Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Query: Arthur Shaffer, Madison, IN

I have a couple of things I'd like some information on if possible:

1.  My Great-Great-Uncle, Arthur Shaffer, was born in Madison, IN, on 15 Nov 1882 (per the US Death Index),  22 Nov 1882 (per his Social Security application) or 23 Nov 1882 (per his WW1 draft registration.  His grave just says 1882.  His parents were Joseph Shaffer (spelling varies) and wife Mary Shirmer.  Is there a record somewhere in Indiana?

2.  In the Ancestry index for Indiana, Select Marriages 1748-1993, it lists a Katherine Rose (Shafer) who married a Roy Pollard on 22 Sept 1914, in Marion, IN.  Her parents are listed as Joseph Shafer and Mary Shirmer.  It lists its source as FHL film number 499404, reference ID P 540.  This may be a sister--who knows???  Any information in IN or can someone check the Family History Library?

If someone can look or the records exist, please let me know, and I will pay for expenses and copies.

Thanks,
Pat Cooley
pkc823@comcast.net

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Query: Samuel and Sarah Dean, Loudoun Co., VA



            I've been researching my four grandparents lines for over 15 years. Most of my efforts on my father's line. Several years ago I discovered my 5th great grandfather and wife, Samuel and Sarah Dean of Loudoun Co. VA in 1760 tithables schedules.
            One of Samuel's grandsons was interviewed by his local newspaper in 1872 in Pike Co. OH. He told the story of his parents, grandparents and his children and spouses. In that interview, he stated his grandfather was: "born in Ireland of English descent". I've never been able to find a birth or death date for Samuel or Sarah.
            Out of frustration I contacted the Ulster Foundation in April 2015 and hired researchers to search for early records on Samuel b. 1720-40 in Northern Ireland with no success. Since Loudoun Co., VA, is not a seaport, I've never been able to determine when or where he arrived in the colonies.
            It is my understanding that large numbers of English residents of Northern Ireland (Scots-Irish) left for the colonies for Philadelphia in the 1740-1770 time period. My frustration now is lack of consolidated on-line lists of those ship passenger lists.
            Can you advise? Thank You


Mike Dean
3054 Childers Rd.
Gosport, IN 47433
mmikedean1@aol,com

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Join Us for the 2016 Society Management Seminar

Is your genealogy society just getting by? Do you want to learn ways to engage your membership, work with other groups, and reach new people?

Join the Indiana Genealogical Society for the 2016 Society Management Seminar on Friday, April 15 at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne!

UPDATE: Good news for librarians -- these sessions now qualify for Indiana LEUs!

Program:

  • Putting the Customer Back in Customer Service by Curt Witcher. Our societies succeed more when we view our members as customers. 
  • Fraternal Groups: Do-able Projects With Limited Volunteers by Ron Darrah. Hear good strategies for engaging in meaningful projects.
  • Reaching People on Social Media Without Spending All Day on Facebook by Amy Johnson Crow. Social media should be a critical tool for a society and its members. Hear about best practices to ensure good results.
  • Issues and Answers Discussion. Share the challenges and successes your society is having and hear what others are doing. 
Also available are a behind-the-scenes tour of the Genealogy Center and the Lincoln Collection.

The Indiana County Genealogists will also hold a meeting at the end of the day.

Cost:

Members of IGS chapters can attend for free. Cost for others is just $5.

Register today! 

We look forward to seeing you there!


Sunday, March 13, 2016

Query: Francois Joseph Schlosser, Dearborn County

I am trying to find the name of my great-grandfather's uncle whose farm was my ancestor's destination when he left Mothern, Alsace, France, in 1850, sailing from LeHavre on the S. S. Callender, into the port of New Orleans. He worked for a while in that port, so would have arrived in Indiana in 1850-1852.

My ancestor's name was Francois Joseph Schlosser. His uncle's last name would likely have been Schlosser, Stupfel, or Bechtel. I don't know the area of Indiana, but suspect it might have been Dearborn County, because of other Alsatian ancestors who settled there (the Maffeys, the Mayer/Meyers, among others). My ancestor eventually settled in Covington, Kentucky. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Susan Court
1515 Jefferson Davis Highway, Apt. 1617
Arlington, VA 22202
sjcourt@mindspring.com

Monday, March 7, 2016

Query: Nicolas Cardinal, Vincennes

One of the interesting items that I came across researching my wife’s DAR application was in 1789, Nicolas Cardinal (the wife’s 7th generation qualifying Patriot) had two town-lots in the heart of Vincennes, IN with “a house, shed, horse-stable, Negro cabin (with two slaves), well, orchard, garden, and other buildings.” He also owned two farms.  But two slaves?  In the middle of Indiana?  Back in 1789?  Two slaves, owned by a Frenchman born in Canada and son of a lawyer/Judge back in Normandy, France?  

Would your records/holdings have any information about these two slaves? 

Paul Ashworth 
465 Happy Drive 
Cincinnati, OH 45238 
(513) 451-2161 
ashworth@fuse.net

Sunday, March 6, 2016

New Databases for Delaware, Dubois, Fulton, Jackson & Miami Counties, Indiana

If you have ancestors in Delaware, Dubois, Fulton, Jackson or Miami County, you'll want to check out the new databases on the Indiana Genealogical Society website!

Free Databases:

- Directory of Businesses in Seymour, Jackson County, Indiana (1930)
Searchable digital images of listings from a 1930 business directory for the town of Seymour. This database was contributed by Wayne Klusman.

