March 2005

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 13, March 31, 2005 In this issue:

A New Year, A New Program and A New Book!

Library Acquires an Anthony Wayne Family Bible

Georgia Land Lottery Indexes

Genealogy Email Tips

Hotel of the month

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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A New Year, A New Program and A New Book! by Curt Witcher

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With this issue, we start our second year of publishing “Genealogy Gems.” I hope the monthly e-zine has provided you with many benefits for your genealogical research and a much better idea of the depth and scope of our collection here in Fort Wayne. Look for even more information in the coming months about useful new collections and some “new extras” in this coming year’s editions. On April 20th and 21st, the Allen County Public Library is sponsoring a seminar on British Isles Research that you simply cannot afford to miss. Paul Blake and Maggie Loughran of the Federation of Family History Societies in England will be in Fort Wayne to present an introduction to British research followed by an all-day workshop. This British Seminar will be packed with useful methodology tips, and the best sources of historical and genealogical information for researching in the British Isles. The details are listed in the following schedule of events. British Seminar Wednesday, April 20, 2005--Georgetown Branch Library--Main Meeting Room [6600 East State Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46815] 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Registration 7:00 p.m. Welcome by Curt Witcher & Introduction of Speakers 7:05 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Beginning Your British Research – Paul Blake & Maggie Loughran Thursday, April 21, 2005--Main Library--Meeting Rooms 244 and 317 [200 East Berry Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802] 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Registration and Welcome [Choose one topic each hour.] 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. A. Sources for Emigrants to North America held in the British Isles – Paul Blake B. Basic British Family History Websites – Maggie Loughran 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. -- Break 11:00 a.m. – Noon A. Land Grants in America and American Loyalist Claims: Records Held in the British Isles– Paul Blake B. Early British Population Listings – Maggie Loughran Noon – 1:30 p.m. Lunch on Your Own [A map of restaurants within a short walking distance of the library will be available.] 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. A. Discovering the Scottish Presbyterian Forebears of the Scots Irish – Paul Blake B. How British Family and Local History Societies Can Help You with Your Research – Maggie Loughran 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. -- Break 3:00 p.m. Q & A Session on British Research – Panel Paul Blake, Maggie Loughran, Ryan Taylor, & Steve Myers Don’t miss this excellent educational opportunity! The seminar is free—however, preregistration is required. Email  or call (260) 421-1225 to register. Do it today while it’s fresh in your mind! As the following book relates to Indiana and is a very fine compilation, I would like to bring to your attention a very new and very worthwhile publication by Dennis Northcott entitled, “Indiana Civil War Veterans: Transcription of the Death Rolls of the Department of Indiana, Grand Army of the Republic, 1882-1948.” This work contains records of more than 22,000 members of the Grand Army of the Republic— the GAR being the largest association of Civil War Union veterans. In addition to each GAR member's name, one will also find rank, company, regiment or ship, name and location of the GAR post (i.e., local chapter) to which he belonged, and date of death. Additional appendices provide supplemental data including biographies of some of the more prominent veterans. An order form and further details are available at .

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Library Acquires an Anthony Wayne Family Bible by John D. Beatty

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The Allen County Public Library has added an artifact of historical and genealogical significance to its collection with its recent acquisition of the Anthony and Mary (Penrose) Wayne Family Bible. General Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) was a staff officer of George Washington during the Revolutionary War and later took charge of the American army in the 1790s. His military victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers helped to establish American control of the Old Northwest Territory. The artifact complements a manuscript letter of General Wayne, which the library acquired in 1994. Published in 1788, the Wayne family bible was presented by Wayne’s wife Mary to their son Isaac Wayne, a Philadelphia attorney, probably soon after the book was published and contains what appears to be her inscription to him. Perhaps it was Isaac Wayne who carefully recorded the deaths of both of his parents on the bible’s flyleaves, as well as his own marriage and the births and deaths of his children. Later, the bible passed to Isaac’s niece, Mary Wayne (Atlee) Evans, daughter of William Richardson Atlee and Margaretta Wayne, and wife of Issachar Evans, who continued the tradition of recording family events in its pages. More than sixty years of family information is recorded, and the result is a virtual manuscript genealogy of vital events, representing possibly the most significant primary source for the study of Anthony Wayne’s descendants. A variety of genealogical documents accompany the bible, including two fragments for the ancestors of Issachar Evans; pages from the Robert and Margaret Towers Bible, published in London in 1756; and pages from the bible of Jonathan and Mary Gostilowe and Robert T. and Eliza (Ridgway) Evans, published at Oxford, England in 1762. Among the other documents is a typescript description of the Anthony Wayne birthplace at Waynesborough, Pennsylvania. The Library plans to digitize these manuscripts and post them on its website in the near future.

