July 2005

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 17, July 31, 2005

In this issue:

Allen County, Indiana Databases on the Web Continue to Grow

This Land Is My Land: the Indian Claims Commission

Kevan Hansen‛s Map Guide to German Parish Registers

Hotel of the Month Preservation

Tip of the Month

1911 Census of Canada

Area Calendar of Events

ACPL Librarians on Tour

Driving directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Queries for the Department

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Allen County, Indiana Databases on the Web Continue to Grow by Curt Witcher

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In the early years of the Historical Genealogy Department, staff and volunteers committed to creating access tools for local records and local publications that were un-indexed. Some attention was also given to indexing regional histories published for some states around the country. Many of these took the form of printed indices and abstracts as well as card indices. One such department-created card index was microfilmed a number of years ago by the Genealogical Society of Utah for use at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as well as to be loaned to interested individuals through local Family History Centers. The extremely long-titled, thirty-three roll set, “Historical and Biographical Index of the North East, Mid East, Mid South, and Mid West, U. S. A.” is also available in our department. This resource provides one with a quick way to survey a couple of hundred county histories for surnames of interest. Today, the department is committed to converting many of the print indices created decades ago to searchable databases. The first such conversion debuted on the FriendOfAllenCounty website this month--“Genealogical Records of German families in Allen County, Indiana, 1918” by Virginia Bloomfield. The information she transcribed came from the “Enemy Alien Registration Files” created by the Fort Wayne Police Department in 1918. A four page form was filled out which included a photo, fingerprints, and signatures among the information recorded. It is interesting to note that these forms (approximately 1500) still exist and are part of collections of the History Center (Fort Wayne-Allen County Historical Society). The actual forms are titled, “United States of America, Department of Justice, Registration Affidavit of Alien Enemy.” Fort Wayne residents who were German or Austrian, and not American citizens were required to file. And speaking of the FriendsOfAllenCounty website, by this time next month, the Fort Wayne and Allen County Obituary Index will have grown by another twenty-two thousand names--putting the total number of Allen County, Indiana names in all files waiting to be discovered at more than 600,000! Be sure you visit the site regularly for new databases and additions to existing databases.

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This Land Is My Land: the Indian Claims Commission by Roberta Ridley

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The Indian Claims Commission was established in 1946 to serve as a tribunal for the hearing and determination of claims against the United States arising prior to August 13, 1946 by any Indian tribe, band or other identifiable group of Indians living in the United States. It was determined that the compensation, originally paid by the Government for Indian lands ceded by treaty or other agreements after 1871, was shockingly low when compared to market value at the time of the first payments. Tribes were entitled to recovery minus any gratuitous offsets, including previously received compensation. The Commission also received claims for uncompensated taking of land. This collection covers claims reviewed by the commission from April 10, 1947 through May 2, 1969, and is the primary source of the 370 original petitions filed with the Commission prior to the cut off date of August 13, 1951. The Commission covered a broad area and became more aware of the problems arising between the United States and the Indians who occupied the lands sought by an expanding nation. The petitions, representing hundreds of native tribes, are separated into 611 different claims, each of which was given its own docket number. The information contains the Claims & Decisions along with: Tribal Index – a comprehensive guide to the dockets of the Commission Docket Index – an inclusive listing of all dockets Table of Cases – providing a chronology of each claim as it was heard by the Commission. Extracted example: Miami Tribe vs. United States, Dockets 256, 124D, E, and F Consolidated “Offsets – Payment on the Claim – Equity requires charging the full consideration, cash plus value of land, of 1840 Treaty to both Oklahoma and Indiana Miamis because (1) the 1840 land cession, the removal west and the lands granted the Miamis in Kansas were all part of the same transaction, (2) many of the Indiana Miamis received grants of land in the east, and (3) the Indiana Miamis in not going to Kansas failed to abide by the terms of the treaty. ‘The failure to remove itself was a direct benefit to these Indians because they did not have to suffer the burdens of moving or staying on Kansas land.‛ The Oklahoma Miamis are entitled to some benefits over the Indiana Miamis by reason of their having fulfilled their treaty obligations and undergone the burdens and suffering of living on the Kansas reservation. Pp 434, et seq.” **************************************

Kevan Hansen‛s Map Guide to German Parish Registers by John D. Beatty

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One of the vexing challenges for every genealogist doing research in Germany is dealing with geography. One may have the name of a village or town from a family Bible, passport, or other record, and may even be well-practiced using the Meyers Orts und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutchen Reichs to identify whether a town has a church. The town can then be searched in the Family History Library catalog for the availability of church and civil records. Invariably, however, a good genealogist will want to know more. What are the other parishes located near the primary ancestral parish? What are their boundaries? What villages were located within them? Did my ancestor have family connections in those parishes? These are important questions, and when using microfilmed parish records, a thorough researcher will want to have a good handle on the geography of an ancestral area in order to look for clues in the records of other nearby churches. It is not at all uncommon to find German families spread out over more than one parish, particularly if they were agricultural laborers. Couples often found their future spouses in neighboring towns. A useful new research tool to address these questions is Kevan Hansen's Map Guide to German Parish Registers series, published by Heritage Creations of North Salt Lake, Utah. Each of these volumes are devoted to particular German states and offer outline maps of parishes located within a particular Kreis or county. Thus, they are useful for determining the proximity of towns to other parishes in the area. In addition to offering clues about other possible records, they can "empower the researcher when confronted with the necessity of a radius search." Regrettably, they are not useful for identifying tiny villages located within the boundaries of a particular parish, because the maps are simply not sufficiently detailed. A more careful search of Meyers and the Karte des Deutches Reiches map series (available on film from the Family History Library) may still be worthwhile. At this writing, 10 volumes of the Map Guide are now in print, covering the Grand Duchies of Hessen, Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the province of Hessen-Nassau and the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg. Additional volumes are planned for the rest of the German Empire, with the Rhineland expected soon. Few German families lived in the isolation of a single village. Knowing what towns were located nearby will almost certainly help a researcher locate additional family connections in nearby churches

