Our Blog

by John

The Genealogy Center holds a wide variety of books. We collect not only with current genealogists in mind, but also with an eye to future researchers who may be interested in records of more recent events of genealogical value. A good example is our collection of military histories. Yes, we have lots of books about the wars of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but we also have a strong collection of Vietnam War histories and memoirs, and even sources for America's most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldiers and veterans of today will become the ancestors of future genealogists.

Military sources can vary in type. For these more recent conflicts, it is obvious that the veteran service records are not available to researchers. So instead, in order to document what little is available about these wars, we look for memoirs, first-hand accounts, unit histories, and even general histories, knowing that they may assist genealogists in the future. We also seek out books about military uniforms, medals, and insignia, since these sources may help researchers when evaluating ancestral photographs or heirlooms. Many such works have been published about World War II.

Recently we obtained a most ...

by Delia

As both a researcher and a genealogy librarian, I don't like to give up on any family history question. I always think that searching church records, doing cluster research and reading newspapers, etc. will yield the answer, if only one will take the time.

And often, I am right when offering these possibilities on finding that missing piece: spelling the names slightly different; switching the first and last name; looking in a neighboring county; the list goes on. But sometimes, I know that the information that is sought will probably never be found.

Do you have an ancestor who was a child left abandoned on porch steps, a church pew or at a train station? The authorities would have sought the mother at the time, so once a search of the records of the abandonment have been searched and local newspapers have been perused, it's unlikely that the identity of the parents will be established. (Although my compulsion to continue the search tells me that if one reads all personal diaries and newspapers for the 25 closest counties and all communities on the connecting rail lines, it may be possible that someone mentioned a pregnant woman....) Or if ...

More additions have been made to The Genealogy Center's Free Databases!

More than 3500 abstracted tombstone inscriptions for Illinois and Missouri have been added recently, along with more than 10,000 associated images.

Thirty-one new memorial cards, with more than 100 associated images, have been added to the Marsha Smiley African American Collection.

Another 4,417 entries have been added to the Evangelical Messenger Obituary Index, bringing the total to 156,011 entries, covering 1848 to 1932.

And 549 memorials, with 2675 images, have been added to Genealogy Tracers Obituaries & Memorial Programs,

With all these additions, there is no time better to check the Free Databases.

Heads-up! The Genealogy Center has added an additional 514 images to Our Military Heritage! This wonderful collection is all due to your efforts to share your ancestor's military records, letters, photographs and memories with the world by allowing us to scan them and post them to this website. If you're interested in sharing, contact us!

by Delia

We're genealogists. We always want more. More information about our ancestors. More details. More maps, more cemetery records, more church histories. And when we run across a vague reference to another source, we want that, too. WorldCat (World Catalog) may be just what you need.

WorldCat is part of OCLC. OCLC, the Online Computer Library Center, was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, and was intended to aid Ohio libraries by sharing cataloging records and to facilitate interlibrary loans. By the 1990s, it was used by libraries all over the world and the first public access catalog, WorldCat, was made available through libraries. Now, WorldCat is available online from any computer. It not only allows you to search for books, computer resources and select articles by author, title, subject and keyword, but allows you to limit to language, date published, and format. The result will let you know in what library or archives the material is located, but also how far it is from your location.WorldCat also allows you to create your own free account, which will allow you to create lists of material you've used or plan to use.

If ...

by John

Today is St. Patrick's Day. For many places it is an unofficial early rite of Spring and it affords many people a chance to think about Ireland, whether or not they actually have any Irish heritage. In the last census more than 36 million Americans claimed Irish heritage - 11.9 percent of the population, while another 3.5 million (1.2 percent) claimed specifically Scots-Irish heritage. These numbers are actually small, and the number of Americans with at least one ancestor of Irish blood, whether Catholic or Protestant, is undoubtedly much higher. Even President Obama claims Irish heritage on his mother's side.

Family historians wishing to trace their Irish heritage face a number of obstacles. The biggest problem that most encounter is not knowing the exact place in Ireland where their ancestor was born. Scots-Irish settlers who arrived in the eighteenth century usually came from parts of Ulster (the counties of Down, Londonderry, Tyrone, and Antrim), while those arriving later in the 1840s during the Potato Famine came from all over Ireland, especially the western provinces of Connacht and Munster. Passenger lists from the period typically list just "Ireland" for a passenger's birthplace.

Here are some steps for researching one's ...

by Delia

Music has played a big part in my life, from the hymns drilled into my head in the children's choir, to rock and roll that grew as I did, to learning about the earlier music - classical, big band, jazz and blues. I have recently been exposed to blue grass music, an American style with Celtic roots.

On Siriusxm Radio's Bluegrass Junction, I was listening to the Track by Track show recently, and the album being discussed was "God Didn't Choose Sides, Volume 1 - Civil War True Stories About Real People"written and performed by well-known Country and Blue Grass artists. This project focuses on the common men and women, North and South, who were affected by the war. During the show, one of the participants described going into museums to study photographs and other items, then researching the stories behind the artifacts. I found the whole idea fascinating since Civil War politics and the statistics of battles and troop movements don't interest me nearly as much as the personal stories of the people involved. The project's website has a section for each song which includes lyrics, historical background of the story that inspired the ...

More than 4,000 cemetery records for Jay County, Indiana, have been added recently to The Genealogy Center's Free Databases, as well as 4,000 entries into the Evangelical Messenger Obituary Index. Thanks to the many volunteers and donors who make this a rich and growing website for genealogical researchers!

Recently, additions have been made to the Marsha Smiley African American Collection! This wonderful collection, gathered by Fort Wayne African-American historian and researcher, Marsha Smiley, includes area African-American fraternal organizational material and memorial cards, and is hosted on The Genealogy Center's Free Databases website. Our appreciation to Ms. Smiley as she continues to add to this material, creating a growing collection for those searching the African-American community in Fort Wayne!

The Genealogy Tracers of Cleveland, Ohio, have added more to their Obituaries and Memorial Programs database, hosted by The Genealogy Center. These documents add a wealth of information for the subjects of each item, as well as family and community members. The Genealogy Tracers continue to gather and add more items on a regular basis, expanding this database so that it is beneficial to those in Ohio and other states. The material is available on our Free Databases page!