Find Your Family in Fort Wayne

Did you know that we live two hours from the best genealogy library this side of Salt Lake City? The Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne offers a huge collection of microfilms, books, periodicals, and city directories in which to find your family history, plus a friendly and knowledgeable staff of genealogist-librarians.

Harold Henderson has been researching there for years and will offer advice on how to prepare and get the most out of your visit, at the La Porte County Genealogical Society meeting 7 pm Tuesday, March 12, at the Swanson Center for Older Adults, 910 State Street, La Porte. (Hint: this library has more than one catalog.) 

You can save on gas and enjoy a sociable trip by signing up for the society's annual April bus excursion to the library. Information and a reservation form are on our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/printable.pdf

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the Swanson Center, weather permitting. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, publication, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

April 13 Civil War genealogy talks

The following is not a La Porte County Genealogical Society event, but it's free, it's nearby, and it may be of interest to members and friends. All times in this post only are Eastern Time.

Saturday, April 13, at the Colfax Auditorium in the main library at 304 South Main Street in South Bend, Amy Johnson Crow will give two talks on researching our Civil War ancestors:

10 am: “Answering the Call: Researching Civil War Ancestors Before and During the
War,” and

11:30 am: “Discharged: Researching Civil War Ancestors After the War.”

The talks are co-sponsored by the library and the South Bend Area Genealogical Society.

Amy Johnson Crow, MLIS, CG, is a Genealogical Content Manager with Archives.com. She is a researcher, author, editor, and database developer. She is a former editor of the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.