Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library No. 80, October 31, 2010
From: Genealogy Gems (genealogygemsgenealogycenter.info)
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:53:13 -0700 (PDT)
Genealogy Gems:  News from the Fort Wayne Library
No. 80, October 31, 2010

In this issue:
*Start Sharing the News!
*Confederate Cemeteries
*Searching for War of 1812 POWs
*Technology Tip of the Month--Understanding the “Lock Anchor”
*Preservation Tip of the Month--Fixing a Weak or Wobbly Hinge
*A New Website for The Genealogy Center--GenealogyCenter.org
*WinterTech 2010-2011
*Librarians on Parade
*Area Calendar of Events
*Driving Directions to the Library
*Parking at the Library
*Queries for The Genealogy Center

***************************************
Start Sharing the News!
by Curt B. Witcher
***************************************
We just finished a small but mighty seminar we called “Start Sharing
the News!” and I want to share some of the information discussed in
the various sessions that were presented. The emphasis of the
presentations was on deploying today’s technology to preserve the
family history data we’ve collected, to collaborate with other
interested individuals in an effort to do better research, and to find
new ways of sharing our own research findings with future generations
of family members and researchers. There were presentations on Flickr,
WeRelate, and the cataloging of 3-D heirlooms, as well as a session on
being creative with one’s family history online, which discussed how
wikis, blogs, webpages, Facebook, and other online environments can
allow us to view, share, and use our research from anywhere in the
world.

While most have heard of Flickr, more genealogists need to actively
use it to preserve and share photograph and document images. All one
needs to get started on Flickr is a Yahoo account, which is obtainable
at no cost. The free version of Flickr provides neat sharing
opportunities by allowing you to upload two hundred images each month.
You can create appropriate captions for your images, group your images
by categories that you determine, and decide who can view your images.
The professional (Pro) version of Flickr allows you to upload
unlimited numbers of images. Power users of Flickr have more than ten
thousand images in their online Flickr accounts. And the cost for the
professional version of Flickr is just twenty-five dollars per year.

Imagine the fun of showing up at your next reunion or holiday
gathering with your virtual photo album--and all you need is an
Internet connection to access it. Add to that the advantages of having
a “back-up” copy of your images, and Flickr is certainly worth a look
if you’re not already using it. If you think Flickr is not secure or
just a passing fad, think again. A significant number of respected
institutions are using Flickr to post their images. The Library of
Congress, for example, has tens of thousands of photographic images on
their Flickr site.

You can hardly be “connected” in any way these days without hearing
about blogs, yet it is interesting how many genealogists are not
engaged in blogging--using blogs to share, collaborate, and preserve.
I fear there may be a tendency to think of blogs as geeky, technical,
difficult to set-up, and hard to use. Nothing could be further from
the truth. You can set up a blog for free and it’s really easy to
do--even I managed it with no assistance. Go to the genealogy section
of About.com and search on “blogs” to discover just how easy it is.

While people can post anything and everything on their blogs,
genealogists can use them to post information about their genealogical
research. Just as you can categorize your images on Flickr, you can
categorize your postings on a blog--so you can have a category for
each family line you’re searching, each geographic area of interest,
each time period, etc. Through the use of a blog, you can not only
post a description of your family data and the research you’ve done,
you can also post images of the documents you’ve encountered, the
handwriting you’re having difficulty reading, or the castle in Ireland
you believe might have belonged to an ancestor. You can present your
research challenges as well as research conclusions. Others can look
at the work you’ve done and provide their own comments or suggest the
next best steps in your research as well as specific sources (virtual
and actual) that you may want to consult for further data.

Many genealogy bloggers have found cousins and other relatives only
because they have a blog--how cool is that?! Google and other search
engines crawl the web, indexing names and terms in your blog. When
that happens, your family data can be found by others interested in
the same name or geographic area. As with most of these sharing
programs, you can determine if your blog is public or private, and if
you are going to allow comments on your blog posts. Depending on how
you set up your blog postings, you can actually use your blog to take
your research with you without taking that extra briefcase (or luggage
bag) of paperwork. You can even use your blog as your family’s
genealogy webpage or your research website.

Wikis and their application to genealogy were also discussed
frequently in our “Start Sharing the News!” program. You might think
of wikis as blogs on steroids. There are a number of ways you can set
up your own wiki for free, or better, take advantage of the largest
genealogy wiki already available for free, WeRelate.org. At
WeRelate.org, you will find pages for more than 1.8 million people,
and it grows every day. As mentioned, it is free to use--both for
contributing data and for searching the data already posted. As with
Flickr and blogs, posting data to WeRelate accomplishes three
important things for genealogists--it provides us with an amazing
opportunity to share our data with interested others, it gives us
real-time collaborative opportunities, and it helps preserve our
information in a digital format, posturing against disasters of fire
and flood that often obliterate family archives.

Wiki software allows one to post data of all kinds, including images,
and it allows others to contribute their knowledge and data to your
posts. It is the ultimate in collaborative tools. As an example, I
could create a wiki page about Jasper, Indiana on WeRelate and post
some information about Fairview Cemetery, and the Englerts and Schucks
that are buried there.  Another researcher interested in Jasper,
Indiana could post information about the Dubois County Genealogical
Society, and provide links to the society’s membership application and
the Jasper Public Library, adding to the initial data I contributed. I
could mistakenly post information on St. Joseph’s Lutheran church and
another researcher could correct me, indicating that the two Lutheran
churches in Jasper are St. John’s and St. Paul’s, and that St.
Joseph’s is the famous Catholic church of the Rev. Joseph Kundek.

With WeRelate in particular, you can upload your GEDCOM files as well
as digitized copies of photographs and other family documents. You can
also include as many family stories and biographical sketches as you
would like. All the information is searchable through the indexing
that is automatically done on the site. You can even use WeRelate to
catalog your family heirlooms and artifacts, describing them and
telling the stories associated with each item.

Whether you decide to upload images to Flickr, to start a blog in
which you can share family information, or to become an active user of
WeRelate, this is a great time of year to begin such a venture or to
commit more time to something you may have started a while ago. See
what you can accomplish before the holidays. Even with the precious
few days remaining before Thanksgiving, you will be surprised at what
you can achieve. What a neat family activity after that wonderful
Thanksgiving meal or after gift exchanges at Christmas or Hanukkah--to
share information and images about your ancestral family. Get started
today—you'll be glad you did.

***************************************
Confederate Cemeteries
by Melissa Shimkus
***************************************
Following the Civil War, the federal government created seventy-two
national cemeteries for the burial of Union soldiers. In addition, in
1879, Congress permitted Union veterans not entombed in these federal
cemeteries to receive government headstones. No corresponding federal
actions to provide gravesites or headstones for Confederate soldiers
were legislated. Instead, these services were performed at the local
level by the Confederate Memorial Association and other patriotic
organizations, as well as by local and state governments. Records of
these southern efforts are scattered and can be difficult for
genealogists to locate and access.

One helpful source is “Confederate Cemeteries” volumes one and two
(973.74 AA1hugh) by Mark Hughes. The set’s title is a bit misleading
because the first two volumes only cover cemeteries in Virginia, but
more than 20,000 burials are listed including those of some two
hundred Union soldiers and about twenty civilians. One example of a
civilian burial included in this work is that of fourteen year old
Nanie Horan, killed 15 March 1863 in the explosion of C.S. Laboratory,
a gunpowder plant, and buried in Shockoe Cemetery in Richmond. Source
material for these volumes included tombstone inscriptions, cemetery
records, unpublished manuscripts and burial lists from patriotic
organizations, local, state and national archives.

Introductory matter in the books includes a section on how to use
them, keys to the sources, a history of post-war burial efforts, and
descriptions of each cemetery covered.  The lengthy list of burials in
each volume is arranged alphabetically by the name of the deceased and
provides each person’s state, unit, date of death or burial and place
of burial. For example, J.T. Bookout of the 7th Georgia, H. Saunders
of the 4th Virginia, and Corporal Emory Cook of the 9th South Carolina
died in the Confederate Hospital at the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville. The final resting places of the first two men can be
determined using the reference number key and cemetery descriptions
provided by the author. Bookout’s data notes that he died 17 November
1861 of disease and was buried in the Charlottesville Soldier’s
Cemetery. Saunders died in 1861 and was buried in Maplewood Cemetery
in Charlottesville. Cook died 20 January 1862 of pneumonia, but no
place of burial is given.

With no centralized collection of burial information for Confederate
soldiers, a resource such as the “Confederate Cemeteries” volumes is
important to genealogists despite its limited focus.