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Preservation Tip of the Month ACPL‛s Preservation Technician Becky Schipper offers advice on conserving your documents: A very good site for anyone interested in conservation is the website for the American Institute for Conservation Of Historic & Artistic Works: http://aic.stanford.edu/

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1911 Census of Canada The longstanding difficulty regarding public access to the Canadian census after 1906 has been resolved, and the 1911 census has been released. Digitized images can be consulted at the Library and Archives of Canada site, http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/1911/index-e.html The census is not indexed, but the full entries (in digitized form) are given and there is a table of census districts and sub-districts to assist you in choosing the one you need. Once you have a census page in front of you, manipulating it to see the data, store or print it is similar to the censuses on Ancestry.com. Although LAC states that some pages are faded and hard to read, I have not encountered any that were indecipherable.

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HOTEL OF THE MONTH

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Each issue we will feature a local hotel, for visitors from out-of-town. Best Western Luxbury Inn 5501 Coventry Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46804-7144 phone 260 436 0242 fax 260 436 2256 toll-free reservations 800 223 5615 The Best Western Luxbury Inn is at Exit 102 of I-69, convenient for those approaching Fort Wayne from the south. It is located within walking distance of nine restaurants, a movie theater, grocery, pharmacy and three banks. Amenities include continental breakfast and newspapers in the lobby, outdoor pool and exercise room, guest laundry, fax and photocopying service, dataports, in-room coffeemaker and iron. Oversize rooms, suites, recliner chairs and whirlpools are available. It is about six miles (twenty minutes) to the library downtown, an easy drive along Jefferson Boulevard.

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AREA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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Allen County Public Library 3 rd floor atrium display area Passages: Immigration Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) http://www.ipfw.edu/ipfwhist/historgs/acgsi.htm. Gather at 6:30 for coffee and socializing; the meeting begins at 7 pm. Meetings will resume in September. The September 14 meeting will be at Aboite branch ACPL. Curt Witcher will speak on “Timeline and Treasures: Future Plans and Current Collections in the Genealogy Department.” Computer Users Group The computer users group will meet again on September 21. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) First Wednesday of each month in the Genealogy Department 9am – 7pm. Expert help from members of the DAR in becoming a member of that organization

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ACPL LIBRARIANS ON TOUR

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Curt Witcher 18 August: Midwestern Roots Pre-Conference, Panel Discussion on "History and Genealogy: Why Not Both?", Indiana History Center (Indiana Historical Society Headquarters), Indianapolis, IN, 6:00pm 27 August: "Your Society Wants YOU! Effective Recruiting Strategies for Genealogical Societies." Ohio Genealogical Society Chapter Management Seminar, Batavia, OH, 1:15pm 7-10 September: Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, Salt Lake City, UT 9 September: Doing the History Eliminates the Mystery 10 September: Using the Forgotten and Maligned: Key Government Documents for Genealogical Research Ryan Taylor 19 September: Steuben County Genealogical Society, Angola, IN 8 October: Westfield Genealogical Group, Westfield, IN

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DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO THE LIBRARY

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Wondering how to get to the library? Our exciting transition location is 200 E. Berry, Fort Wayne, Indiana. We will be at this location until late 2006. We would enjoy having you visit the Genealogy Department. To get directions from your exact location to 200 E. Berry, Fort Wayne, Indiana, visit this link at MapQuest: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=250&addtohistory=&s earchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=200+E+Berry+St&city=Fort+Wayne&s tate=IN&zipcode=46802-2706&search=++Search++&finditform=1 From the South Exit Interstate 69 at exit 102. Drive east on Jefferson Blvd. into downtown. Turn left on Barr Street to Berry Street. The library is located on the corner of Berry and Barr Streets. From the North Exit Interstate 69 at exit 112. Drive south on Coldwater Road, which merges into Clinton Street. Continue south on Clinton, the library will be on your left when you cross Berry Street. From the West Using US 30: Drive into town on US 30. US 30 turns into Goshen Road. Coming up to an angled street (State Street.) make an angled left turn. Turn right on Wells Street. Go south on Wells to Wayne Street. Left on Wayne Street. When you cross Clinton, the library will be on your left on Wayne Street. 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. Turn right on Barr Street. Turn left on Berry Street. The library is on your left on Berry Street.

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PARKING AT THE LIBRARY

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Lot in front of the library, east side Available for short-term library parking. Limited to one hour. Tippman Parking Garage Clinton and Wayne Streets. Across from the library, however the skybridge is NOT accessible. Hourly parking, $1.25 per hour up to a maximum of $5.00 per day. Park Place Lot Covered parking on Barr Street at Main Street. This lot is one block away from the library. Hourly parking Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm. Street (metered) parking on Wayne Street and Berry Street. 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 Covered parking 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 DEPARTMENT QUERIES

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The Historical Genealogy Department 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 Historical Genealogy Department, 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.FriendsOfAllenCounty.org. 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 GenealogyGems you just received or send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in the subject line. Ryan Taylor, editor