October 2007

Genealogy Gems:

News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 44, October 30, 2007

In this issue:

Looking into Late Autumn

Early Families of Southern Maryland

Using Regional City Newspaper Sources

Preservation Tip of the Month

Librarians on Tour Area Calendar of Events

Driving Directions to the Library

Parking at the Library

Queries for the Department

**************************************

Looking into Late Autumn by Curt B. Witcher

***************************************

With another Family History Month successfully concluding, I truly hope you can say that you spent at least a little extra time this month engaging in family history activities. I have always thought it appropriate that Family History Month falls just before the annual holiday rush. It can serve as a bit of a wake-up call for us in preparing for the holidays. Yes, there is the great feast to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner table and further, there are all those presents to acquire and distribute. But when you stop to think about the heart of the holidays, it is typically there that you find family. And where you find family, you find fantastic opportunities to share stories, documents, and photographs about ancestors and days gone by. In the last two years, November has been designated “Family Health History Month” with Thanksgiving Day being proclaimed “Family Health History Day.” While I have not seen much publicity on this in 2007, I believe it is still quite worthwhile to take some time in November to specifically focus on your health history. The U.S. Surgeon General has created a “My Family Health Portrait” website at . Getting started couldn’t get much easier. A brand new orientation video to the Genealogy Center is available 24-7 on the web at . This orientation video is in QuickTime format. If you do not have this free player, you can download it from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. It runs best on a high-speed or broadband connection and is just under twenty minutes long. The video is a great way to get familiar with the Center if you haven’t been here in a while. It does a good job of warming the place up and helping you formulate questions specific to your research. The video can also be found in two parts on YouTube if that is more convenient for your viewing. Now more than ever, this library is the place to come to find our where you’re from!

***************************************

Early Families of Southern Maryland by Mary D. Kraeszig

***************************************

In 1992, Elise Greenup Jourdan published the first installment of a ten volume set of early southern Maryland genealogies; the last volume was published in 2001. Each book is a gem focused on approximately 10-20 families who settled in one or more of Maryland’s southern counties: St. Mary’s, Charles, Prince George’s, Calvert, and Anne Arundel, with some families extending west or north into Frederick, Talbot, and Baltimore Counties. The southern counties of this state were populated early in its history, beginning with the first English settlement in St. Mary’s county in 1634. Families are arranged using an easily understood modification of the Henry numbering system. Facts about individuals are carefully documented, and known controversies or ambiguities are noted and analyzed. Abstracts of wills and land records are provided with clear citations. When errata or further information came to light after the original publication of a volume, this information was added to the next volume under “Corrections and Additions” near the end of the book. Finally, each volume contains a table of contents and a complete index of both personal names and property names. (Tracts of land in Maryland were named, such as “Green’s Inheritance” or “Cross Manor,” which makes land records there easier to research than in many states.) This ten volume set is a valuable research aid to genealogists with ancestors in southern Maryland during the colonial and early federal period. Jourdan’s research is careful and thorough, and these works are highly readable and easy to follow. The only element lacking is a single master index for the complete series. The Genealogy Center has the full set in its collection (call number 975.2 J82e), with each volume individually bound. “Early Families of Southern Maryland” is an excellent example of the Genealogy Center’s strong collection of Maryland sources, and also one of twelve titles in the collection written by Elise Greenup Jourdan.

***************************************

Using Regional City Newspaper Sources by Delia Cothrun Bourne

***************************************

We as genealogists too often limit our research to the specific area in which an ancestor lived, ignoring possible sources in neighboring communities or the area “big city.” This is never truer than with newspaper reports. Events in the lives of former residents, the relatives of residents, and other persons of interest are often noted in local newspapers. An excellent, if comparatively recent, example of this is the set “Tri-State Obituaries/Index to Tri-State Obituaries (IndianaOhio-Michigan)” (977 T73) that was compiled and printed by the Allen County Public Library and its forerunners. Although it only covers the years 1964 through 1984, the area covered is amazing, from Antwerp, Delphos and Hicksville, Ohio, and Coldwater and Sturgis, Michigan, to Ligonier, Warsaw and Bluffton in Indiana. The information is in two distinct formats. The first abstracts newspaper obituaries from various communities, presenting them in alphabetical order for the years 1964 to 1969 and for 1970 to 1974. The second format consists of annual or bi-annual volumes of “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette” obituary citations for 1975 through 1984. The vast amount of information included in the obituaries, as evidenced by the abstract volumes, is amazing, providing locations and family connections, as well as biographical information. According to the “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette” of 26 May 1968, James H. Woods of Bronson, Michigan, died in Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, was taken to the Shoup Funeral Home in Howe, Indiana, and his services were at Lockwood Community Church in Coldwater, Michigan. The “Payne Reflector” of 7 January 1965 reported that George Schaeffer died in the Neblett Hospital, in Canyon, Texas after having “resided southwest of Payne 40 years ago. After leaving here and moving to Texas, he owned a number of ranches and was known as a writer.” Eleanore (Mrs. Robert) Emig’s obituary in the 27 March 1973 edition of the Columbia City newspaper indicated that although she lived in Battle Creek, Michigan, she was a daughter-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Emig of Columbia City. The bi-annual volume covering 1975 to 1976 indexes both Fort Wayne newspapers, but the annual volumes, 1977 to 1984, only index those obituaries that appeared in the “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.” These indexes provide name, date of the obituary, page number and city of residence, including among many other towns Warsaw, Indiana, Sturgis, Michigan, and Celina, Ohio. Even if you do not have relatives who died in the general Fort Wayne area, remember that newspapers from other regional cities may also supply the same type of information for their geographic area.

***************************************

Preservation Tip of the Month by Becky Schipper

***************************************

The Library of Congress has a great webpage offering simple instructions and links to more indepth information regarding preserving family documents. The webpage is titled, “Preparing, Protecting and Preserving Family Treasures.” It is an enjoyable and informative collection of data and links to explore. The web address is: www.lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/familytreasures/index.html

***************************************

Area Calendar of Events

***************************************

Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) ++Nov. 14, 2007 at 6:30 pm at the Allen County Public Library’s Main Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. John Hannigan will speak about 21st Century military veterans of Allen County and an effort to record them. ++Dec. 12, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library’s Main Library, 900 Library Plaza. Members will show and tell about their oldest heirloom or artifact. Bring yours to share. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) "First Wednesday" program of lineage assistance is Wednesday, November 7th 9 am – 7 pm. Expert help from members of the DAR on becoming a member of that organization.

***************************************

Driving Directions to the Library

***************************************

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.

***************************************

Parking at the Library

***************************************

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 halfhours, $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.

***************************************

Genealogy Center Queries

***************************************

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.

***************************************

Publishing Note:

***************************************

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 GenealogyGems you just received or send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe ezine" in the subject line. Curt Witcher, editor pro-tem