of Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. 31.25% of the states in the Union were suffrage states. During these 27 years of states adopting women’s suffrage, many other organization were founded and battles were fought for the enfranchisement of women. The Federal Suffrage Association (FSA) was created by Olympia Brown in 1892. The National Association of Colored Women (NACW) was founded by Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Frances E.W. Harper in 1896 to fight for civil rights and against injustice toward African American women. The NACW became the National Association of Colored Women Clubs (NACWC) in 1904 when it incorporated. The first suffrage parade was organized and held in New York City by the Women’s Political Union in 1910 and by 1912, twenty thousand were marching in the suffrage parade in New York City. By 1915, there were forty thousand marching in the New York City suffrage parade. In 1916, Jeanette Rankin was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and she was formally seated in 1917. With the victory of the first Congresswoman, there was opposition outrage and efforts to stop women seeking the right to vote. Women known as Silent Sentinels were quietly and peacefully protesting in front of the White House with banners stating their cause. They began their protest on the day President Wilson took office on January 10, 1917 and ended it when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed. After many months of protesting, police began arresting the protestors for obstructing traffic and the women were being sentenced to jail time or a fine. The suffragettes were choosing jail. As the women continued to protest, the jail sentences became longer. There was an attempt to break the spirit and credibility of Alice Paul by placing her in solitary confinement in the psychiatric ward of the prison in October of 1917. This was after her arrest, sentencing of seven months in jail, and a hunger strike. November 14, 1917 would become the Night of Terror for the Silent Sentinels sentenced to one of the two jails for the protests, Occoquan. The 33 women in the jail were brutally beat and tortured by almost 40 guards during that night. All of the women were released after two weeks and their cases were decided in their favor. The judges declared that the women were illegally arrested, illegally convicted, and illegally imprisoned. All of the women who worked towards the enfranchisement of women succeeded in their goal with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in the Senate on June 4, 1919. The Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 and women finally had the right to vote! “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” Sources and Further Reading: Barry, Kathleen. Susan B. Anthony: A Biography of a Singular Feminist. Bloomington, IN: First Books Library, 2000. DuBois, Ellen Carol. Feminism and Suffrage: The Emergence of an Independent Women's Movement in America, 1848-1869. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978. Gluck, Sherna Berger. From Parlor to Prison: Five American Suffragists Talk About Their Lives. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1985. Hannam, June, Mitzi Auchterlonie, and Katherine Holden, eds. International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2000. Lunardini, Christine A. From Equal Suffrage to Equal Rights: Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, 1912-1928. San Jose: ToExcel, 2000. Robbins, Lousie Barnum. "History and Minutes of the National Council of Women of the United States, Organized in Washington, D.C., March 31, 1888." Harvard Mirador Viewer. Accessed February 15, 2017. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:2574304$30i. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Ida Husted Harper. History of Woman Suffrage. New York: Fowler & Wells, 1881. Tetrault, Lisa. The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848- 1898. The University of North Carolina Press, 2014. Walton, Mary. A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot. Place of publication not identified: Griffin, 2015.

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March Madness Genealogy Style – Out of the Box Genealogy

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Join us as we celebrate our version of March Madness as we investigate Out of the Box Genealogy – a full week of events and classes to improve your research skills and enhance your life! Events include: Sunday, March 5, 2017, 1:00 PM, Discovery Center Skeletons in the Closet: Discovering a Difficult Past - Matt LaFlash Every family has skeletons in the closet. This case study addresses the challenges of uncovering a difficult past and examines the process used to identify the father of a girl born out of wedlock with only a profession and nationality as a starting point. Monday, March 6, 2017, 6:30 PM, Discovery Center What Doesn’t Kill Us: Historical Illnesses and Causes of Death - Delia Bourne This is an overview of the medical conditions that plagued our ancestors and how to find what some of those causes of death listed in newspapers and on death records really meant. Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 6:30 PM, Discovery Center An Ancestor's Death -- A Time for Reaping - Curt Witcher Typically, no other time in our ancestors’ lives is the record creation potential as high as it is at their deaths. This talk, complemented with many record examples, spotlights numerous “happenings” surrounding an individual’s death that can generate records. Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 2:30 PM, Discovery Center Using the Genealogical Proof Standard and DNA as Power Tools and Problem Solvers - John Beatty This talk will discuss the various tenets of the GPS, show how to apply it in an actual case study, and show how both autosomal and mitochondrial DNA can be used to support or refute genealogical theories. Thursday, March 9, 2017, 6:30 PM, Chapman’s Brewery Taproom, 819 South Calhoun Street, Fort Wayne Genealogy of Beer and Beer Styles with Chapman’s Brewing Co. - Allison DePrey Singleton and Chapman’s Brewing Co. Discover the genealogy of beer and how the brewers’ home country influenced the style of beer they originally produced. The specifics of the beer itself will also be discussed: aromas, style, taste profile, things to consider when drinking, and how these have changed over time. Friday, March 10, 2017, 2:30 PM, Discovery Center Out of the Box Questions and the Methodology to Answering Them - Allison DePrey Singleton What are some of the unusual questions the librarians at The Genealogy Center receive and how do we answer them? Come and find out the methodology for answering “out of the box” questions. Saturday, March 11, 2017, 10:00 AM, Theater, Allen County Public Library Moody, Tearful Night Comes Alive - 30th Indiana Civil War Re-enactors, Inc. Have you ever seen a statue come to life? This is your chance! “Moody, Tearful Night,” the statue at the entrance to The Genealogy Center, will be brought to life by a group of talented re-enactors from the 30th Indiana. The last day of Lincoln’s life will be brought to life followed by the re-enactors answering your questions about what occurred that fateful day. For more information, see our brochure at http://genealogycenter.org/docs/marchmadness2017. To register for any or all of these free events, call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info.

