May 2010

Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 75, May 31, 2010 In this issue:

“Land of the Free Because of the Brave”

Colonial Court Records: An Underutilized Source The “Wisconsin Necrology” Technology Tip of the Month--Further Adventures with Adobe Photoshop: Levels Eyedropper Tools Preservation Tip of the Month--Protecting Your Keepsakes Genealogy Center Mini-Course: Family History 101 Genealogy @ Night Preserve YOUR Story Librarians on Parade Area Calendar of Events Driving Directions to the Library Parking at the Library Queries for the Department

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“Land of the Free Because of the Brave” by Curt B. Witcher

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I trust you took some time this Memorial Day to honor the men and women who have served, and are serving, in the military. Truly, this is the “land of the free because of the brave.” In that honoring, I hope you also thought of ways you could pay tribute to your ancestors, in recent or distant generations, who served in the military. There are great ways to do that. The “Our Military Heritage” portion of the Genealogy Center website  continues to be a great place to have service, pension, and other military records posted, both to share and to preserve that valuable historical information. Just this month, we added the “World War II Letters and Papers of Jack Raymond Oxley” to the site, as well as dozens of 19th century pension files contributed by patrons of the Center. Many more documents and files will be loaded this summer. The current pathways for contributing are found under the “Share Materials” link on that website. The WeRelate.org website is also a good vehicle for sharing and preserving military information because it enables anyone to upload historical data and images of documents. Not only can you upload the materials yourself at this site, you can also add to your document image collections at any time and modify information as you discover more facts about an ancestor‛s military service. There is a beginning collection of tombstone images under the heading “Deceased Veterans of North Carolina” and links to some Delaware military burial sites as two examples. Much more could be added. I invite you to use the weeks between Memorial Day in May 2010 and Veterans‛ Day in November 2010 to do something tangible to document any military service history you may have in your family and to help preserve military documents and records. First, if you have an ancestor living during the time of a military engagement, explore the possibility that he may have served in the engagement. If you find he did serve, commit to the task of completely documenting that military service. Once documented, engage in the rigors of joining a patriotic or military heritage society so that your family‛s military information will be part of a larger organization‛s records preservation efforts. Second, actively engage in preserving historical military records by contributing to preservation and publication efforts. Many local and state archives around the country are digitizing military records to make them more accessible to researchers. Are you able to support any of those initiatives where you live? The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has asked the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) to coordinate raising the funds necessary to digitize all the War of 1812 pension files. NARA indicates that the War of 1812 pension files are among the most requested record groups by researchers, with more than three thousand files being requested each year. The files are ready for immediate digital imaging. The task that remains before us is to raise the $3.7 million necessary to scan the more than 7.2 million images. That is certainly a formidable challenge. But what a worthy goal--to make this information freely available to historians, genealogists, military enthusiasts, students, and interested others. Digitizing more than seven million images is a tall order, but remember so was defending a new country struggling to ensure that its independent democracy would prevail. Visit the FGS “Preserve the Pensions!” website at www.FGS.org/1812 to learn more about the project, see sample pension files, and explore the many options for giving. Are you able to support this important activity? Before our next ezine is published, it officially will be summer. I hope you are actively planning to fill your summer days with many genealogical activities. Include in those activities preserving your military heritage as well as visiting the Genealogy Center here in Fort Wayne!

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Colonial Court Records: An Underutilized Source by Steven W. Myers