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Georgia Land Lottery Indexes By Delia Cothrun Bourne

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No other state gave land away in quite the same manner as did Georgia with her land lotteries. Over two decades, eight lotteries (1805, 1807, 1820, 1821, 1827, land and gold lotteries in 1832, and 1833) gave to white settlers the lands owned by the Cherokee and Creek tribes. Fulfilling residency requirements, varying from one to three years, adult bachelors were entitled to one draw; men with a wife and/or child got two; a widow with minor child, two; a minor orphan, or family of orphans, one. Invalid or indigent Revolutionary veterans received an extra two draws. Eligibility varied through the years, sometimes including single women 21 and over, or indigent and disabled veterans of other wars. A draw was a chance at land, not a guarantee. “Fortunate drawers” in previous lotteries were not eligible for later lotteries. Fees were charged primarily to support the bureaucracy of the system. Among the volumes ACPL owns on the lotteries are Robert Davis and Silas Lucas’s Georgia land lottery papers, 1805-1914 (975.8 D295ge), Martha Lou Houston’s Reprint of official register of land lottery of Georgia, 1827 (975.8 R29h), and James Smith’s Cherokee land lottery (975.8 Sm6c). The Davis-Lucas book consists primarily of abstracts of selected loose papers from the Georgia Surveyor General’s Department, with a map showing areas of each lottery and a list of the counties formed by the lotteries. The Smith book includes land and gold lotteries, with maps of each district. Silas Lucas also published several indexes, including Second or 1807 land lottery of Georgia (975.8 Se2), Third and fourth or 1820 and 1821 land lotteries of Georgia (975.8 G2964t), and 1832 gold lottery of Georgia (975.8 L96e). These volumes list grantee, militia district, lot number, district number and county where the lot is located. Virginia and Ralph Wood’s 1805 Georgia land lottery (975.8 W85e) lists all registrants, not just the fortunate drawers, name, serial number, indication of prize or blank (those who were not “fortunate drawers”), and county of residence. Lottery Grants to Revolutionary Veterans by Alex Hitz (975.8 G296a) lists veterans in the third, fifth and sixth lotteries by name, with county of residence, lottery year, land lot number, district number, sometimes section number, and county. Alphabetical index to Georgia’s 1832 gold lottery by Mary Bondurant Warren (975.8 W25a) includes some fraudulent drawers. Those seeking early settlers in Georgia should make a point to try these volumes.

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Sending Genealogy E-mails: The following advice was offered by the listmaster of a very busy RootsWeb mailing list. It’s worth taking to heart: In order to increase the chances that queries will be noticed by subscribers who may have answers, let me urge posters to use informative subject lines, and to give any relevant surnames in CAPITAL LETTERS, both in the subject line, and in the body of the message. (This is not a rule, but is common advice in most genealogy mailing lists.) ...Typically I do not have time to open any messages that do not have subject lines which indicate that the message contents may be of relevance to me. I'm sure I am not alone in this regard. Here is a list of ill-chosen subject lines from very recent messages, all uninformative: Can anyone advise me how to Proceed? Surname interests 1891 Baptism Look up Reguest Pls. A question Can anyone answer? Eunice NZ Request from NZ - Brian Randell, listmaster of Devon-L Surely the first step in getting help through a mailing list is having the listers open your messages!

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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. AmericInn of Fort Wayne, IN 2902 East Dupont Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46825 phone 260 490 7950 fax 260 490 8741 The hotel features continental breakfast, guest laundry and indoor pool. Parking includes room for oversize vehicles. Standard room amenities in this 78 room hotel include 27" televisions with cable and movie channels, free local calls and coffeemaker. Some rooms also include an iron, microwave, recliner, refrigerator, and sofa sleeper and are special access equipped. There are also two-room suites. Copying and fax available, and an internet access station for guest use. An ACPL staff member who stayed there paid $60 a night and suggests the hotel might suit our researchers.

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AREA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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Allen County Public Library 3rd floor atrium display area Passages: Immigration Wednesday, April 13, 2005 6:30 p.m. Refreshments 7:00 p.m. Program Dupont Branch of the Allen County Public Library, 536 E. Dupont Road, Fort Wayne, IN. 260-421-1315 Program: Ryan Taylor. English Research in Archives and the ups and downs of using a hand-held computer in archival retrieval Wednesday, April 20, 2004 at 7 p.m. Aboite Branch of the Allen County Public Library, 5630 Coventry Lane, Fort Wayne, IN 260-421-1310 Computer Users Group Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) First Wednesday of each month in the Genealogy Department 9am – 3pm. 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 April 30 Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society May 1 Celina, OH: Mercer County Chapter, OGS, 25th Anniversary Luncheon June 15 Anderson, IN: "Researching Native American Ancestry," Anderson Public Library Elaine Kuhn April 16 Akron, OH: Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference May 28 Windsor, ON: Ontario Genealogical Society Seminar Ryan Taylor April 10 Fort Wayne, IN: Indiana Jewish Federation April 11 Auburn, IN: DeKalb County Indiana Genealogical Society April 13 Fort Wayne, IN: Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana May 26 Windsor, ON: A British Day (Ontario Genealogical Society preconference) May 26 Windsor, ON: Ontario Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists (Ontario Genealogical Society pre-conference) May 26 Windsor, ON: Ontario Library Association (Ontario Genealogical Society pre-conference) May 27-29 Windsor, ON: Ontario Genealogical Society Seminar

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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=&se archtab=address&searchtype=address&address=200+E+Berry+St&city=Fort+Wayne&sta te=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 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. Look for a general genealogy query email address coming soon. Publishing Note: 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 send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in the subject line. Ryan Taylor, editor