Medina County History Fair 2021

On Saturday, January 30th, we will be hosting our 6th Medina County History Fair and our 1st VIRTUAL Medina County History Fair! 

In the past, around 30 different historical societies from Medina County have participated in the Local History Fair at the Medina County District Library. 

Their informative displays and members gave everyone a glimpse of what their society does and what they have to offer. 

                                                           

This year the following Societies have produced either a PowerPoint presentation or a video which can be accessed through the library's YouTube playlist beginning January 30th. 

https://brunswickhistory.com/

https://lodiharrisvillehistorical.org/

mcdl.info

http://medinacoogs.org/

http://medinacountyhistoricalsociety.com/

http://www.trainweb.org/norm/

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Here are some of Medina County Societies who have joined us for our Local History Fair in the past:

• Bob Hyde's Beyond The Storefronts - http://www.medinasquare.org

• Building Blocks Preservation Group - www.buildingblockspreservation.org

• Chatham Historical Society - https://www.facebook.com/ChathamTownshipMedinaOhio/

• Chippewa Lake Ohio Historical Society - https://www.facebook.com/chippewalakehistoricalsociety/

• Community Design Committee - www.medinacommunitydesigncommittee.org

• Daughters of the American Revolution/James Fowler Chapter - ohiodar.org

• Friends of the Spring Grove Cemetery - http://www.friendsofmedinacemetery.org/

• Granger Historical Society - https://www.grangerhs.com/

• Hinckley Historical Society - http://www.hinckleyohiohistoricalsociety.com/

• Litchfield Historical Society - https://litchfieldtownship.com/historical-society/

• Little Wiz Fire & Historic Medina Museum - https://thelittlewiz.com

• Liverpool Historical Society - http://www.valleycity.org/historical-society-news/

• Log Cabin Shop & Historical Center - logcabinshop.com

• Main Street Medina - www.mainstreetmedina.com

• Medina Town Hall & Engine House - https://www.facebook.com/medinamuseum

• Seville Historical Society - https://www.facebook.com/sevillehistoricalsociety/

• Sharon Township Heritage Society - https://www.visitmedinacounty.com/things-to-do-in-medina-county/sharon-township-heritage-society/

• South Court Historic Neighborhood Association -  https://www.facebook.com/SouthCourtHistoricNeighborhoodAssociationMedina/

• Spencer Historical Society - https://www.visitmedinacounty.com/things-to-do-in-medina-county/spencer-historical-society/

• Wadsworth Area Historical Society - https://facebook.com/WadsworthAreaHS/

• Westfield Historical Society - https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Societies-of-Medina-County-1672969692981012/

• Weymouth Preservation Society - https://www.weymouthpreservationsociety.com/

• York Township Historical Society - https://www.northeastohiomuseums.org/museum-listings/r-z/york-township-historical-society

The historical information provided by each and every one of these participants is priceless. Virtually check out the Medina County historical groups with their videos or by their websites and explore the unique people, places, and historical events of Medina County!

5 Tips for Reading Old Handwriting

John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737. For the past 44 years, his birthday has also been celebrated as National Handwriting Day. 

Since most documents for family history research are handwritten, reading handwriting is an important skill to develop. Here are five tips to help you make sense of even the worst chicken scratch! 

Tip 1: Read with speed. 

Don’t get bogged down in what you can’t read in the document. Instead, read through the document quickly, and focus on the words that pop out at you. Start to transcribe the words you can read, leaving spaces or question marks for letters, words, or phrases you can’t easily identify. 

Tip 2: Create an alphabet cheat sheet. 

Once you start recognizing some words in your document, trace the letters you can identify into a chart. Search the document for examples of each letter, in both upper and lowercase. Use the chart to help you identify and read more text.  (Need a blank alphabet chart? Download one here!)

Tip 3: Get a bigger sample of the handwriting. 

It might sound counterintuitive, but getting more examples of the same author’s handwriting can help you read the part you’re really interested in.  You'll have more chances of recognizing familiar words and can add more letters to your cheat sheet.  

Tip 4: Know the lingo. 

Many documents have standardized language. For example, in a will, you expect to find the phrase “last will and testament.” Being familiar with common phrases and abbreviations in documents can help you read the handwriting more efficiently and accurately. 

Here are two resources in the Local & Family History Collection that can help with identifying and reading common terms, phrases, and abbreviations: 

• Kip Sperry, Reading Early American Handwriting (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc: 1998).
• Kip Sperry, Abbreviations & Acronyms (Provo, UT, Ancestry.com: 2003). 

You can stop in and use both books onsite at the Family History & Learning Center. 

Tip 5: Digitally-enhance your document. 

Sometimes the handwriting has just become too faded to read. Scanning the document, then adjusting the contrast and color might help make it more legible. The Family History & Learning Center has a flatbed scanner that is great for scanning documents with high resolution. The Center also has a subscription to Vivid-Pix Restore software, which can drastically improve the legibility of handwriting.

In the example above, the left side of the image shows the letter as it originally scanned; the right side has been enhanced using Vivid-Pix Restore.  If you want to give the scanner and/or software a try, call 330-725-0588 x5017 to schedule an appointment to use the scanner and the software! 