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Celebrate Women’s History – Saturday, March 25, 2017

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We all have just as many female ancestors as we do male, but often women’s activities were considered too prosaic or unimportant to record. But many women lead vital, active lives. Commemorate Women’s History Month by attending our day devoted to examining some of these dynamic women. Sessions include: 10:00 AM, Discovery Center Clubwomen and Music in Gilded Age Chicago: Frances Macbeth Glessner, Mozart, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Melanie Bookout Melanie Bookout examines the work of a major music patron, Frances Macbeth Glessner (1848- 1932), patron and friend to many of the best musicians, artists, poets, and writers who lived or worked in Chicago. Glessner was an accomplished pianist, and her activities as clubwoman and patron offer a rich glimpse of music-making in “frontier” America. 11:30 AM, Discovery Center Mommy, What Did You Do During the War? - Delia Bourne How did women participate in the military efforts during war time in the United States? How did this change from one war to the next? Discover answers to these questions and how your female ancestors could have contributed to the military efforts through the years. 1:30 PM, Discovery Center Dames and Darbies: Female Detectives - Allison DePrey Singleton Learn about women detectives, a most unusual profession for the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Women like Alice Clement, Kate Warne, Mary Shanley, and Frances Glessner Lee (daughter of Frances Macbeth Glessner) paved the way for women doing detective work today. For more information, see our brochure at http://genealogycenter.org/docs/whm2017. To register for any or all of these free events, call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info.

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DNA and Genealogy Interest Group

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Have you done a DNA test for genealogical purposes? Do you completely understand the results you received? Do you need advice in interpreting your results? Are you interested and wonder what the best test is for you? Come to the DNA & Genealogy Interest Group Meeting on the 1st Thursday of the month from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. to share and learn from each other! The next meeting is Thursday, March 2, 2017! Come in and share!

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Keep Up with Upcoming Events

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Preservation is part of family history: preservation of family and community history; preservation of family and community documents and heirlooms; preservation of written and spoken word. The Genealogy Center will celebrate Preservation Week from April 23 to April 29, 2017, with information on the care and preservation of your family and your community’s stories. Sessions will be held in the Discovery Center every day the last week of April. For information about these events, watch our Events page at http://genealogycenter.org/Events.aspx.

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Staying Informed about Genealogy Center Programming

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Do you want to know what we’ve got planned? Are you interested in one of our events, but forget? We are now offering 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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Area Calendar of Events

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Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana, Inc. (ACGSI) Monthly Program March 8, 2017 - Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Refreshments at 6:30 p.m., program at 7 p.m. Joe Springer will present: “Amish Mennonite Immigrants to Allen and Adams Counties.” ACGSI Genealogy Technology Group March 15, 2017 – Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 7 p.m. Mary Penrose Wayne DAR Chapter Library Help Day for Prospective Members March 1, 2017 - Allen County Public Library, The Genealogy Center, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 10 - 4 p.m. Mary Penrose Wayne DAR Chapter Meeting March 11, 2017 - Allen County Public Library, Room A, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1 p.m. Program: "Military Uniforms" by Kim Lobsinger The George R. Mather Lecture Series March 5, 2017 – The History Center, 302 East Berry Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 2 p.m. Blake Sebring will present: “Indiana’s All-Time Greatest Sports Stories.”

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