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Genealogists, who may have come to the field with a popular view of the late twentieth century as the birthplace of most modern social ills, will be disabused of that notion by a simple stroll through colonial court records. Adultery, arson, beating, bestiality, counterfeiting, defamation, devil worship, divorce, executions, forgery, fornication, incest, murder, piracy, prison breaks, profanity, rape, riot, robbery, treason, vandalism, and witchcraft are all represented in surviving records of the 17th and 18th century courts. In short, people have been people for a very long time. The recent publication of the “Colony of Connecticut, Minutes of the Court of Assistants, 1669- 1711,” (974.6 UL44c) transcribed and indexed by Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG, makes one group of these early court records easily accessible. The detailed index includes names, places and many subjects save “common ones such as debt, land titles, or disputes over boundaries, hay, and timber.” Name entries indicate when a person‛s estate is being referenced or if someone appears as a juror. Inclusive headings for Indian, Negro, Animals, Occupations and Weapons provide references for those individuals and subjects. The Court of Assistants heard appeals from lower courts and had jurisdiction over divorce and murder. In 1673, the court convicted Daniel Bly of “notorious prophane cursing” and “scandalously defaming Mr. Handford & violently assaulting one of his Majesties officers.” Fined, but unable to pay, Bly was sentenced to servitude in the Barbadoes and to “be whipt once a week” if he returned. In 1706, the court dealt with a case concerning the charge that “Joseph Mallerie of the towne of Newhaven In the Countie of Newhaven Labourer…did willfully wickedly and Violently Assault Sarah the wife of Thomas Beech…with felonious Intent to Committ a Rape…” The religious sensibilities of the time are in evidence with the accused often described as “not having the fear of God” and acting “through the instigation of the Devill.” In one case, the minutes cite “their wickedness to the Great dishonor of the name of God and prouocation of his Just wrath by such a crying sin…” Similar early court records of ancestral disputes and criminal mischief would be worth investigation for anyone with colonial forebears. Relationships, occupations and other details unavailable in other records are the potential reward. Of course, many of these colonial court records have never been published or microfilmed, let alone digitized, so visits to state archives and a familiarity with the handwriting and flexible spelling of the day may be necessary.

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The “Wisconsin Necrology” by John D. Beatty

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Obituaries, as every researcher knows, are often goldmines of genealogical information. If they are collected for a particular place and indexed, they become much more accessible, especially when the original newspapers may no longer exist. One such valuable collection is the “Wisconsin Necrology,” gathered over many years by the Wisconsin Historical Society and available in the Genealogy Center on seven reels of microfilm under the title, “Wisconsin Deaths Taken from Assorted Wisconsin Newspapers.” The collection consists of 52 scrapbooks containing nearly 30,000 obituaries gleaned from various Wisconsin newspapers spanning the years 1846 to 1944. The obituaries in the Necrology are recorded in various formats. Some are original clippings, mounted on paper with the newspaper name and date, and occasionally contain additional comments or annotations. Others are handwritten, evidently copied from a newspaper or intended for later publication. These also contain annotations, sometimes in the hand of Lyman Draper or other Wisconsin Historical Society librarians. While the volumes generally follow a chronological format, especially after 1892, some of the earlier volumes overlap in their dates of coverage. For example, volume two covers the years 1869 to 1889 while volume three spans from 1875 to 1891. Each of the 52 volumes in the collection opens with a typewritten index that references page numbers in that particular scrapbook. Researchers will find all of these entries included in the Wisconsin Historical Society‛s “Wisconsin Genealogy Index,” available online at www.wisconsinhistory.org/vitalrecords It is not immediately clear what criteria the society used to select obituaries for the Necrology. While the obituaries of prominent white men – pioneers, lawyers, judges, clergy, and business leaders – predominate in the earlier volumes, sometimes with accompanying newspaper portraits, those of women begin to appear with increasing frequency by the 1880s. In 1883, for example, we find the Milwaukee Sentinel obituary of a former slave, Mrs. Lucy Burel, reportedly aged 110. While the complete obituary was not clipped, the remnant states that she had served in bondage in Kentucky and Missouri and that she had ten children, of which only four reached maturity. Two have since died “and one has not been heard of since some time before the war. It may be possible that he is still alive, but Mrs. Carter, the sole remaining daughter, believes him dead.” This source is valuable for anyone with Wisconsin connections and can be helpful in locating a place of death, if not already known.

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Technology Tip of the Month--Further Adventures with Adobe Photoshop: Levels Eyedropper Tools by Kay Spears

