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[edit] INTRODUCTIONThe Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is pleased to have collaborated with the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc., in bringing the WeRelate website to the genealogical community. We enthusiastically support its mission of making genealogy enjoyable and easy, and building a community. On January 20, 2007, we moved into our new 367,000 square foot building at 900 Library Plaza in downtown Fort Wayne. The Genealogy Center occupies 42,000 square feet on the second floor, including wireless connectivity, 39 Internet work stations, 7 catalog-only computers, dozens of microfilm and microfiche viewers, 8 new digital microtext reader/scanners, and a digital scanner/sender. The ST-200 Digital Imaging Systems allow users to view, print, and save microtext (both film and fiche) images to a flash drive or CD-RW disc. Our HP 9200C Digital Sender enables genealogists to email scanned page images to their personal accounts or collaborating researchers. All of our genealogy and local history materials are located on open shelves for easy browsing and immediate access. [edit] OVERVIEW OF MATERIALSThis renowned collection includes more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items of microfilm and microfiche. Patrons of the department also have access to major online databases at:
As a cooperating partner with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the department can provide access to more than 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical and historical records for a small handling fee per roll of film requested. The Genealogy Center is also active in several initiatives to make significant public domain portions of its collection available online, including contributions to Footnote.com and:
Due to the collection's size and continuous growth, the information in the following holdings summary will necessarily be brief and representative in nature. [edit] WHEN YOU VISITBe sure to use the library’s online catalog to prepare for your trip. It will assist in orienting you to the scope of our collection and help you to plan your actual research time in the department. [If you have bookmarked this page, be sure to check the library’s main web page <www.ACPL.Lib.in.us> for any important news and announcements regarding hours or closures.] Librarians experienced in genealogical research are always on duty to answer your questions. Please notify us in advance if you plan to bring a group. Open hours are:
[edit] GENEALOGY CENTER ENDOWMENTThe Allen County community and its library have invested consequential resources to build and maintain this stellar research collection. Ensuring the future growth and viability of the collection requires cooperative partnerships and wide-ranging support. We welcome contributions to the l Genealogy Center Endowment Fund. Contributors to this fund demonstrate in a tangible way their support for the Genealogy Center, ensuring its tradition of excellence for the benefit of future family historians everywhere. Please inquire for more details. [edit] THE RESOURCES OF THE GENEALOGY CENTER OF THE ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY[edit] Family HistoriesMore than 50,000 volumes of compiled genealogies represent work already done on American and European families, and range from brief typescripts to well documented multi-volume works. Nearly 5000 genealogies on microfiche and numerous family newsletters complement this collection. [edit] Census RecordsFEDERAL:
STATE & TERRITORIAL (coverage varies by year):
[edit] City DirectoriesThe department has a depository collection of nearly 50,000 R.L. Polk directories dated 1964 to the present, with significant earlier runs for some cities. The department also holds many directories for smaller cities and rural areas produced by other publishers, as well as a standing order for all city directories currently being micropublished by Research Publications of America. U.S. cities:
[edit] Passengers ListsMost National Archives passenger lists and indexes on microfilm are available in the department, as are most major printed sources for immigration records. The Five Major Ports of Entry:
Other Ports of Entry:
[edit] Military RecordsHoldings include most microfilmed National Archives service and pension records covering every conflict from the Revolutionary War through the Philippine Insurrection. Civil War regimental histories on microfiche, and significant microfilmed Confederate records from state archives are also included. The excellent collection of related printed references contains adjutant generals' reports, lineage society publications, soldiers' diaries, and more than 1000 regimental histories. The military collection is now expanding into data on 20th and 21st century conflicts with additions of unit histories for WWI and WWII, and casualty lists for the Korean War, Vietnam War and Persian Gulf area engagements. REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1775-83)
WAR OF 1812 (1812-15)
INDIAN WARS AND DISTURBANCES
MEXICAN WAR (1846-48)
CIVIL WAR (1861-65) UNION
CONFEDERATE
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (1898)
