Researching in Northwest Ohio libraries..

If you are planning a research trip to Northwest Ohio this summer or passing through our area on your way to the FGS Conference, there are many opportunities for research in the area.

Toledo-Lucas County Public Library - 325 Michigan St., Toledo, Ohio, 43604. (419.259.5200) The Local History and Genealogy Department is located on the 3rd floor.  toledolibrary.org 

Center for Archival Collections - 5th floor, Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, 43403. (419.372.2411) bgsu.edu/colleges/library/cac 

University of Toledo Canaday Center and Law Library - 5th floor, William S. Carlson Library, University of  Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. Open Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm.(419.530.4480) http://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/

Lucas County Probate Court - 700 Adams St., Suite 200, Lucas County Court House, Toledo, Ohio, 43604. (419.213.4775) lucas-co-probate-ct.org

Recorder’s Office—One Government Center, #700, 640 Jackson St., Toledo, Ohio 43604. (419.213.4000)  oh-lucascounty.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=65

Toledo Catholic Diocese Archives - 1933 Spielbusch Ave., Toledo, Ohio, 43604. (419.244.6177) Open Monday - Friday, 1-5pm. http://www.toledodiocese.org/index.php/chancery/archives  Records are also available for browsing on familysearch.org.

Where to stay: There are many excellent and affordable hotels off of I-75 at the Bowling Green and Perrysburg exits south of Toledo. If you are traveling on the Ohio Turnpike there are several hotels near the Maumee Exit in South Toledo. A variety of restaurants are located near all three locations. 

As always, I suggest you visit websites to become familiar with the collections at the above locations. And, it is also a good idea to call and verify hours of operation.

Good luck with your research!

Packing to go to Fort Wayne, Indiana. (Final FGS Conference Blog Prompt)

What do I pack when I head for a conference?

My ancestors.
After all, they are the reason for the trip.
They will be sitting beside me during each lecture that I attend. They will be guiding me to the exhibits that I need to see. They will be showing me the records that I need to research in the library.

Office Supplies. 
Wirebound legal pad and pen. For taking notes at the conference sessions.
Post It Note tabs - in case I want to mark any pages in my printed syllabus.
Mechanical pencils - for library research.
Folders - for handouts in the Exhibit Hall.
Index cards. It never hurts to have a few in your tote bag.

Tech Supplies.
Laptop. Roots Magic and Gen Detective will help me plan my research at The Genealogy Center.
FlipPal. A great little portable scanner. 
iPhone. It has my day to day schedule, plus all my apps and itunes. And a whole bunch of bells and whistles I am slowly learning how to use.
Chargers. Don't leave home without them.

Other stuff. 
Business cards. 
   For my blog.
   I always take cards with the names of the families I am researching and     
     my contact information.
Extra folded tote bags for the stuff I will buy in the Exhibit Hall.
Food.
Comfortable shoes.
Clothes that won't wrinkle and are color coordinated.
My old faithful tote bag I got at an OGS conference in 2006. It is perfect for  
   carrying my printed syllabus and office supplies. 
A small purse/wallet.

I have promised myself to travel lightly this time. If I can't get it in one small suitcase and my laptop case, it won't go with me. I'll let you know how that works for me!

I guess I am ready to go. See you at the conference!!

Who Do You Think You Are . . . . .Again!

Originally it looked like WDYTYA was going to be only a half hour long according to my Time Warner program guide, but fortunately the program turned out to be a full hour long. Even if it would have turned out to be only 30 minutes long, I think it would have worked because the research was basic and doable for most beginning genealogists. That was one of the biggest complaints with the former series on NBC; too complicated and most of the research had to be done by professional genealogists. 

Kelly Clarkson seemed more involved with her family research. Maybe it was because her mother started the research on Ancestry.com and she had the best reason for family research. Her mom wanted to "know" her ancestors. For her genealogy was more than just names, dates, and places that results in induction to a lineage society. She wanted to find out what her ancestors were really like. And, those of us who have many hours of family research behind us know that this is the ultimate goal

The focus for the show was Kelly's 3x great grandfather who fought in the Civil War. He enlisted in Co. F,  63rd Regiment, Ohio Infantry. Ohio was one of the top three states for union troops enlistments during the war. The state was very active in the abolitionist movement and an important part of the Underground Railroad. Cincinnati, Ohio is the site of the Freedom Center, a wonderful place for African-American research, http://freedomcenter.org/

Isaiah Rose was only 19 years old when he enlisted. Kelly was amazed at how young her ancestor was when he enlisted. I can appreciate that feeling.When I was going through cemetery records for Brown County, I found that my great grandmother's brother was only 17 years old when he was killed during the Civil War.