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The Levels Eyedropper tools provide just one method for restoring the color in old photographs that are faded and have developed a yellow or pink cast. For this lesson, we are going to use the Levels tool located in the Layers Palette. There are two ways to open the Levels tool: by going to the menu bar and clicking on Image>Adjustments>Levels, or by opening the one in the Layers Palette. When you run your cursor along the icons located at the bottom of the Layers Palette, a pop-up box should appear that says “Create new fill or adjustment layer.” Click on that icon, then click on the word Levels to open the Levels dialog box. In that dialog box is a histogram, which looks like a graph. Right below the histogram is a sliding bar with three little triangles. Below that is the output levels bar and over to the right, above the “preview” checkbox, are three little eyedroppers. It is these eyedroppers that we are going to talk about, because they can do magical things to your old photographs. First, study your photograph. Imagine which areas might have been neutral or gray. Go to the middle eyedropper (gray point) and click on it. Your cursor‛s appearance will change to an eyedropper. Click the eyedropper on the area in the photograph that you believe to have been a neutral color. If you guess correctly, the unwanted color cast will be removed. At this point, your photograph may look the way you want it to and no further repair will be necessary. However, we have two more eyedroppers. The left eyedropper is the black point and the right eyedropper is the white point. Study the photo again and locate what you consider to be the darkest point. Click the left eyedropper (black), then return to the photograph and click on the area you consider darkest. The photograph should become quite vibrant at this point. You may do a similar thing with the right eyedropper (white) on the lightest point or, if you are happy with the results already, you can stop at this point. Or you can use the white eyedropper first, then the black. A word of warning – you do not want your black and white points to be pure black and pure white, so you may have to tweak the photo with the slide bars under the histogram. Since we‛ve used the Layers Palette, if you don‛t like the results, you can take this Levels layer and drag it to the trash bin without altering your photograph. You can apply this eyedropper fix to black and white photographs too. Remember that every photograph is unique and each fix yields a different result. So, if you want your skills to improve, experiment and practice are the best ways to learn Adobe. Next: Using Color Channels (RGB) to Correct Black and White Photos

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Preservation Tip of the Month--Protecting Your Keepsakes by Becky Schipper

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Some tips from the American Institute for Conservation‛s online guides to “Caring for Your Treasures.” Books: Books require a cool, dry environment. Extremes in moisture and temperature can promote mold growth and cause the books to expand and contract, damaging the pages and their binding. Avoid prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light sources like sunshine and fluorescent bulbs. Books displayed on shelves should stand vertically, supported on both sides by an adjacent volume or bookend (but not too tightly). Leaning them diagonally against opposing surfaces can distort the spine and damage the cover. When packing your books for storage, use acid-free corrugated cardboard boxes Ephemera Keep paper products like letters, drawings, and newspapers cool and dry. Limit exposure to ultraviolet light. Use incandescent or tungsten bulbs when viewing the documents or lighting them for display. Whether you‛re storing or displaying paper materials, make sure you do it using chemically stable folders, boxes, and mat boards strong enough to prevent bending. Photographs Always keep photographs in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. High temperatures and moisture levels can accelerate deterioration and the growth of damaging molds. Protect photos from dust and light damage by storing them in plastic or paper containers that are chemically stable and free of acids, sulfur, and peroxides. When using photo albums, avoid those with magnetic or sticky pages, and store them in custom-fitted, acid-free boxes. Avoid prolonged exposure to light. Whenever possible, display a duplicate in place of the original, and frame it with acid-free materials and ultraviolet-filtering For more information on protecting your keepsakes, visit the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

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Genealogy Center Mini-Course: Family History 101

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Hurry and register for our very popular mini-course, "Family History 101," being presented on June 18 and 19, 2010. Instructors Margery Graham, CG and Steve Myers, MLS, will again provide an excellent way for beginners to get started, for newer researchers to review important concepts and sources, and for seasoned researchers to sharpen their skills. "Family History 101" will cover the following topics: Session 1: Getting Started on Your Family History--Start your family history adventure off on the right foot. Learn about important first steps, home sources, interviewing, organizing what you collect, standard forms, using computer catalogs, and more! Session 2: Basic Research Methods--Learn how to plan a successful search, gather evidence, and record and document what you find. Session 3: Census Records - A Cornerstone Source--Learn how federal population schedules, state census records, as well as auxiliary schedules and census substitutes can all help advance your research. Session 4: Vital Records - Birth, Marriage & Death--Learn how to use published and online sources for vital records, how to contact record offices, and how newspaper and cemetery records can fill in the gaps. Session 5: Published Local History & Family History Sources—Learn about the wealth of information available in local history publications, how to track down obscure sources, and how to find out what others have already done on your families. Session 6: Directories, Maps & Gazetteers--Learn about the many features of directories, maps and place name dictionaries that can help you pin down exactly where your ancestors lived and what they were doing there. The registration fee for the "Family History 101" mini-course is $50. Checks should be made payable to "ACPL Foundation" and mailed to: Genealogy Center, Allen County Public Library, P.O. Box 2270, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270. Mini-course attendance will be limited, so register early to avoid disappointment. Additional information and a workshop schedule will be posted soon on our Web site at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/programs.html Margery Graham and Steve Myers are already scheduled to offer "Family History: Beyond the Basics," covering more advanced sources and problem solving, on Friday and Saturday, September 17-18, 2010.

