Ancestry Library Edition

Please visit our new blog address at: https://vwmfhcenter.blogspot.com/ 

 

A Basic Tutorial

By Lisa Rienerth

Before I begin with this library database, I want to list a few research tips.

1. Write down several different ways to spell the surname you are researching. It may show up in different variations, i.e. Johnson, Jonson, Johnston, Johnsen. 

2. Be open to information even though it isn’t what you think it should be. For example, you may have heard from a relative that your grandfather died in Ohio, yet you find a death record that shows he died in Pennsylvania. The death record is the primary source, so it is most likely the correct information.

3. Start with a broad search and then narrow it down. Start with maybe just the name and a place. You can always add more information to narrow down your search. 

4. Always revisit the website after a few months. They are continually adding more and more information.

5. Don’t trust the Family Trees on Ancestry. Use them for the clues they provide to search for additional records.

Now lets learn a little about Ancestry Library Edition....            

To open the site you need to go to the library's website at www.mcdl.info.

                              

                                   

Find "Genealogy & Local History" on the information bar and scroll over it to see the drop down menu. Click on "Online Resources".  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Click on the link listed in the "Online Resources". 

This will bring you to the Home Page. 

There are two ways to search. 

1. Click on Search at the top of the page and you will see a drop down menu. You can choose ALL CATEGORIES or filter your search to the group of records listed. 

2. OR Click on Begin Searching and filter the search on the next page.

Either way, the next page will show a Search Box where the information is entered. 

On this page the Search Box is on left with the filters to the right. Put the name of the person you are researching in the search box.  

You can use the filters to search by collection, i.e. Birth, marriage & death records.

 

If you want to add more information, such as birth or death dates, click on SHOW MORE OPTIONS and a drop down menu will open. Click on the "event" and more search boxes will open. 

After adding everything, click Search.

The information page will open.

On this page, the Filters are on the left and the information found is on the right. 

If you need to change or add information click on the "Edit" icon (the little pencil). If you want to start a completely new search click on the 3 dots next to the Edit icon. 

To be able to choose the group of records to search through, click on "Browse by category".  A list of record names, such as "New York State Census",  will open and you can click on the ones that relate more to your ancestor. 

You can click on the list of dates on the filter side to narrow the search even further. 

If you decide to open up the search to all of the records available, click on Clear All. 

To open up more information from the list of records on the right side of the page, you can scroll over the highlighted record name. A drop down transcription of the image will come up. 

Click on View or View Image to see the digital form of the record.

The image will open up in the view finder. 

The person you are researching will be highlighted on the census records, but not on other images. 

To Enlarge the image you will use the tool bar to the right. 

Click on the Save button to save the record to your device. 

Another way to Save the record is to click on the "Hammer & Wrench" icon. 

You can also find the print icon under here, along with a few more helpful tools. 

When printing it is helpful if you print the citation along with the document. This will help when you cite the source.

Also, follow the layout suggestion for a better copy. 

Sometimes a digital image is not available for a record. 

Only the transcription is viewable. However, always look for a FHL Film Number. This is the number for a Family History Library film. You can sometimes view these on the FamilySearch.org website.

The Medina Library VWMFH&LC will be doing a program on this website in the spring, so keep your eyes open for the event in the spring Library Live, which be available around mid-February. 

The Ancestry Library Edition website also has a great Learning Center. 

The Research Aids offers tutorials and additional information on the website and on researching. 

The Maps will centralize the instructional and research information to each U.S. state. 

These basic steps should be a good start to using Ancestry Library Edition for your research. Take the time to use the search aids and to just get familiar with the different tabs, records, etc.

Please remember this database is only available at home through our website until December 31, 2021. Then you will have to access it while you are in one of the Medina County District Library branches.

If you want to learn more about doing family history research make sure to take a look at the VWMFH&LC's History Guides including the new Guide for Beginner

Due to our holiday schedules there will not be a Blog for the next two weeks. 

