Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library, No. 51, May 31, 2008 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Genealogy Gems (genealogygemsgenealogycenter.info) | |
Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 19:24:50 -0700 (PDT) |
Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 51, May 31, 2008 In this issue: *Summer Time--Family History Time *Ontario Place Name Research: Administrative Divisions, Part Two & Northern Ontario *Pamphlets in American History *Genealogy Center Mini-Course: Family History 101 *Tree Talks--A Family History Lecture Series *Military Symposium *Librarians On Parade *Area Calendar of Events *Driving Directions to the Library *Parking at the Library *Queries for the Department *************************************** Summer Time--Family History Time by Curt B. Witcher *************************************** For many K-12 students, parents, and teachers, the last school-bell of the academic year will be ringing soon. With the onset of summer vacations, many parents and grandparents may be wondering what in the world they will do with children and grandchildren who now have plenty of time on their hands. Let me suggest engaging them in some of the myriad of family history activities ripe for warm-weather months. The possibilities are nearly endless. For those with better organizational skills and who delight in details, why not engage them in helping you organize your piles of research--the notes and copies of documents you never seem to have the time to file? Taking a few extra moments to explain a bit about the documents might leave you surprised at the interest your children or grandchildren have in the records. Perhaps they could scan your papers and notes from research trips for easier incorporation into your genealogical management software. You could even show them how to determine which digitized document belongs to which ancestor in your database. We know how easily the younger generations take to technology. And while we're thinking of technology, why not have your children or grandchildren digitize photographs already in albums and fragile documents hidden in your file drawers that no one ever gets to see? They can do it with a digital camera or a scanner. You can teach them about cropping, file formats, resolution sharpening, and file-naming conventions. Or, in some cases, they could teach you. Once the digitizing is done, perhaps they could burn extra copies on CDs or DVDs for you to share with close relatives. Maybe they could even help you put up a family webpage on the Internet or make a digital scrapbook to share with family members. Are you going to walk a cemetery or two in search of ancestors' elusive burials? Why not take your child or grandchild along? Arm them with a digital camera and a GPS device. They could be in charge of taking the pictures for you and marking the coordinates of the burial sites. And you could teach them about the importance of cemeteries in our society, how burials were and are done, the meaning of symbols carved on so many gravestones, and even about how to take a good digital picture. Sharing your interest in and excitement about family history can truly be contagious. Besides, it is a super way to spend time with your children and grandchildren, and share something so very important--their history and heritage. Here's wishing you a great summer of exciting family history discoveries! And be sure to put the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center in your travel plans. *************************************** Ontario Place Name Research: Administrative Divisions, Part Two & Northern Ontario by Don Litzer *************************************** A major municipal restructuring reduced the number of Ontario municipalities from 815 in 1996 to 445 in 2004. The "Ontario Municipal Directory," 1999 edition (971.3 On8745 1999) provides a snapshot of this process in its midst, listing municipalities and plotting them on outline maps. The Reader's Digest / Canadian Geographic "Canadian Atlas" (971 C1661r), published in 2004, outlines boundaries of restructured regional municipalities, complementing its quality coverage of places, major roads, and physical features. The "Rand McNally Ontario Provincial Road Atlas," 2004 edition (971.3 R156) shows, on more detailed (1:250,000 scale) maps, restructured municipality and township boundaries. For tracing townships through restructuring, "Townships of the Province of Ontario, Canada: A Complete Index of the Townships in All the Counties & Districts of Ontario" (971.3 G198t) by Gartner and Prong is particularly useful. It breaks down townships into three types—organized, "historical" (that is, restructured), and unorganized—as of December 2006, and cross-references them to maps showing townships and their organization as of about 1990, thereby providing a cross-reference to pre- and post-restructuring periods. Useful websites about municipal organization and municipal restructuring include The Changing Shape of Ontario: A Guide to Boundaries, Names and Regional Governments at <http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/maps/index.html> and Ontario's Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's municipal restructuring page at <http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page247.aspx>. The foregoing discussion has focused on more settled and temperate southern Ontario. Researchers of northern Ontario, meanwhile, are often frustrated by maps that condense their focus area into tiny insets with sketchy descriptions. All is not lost for them, however. >From 