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Genealogy @ Night

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Remember our summer series will be in the evenings of the third Tuesdays of each month. On the third Tuesday of June, July, and August, the Genealogy Center will offer a research guidance lecture. Cynthia Theusch will offer information on doing "French Canadian Research at ACPL" on June 15, John Beatty will present "Researching Indiana Court Records" on July 20, and Dawne Slater-Putt will cap the series by telling us about "Cataloging 3-D Items & Heirlooms" on August 17. All of these are at 6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room A. Look for more information at our Website http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/programs.html and remember to register soon via email to Genealogy@ACPL.Info or by phone at 260-421-1225. Plan to visit us in the evenings this summer!

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Preserve YOUR Story

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The Genealogy Center will offer the following lectures on preserving personal, family and community history to supplement NIPR's activities during StoryCorps' visit to northeast Indiana. < http://storycorps.org> All of the programs will be at the Allen County Public Library‛s Main Library at 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN in one of the first floor meetings rooms. Basics of Scanning by Kay Spears This lecture will cover the essentials of organizing, scanning, and storing family (or other) photographs digitally, as well as provide suggestions on the equipment you may need. (Basic computer knowledge is helpful in getting the most from this presentation.) Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Preserving Your Family History by Rebecca Schipper Discover how to care for and store documents, photos, books, textiles and other precious family treasures. Tuesday, July 13, 2010 "Cataloging" 3-D Items & Heirlooms Dawne Slater-Putt Many of the objects in our home are heirlooms - they were passed down to us from someone else. Others have a story or an anecdote associated with them that has become part of our family's oral history. As genealogists, we organize our paper files; but when we are gone who will know that the sugar bowl in the cupboard belonged to Great Grandma Mattie, or which child made the clay handprint in kindergarten? And who will know why a particular wine cork was saved? This talk will discuss ways of recording information about three-dimensional objects so that future generations can enjoy not just the objects, but the history and special stories that go along with them. Monday, July 19, 2010 Being Creative with Your Family History Cynthia Theusch You've spent a lot of time gathering information about your ancestors, but you‛re not quite ready to write the family genealogy book. This program will highlight a variety of creative ways to present your family history and gift ideas for family members. Thursday, July 29, 2010 Please register via email to Genealogy@ACPL.Info or by phone at 260-421-1225.

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Librarians on Parade in June 2010

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Curt Witcher June 9, 2010, Allen County Genealogical Society Annual Dinner Meeting, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, Meeting Rooms A-B, 6:00 p.m. Presentation: “Preserving YOUR Story“ June 11-13, 2010, Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel, Burbank, CA. Presentations: “Native American/First Nations Research,” “Roll Call: New Sites and Sources for Military Records and Research,” “Finding the World with WorldCat,” and “Hunting in the Hoosier State: Genealogical Research in Indiana.” Cynthia Theusch June 15, 2010, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, Meeting Room A, 6:30 p.m. Presentation: "French Canadian Research at ACPL."

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Area Calendar of Events

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Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) June 9, 2010, 6:00 p.m. annual dinner meeting. Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, Meeting Rooms A-B. Curt B. Witcher will present “Preserving YOUR Story” Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN June 6, 2010, 2:00 p.m. – Dennis Giere will present “History of the Fort Wayne Fire Department."

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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.Info. Scroll down toward the bottom of the first screen where it says, "Enter Your Email Address to Subscribe to "Genealogy Gems." Enter your email address in the yellow box and click on "Subscribe." You will be notified with a confirmation email. If you do not want to receive this e-zine, please follow the link at the very bottom of the issue of Genealogy Gems you just received or send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in the subject line. Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors