November 2019

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Allen County Public Library at Fort Wayne No. 189, November 30, 2019

In this issue:

Holiday Gatherings--The Best of Times

Nearby History

Scandinavian Genealogy Basics

Technology Tip of the Month: The Adventure Continues, Adobe Elements 2018, Fun Edits Guided Tab. We will make puzzles.

PERSI Gems--Interesting Surnames

History Tidbits: Walt Disney’s Role in WWII Propaganda

Library Catalog Insider

DNA Interest Group

Celebrate Winter with WinterTech

December Technology in Genealogy User Group Meeting

Hidden Gems of Jewish Genealogy and Discovering the Shtetl

Staying Informed about Genealogy Center Programming

Area Calendar of Events

Genealogy Center Social Media

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Genealogy Center Queries

Publishing Note

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Holiday Gatherings--The Best of Times by Curt B. Witcher

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End-of-the-year holiday celebrations are already upon us. These are the best of times to listen again to family stories from yesteryear and share new stories that will become part of future gatherings and celebrations. Cooking legacy dishes that have graced tables for generations is often a central part of story sharing. The memories of great food and even greater conversations from this past Thanksgiving meal preparation and serving are still warm in my memory. My four sons all enjoy cooking and are very good chefs in their own right. Two of them with their wives decided to do a take-over of this Thanksgiving’s mid-day meal, with a third contributing his personal touch to a legacy dish. New dishes joined legacy offerings as the stove, oven, and counter danced with unique but complementary smells. Just before serving, the wonderful variety of colors joined the amazing scents in such a way that none of us could help but recall the wonderful holiday festivities of the past. Phrases like “do you remember when” and “that reminds me of” opened the door for healthy servings of stories and memories. It is good to recall how rich our holiday meal gatherings can be for remembering and sharing stories. Recall that the number one memory trigger is one’s sense of smell. The smell of a roasting turkey, legacy dishes like green bean and corn casseroles, a nicely smoked rack of ribs, or even just a freshly brewed cup of coffee can trigger all kinds of memories. Smell is truly the key that unlocks memories. When one joins the smell of freshly cooked dishes with the wonderful sight of just-outof-the-oven casseroles, it is a very powerful combination. In this holiday season, the power of story is so worth remembering. Indeed, it is good to recall some of the wisdom that has been previously shared about the importance of story in our lives and the lives of our descendants.

David C. Dollahite, Professor at Brigham Young University, tells us, “children love to hear their parents tell stories about themselves, especially when they were young since this helps children feel closer to their bigger, older parent . . . We can only gain from more actively engaging in the storytelling craft.”

A report from University of California, Berkeley researchers indicates that “listening to story podcasts activated sensations, emotions, and memories not on just one side but across the entire brain . . . Understanding a story requires access to all kinds of cognitive processes—social reasoning, spatial reasoning, emotional responses, visual imagery, and more . . . Listening to stories lights up the whole brain, not just a few areas.”

Emory’s Center for Neuropolicy, the Claremont Graduate School, and the University of California, Los Angeles' social cognitive neuroscience lab researchers all report that there is measureable activity in many spheres of our brains and discernable increases in levels of particular chemicals in our blood when we are reading or listening to stories. Story literally changes us.

Bruce Feiler tells us that the children who know more about their families’ histories are the children who have a higher emotional wellbeing. Indeed, knowing one’s story, one’s family history, is the number one predictor of a child’s belief that she or he can affect the world around them in good and positive ways. We sometimes lament the prospect that we might not have anyone interested in our family history research after we are gone. Maybe we could change that by starting a tradition of storytelling at every possible opportunity. It likely will make all the difference. “If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” ~Barry Lopez Here’s to stories in our holidays. May they be rich and wonderful, and bring smiles to our faces and our hearts.

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Nearby History by John D. Beatty, CG (r)

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Genealogy and local history are two disciplines with a close association. Local history focuses on historical events and individuals in a specific town or county in works that interest genealogists. A local historian uses a variety of records, including family histories, in their research. Genealogists, in turn, need to place their ancestors into local contexts in order to better reconstruct their world, and local histories often provide clues for locating obscure records that will flesh out that ancestor’s story. Thus, genealogists and local historians share an innate appreciation for each other’s work. The most useful guidebook for understanding the art of local history writing is “Nearby History: Exploring the Past around You” (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2019), GC 973 K995neb. The book, now in its fourth edition, was originally written in 1982 by the late David E. Kyvig and Myron A. Marty but has been expertly updated and revised this year by Larry Cebula. “Nearby History” is a timeless work, and under Cebula’s editorship it remains relevant for modern users. Kyvig and Marty set forth the broad themes that make up the discipline of writing local history. “Doing nearby history research encourages a way of thinking that can help in dealing with a great variety of current situations. Uncovering what has taken place over the years in a family, an organization, or a community reveals the origin of conditions, the causes of change, and the reason for the present circumstances.” This statement could apply equally to the family historian as to the local one. The book examines the need for studying history at the local level. Cebula reviews the plethora of electronic resources available today, such as digital books, census records, and other local records, that make it easier than ever to reconstruct the lives of obscure people in local contexts. While every genealogist knows these tools, the authors make clear that local historians must be more than historians, knowing not only how to tell a story but also having the ability “to gather and make the most of a wide variety of historical evidence.” The same is true for genealogists. The book goes on to explore those types of evidence, including both published and unpublished sources, oral history, photographs, artifacts, and landscapes and buildings. In each case the book gives useful tips on locating sources and evaluating them effectively in the context of a research project. New chapters by Cebula include “Research, Writing, and Leaving a Record,” and “Linking the Particular and the Universal.” Both speak equally to the family and the local historian. In the chapter on research and writing, the book discusses such note-taking tools as Zotero, a free online program for capturing digital information, but in some respects, the standards for genealogical documentation are more exacting. In the final chapter, “Linking the Particular and the Universal,” Cebula raises the question that should be asked by every historian about their work: Why should we care? In answering, the historian establishes the connections of a localized event to a larger historic trend or theme. “Each community, local institution, structure, and family is unique,” he writes, “and at the same time each shares characteristics with others of its kind. Every one occupies a different location in time, space, and circumstance that give it an individual identity.” Identifying those differences and commonalties is part of the historian’s task. Family historians could well benefit from the same advice. Genealogists do not live in a cocoon. The best ones examine the techniques of related disciplines and apply them to their own research and writing strategy. Many of the philosophies and tips outlined in “Nearby History” will aid and embellish the writing of a family history. It remains a seminal work for the local historian.

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Scandinavian Genealogy Basics by Sara Allen

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Americans are keenly interested in their immigrant origins. Many of the reference questions we receive here at The Genealogy Center relate to this topic – questions such as: Who was my immigrant ancestor? Where was the family living prior to immigration? And how and when did they get to America? Those with ancestors from Sweden, Norway, Denmark can often make significant genealogical progress on their immigrant ancestors due to the exceptional record-keeping in Scandinavia and the availability of online databases in both Europe and the United States that provide access to those country’s records. If you have Scandinavian roots, the first step is research the immigrant family in such U.S. sources as censuses; civil birth, marriage and death records; religious christenings, marriages, membership and burial records; naturalization records; passenger lists; and more. Try to determine as precisely as possible the full name (including European spelling of first and last names) and birth date of the immigrant, the date of immigration, the town or city of origin, and parents’ names. Armed with this information, a search of the available online records at the large genealogical databases of Ancestry ($), FamilySearch (free) and MyHeritage ($) should be the next step. FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) has many unique record sets for all three countries, while MyHeritage has a more complete set of civil census records for Scandinavian countries than the others. Also, don’t forget that both Ancestry and FamilySearch have a number of collections that have been digitized, but are not yet indexed by name, including church records from most extant parishes in Scandinavia. These are accessible through the Card Catalog of each site, where you can access the home page for each collection of church records. On that page, there will be a “Browse” option that you can use to select the correct parish, type of record, and years available. Then, start paging through the books. Ancestry is the only one of the three sites that allows for a search by an exact birth date – this option is under the “Birth, Marriage & Death” search category. To search for an ancestor’s birth or christening record, enter the first name of the child (in the native language), the date of birth, the country of birth, and then click the “Match all terms exactly” checkbox. You may have to play with variant spellings of the first name to get results. You can add the surname (use European spelling) to narrow down results. You can then expand your search to include all categories of records at Ancestry by clicking on the words “All categories” on the left hand side of the results page. This will bring up entries from Scandinavian civil censuses and clerical surveys, both of which record the birth dates of individuals. Keep in mind that the birthdate used by the family in the United States can be off from the actual date by a few days, months or even years. So use the “known” date as a starting point, but don’t be wedded to that date if other evidence to the contrary is found. Next, you should visit the online research portals for the National Archives for each country. The main web page is in the native language, but all have an English translation option (top right section of the home page). Each National Archives is working to index or digitize their country’s records and may have old maps, court records, deed records, wills and probate and much more available online.

