Family History Month with the Genealogy Center

Family History Month is a time for new discoveries, tips and tricks, and programs designed to help you discover more of your family history with the help of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

The Genealogy Center’s 2020 Family History Month programming looks a little different this year with an all-virtual program that includes a virtual open house, virtual sessions, times when you can ask your “brick wall” questions, and more. The month-long programming may even help you get through your family history research brick wall or maybe inspire you to start researching your own family history.

Of course, you can make the most of the month-long virtual programming and research in person at the Genealogy Center which is open and ready to help you dig deeper. Research in-person for access to more than 1 million physical items, 7 top online databases, and trained genealogists who are eager to help. 

Family History Month Programs

The Genealogy Center will be hosting virtual programs throughout the month. The Genealogy Center staff have put together programs to help you dive deeper, learn how to utilize different databases, and find new ways to research your family history. Be sure to mark your calendars and register in advance to receive link information. If you miss any of the virtual programs, there will be a digital archive available at the end of the month that includes most of the programs below.

• October 1: “How to Approach and Solve Brick Wall Problems with DNA,” with Sara Allen

• October 6 at 2:30 pm “Researching Jewish Genealogy,” with Irv Adler

• October 8 at 6:30 pm “The Foundation of African Americans in Fort Wayne,” with the African American Genealogy Society of Fort Wayne

• October 13 at 2:30 pm “Business of Railroads Impact People’s Lives,” with Kim Harrison

• October 14 at 7:00 pm “Finding Unknown Fathers or Grandfathers by DNA,” with Sara Allen

• October 15 at 6:30 pm “Death Business: Searching Funeral Home Collections,” with Melissa Tennant

• October 18 at 1:00 pm “Meet Your Mishpocha: Virtual Open House,” with the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogical Society

• October 20 at 2:30 pm “Mayflower Research,” with John Beatty

• October 22 at 6:30 pm “Family History Resources at the Library of Michigan,” with Matt Pacer

• October 24 at 2:30 pm “The History of Your House,” with Cynthia Theusch

• October 27 at 2:30 pm “Online Resources of the Tennessee State Library & Archives,” with Trent Hanner

• October 29 at 6:30 pm “Repeating Recipes: Food and Family History,” with Allison Singleton

• October 31 at 11:00 am The Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Seminar on “Researching Our English Ancestors,” with Paul Milner.

Find more virtual programming at the Genealogy Center here - https://acpl.libnet.info/events by sorting by location and selecting “Main Library Genealogy Center and/or Virtual Genealogy.”

Family History Month Video Tips

For quick tips and snapshots, the Genealogy Center will be uploading twenty-one quick videos on their Facebook page throughout the month. From diving deeper into the Genealogy Center resource pages to tips on how to utilize different research techniques, these tips will provide helpful tips on how you can optimize your family history research.  

• “Scotland’s People Website,” with Sara Allen

• “Adventurers of Purse and Person (Virginia),” with John Beatty

• “Internet Archive,” with Allison Singleton

• “How to Do a ‘Four-Fold’ Enclosure for Glass Negative,” with Kay Spears

• “Snapshots on the Genealogy Center site,” with Melissa Tennant

• “Using Time Line Charts as a Part of Your Research Plan,” with Cynthia Theusch

• “Before you Begin: Starting to Organize Your Genealogy Materials,” with Curt Witcher

• “Digital Archivet website (Norwegian records),” with Sara Allen

• “Great Migration series by Anderson,” with John Beatty

• “Tribal Pages,” with Allison Singleton

• “How to Put CDV Photographic Images in a Box,” with Kay Spears

• “Free Databases on the Genealogy Center site,” with Melissa Tennant

• “Locating Early American Migration Routes - Maps (Books and Internet),” with Cynthia Theusch

• “Exploring the African American Gateway,” with Curt Witcher

• “‘German Immigrants in American Church Records’ by Roger Minert,” with Sara Allen

• “‘New Englanders in the 1600s: A Guide to Research Published Between 1080 and 2010’ by Martin Hollick,” with John Beatty

• “Black’s Law Dictionary” with Allison Singleton

• “I Like Big Bustles - I Cannot Lie: A Look at the Three Stages of the Bustle as a Way of Identifying Time Periods,” with Kay Spears

• “Digitized books in the Genealogy Center Collection,” with Melissa Tennant

• “Meyers Gazetteer,” with Cynthia Theusch

• “Simple Steps in Preserving Your Family History,” with Curt Witcher

Learn from the best at the Genealogy Center this month and you’ll be on your way to making your search successful. And, if you get the opportunity to research in person at the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, be sure to schedule a personalized appointment with Genealogy Center staff.