Happy Holidays! 

NATIONAL COOKIE DAY!

December 4, 2021 was National Cookie Day

by Lisa Rienerth and Kathy Petras

According to the National Calendar Day website, we can thank the Dutch for the English word “cookie”. It is derived from the Dutch word koekie, meaning “little cake.” The origin of the cookie appears to begin in Persia in the 7th century, soon after the use of sugar became common in the region. They then spread to Europe and were common at all levels of society by the 14th century. Cookies arrived in America in the 17th century with macaroons and gingerbread cookies being the most popular. 

Cookies have been a part of our lives for a long time. To find out what types of cookies the residents of Medina County liked to bake in the days gone by, I turned to the local papers…

Medina County Gazette, 9 June 1882

This recipe was reprinted from another publication and it seems to be a type of sugar cookie.  If you are curious about the ingredient saleratus, it is the precursor to baking soda. Notice the lack of oven temperature and baking time. I am thinking this is because they did not have electric or gas ovens in 1882, but wood and coal burning stoves.

Medina County Gazette, 14 February 1908

Here is a recipe for Good Cookies. Do not try this recipe as is! It is missing a very important ingredient...FLOUR. 

I tried to make theses cookies thinking maybe they made some type of cookie without flour back in the day. However, the batter was like soup. So...I put the batter in a cupcake tin and tried baking it that way. Well...they kind of exploded in my oven....so be sure to add a cup and a half of flour if you make these and add a few teaspoons of vanilla for more flavor. 

You will also notice this recipe does not tell you what temperature to bake the cookies at or how long it would take. I baked my second batch..the one with flour & vanilla..at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

And...I only made a third of the recipe, because who needs 4 gallons of cookies? 

Medina County Gazette, 5 July 1918

The next recipe is from 1918 for Oatmeal Drop Cookies. It has quite a few ingredients which I do not add to my oatmeal cookies. One of them being "citron". Citron is a citrus fruit that looks a lot like a big, bumpy lemon.  Lemons and citrons grew in popularity during the 1918 influenza outbreak. Some how information began to circulate that the citrus fruits would keep you healthy and maybe even keep you from getting the flu. While this information was false, it did help lemon growers with their profits! 

The Lodi Review, 11 December 1947

This 1947 recipe for Chocolate Drops includes all the measurements, the oven temperature and the cooking time! However, it doesn't tell you what type of nuts you use for the chopped nut meats! Nut meats is just another term for the part of the nut people eat, but was it walnuts? Pecans? Almonds? I guess it is baker's choice. 

The Lodi Review, 22 July 1954

This Date with Spice Cookies recipe even has a border so you could "clip for your recipe file".  Mrs. Cliff [Doris] Padgett, sent in this recipe to the Lodi Review in 1954. I also baked these cookies. They were  delicious and easy to bake, because it gave you all the information you needed and none of the ingredients were unknown to me. 

These are just a few examples I found in the older local newspapers. Another place to find what types of cookies were being baked in Medina County is of course a cookbook. 

Old Cookbooks - Medina & MCDL

Published cookbooks are a great and popular way to share favorite recipes. The cookbook section at the Medina Library is still one of the most popular parts of the collection! And there are over 200 cookie cookbooks at the Medina Library alone!

The oldest cookbook at the Medina Library is a 1908 edition of  the Medina Cookbook that was compiled by the Ladies of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Obviously a well loved and
well used cookbook

Treasure trove of family recipes, some written in "Fran's"
handwriting.

Besides all of the wonderful recipes printed inside, this cookbook, signed by "Fran", included pages at the back to write in your favorite recipes and it also contained recipes clipped from magazines and ingredient containers.  

Many organizations printed cookbooks as fundraisers, such as these:

Fundraising cookbooks from St Francis Xavier Church in 1970 and the Medina High School, class of 1996.