Isaiah was captured at the battle of Decatur, Georgia in 1864 and was sent to

Andersonville prison. He eventually escaped and was wounded by friendly fire as he was trying to return to the Union Troops.

Researching your Civil War ancestor is not that difficult. If you think you have an ancestor who fought in the war, check the 1910 census. Not there? Check the 1890 Veterans and Widows Schedule. Once you determine that your ancestor fought in the Civil War there are numerous places you can research.

If you have access to ancestry.com either through a membership or through your local library, I would suggest that you start there. If your don't know very much about the Civil War, this is probably one of your best places to begin. It was for me. Of course, my father had told me all about Grandpa Perkins and his Civil War record so I was confident that I would find information about my great grandfather. At the same time I also found his two brothers who fought in the war. 

One thing I like to do is Google my ancestors' names. I did this with two of my ancestors and found information that I never expected. One was a bill in the House of Representatives that reimbursed Philip Rice's descendants for the cost of his ship that was destroyed in the Revolutionary War. The other was letters written from the battle of Stones River during the Civil War. I encourage you to try this. Googling your ancestors can be surprisingly informative! When I googled my great grandfather, it took me to the national park service. http://www.nps.gov/stri/historyculture/regfohio.htm

From there I was able to follow one link after another until I found records, letters, photographs, and a new cousin. It is amazing where Civil War research will take you. 

If you are researching Civil War ancestors in Ohio, I suggest that you check out the following websites:

familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Ohio_in_the_Civil_War

ohiocivilwarcentral.com

ohiocivilwar.com

ogs.org

ohiohistory.org

Tuesday, July 30 - TLC 9/8c Christiana Applegate, 
Who Do You Think You Are.

News from the FGs Conference Co-chairs.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2013 Conference is quickly approaching. Conference Co-chairs, Paula Stuart-Warren and Dawne Slater-Putt, have a few updates about the conference that they want me to share with my readers:

It's getting closer! The 2013 FGS conference takes place in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 21-24 with pre-conference activities on August 20th and a Farewell Brunch on August 25th. Fort Wayne is the home of the renowned Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library which is giving us generous extended research hours during the conference.

Breaking news!

• Of course, you may still register online or by regular mail for the FGS 2013 Conference in Fort Wayne!
• Register soon so that in early August you gain access to the online conference syllabus with an expanded subject index.
• We tweaked room arrangements and have ample room for more people to sign up for the luncheons that take place each day.
• Rooms are available at the two added hotels. They will run periodic shuttles to the Grand Wayne Convention Center. Fort Wayne has thousands of hotel rooms so there is space for all of us.
• Ample parking is available near the convention center.
• Don't forget about the wonderful quilt that will be awarded during the Friday evening festivities at the Allen County Public Library. That's an evening to benefit the War of 1812 Preserve the Pensions Project with lots of fun activities.  A dessert buffet will be sponsored by FamilySearch. If you have registered for that evening, you get access to the Genealogy Center from 6:00 p.m. till Midnight!

Want more details on these points and to keep up with breaking news? Follow us on:

• The conference website: https://www.fgsconference.org/
• FGS Conference News Blog: http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FGSconference
• Twitter: @FGSconference, #FGS2013

We hope you join us for this great educational and fun week.

I will be looking for you!!

I will be looking for you at the FGS Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in August.

Why?

Because I want to know if you "learned something new today"!

I thought it would be fun to randomly pick conference goers out of the crowd and find out what they have learned.(I am not doing this to rate any speakers or events.) Your aha moment could be something new you learned in a lecture, something you found in the exhibit hall, a new cousin you met, or a piece of information found in the library. Whatever it is, I want to know about it.

I will post the names and comments on my blog.

Looking forward to meeting you at the 2013 FGS Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 21-24.

It is that time of the year again!

It's the most wonderful time of the year once again. Office supplies will be on sale for the next couple of months because the kids are going back to school. This is the best time for genealogists  to stock up on pencils, paper, notebooks, post it stuff, printer ink, pens, erasers and so on and so forth. 

This is the time of the year you will find coupons in the Sunday paper for office supplies. And if you buy your supplies at Kroger on the weekend this month, you will get double fuel points to use for your next research trip.