Bonus Tip: Get fresh eyes on the document! 

If you’re stuck on reading a part of your document, get a fresh set of eyes to look it over. The MCDL Genealogy Team is happy to look over a document for you. Email us at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info to ask for help!

Postscript - Curious about the document in this blog post?  It's a letter written to Medina County resident Elvira (Fritz) Damon from her brother while he served in the Civil War.  More information on this collection of letters coming in future blog posts! 

All About Ancestor Charts

 Ancestor Charts

Ancestor charts, family trees, pedigree charts, lineage charts...

 Whatever you call them...

 ...and however they look...

...ancestor charts are an important tool in organizing your family history research.

Today, we are going to look at:

• What are Ancestor Charts?
• Why are they important?
• How do you properly fill them out?

What is an Ancestor Chart?

An Ancestor chart records the direct line of individuals from whom you descend - those for whom you intend to compile a complete and correct family history.

 OR

As the Dictionary Genealogical and Archaic Terms from Rootsweb would define it:

"ANCESTOR CHART -  report or chart that shows a person and all of their ancestors in a graphical format."

If you're new to genealogy, you may have heard about ancestor charts and may have even seen a few of them, but still don't understand why they are important to your research.

Here's WHY ancestor charts are important to your research:

• They organize  the known information on multiple generations of a family line in one place.
• They reveal what information is missing and what still needs to be researched.
• They are easy to share with others.
• They serve as aids when asking other for research help.
• They can be a decorative display of your family history.

Five Generation Ancestor Chart for Theodore Roosevelt.

Chart found on the Famous Kin website. Notice  the red box?
Some information is missing and would need further research.

A decorative ancestral chart

This is a decorative antique Nantucket Family Tree. 
Image from Boston Rare Maps

When a genealogy team staff member helps a patron research their family history, we start by filling out an ancestor chart. It focuses the client on what information is needed to complete the research and quickly reveals what they don't know and need to yet discover.

How to properly fill in an Ancestral Chart

Four Generation Ancestral Chart - This is a simple  ancestral chart that we will be using this to explain the basics of how to fill in an ancestor chart.

This chart is available on the Library's web site at: Ancestral Chart

But first...

Some Guidelines for Filling in the Chart:

• Use a pencil to fill in the information so that it can be corrected as new information is discovered.
• Last names, also called surnames, are written in ALL CAPS to make them easier to pick out when browsing a document.
• Women are always listed under their maiden names.
• Dates are entered from smallest unit to larger, day/month/year, as in 23/7/1979 - this looks strange to Americans who use the format month/day/year 7/23/1979
• I prefer writing out or abbreviating the month as 23 Jul. 1979 or 23 July 1979
• ALWAYS use four digits for the year. As you work back in time, you work in multiple centuries. 2000's, 1900's 1800's and so on.
• Places are also listed from the smallest unit to the larger unit; city or township/county/state/country as in Seville, Guilford Township, Medina County, OH, USA.
• Use standard abbreviations for state names, etc., or provide a key to what abbreviations you use.
• U.S. Postal State Abbreviation List

Filling in the 4 generation Ancestral Chart

First, fill in the chart number. Start with number 1.

The individual whose ancestral line is being researched puts their name on the line to the far left.

Moving to the right on the chart moves you back one generation. Next, you add the father's name.

Then the mother's name is added...

Notice the father's name is listed first and then the mother's name. This is a pattern you will see repeated throughout the chart, the father's name and then the mother's.

Moving to the right again, you reach the third generation, the grandparents.

You start with the father's father, the paternal grandfather. 

Then the father's mother, or paternal grandmother.

Next is the mother's father, or maternal grandfather, and then the mother's mother, the maternal grandmother.

Moving again to the right, we reach the fourth generation, the great-grandparents.

Next, let's take a look at the data fields listed below each person's name.

The fields "Born", "Married" and "Died" are for the dates for those events:

Not surprisingly the place is for location for those events:

 

What does this look like on a filled-in chart?

Did you notice that some of the information is missing?

The marriage information for John MASON and Sarah TANNER is missing. This event needs further research before it can be added to the chart.

Lastly, did you notice that the great-grandparents have a line "Continued on Chart ___"

Your research keeps working its way into the past. Once you move into the great grandparents, you'll need to create another ancestor chart. From the example above, George JOHNSON is continued on Chart No. 2.

You can use ancestral charts to organize and document as many generations as you need to.

Start filling out your ancestor charts today!

If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment for help on your family history, contact the Library's Genealogy Team at:

• me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info  OR call
• 330-725-0588 ext. 5017

Don't forget to bring an Ancestral Chart with you! We can work on filling it out together.

Watch for future instructional videos from your

 Medina County District Library's Genealogy Team.

The New and Improved Medina County District Library Genealogy Blog

 With the opening of the new Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History and Learning Center at the Medina Library, and a little thing called a pandemic, and after a year hiatus, we thought we should rebrand and restart our blog. What do you think of the new look?

DON'T WORRY!

The old MCDL Genealogy Blog and all of it's content still exist. Just click on the link on the link under "Home" to the right→