InterLibrary Loan - Return of a Popular Service

During the COVID-19 crisis, interlibrary loan (ILL)  services at the Medina County District Libraries (MCDL) was put on hiatus. The service was quietly reinstated a few months ago.

BUT, at the Library Board of Trustees' meeting on July 19th, the Board members voted to rescind the $5 processing fee that was enacted in 2009 when the State of Ohio budget slashed funding to public libraries.* 

The "old" interlibrary loan form.
The $5 processing fee was charged whether you received the material or not.

As of the 19th, MCDL is now accepting new requests for interlibrary loan (ILL) for materials held by continental U.S. libraries with NO processing fee attached. Some lending libraries charge to borrow these materials up to a $15 maximum. Or you can opt out of paying any borrowing fees and MCDL will only request the item from libraries that do not charge a fee. 

Once you have placed a ILL request, it can take a couple of weeks for MCDL to receive the item from the owning library.

What types of materials can NOT be requested through ILL?

• If the item is available to checkout at any of the CLEVNET consortium libraries, including all of the MCDL branches.
• Anything that was published in the last year (current year copyright)
• Rare, valuable items. For example, the first edition of James Audubon's Birds of the America which sold for $13.8 million in 2010. Don't try to request it!
• Items that don't travel well, like a rare and fragile Ella Fitzgerald album.

Types of genealogy related items that can be requested:

• 

  Family Bible with births, deaths
  and marriages registered.

  Family histories 
• Family Bibles                                                                   
  
• Diaries or journals 
• County or state histories 
• Atlases 
• Autobiographies 
• Government records 
• Meeting minutes or proceedings 
• Indexes to birth, death or marriage records 
• Church histories

How do you find what materials are held by libraries across the country? 

Use WorldCat.

WorldCat is a network of libraries across the world that lists the member libraries' materials and often agrees to share them with other member libraries.

Learn how to use WorldCat by watching this short video:  

REMEMBER: 

• Decide if you are willing to pay a fee from the lending library.
• Provide complete information on the item you want: title, author, publication year, etc.
• Let the Library Staff know if you are willing to accept photocopies only.
• Be specific about what information you want to find. If you are able to accept photocopies, provide an individual's or a family's name, location, and time period.
• Be patient.
• If you have any questions, you can call the Medina Reference Desk at 330-725-0588 extension 2030.

Oh, and that "old" paper interlibrary loan form pictured at the top of the screen?  It has been replaced by an online form that library staff fills out for you!

*2008-2009 the state and the country experienced a severe economic depression. In order to continue the service the Board decided to pass the processing costs onto members using the service.

Must Love Cemeteries...

How to be a Findagrave™ Volunteer

The warm weather is upon us and some of us like to enjoy it by walking through cemeteries. It is always beautiful and it can be very interesting and informative. If you are one of these people, then consider volunteering with Findagrave - many historians and family researchers would be grateful! 

The gravesites on this site are listed as Memorials and with those memorials are sometimes a photograph of the gravestone. This helps a researcher in two ways. First, the memorial has information on the person who is buried at the gravesite, such as birth and death dates. Second, if the photograph is also available it helps those researchers who cannot visit the cemetery in person either because of the distance or mobility issues. 

It is the memorials without photographs that need someone to take a photograph of the gravesite and upload it to the site. 

Interested? Here's how to help....

The first step is to register with Findagrave at findgrave.com. 

 

After clicking on "REGISTER", fill out the form and don't forget to check the box to become a photo volunteer!  You can click on "What is a Photo Volunteer" for a more in depth description.                        You will use this email and password to SIGN IN to the site. 

After signing in you can find out who is requesting a photograph by clicking on the camera icon on the home page.

This will take you to the request page. Click on the "Open Requests" tab and filter the search to either your home location or a different location and how many miles you are willing to travel.  A list of request will be generated.

It will show which requests have been claimed and which ones are still open. To claim it, click on the CLAIM button and start searching.  Be aware that if the flag to the left of the CLAIM button is red, this means someone has already searched for this gravesite and there was a problem with it. Click on the flag to see the problem. 

Once you have taken the photo you will come back to the request page and click on the FULFILL button. This will take you to the upload page.

Don't forget to read the photo guidelines. 

 

The person who requested this photograph will be notified by email that the photograph is now uploaded to their ancestor's Memorial Page.

 If you want to search for your relative's Memorial page use the search box on the home page. This will give a list of names to click on to navigate you to their memorial page. 

If your ancestor does not have a photograph of the tombstone on their memorial page, you would just click on the Request  Photo icon and it will be placed on a list for the volunteers in that area.

To upload your own photographs to the memorial it is as simples as clicking on the Add Photo icon and uploading it the same way you would when fulfilling a request. 

If yours search comes up empty you can also create a Memorial Page for your relative as long as you know where this person is buried.   First, you click on the Add a Memorial icon found on the Home Page.   

Find the cemetery's listing...

Then fill out the form and click on ADD MEMORIAL at the bottom of the page.

Once the memorial is created you can either upload your own photograph or request it to be filled. 