***************************************
Searching for War of 1812 POWs
by Delia Cothrun Bourne
***************************************
In 1812, the United States was still struggling with the British
Empire over trade restrictions, impressments of American seaman and
other issues, in spite of having won its independence almost thirty
years earlier. These difficulties resulted in the War of 1812 – the
so-called Second War of Independence. During that war, eight percent
of American soldiers and seamen were captured by the British. The
Genealogy Center has two sets of microfilm that provide information on
these prisoners.

“Records Relating to War of 1812 Prisoners of War” (NARA M2019) is one
reel of microfilm containing some 94 manuscripts of various lengths
that document the care and exchange of prisoners. The records relate
to American soldiers held in England, Canada and on prisoner of war
ships. Many of the manuscripts are accounts of clothing provided by
the United States for men held by British forces, while others include
lists of soldiers captured or held, prisoner exchanges, and a rather
gruesome accounting of fatal wounds. Lists of prisoners may note rank
and regiment, when and where captured and disposition – usually death,
exchange or parole. Three additional reels of microfilm titled “Index
Relating to the War of 1812 Prisoners of War” (NARA M1747) assist
researchers in locating a specific soldier in these manuscript
materials. Cards in this set are arranged alphabetically, usually note
the soldier’s regiment, and include manuscript citations. This index
and images of the cited manuscripts are both available online at
Ancestry.com.

The Genealogy Center also holds “Records Relating to American
Prisoners of War, 1812-1815, in the Public Records Office, London” on
eleven reels of microfilm. These records include manuscript material
concerning prisoners held in Halifax, Quebec, Newfoundland, England
and various other locations, but have more information than the NARA
microfilms. Prisoners’ entries are arranged by unique prisoner number
and include details of capture, date and place (often longitude and
latitude), name of “prize” (ship on which the prisoner was taken) and
its classification, prisoner’s name, rank, disposition date and
details, and where the prisoner went after release, among other
information. Some manuscripts also provide age, physical description
and whether the prisoner was supplied with bedding and clothing. Other
lists note prisoners in hospital, deaths, parolees and those who
volunteered for the Royal Navy.

With the bicentennial of the War of 1812 nearing, it is timely to
focus on sources that spotlight the soldiers and sailors who served
and suffered for their country.

***************************************
Technology Tip of the Month--Understanding the “Lock Anchor”
by Kay Spears
***************************************
Last month, when we discussed inserting photographs into Microsoft
Word, we explored the “move object with text” option located in the
Format Picture dialog box. This month, we are going to continue with
one other option in that box. Any inserted objects (this includes
pictures, clip art and text box) will be “inline” by default. They are
converted to “floating” objects only when we wrap text around them.
All floating objects are anchored to the paragraph that contains the
initial insertion point. The tricky part is you can still move that
object around on the page. However, if you ever delete the initial
insertion point (regardless of where you have moved the object), that
object will be deleted also. This is because the object’s anchor was
locked to the point you deleted.

To prevent such an accidental deletion, go back to the Format Picture
dialog box>
Layout>Advanced>Picture Position>Options and uncheck “lock anchor.”
Now, if you move the object elsewhere on the page, the anchor will
move along with it and there should be no more accidental deletions.
You can view the anchor if you have your Show/Hide symbol on. The
Show/Hide symbol is located on the toolbar and looks a bit like a
backward P.

Next month:  Inserting Images into Shapes Using Microsoft Word.

***************************************
Preservation Tip of the Month--Fixing a Weak or Wobbly Hinge
by Becky Schipper
***************************************
To fix this common problem, you will need to apply adhesive in the gap
between the spine and the book’s endpaper (which is glued to the
inside of the front or back cover). Using a knitting needle or
Plexiglas rod makes this task much easier. I keep adhesive in a small
dishwashing detergent bottle with a hole in its cap just slightly
larger than the diameter of the applicator. This helps coat the
applicator evenly and keeps the mess to a minimum. Once your
applicator is coated with adhesive, insert it in the gap between the
spine and endpaper. Twirl it around several times to get good
coverage. Place wax paper over the endpaper and rub down with a bone
folder. Wipe off any excess adhesive that oozes from under the
endpaper at both the top and bottom. Lay the book flat and apply
weights or stand it on its spine to dry. This repair should be checked
to see that it is drying unwrinkled after 30 minutes. Re-rub, then
re-weight until it is dry.