This cookbook is for sale at the Medina County
Convention & Visitors Bureau

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   And as recently as this past  Candlelight Walk in Medina, the 2021 Edition of the Medina Square Farmers Market cookbook was on sale.   These local cookbooks reflect their communities and provide names of some of our ancestors.

From 1990 through 2007, the Medina County District Library published a cookbook around the Holidays. Many delicious recipes were submitted by staff members. They were extremely popular with our members. For me, it is a trip down memory lane to see all the names of the staff that have come and gone in the 30+ years that I have worked here. 

Volume 13, published in 2003 was dedicated to cookie recipes.

MCDL Cookbooks

And December 3rd was National 3-D Print Day!

Did you see what they did there? 3-D Print Day on 3-December?

One of the joys of the VWMFH&LC's Makerspace is the 3D printer. You send an STL file to the Makerspace email address makerspace@mcdl.info and a few short hours and a little bit of money later and you have your 3D printed object.

Cookie Cutters

Once you find your favorite cookie recipe, you may want to use a cookie cutter to shape the cookies into cute and whimsical shapes.

Here are some really cute cookie cutters printed on the Makerspace's 3-D Printer:

Cookie cutters created on the 3D printer

And yes, you can make 3-D cookies using cookie cutters created on the 3-D printer:

Images taken from Thingiverse.com

You can easily find ready made files on these two web sites:

https://www.thingiverse.com/

https://www.myminifactory.com/

If you are artistic and tech savvy, this YouTube video shows how to use Adobe Illustrator & Tinkercad to create your own 3-D file designs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvcO2Pavwdo

I do wish the cookie cutter files came with the perfect recipe for the 3-D cookies.  After multiple FAILED attempts, I've decided I don't have the patience for 3-D cookies. The bear and the tree cookie shapes from the photo above swelled and closed up the "slots" that were suppose to fit the pieces together. However, several of the cookie shapes are new favorites in our house.

My daughter put some highlights on our new
favorite cookie shapes.

By the way, while the "blob" cookies from my experiments may have looked inedible, they were still quite yummy!

Sources for newspaper cookie recipes:

• National Day Calendar,  https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-cookie-day-december-4/
• Medina County Gazette, 9 June 1882, page 3
• Medina County Gazette, 14 February 1908, page 2
• Medina County Gazette, 15 July 1918, page 4
• The Lodi Review, 11 December 1947, page 9
• The Lodi Review, 22 July 1954, page 3
• April White, https://aprwhite.com/portfolio/how-the-influenza-pandemic-popularized-lemons/

Get to Know Your Local Historical Societies

Medina County is fortunate to have many societies dedicated to preserving our local history.  Once a month we select a society to feature on our blog.  With Lodi's Winter Wonderland event coming up this Saturday (12/4, from 4-7pm), this month we’re highlighting the Lodi Harrisville Historical Society. Letha Mapes, the society's president, answered our questions about the society. 

MCDL Librarian: When and how did the Lodi Harrisville Historical Society begin? Who were some of the early members?

Letha Mapes: For years, Deb Benson wanted to establish a historical group to collect and preserve memorabilia. Joe Warner was also always interested in Lodi history. On April 1, 1980, Deb and others met and incorporated the Lodi Historical Society. (Harrisville was added later.) The first meeting was held in the community room of the BancOhio Building. Donald Griffin, Lois Glosh, Lois Bangert, Deb Benson, Alden Payn, Arlene Shumway and Joe Warner were elected trustees. 

The membership reached 100 and the membership dues, along with money received from the Lodi Community Chest,  were the main funding of the Society. Other trustees who served early were Clara Snell, Maggie Hershberger and Betty Rice. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Grimm donated a space, rent-free as a location for the Lodi Historical Society for a few years. The items collected were stored free for several years at Fred’s Storage. We didn’t have a home.

In 2015, with the monies from fundraisers, a generous donation from the estate of Harold Garbrich, and donations from a fund drive, the Society purchased the Waite House. 

The Waite House, home of the
Lodi Harrisville Historical Society.

MCDL Librarian: Tell us a little bit about the society's Waite House.  

Letha Mapes: The house was built by Dr. James Waite (1853-1928) and his wife Rachel (Harris) Waite (1862-1940) in 1890. It stands on part of the original 200 acres of Lodi's founding father Joseph Harris’s estate. Rachel (Harris) Waite was his great-granddaughter. The home later passed to James and Rachel's son, Harris Waite (1885-1973) and his wife Katherine. 

The original house was built in 1890 and had a Victorian-feel with a wraparound porch. The front door was on the left side of the house. In 1900, the front porch was changed, allowing an enlargement of the second floor master bedroom with more windows. Rachel (Harris) Waite and her daughter-in-law used the home's small sitting room as an art studio. In 1920, a “modern kitchen” and maids' quarter with back stairs were added. 

The house has original woodwork; in the dining room a built-in china cabinet was built to cover the original back door. The living room has built-in glass door book cases that flank the fireplace. The front entry way is enclosed with a beautiful door with inserted stained glass obtained from the First Congregational Church. The house also boasts pocket doors, swinging service door, pantry and water pump outside. The house has an open stair case.  The house is heated with stream heat with heating/air conditioning added in 2020. The carriage barn at the back of the property is being prepared for an exhibit of farm implements and other items.

MCDL Librarian: When can people visit the Waite House?

Letha Mapes: The Waite House can be toured during Winter Wonderland, this Saturday, December 4th, between 4-7pm.  For our normal hours, we are open the 4th Sunday of each month, from 1-4pm, between April and October. If available, we will give private tours and offer the home for meetings, weddings and pictures. If interested in this option, contact us at https://lodiharrisvillehistorical.org/contact-us or https://facebook.com/lodiharrisvilehistory to make arrangements.  

MCDL Librarian: What collections and exhibits can visitors view?  

Letha Mapes: The society's collection includes items related to the Underground Railroad, Lodi High and the Lodi Academy, and many past Lodi businesses. There is a room of historic military uniforms and wedding dresses, and we have a Civil War uniform. We have a yearly exhibit; this year's exhibit was “Local Artist and Authors.” Next year's exhibit is “Antique Toys and Dolls.”

MCDL Librarian: What sorts of programs/events does the society offer?  Can anyone attend or do they have to be members?

Letha Mapes: For the past two years, thanks to trustee Jarret Grant (a teacher at Cloverleaf) we have a program for 4th graders on Lodi history.  It includes Native Americans and the Underground Railroad. They love it. 

Before COVID-19 we partnered with Lodi Library for monthly historical programs. I believe this will be starting again.

We  have a plaque program, in which I researched houses and businesses with historical significance and plaques were presented to the owners. Alloy Fabrication donated the plaques; thanks to them, we have placed 49. With Lodi Library, the society is planning a “Walking Tour” of these properties. We also celebrate if a business has a milestone. This year is 100th year for Parker & Son Funeral Home. 

We have different events every year. This year we had an “Evening with Frank,” a Sinatra impersonator. The money from the event is ear-marked to add a wheelchair lift to the Waite House. 

For the coming year we are looking at two cemetery walks, poker tournaments, the Annual Antique Fest in August and Winter Wonderland in December (we sponsor the bonfire). During December we have our Victorian Characters in the Lodi Central Park. 

We always participate in the Medina Fair Historical Exhibit and the Medina Tourism Window.

MCDL Librarian: How can an individual join the society?  What benefits do society members receive?

Letha Mapes: Individuals can get the membership form at https://lodiharrisvillehistorical.org/membership. The cost is $20 per year for a membership. It includes 6 newsletters. We have quarterly meetings (Jan/April/July/Oct) with a ½ hour program. 

All are welcome to the monthly meetings (4th Thursday of each month, except Nov/Dec); you do not need to be a member. 