1858 to 1912, northern Ontario was split up into districts that contain incorporated places, but are not incorporated themselves. The Archives of Ontario's Districts of Northern Ontario page at <www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/maps/north.htm> describes this evolution. The "Canada Gazetteer Atlas" (971 C1602), published in 1980, by far gives the most space to maps of these sparsely populated regions, with corresponding comprehensiveness in place name identification and physical feature detail. The "Rand McNally Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Northwest Ontario Provincial Road Atlas," 2005 edition (971.2 R156) has less place name detail, but shows roads and district boundaries. Outline township maps for northern Ontario are in Gartner and Prong's Townships... (971.3 G198t) discussed above. A geographical source adding context to this and other Canadian research is "Lines of Country: An Atlas of Railway and Waterway History in Canada" (971 An25L). Its maps show dates when specific railway sections were built. Such detail serves to date the transformational arrival of the railroad to individual heretofore remote communities. *************************************** Pamphlets in American History by Cynthia Theusch *************************************** "Pamphlets in American History" is a collection of more than 17,000 historical pamphlets reproduced on more than 18,000 microfiche. Throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, people found that writing and publishing pamphlets provided an easy and inexpensive way to express their viewpoints or feelings about major events or social issues of the day. The "Pamphlets in American History" collection was issued in five major groups and organizes individual items into 18 series by subject. A five-volume printed index set lists the microfiche pamphlet titles in a bibliographic citation and includes indexes by author, title, and subject. Descriptions of the individual documents follow. The first volume encompasses pamphlets related to the Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War biography, biography, women, and Indians. Material in these series include eulogies, sermons, biographical sketches, testimonials, diaries, speeches, legislative remarks, treaties, information on customs, descriptions of battles, and various types of reports and studies. This volume also includes a chronological index. Volume two covers the subjects civil liberties, labor, and tariffs and free trade. Some pamphlets in these series include reaction to labor issues, legislative issues, convictions of individuals, and "unlawful assembly." The constitutions and by-laws of businesses and labor unions as well as hazard reports, and information about railroads and the Congress of Industrial Organizations are also featured. Volume three covers cooperative societies, finance, the Mexican War, socialism, and the War of 1812. Some of the pamphlets in these series include reports, memoranda, economic articles, speeches, survivor rolls, treaties, and articles on different aspects of socialism. Volume four focuses on Catholicism and Anti-Catholicism and the Spanish-American War, 1898. These series feature letters from archbishops and bishops, tributes to popes, reports on orphan asylums, educational issues, and a host of documents published before, during, and after the Spanish-American War. The final volume features pamphlets on the Mormons and Mormonism, the Civil War, and the European War, 1914-1918. In this group, you will find legislative speeches, reports, memorials, biographical sketches, letters, battle and regimental information, information on missionaries and the historical background of Mormonism as well as viewpoints on various aspects of Mormonism. The "Pamphlets in American History" collection provides a rich source of contextual background for your own family history project. It may also provide a hitherto unknown source of information on individual ancestors, and is worth a look on both counts. *************************************** Genealogy Center Mini-Course: Family History 101 *************************************** Time is running short for you to register for this summer's new mini-course scheduled for July 18-19, 2008, "Family History 101." We encourage you to act today. Margery Graham, CG and Steve Myers, MLS are presenting the inaugural mini-course--an excellent way for the beginner to get started, for newer researchers to review important concepts and sources, and for seasoned researchers to refresh 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 Researchers interested in future two day mini-courses will find details in upcoming issues of "Genealogy Gems." 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, October 24th and 25th, 2008. An "Irish and Scots-Irish Genealogical Research" mini-course is also tentatively planned for March, 2009. Future workshops will feature advanced research topics, English research and German research. *************************************** Tree Talks--A Family History Lecture Series by Delia Bourne and Melissa Shimkus *************************************** Our fourth-Saturday "Tree Talks" lecture series continues on Saturday, June 28th with "Del.icio.us Genealogy." Presented by Sara Patalita, this presentation will focus on the use of Del.icio.us, a social bookmarking web site which will help you to keep track of web sites you find. Del.icio.us will save your favorite web sites when you are at home, or on the road. You can even add 'tags' or descriptions to your list of sites so they are easily searched. Join us at the Main Library at 10 a.m. in Meeting Room A to learn from an expert! On Saturday July 26, 2008 at 10 a.m. in Meeting Room A, Steven W. Myers will present "An Introduction to Medieval English Genealogy." Learn about reliable published sources that can be used to document and extend medieval English pedigrees. Resources that are available in the Genealogy Center will be highlighted. Delia Bourne will be discussing "Vital Records & Their Substitutes" on the fourth Saturday in August--the 23rd. That program will also be at 10 a.m. in Meeting Room A, Main Library. *************************************** Military Symposium by Delia Bourne and Melissa Shimkus *************************************** It is time to march . . . and register for the Military Symposium scheduled for Friday and Saturday, September 26 & 27, 2008. Marie Melchiori, CG, CGL, a nationally acclaimed military records specialist, will discuss National Archive records for the Civil war, and research sources for Confederate and Federal soldiers. Curt Witcher will highlight the Our Military Heritage website at Friday evening's dinner. And Saturday afternoon will provide opportunities for individual consultations on your research challenges. Click on http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/Military%20Symposium.pdf for program and information on registration. Registration (including Friday evening dinner) is $50 payable to the Allen County Public Library. You can simply send a check for $50 with your name, postal address and email address to: Military Symposium 2008, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, P.O. Box 2270, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 260-421-1225 or Genealogy [at] ACPL.Info *************************************** Librarians on Parade *************************************** Curt Witcher June 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., Bluffton-Wells County Public Library, 200 W. Washington St., Bluffton, IN. Topic: "More than Surname Surfing: Effective Use of the Internet for Genealogy" June 29, 2008 at 10:30 a.m., American Library Association Annual Meeting, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA. Panel Presentation: "What Can Genealogy Do For Your Library?" August 1, 2008 at 11:00 a.m., Indiana Library Federation Reference Division Annual Meeting, Allen County Public Library, 1st Floor Meeting Rooms, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. "Something for Everyone: Genealogical Reference Services in the 21st Century." August 14, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. "Midwestern Roots 2008 Family History & Genealogy Conference," Indiana Historical Society's History Center, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN. Moderator for "The Evolution of Genetic Genealogy" Panel. August 15, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. "Midwestern Roots 2008 Family History & Genealogy Conference" at the Indianapolis Marriott East, 7202 East 21st Street, Indianapolis. "Using Government Documents for Genealogical Research." August 16, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. "Midwestern Roots 2008 Family History & Genealogy Conference" at the Indianapolis Marriott East, 7202 East 21st Street, Indianapolis. "Doing Effective Genealogical Research in Libraries." August 17, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference on Jewish Genealogy at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel, 540 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ballroom B. "Resources for Jewish Genealogical Research at the New Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana." John Beatty August 1, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., Indiana Library Federation Reference Division Annual Meeting, Allen County Public Library, 1st Floor Meeting Rooms, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. "County History Book Projects: An Opportunity for Local Libraries." Delia Bourne August 23, 2008 at 10 a.m., Meeting Room A, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. "Vital Records & Their Substitutes." Steven Myers July 26, 2008 at 10 a.m., Meeting Room A, Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. "An Introduction to Medieval English Genealogy." *************************************** Area Calendar of Events *************************************** Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI) June 18, 2008, Annual Meeting and Dinner, Don Halls Guesthouse. Social starts at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Next ACGSI Meeting will be in September 2008. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) "First Wednesday" program of lineage assistance is Wednesday, June 4, 2008, 9 am – 7 pm at the Allen County Public Library's Main Library, 900 Library Plaza, in the Genealogy Center. Expert help from members of the DAR on becoming a member of that organization. Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN June 1, 2008, 2 p.m., Jim Sack presents "A Most German Town: How Germans Came to Dominate Fort Wayne" *************************************** 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%20Webster%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 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. *************************************** 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 [at] 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 [at] acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in the subject line. Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors
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