***************************************
A New Website for The Genealogy Center--GenealogyCenter.org
by Curt B. Witcher
***************************************
The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library launched a new
website on October 11, 2010.  It is found at www.GenealogyCenter.org.
The new site provides easier access to The Center’s online resources
and is a big step forward in giving researchers the best possible
experience and the most success in finding what they need, whether
they are visiting us virtually or visiting us in person.

Some of the very useful resources that can be accessed via the new
website’s top-anchored navigation bar include the free databases and
portals that The Genealogy Center has developed, including the African
American Gateway, Family Bible Records and Our Military Heritage. The
African American Gateway combines more than 1,000 links to Internet
sites for African American research with bibliographic information on
African American sources in The Genealogy Center’s collection. The
rather new Family Bible Records site features digitized images of
bible records that patrons have allowed The Center to scan and upload.
These have been transcribed and are searchable. Our Military Heritage
is a cornucopia of digitized images of military records and
photographs stretching from the Colonial era to the current war in
Afghanistan. The Center also has an ever-growing collection of
state-specific databases available free for patrons, with a heavy
concentration on Allen County, Indiana information.

“Ask a Librarian” is a popular feature of the Allen County Public
Library’s website as a whole.  Now patrons can ask a genealogy
librarian their reference questions directly from The Genealogy
Center’s website. While we cannot do your research for you, our
genealogy specialists can help you determine what we have available
among our resources and how you can best access it. The site also
features direct links to the book and microtext catalogs as well as to
The Center’s orientation video that can help visitors make the most
efficient use of their time once here.

The Genealogy Center’s website is the launchpad to a number of other
resources, including full-text books that have been digitized by
Internet Archives and the Family History Archive Project, The Center’s
pathfinders to various areas of research, and the Community Album, a
collection of historical photographs for the surrounding area.  The
website is also the place to discover all of the details about
upcoming classes and seminars. Additional Genealogy Center news is
available through The Center’s blog, Facebook page and by subscribing
to the department ezine, all accessed through convenient links from
the new website.

The website is the culmination of several months of work with internal
staff and local web developers.  We are pleased that our virtual
presence now more completely and aesthetically represents the
outstanding physical collection that has served the genealogical
community for half a century.

***************************************
WinterTech 2010-2011
***************************************
As the weather cools down, make sure that doesn’t happen to your
research! Instead, warm up your genealogical technology skills at The
Genealogy Center by attending one of our WinterTech lectures. On the
second Tuesday of each month, from November through February, enjoy a
full day of genealogy by getting in some research, then attending the
WinterTech class at 2:30 PM, and staying for the Allen County
Genealogy Society of Indiana's monthly meeting at 7:00 PM. On November
10, join Cynthia Theusch as she explains "Preserving Your Genealogy
Research and Documents Using WeRelate." The class will explore how
WeRelate.org can prevent the loss of your genealogical research. Learn
how to upload and download GEDCOM files, documents, and photos. Future
WinterTech classes will feature Delia Bourne discussing "Net Treats"
in December, Melissa Shimkus "Becoming Expert at Using Ancestry" in
January, and Dawne Slater-Putt "Exploring the Ever Expanding
FamilySearch" in February. Call 260-421-1225 to register, or send us
an email at Genealogy [at] ACPL.Info .

***************************************
Librarians on Parade in November & December 2010
***************************************
Curt Witcher
December 8, 2010--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort
Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program.  Curt Witcher
will present “Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Research.”

John Beatty
November 10, 2010--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program.  John
Beatty will present “Allen County Maps Over the Years.”

Delia Bourne
December 8, 2010-- Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza,
Fort Wayne, Indiana, Meeting Room C, 2:30 p.m. Delia Bourne will
present “’Net Treats.”

Cynthia Theusch
Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana,
Globe Room, 2:30 p.m. Cynthia Theusch will present “Preserving Your
Genealogy Research and Documents Using WeRelate.”

***************************************
Area Calendar of Events
***************************************
Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI)
November 10, 2010--Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. 6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program.  John
Beatty will present “Allen County Maps Over the Years.”

Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 302 East Berry, Ft. Wayne, IN
November 3, 2010, 2 p.m.—Joe Krom will present “Between Two Cultures:
The Home of William Wells and Sweet Breeze at 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.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 [at] acpl.lib.in.us with "unsubscribe e-zine" in
the subject line.

Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors
  • (no other messages in thread)

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.