We have a weekly work morning on Wednesday from 10-12n. We are always in need of volunteers. If you're interested in volunteering, let us know at https://lodiharrisvillehistorical.org/contact-us or https://facebook.com/lodiharrisvilehistory. 

To learn more about... 

• the Lodi Harrisville Historical Society, explore their website at https://lodiharrisvillehistorical.org or their Facebook page at https://facebook.com/lodiharrisvilehistory.  
• Lodi, browse and search local newspapers from the 1950s-1970s at http://mcdl.info/newspapers. 
• this weekend's Winter Wonderland event, read https://mcdl.info/WinterWonderland.

In next week's blog post, stop back to learn how the Family History & Learning Center is celebrating 3D Printing Day (December 3) and National Cookie Day (December 4)!

Considering DNA Testing for Genealogy?

 

Considering DNA Testing for Genealogy?

With the holidays, most of the leading genealogy DNA testing companies have their kits on sale.

Before you splurge for the cost of one, for yourself or as a gift, make sure you are aware of possible consequences.

On December 1st, the Library is offering a one-hour class on the basics of genealogical DNA testing, the types of tests, and a comparison of the five major testing companies: 

• 23 and Me
• Ancestry DNA
• FamilyTree DNA
• Living DNA
• MyHeritage DNA.

See examples of ethnic origin and relative finder reports from each of the companies.

Most people don't put much thought into testing before they swab their cheeks. This class urges you to think before you buy.

The class is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Sign up HERE.

Beginner's Kit & Basic Genealogy DNA Class

 by Kathy Petras

New incarnation of the Family History Guide

Introduction to Family History: a guide for beginners

The Beginner's Genealogy Kit provided to novice family historians by the Library has undergone a transformation. Restyled as an Introduction to Family History: a guide for beginners, it has a more polished look and is now a booklet. The previous kit was a collection of handouts inserted into a folder.  

Previous Beginner's Kit

The new Guide covers the six major steps of beginning family history research:

1. Getting Started - with whom do you start?
2. Searching Your Home - what you already know.
3. Write Down What You Find - forms, formats and documenting what you find.
4. Interview Your Relatives - getting the most from their knowledge.
5. U.S. Census Records - documents where your ancestors lived and when they were there. Contains clues as to where to look for other documents.
6. Search for Vital Records - official documentation of the most important or "vital" events in everyone's life.

The Guide also contains many tips for organizing your records and covers special topics such as DNA Testing. 

Stop by the service desk in the Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center on the second floor of the Medina Library to pick up a copy or access it online at: Introduction to Family History: a guide for beginners

Considering DNA Testing for Genealogy?

With the holidays, most of the leading genealogy DNA testing companies have their kits on sale. Before you splurge for the cost of one, for yourself or as a gift, make sure you are aware of possible consequences.

On December 1st, the Library is offering a one-hour class on the basics of genealogical DNA testing, the types of tests, and a comparison of the five major testing companies: 23 and Me, Ancestry DNA, FamilyTree DNA, Living DNA and MyHeritage DNA.

Most people don't put much thought into testing before they swab their cheeks. This class urges you to think before you buy.

The class is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Sign up HERE.

THE BLOG IS TAKING A SABBATICAL NEXT WEEK FOR THANKSGIVING DAY

IT WILL RETURN ON DECEMBER 1ST.

Medina County, Ohio's Earliest Inhabitants

by Lauren Kuntzman

November is National American Indian Heritage Month.  In honor of that, this week's blog post is about the first inhabitants of Medina County, Ohio.  

Before the first European came to Ohio in the late 1600s, at least three different cultures had previously lived in or near Medina County. These cultures did not live here at the same time, but were separated by thousands of years. These cultures are not specific American Indian tribes; rather they are people who shared unique and distinct artifacts and ways of life. These cultures included: 

Clovis Culture

Time Period: 10000 to 8000 B.C. (Paleoindian Period) (Late Ice Age) 

Characteristics: 

Presently, the Clovis culture is the earliest Paleoindian culture discovered in Ohio. The people of this culture were hunters and gatherers. They hunted now-extinct animals (like mammoths and mastodons), as well as smaller animals. They used distinctive spear points called “Clovis points” to kill their game and moved frequently, following their game and the seasons.  