• Swedish National Archives - https://riksarkivet.se/startpage

• Danish National Archives - https://www.sa.dk/en/

• National Archives of Norway - https://www.arkivverket.no/en

A unique feature of Scandinavian research is the usage of patronymics in naming patterns. This means that children usually take on the first name of the father + the word “son” or “datter” (or equivalent) as their surname. Under this scheme, Eric, son of Per Jansen, would be named Eric Persen, while Margareta, daughter of Per Jansen, would be named Margarata Persdatter. Another more uncommon situation is that some Scandinavians took the name of the farm or village where they lived or an ancestor’s military name as their surname. This tradition can cause quite a bit of confusion and difficulty when researching Scandinavians. Some people used several surnames within their lifetime, and sometimes even siblings would choose different surnames in adulthood. So the best advice for this situation is to research the same person three ways: 1) Using the surname of the person’s father 2) Using their patronymic name and 3) Using the farm or village name (if known). You may indeed find records for the same person under all those different variations. For further reading on Scandinavian research, try the “The Family Tree Guidebook to Europe” by Allison Dolan (GEN REF 929 D68F), and look for book “The Family Tree Scandinavian Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Ancestors in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark,” by David Fryxell, due to be released in December 2019. Finally, read through the FamilySearch Wiki pages on Scandinavian research at: www.familysearch/wiki.

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Technology Tip of the Month: The Adventure Continues, Adobe Elements 2018, Fun Edits Guided Tab. We will make puzzles. by Kay Spears

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You know genealogy is a puzzle, isn’t it? This month we are going to explore another way to look at puzzles. We are going to turn a photograph into one. Open up an image. In the Fun Edits, go to Puzzle Effects and click. There are four steps, and the first is picking the size of the puzzle piece. I picked large. When you click on Step 1, the image will change into a puzzle. But you are not done yet. We are going to get fancy now. Step 2 is Enhance puzzle pieces. In 2a, click on Select Tool, hover over a puzzle piece, and click on it. You should see an animated dotted line going around the piece. Try to hover near the center of the piece when you click, or you may end up selecting more than one piece. Now click on 2B, Extract Piece. The puzzle piece automatically moves out of its space. Now move that piece to where you want it by going to Step 3, your Move Tool. This will change your cursor to a fatter arrow, and you can then drag your piece wherever you want it. I found that I could repeat these steps as much as I wanted, so that I had more than one piece out of the puzzle. There is an Erasure tool that I found handy to use when I wanted to erase the lines left behind when I moved my pieces out. Even though there is not a button on the side for rotating the piece, I found a way. At the point when you have extracted your puzzle piece, look closely at the piece. There should be a Marquee (Selection Box) around it, and if you move you cursor over that box, the cursor should turn into a rotate tool. You can then rotate you puzzle piece, and then click on the green check. I also noticed that when the Move button was selected, I was still able to move any of the pieces around. And, there you have it, a puzzle with pieces. Next Fun Effect: Reflection. By the way, this one is fun. Select an image, and make sure the image is RGB (Red, Green, Black). You can use a black and white photograph, but you will be asked to convert it to an RGB. There are eight steps to this one, but they are all kind of fun. You can let your inner artist loose on this one. Step 1: Add a Reflection. As soon as you click on this button, a mirror image appears. Step 2: Eyedropper. Click on your Eyedropper tool and select a color. Step 3: Fill Background. When you click on the Fill Background tool, the color you selected in Step 2 tints the reflected image. Step 4: Now it is time to let your inner artist have control. There are three selections: Floor, Glass, and Water. Experiment with all of them. When you click on each tool, you should still be able to see what is happening to your image. You will get a different dialog box for each of them, along with options to play with. I had the most fun with Glass. Step 5: Adjust the Intensity. When you move the Slide Bar back and forth, it either lightens the reflection or darkens it. Step 6: Add Distortion. The image will automatically distort every time you click on the button. Step 7: Crop. If you used the distort button, there may be a need to crop the image. Step 8: Gradient Tool. I had to read this one carefully. First, you click on the tool. When you do this, your cursor changes into a small cross. Position the cross on the bottom of your reflection and drag it to the bottom of the original image. This should create a gradient. Now, you have an image with a reflection – isn’t it lovely? Technology Tip of the Month: The Adventure Continues, Adobe Elements 2018, Fun Edits Guided Tab. Shape Overlay.