- Directory of Businesses in Peru, Miami County, Indiana (1930)
Searchable digital images of listings from a 1930 business directory for the town of Peru. This database was contributed by Wayne Klusman.

Premium Databases:

These collections are available to IGS members. Not a member? Join today and get access to these and 1,700 more collections!

Delaware County:
- Members of Mississinewa Church of the Brethren, Delaware County, Indiana Who Died (1848-1917)
Browseable biographical entries of church members who died between 1848 and 1917, as listed in a 1917 church history.

Dubois County:
- World War I Veterans Who Registered at Jasper, Dubois County, Indiana (1919)
Browsable digital images of a list of World War I veterans who registered their service, as listed in a 1920 history.

Fulton County:
- Students of Rochester High School, Fulton County, Indiana (1934)
Browsable digital images of students in grades 9 through 12, as listed in Rochester School's 1934 yearbook, The Manitou Ripples.

- Teachers of Rochester High School, Fulton County, Indiana (1934)
Browsable digital images of teachers in grades 9 through 12, as listed in Rochester School's 1934 yearbook, The Manitou Ripples.

Rochester High School, Fulton County, Indiana, Manitou Ripples, 1934.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

IGS 2016 Conference Qualifies for LEUs - Good News for Librarians

Attention Indiana librarians: The Indiana Genealogical Society 2016 conference gives you the opportunity to earn LEUs and TLEUs!

Join us Saturday, April 16 at the Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne. 

The conference will feature eight sessions in two tracks with speakers Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG, and Jen Baldwin.  Jen Baldwin's sessions are sponsored by the Allen County Genealogical Society and the Doug and Joni Lehman Charitable Foundation. 
  • Miracles, Mysteries & Mayhem: Online Family Trees - [1 TLEU] - Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG . We want to build on the research of others but those online family trees often contain miracles, mysteries and mayhem. Does the tree need to be pruned? Learn effective techniques to determine if branches on a tree are diseased or if they are healthy.
  • Being More than Social on Social Media - [1 TLEU] - Jen Baldwin. A good social media plan will go a long way toward promoting your family history research, genealogy society, or business. Understanding how to put that plan together, however, is a bit more than just being “friendly” on Facebook.
  • The Art of Negative-Space Research: Women - [1 LEU] - Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG. Like using negative space in art, the successful identification of women is often accomplished by using the records of friends and family.
  • Paperless Genealogy: Eliminating the Binders, File Cabinets and PostIt Notes - [1 TLEU] - Jen Baldwin. Have you ever found yourself in a library or archive only to be without that one essential document you need to evaluate a new piece of evidence? Going paperless can solve that problem, and allow you to take every shred of your research with you in mobile form… but how do you actually accomplish this seemingly overwhelming task?
  • You're Not in Kansas Anymore: Essential Resources for Urban-Area Research - [1 LEU] - Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG. Urban-area research is challenging but not impossible. Begin with what you KNOW. Determine the GOAL. Develop a Research Plan. The successful researcher needs to understand what records are available and where those records might be located.
  • Preserving Your Personal Archives - [1 TLEU] - Jen Baldwin. The technology we need to digitize our family collections is all around us, and it can be stunningly simple. Take away easy-to-apply methods, great hacks for getting the job done, and action items you can start on today!
  • Bringing Life to Our Ancestors: Manuscript Collections - [1 LEU] - Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG . Learn how to locate and how to use manuscript collections. Case studies show how these underutilized collections can bring an ancestor to life.
  • Go Back to School: Utilizing University Resources - [1 LEU] - Jen Baldwin. The local college or university can be one of your best tools for family history research. What they offer, how they are interconnected and how you can access these materials will all be covered in this lecture, as well as examples of using some of the unexpected or untraditional genealogical resources.
Registration for this all-day conference is $45 ($35 for IGS members before April 4th).  For more information or to register online, visit the IGS website.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Society of Indiana Archivists Scholarship

2016 Krasean Student Scholarship

The Society of Indiana Archivists will award the Thomas Krasean Student Scholarship to attend the 2016 Society of Indiana Archivists Annual Meeting, held on Friday, April 8. The scholarship recipient will receive a complimentary registration to Annual Meeting and $150.00 to cover the expenses associated with attending. For 2016, we are additionally offering to the scholarship recipient a complimentary registration to the pre-conference SAA Workshop, held on Thursday, April 7.

Application Deadline:  Monday, March 14, 2016.

Eligibility Requirements:
  • An applicant must be either a graduate student enrolled in a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program, Master of Arts (MA) in History or Museum Studies program, or a related graduate program -OR- a recent graduate from one of the previously listed programs with five or fewer years of post-graduate work experience.
  • Recipient must be able to attend the Annual Meeting on Friday, April 8, 2016, where they will receive the check.

To Apply:
  • Write a statement of interest stating why you want to attend the annual meeting and how it will benefit you. Include in your statement a brief outline of your archival education and any work history, along with a description of your long-term professional goals. Please include your contact information (name, mailing address, phone, and e-mail) and contact information for your institution or employer. Statements should be limited to 200-400 words.
  • Additionally, the recipient is expected to write a brief (150-300 word) statement about their experience attending the Annual Meeting and turn in a photograph (head shot) to be published in SIA’s News and Notes newsletter.
Please submit the information stated above via email to the committee members:
Jennifer Noffze:   JenN@childrensmuseum.org
Angela White:   angwhite@iupui.edu
Neal Harmeyer:   harmeyna@purdue.edu

Please direct any questions to Jennifer Noffze:   JenN@childrensmuseum.org.

The award recipient will be announced through the SIA listserv prior to the meeting.