Named for: An archeological site near Clovis, New Mexico, where points were first identified. 

Locally: Paleo Crossing Site (a.k.a. the Old Dague Farm Site), Sharon Center, Medina County, Ohio. An archeological site in the early-1990s, excavations by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History identified this location as a significant base camp for bands of Paleoindians.  

A Brief History of the First Daylight Saving Time in Medina, Ohio

 By Lauren Kuntzman

As we prepare to set our clocks back at 2:00 AM on November 7, historic newspapers help us learn how the residents of Medina fared with the first attempt at daylight saving time.  

After other countries implemented daylight saving time, the United States enacted the “Standard Time Act of 1918” (also called the Calder Act).  The act included two key elements:

1. Standardizing time zones across the country.

2. Enacting daylight saving time.

The two issues were entangled and led to much confusion.  

Prior to the passage of the act, Medina was in the central time zone.  The boundary was around the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania, as you can see on this map from 1913.  

1913 Map of U.S. "Standard Time Belts"

When daylight saving time was enacted on March 31, 1918, local news coverage didn’t described the change as adding or falling back an hour.  Instead it was described as changing Medina’s time zone, whether the town was following their normal central time or advancing to eastern time.  (Eastern time was also referred to as “government time.”)  

From start to finish, Medina County’s first attempt at daylight saving time seems to have been chaotic.  A Medina County Gazette headline gives us a clear indication as how the experience went, stating “Not Smoothly.”  

Medina County Gazette, 5 April 1918, p. 12.

The article from April 5, 1918, goes on to describe how much confusion the change created in Medina. 

George High's Clock, Medina, Ohio

George High’s clock (which was used to regulate the time around town) was advanced, as was the courthouse clock, the B. & O. railroad, and the electric line.  Churches, however, had not changed.  Also adding to the confusion, as the fact that many factories in the area – including A. I. Root Company, Medina Bending Works, the Henry Miller Foundry Company, and the Medina Machine Company – all changed their workers’ schedules.  This change was further complicated as the Gazette misunderstood the A. I. Root Company’s plans and published that their schedule began at 6:30 central time when, in fact, the company intended a shift to begin at 7:30 eastern time – effectively not changing the start time at all.  

Under the Standard Time Act of 1918, daylight saving time was scheduled to end October 27, 1918.  Medina’s response was, again, one of confusion.  Town clocks, post offices, and railroads reverted back to central time, but local factories and residents wanted to stay with eastern time.  A Medina Sentinel article from November 1, 1918 describes it as an every-man-for-himself situation, and states “The result is that there is one fine mix-up, with betting odds that eastern time will finally win out.”  

Complicating matters was a discussion about the location of the line dividing Eastern and Central Time Zones. It had been suggested that, rather than the following the Ohio and Pennsylvania border, the time zone should follow the New York Central railroad line, beginning around Toledo, catching Mansfield, then Columbus, and ending in Gallipolis.  The end result was that Ohio was split into two time zones.  

A few weeks after the end of the first daylight saving time, the Sentinel announced that Medina County would become part of the eastern standard time zone on January 1, 1919.  Despite the change in time zones, at the end of March 1919, clocks were again supposed to be changed.  The Gazette reported that the second go-round of daylight saving time for Medina was not any less chaotic than the first. 

A few months later, in August 1919, daylight saving time was repealed.  It would be several years, before the experiment would be tried again.

Want to learn more about daylight saving time in Medina County?

• Browse The Medina Sentinel at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028262.
• Search the Medina County Gazette and other historic Medina County newspapers at https://mcdl.info/newspapers.  
• Explore more images of Medina County on Cleveland Memory at https://clevelandmemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/medina.