PHILIPPINE INSURRECTION (1899-1902)
WORLD WAR I
KOREAN WAR (1950-53) AND VIETNAM WAR
[edit] U.S. Local RecordsNearly 200,000 printed volumes are testimony to the department's efforts to comprehensively collect U.S. genealogy and local history publications. All the standard reference works are here, including The American Genealogical-Biographical Index and the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. County and town histories, vital, cemetery, church, court, land, probate and naturalization records can all be accessed through department catalogs. Standard statewide references and finding aids for eastern states are on the browsing shelves for patrons' convenience. Significant collections of microfilmed local records, such as the North Carolina Core Collection, are available for: CT, IL, IN, KY, MA, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, VT and WV. Smaller microfilmed collections are available for other states. Additional microtext sources which complement the outstanding print collection include the Genealogy & Local History Series on microfiche, and microfilmed county histories for CA, IL, IN, MI, NY, OH, PA and WI. [edit] Miscellaneous U.S. RecordsSeveral important manuscript collections and reprint series of regional or national scope are contained in the department's microtext holdings. These include:
[edit] Native American RecordsPlease consult the department's Bibliography of Sources for Native American Family History which details print and microtext holdings by state and by tribe. Important microtext records include:
[edit] African-American RecordsPlease consult African American Genealogy: A Bibliography and Guide to Sources (Fort Wayne, IN: Round Tower Books, 2000) which details print and microtext holdings by state. Important microtext records include:
[edit] Canadian RecordsThe department houses a significant collection of Canadiana, especially for the eastern provinces. Print sources include county and town histories, cemetery records, and almost all available published French Canadian parish registers and marriage repertoires. Please consult the French Canadian & Acadian Genealogy pathfinder for further details. Genealogical society publications including the Index to the 1871 Census of Ontario are also held. Complementary microtext holdings include:
[edit] British IslesThis part of the collection contains more than 15,000 printed volumes including county histories, monumental inscriptions, heraldic references, early parish registers and most English county record society publications. Major records series on microfiche are included, as the following partial list indicates. For further details consult the department's Irish Genealogy and British Genealogy pathfinders. ENGLAND
SCOTLAND
IRELAND
[edit] GermanyThe print collection contains important research guides, maps, emigration records and compiled genealogies for the nobility and middle class including Deutsches Geschlecterbuch and Siebmacher's Grossem Allgemeinem Wappenbuch. An important source on microfilm is the Hamburg Direct Passenger Lists and Index 1850-1901, which often provides place of origin data for emigrants. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) is the major source of German vital records held in the department, while the Family History Library Catalog will help patrons identify records available elsewhere. Consult the department's German Genealogy pathfinder for details. [edit] Other CountriesPrinted sources for other countries are limited mainly to guidebooks and references on European nobility and heraldry. The I.G.I. is the department's major source of vital records for countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. Consult the Family History Library Catalog for records available elsewhere. [edit] PeriodicalsThe department holds one of the largest English-language genealogy and local history periodical collection in the world with more than 5100 current subscriptions and nearly 10,000 total titles. Individual articles may be accessed through a variety of indexes including the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI), compiled by department staff. [edit] Online DatabasesImportant online genealogical sources are available in the department and include the Social Security Death Index, PhoneDisc, some marriage records, and the LDS FamilySearch system. [edit] Audio-Cassettes and VideosMore than one dozen instructional videos are available for in-house patron use. More than 1400 taped lectures on genealogical research methodology delivered at national and regional conferences are available for patrons to check out. [edit] Complementary Collections at the Allen County Public LibraryThe Genealogy Department's holdings are enhanced by the library's other significant collections of biographical sources, government documents, legal references, Native American first hand accounts and early American travel and exploration accounts.
[edit] PERSIThe Allen County Public Library has back issues of all periodicals indexed in PERSI. You may contact the library for copies of the articles at the following address: Historical Genealogy Department
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