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PERSI Gems--Interesting Surnames by Adam Barrone and Mike Hudson

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As every genealogist knows, some names can be harder to research than others. The ubiquitous Smith or Jones when combined with a Mary or a John can put a real kink in any research project. Currently, PERSI has 16,923 Smiths and 9,223 Jones. But some names make researching a lot easier. Here are a few notable examples from the PERSI database. Lieutenant Deciums et Ultimus Barziza, 4th Texas Inf. letter, Battle of Gaines' Mill, 1862, American Civil War, v.52, n.3, June 2013. Lt. Barziza was so named because he was the 10th and last child Dandelion B. Treecraft aka Daniel Bryan Whipple obituary, 1949-2011, CA, WA, FL, Mason County (WA) Genealogical Society, v.9, n.1, Sep. 2011 Volley and Thumbelisa Williams children photo, 1951, Berea, KY, Kentucky Explorer, v.28, n.8, Feb. 2014 Mary Talbot-Plummer Thurston family note, 1723+, VA, KY Kentucky Explorer, v.28, n.8, Feb. 2014 Kenny Gross, Burt Caudill, Willie Hayes, James Thorpe, and George Hairy Toad Hayes photo, 1960s, KY Kentucky Explorer, v.28, n.8, Feb. 2014 Ala California Varble Teague 84th birthday note, four generations photo, 1938, TX, AR, Montague County (TX) Genealogical Society v.25, n.2, Apr. 2010 Frederick Mayo-Menetta Ganer Anders Sylvester Malvina Lliewellen Sherrard wedding note, 1828, NC Lines and Pathways of Edgecombe (NC), v.11, n.9, July 2010 Phenomenal Kraus avoids arrest, goes to medicine show, H. P. Humbert's giant tapeworm removed, 1906, Moore House Memos (Loraine, OH), v.20, n.2, June 2010 May Twelfth Berry Palmer birth notice, May 12, 1888, n.p., Clay County (MO) Mosaic, July 2010 Always feel free to try a PERSI search here: http://search.findmypast.com/search/periodical-source-index

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History Tidbits: Walt Disney’s Role in WWII Propaganda by Allison DePrey Singleton

