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 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.

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 14 at 2:30 pm “The Curious Call of Place: Telling the Stories of People and - Places"

• October 16 at 6:30 pm “Documenting Your Sources: The Key to Credible Genealogy"

• October 18 at 9:00 Am “Hybrid: Making the Records Talk" with - Timothy Pinnick & Janis Forte

• October 20 at 7:00 pm “Lineage Lab: Drop-In Genealogy Help"

• October 21 at 2:30 pm “Digging into Military Records: Genealogy Research” with Fold3

• October 22 at 10:30 am “Lineage Lab: Drop-In Genealogy Help"

• October 23 at 6:30 pm “History of Spanish Language”

• October 28 at 2:30 pm “Tracing Family Roots Through German Words”

• October 30 at 6:30 pm “Uncovering Truth Through DNA”

• October 30 at 7:30 pm "IN-PERSON: Brain Buzz: SPOOKY Genealogy Trivia Night"

Find more virtual programming at the Genealogy Center here - 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.