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When World War II broke out in Europe, the world was horrified that another war could occur again so soon after the Great War. When it finally reached the United States with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the country rose to the challenge with its full military might. As a part of the war effort to rally public support, artists created propaganda through a multitude of mediums, including posters, comics, radio shows, and animation. Let’s explore how this effort affected the Walt Disney Studios and the films that came out of this time period. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 500 U.S. Army troops marched into Walt Disney Studios, where they stayed for eight months. Their mission was not to take over the animation studio but to protect the nearby Lockheed aircraft plant from being bombed. In fact, artists from the Walt Disney Studios along with those from other studios camouflaged the aircraft plant to make it look like a suburb from the sky (https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/camouflage.html). Soon afterward, Disney put his 550 employees to work on propaganda films for each of the branches of the armed forces. The success of these educational films led to their release to the general public as well. The output of the studio was staggering. Before the war, it averaged just 27,000 feet of film per year. In the spring of 1942, the Navy alone requested Disney to produce 90,000 feet of film within three months. By March 1945, the studio had created more than 400,000 feet of film, the length of which would have created a movie lasting 68 hours. Among these films was a government-commissioned series produced by the famed director Frank Capra called “Why We Fight.” It featured such titles as “Prelude to War” (1942), “The Nazis Strike (1943), “Divide and Conquer” (1943), “The Battle of Britain” (1943), “The Battle of Russia” (1943), “The Battle of China” (1944), and “War Comes to America” (1945) . You can watch the series online through the Internet Archive website: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Frank+Capra%22. Disney’s production of “The New Spirit” was commissioned by the U.S. Treasury in order to win public support for the levying of income tax (https://archive.org/details/TheNewSpirit). It was followed by a second film, “The Spirit of ’43,” on the same topic (https://archive.org/details/TheSpiritOf43_56). A fascinating look at other propaganda is the short film, “Education for Death - The Making of a Nazi.” Created at the request of the U.S. Government as an anti-German film for soldiers and the general public, it showed the upbringing of a child who becomes a German soldier and how the children are taught not to have empathy or morals. These films offer a small look into the propaganda that the United States had put out during World War II. Most of them are available online to stream through such websites as Internet Archive. You can find lists of the films made by Disney during the war on these websites: https://web.archive.org/web/20100619144755/http://disneyshorts.org/wartime/index.html and https://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Walt_Disney_Studios/Shorts/Armed_Forces_Shorts/index.html. Enjoy this bit of history as we approach the 78th Anniversary of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Everyone played their part in the war effort, even Walt Disney. Sources and Further Reading: Baxter, J. (2014). Disney During World War II: How the Walt Disney Studio Contributed to Victory in the War. New York: Kingswell. Churchill, E. (1945, March). Walt Disney’s Animated War. Flying Magazine, 50-51, 134, 136, 138. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=BQKNhDRiv_kC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Lesjak, D. (2014). Service with Character: The Disney Studios and World War II. Lexington, KY: Theme Park Press. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Work for Victory. (1942, September). Popular Science, 98-99. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=WicDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&rview=1&source=gbsg e_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=mickey&f=false. Speaking of Pictures… Disney Designs Army, Navy Insignia. (1941, May 26). LIFE, 10-11. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=h0wEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Disney+War&hl=en &sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjnIqM2I_mAhUJEqwKHflAAuA4ChDoATADegQIAhAC#v=onepage&q=Disney&f=false. The New Spirit: Disney’s Tax Film. (1942, March 16). LIFE, 48-50. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=gE4EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Disney+War&hl=en& sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwituzv2I_mAhVHS6wKHfQeC4Y4FBDoATAAegQIABAC#v=onepage&q=Disney&f=false. Victory Through Air Power: Walt Disney Transforms Seversky’s Best-Seller into Technicolor Film. (1943, July 19). LIFE, 51-52. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=MVAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA51&dq=Disney+War&hl=en&sa=X&ved= 2ahUKEwia_omU14_mAhUEC6wKHU45DOUQ6AEwA3oECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=Disney%20War&f= true Walt Disney Goes to War. (1942, August 31). LIFE, 61-69. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=iU4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepa ge&q&f=false. Watts, S. (2013). The Magic Kingdom Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. Readers' Biographies B D63W

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Library Catalog Insider by Kasia Young

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Can you believe it is December already? The new library management system called WISE, has been live for almost a month! The library staff has been exploring and using the new tool since November 11, and now we are eager to share with you the new and exciting features that are available at your fingertips. Let’s get to it! To get you started, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the WISE instructions that the Allen County Public Library has made available to all customers. “WISE: ACPL’s enhanced user experience” tutorial can be accessed via the library's website, under the Tutorials side tab, located on the right side of the screen, or directly at https://my.nicheacademy.com/acpl/course/9559 If you already have the ACPL library card, you should set up a new username and password to be able to use My Account features right away. To do that, click the My Account box, located on the left side of the new www.acpl.info site. You will be taken to the sign in screen. You can either contact a staff member, or click the “Forgot username or password?” link. Just remember, that when requesting a password online, the library must already have a valid email address on file for you. After clicking the link, you will be prompted to enter your email address. If your email is already on file, a green “OK!” message will pop up. If your email is not valid, or not on file, a “Please enter a valid email address” message will be displayed, in which case, you should talk to one of our librarians who will be happy to assist you. Upon receiving a temporary password, log into My Account. You will be presented with a password confirmation screen. It is here where you enter the new password and confirm it. Your new password must contain a minimum of 8 characters and have an uppercase letter, lowercase letter, number and a special character:

! @ $ % ^ ( ) < > ? Spaces, tabs, &, or # are not permitted. Library staff will not have access to your password, so chose one that you can easily memorize but cannot be guessed by others. To create a username, navigate to My Account details page by clicking the link on the left side of the screen. This will open the My Details page. Here, click Configure on the right side of the Username field to open a pop-up menu where you can create a username. In the pop-up type in your desired username and click Configure. If your username is already taken, you will be alerted to choose a new username. You always have an option to use your ACPL library card number to log into My Account, however, a username is required to log into your account via the ACPL Mobile app. Next month, we will walk you through the process of signing up for the Genealogy Card, which is available to all The Genealogy Center’s customers who live outside of Allen County, Indiana.

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DNA and Genealogy Interest Group

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Our next DNA and Family History Interest Group meetings will be on Thursday, December 5, 2019. 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 Interest Group Meeting to share and learn from one other! The basic information meeting is from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., followed by a more advanced discussion from 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

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Celebrate Winter with WinterTech

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Fort Wayne has already had snow and arctic temperatures, which reminds us that WinterTech is here! During the winter, we plan one event per month, through February, at 2:30 p.m., on the second Wednesday of each month, to coincide with the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana’s monthly meetings, which begin at 7:00 p.m. This way you can come to the library for two events on the same day! For December 11, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. in the Discovery Center, is “A Look at GIMP & Vivid Pix for Restoring Photographs,” presented by Kay Spears. Kay will explore alternatives to Adobe Photoshop, GIMP and Vivid Pix, two programs that may be used to change, restore, and touch-up your old photographs! Stay for the ACGSI meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Discovery Center, “Meet Cousin Joe.” Marge Graham will discuss how the usual sources led to unusual sources to complete a biography of a distant cousin. WinterTech continues on January 8, 2020 when Sara Allen will explain “Using the Maker Lab to Preserve Family History,” and finally, Melissa Tennant will describe the “African American Digital Collections at The Genealogy Center” on February 12, 2020. Remember, all of the WinterTech programs are at 2:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month in the Discovery Center. Registration is recommended for all events. Register online at https://acpl.libnet.info/events! Just search Genealogy to find all of our programs. You can also register for any of these free programs by calling 260-421-1225 or emailing Genealogy@ACPL.Info.

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December Technology in Genealogy User Group Meeting

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The Genealogy Center and the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana hold a Technology in Genealogy User Group Meeting on the third Saturday of each month. Recent topics included finding digital books, how to save photographic images off one’s smart devices, and tips on how to use the library’s new online catalog, WISE. December’s discussion starter will center on gadgets for the holidays. Spend an enjoyable hour in the Discovery Center on December 21, 2019 beginning at 10:30 a.m.

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Hidden Gems of Jewish Genealogy and Discovering the Shtetl

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Join genealogist Marlis Humphrey, well-known researcher and speaker, and currently serving as vice-president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (ISJGS) as she discusses “Hidden Gems of Jewish Genealogy” and “Discovering the Shtetl” on Sunday, February 16, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in The Discovery Center. This program is offered in cooperation with the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society.

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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 December 11, 2019 - Allen County Public Library, Genealogy Center, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, Discovery Center, 7 p.m. Marge Graham will present “Meet Cousin Joe.” Learn how usual sources can lead unusual sources and useful data. Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Technology in Genealogy Users Group Meeting December 21, 2019 - Allen County Public Library, Genealogy Center, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, Discovery Center, 10:30 a.m. The topic for discussion this month is technology gadgets for the holidays. Bring an example to share. Mary Penrose Wayne DAR Chapter Library Help Day for Prospective DAR Members December 4, 2019 - Allen County Public Library, Genealogy Center, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The George R. Mather Sunday Lecture Series January 5, 2020 - History Center, 302 E. Berry Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 2 p.m. Lecture presented by Keith Elchert and Laura Weston: “Classic Restaurants of Fort Wayne."

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Genealogy Center Social Media

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenealogyCenter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genealogycenter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACPLGenealogy

Blog: http://www.genealogycenter.org/Community/Blog.aspx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/askacpl

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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. The meters take credit cards and charge at a rate of $1/hour. Street parking is free after 5 p.m. 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 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.

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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