Findagrave also has a wonderful selection of video tutorials that help walk you through this and many of the other options available on the site. Just look for the tutorial icon at the bottom of the screen. 

Volunteering for Findagrave is both easy and gratifying. There are a few more sites which benefit from the help of volunteers, such as Billongraves and Ohio Gravestones. If you have the time and love visiting cemeteries, please consider helping those in search of their ancestors. 

You might also want to read our blogs on Research Trips and Cemetery Research before heading out to the cemetery! 

Thank you to Findagrave for allowing us to use images from the website. 

New at the Family History & Learning Center

Edited October 10, 2021 to include approximately 25 more new books!

New Staff!  New Program!  New Books!  We have a lot of announcements for the Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center!

New Staff

Next week Lisa Rienerth will move from the Medina Library Reference Department, to the FHLC staff.  She’s currently a member of the MCDL Genealogy Team and brings 20+ years of family history research experience to the job.  She’s also an expert at property research and knowledgeable about digitizing photos and videos.  We’re glad to have her onboard!

New Program

Starting in August, the MCDL Genealogy Team will be hosting a new program.  Join us for the Genealogy Discussion Group, the second Wednesday of each month, at noon.  We will meet in Medina Library’s 2nd Floor Meeting Rooms.  The first session will be Wednesday, August 11.  All attendees are welcome  to share your recent family history research successes and challenges.  Collectively, we’ll make suggestions for resources and strategies to help tackle research problems.  For more details, see https://mcdl.info/events. 

New Books

We have approximately 50 new books for you to use.  Stop by the FH&LC to review them for your research needs.  They include:  

Family Histories

• Beltzhoover
• Brinton Genealogy
• 1998 Supplement Brinton Genealogy
• A Family Sketch (Collier Family)
• One Crawford Family in America A Brief History
• The Brothers Crawford: Colonel William, 1722-1782 and Valentine Jr., 1724-1777, vol. I
• The Brothers Crawford: Colonel William, 1722-1782 and Valentine Jr., 1724-1777, vol. II
• Thomas Haley of Winter Harbor and His Descendants
• The Hoopes Family Record: A Genealogical Record of The Hoopes Family, Descendants of Daniel Hoopes of Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, vol. 1
• Miller Family History Descendants of Daniel D. Miller and Lydia B. Troyer
• The Search for Captain Abraham Miller
• The Moore Family in America: Descendants of Shildes Moore of Wales, From 1732-1891
• Rev. John Moore of Newtown, Long Island, and Some of His Descendants
• The Ancestry and Descendants of George Dwight Moore
• The Benjamin Moore Family of Burlington County New Jersey
• A Brief History and Genealogy of the Moores and their Families, 1635-1942
• Some Descendants of Amos Richardson of Boston and Stonington
• The Sharples-Sharpless Family vol. I
• The Sharples-Sharpless Family vol. II
• The Sharples-Sharpless Family vol. III
• Descendants of Thomas White and Mark Haskell with Notice of The Coombs Family
• A History of The Cobb Family
• History and Genealogy of the Lifer Family 1830-1984: Debolt and Anna Richert Lifer and their descendants 
• The Searles Family In America
• Peter Worrall of Marple

Mayflower & Associated Ships

• Robert Bartlett of the "Anne"  and his Descendants of Four Generations
• Myles Standish of the Mayflower and his descendants for Four Generations
• Francis Eaton of the Mayflower and his descendants for Four Generations

Canada

• In Search of Your Canadian Roots

New England

• Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650
• Digging for Genealogical Treasure in New England Town Records

Connecticut

• The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut, 1647-1697

New York

• The Palatine Families of New York, 1710, vol. I
• The Palatine Families of New York, 1710, vol. II
• More Palatine Families
• Historical and Statistical Gazetteer or New York State

Pennsylvania

• The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records, Vol. II
• The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records, Vol. IV
• The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records, Vol. V
• The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records, Vol. VI
• The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records, Vol. IX

Ohio

• Ohioans in the California Census of 1850
• Ohio Land Grants
• Early Ohioans' residences from the land grant records
• Ohio Towns and Townships to 1900: A Location Guide
• 1833 Ohio Gazetteer or, Topographical Dictionary
• Ohio Archaeological and History Publications, vol. 6
• Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

• Doans Corners and the City Four Miles West
• The History of Parma: A Township, A Village, A City

Medina County, Ohio

• Wadsworth Area Homicides and Deaths of Suspicious Nature 

Portage County, Ohio

• Pioneer History 1802-1865

Summit County, Ohio

• Saint Bernard's Catholic Church Akron, Ohio Cemetery Inscriptions and Funeral Records
• History of Olde Northfield Township
• Stow Ohio Shadows of Its Past
• Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County
• Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County Index
• Summit County Ohio Abstracts of Will Books Books 1 thru 7 1840-1887, Vol. I
• Summit County Ohio Abstracts of Will Books Books 8 thru 15 1887-1901, Vol. II
• Summit County, Ohio Deaths 1873 to 1876 Vol. II
• Summit County, Ohio Deaths 1876 to 1878 and scattered records 1900-1902 Vol. III
• Cemeteries, Summit County, Ohio ... Volume IV
• Our Heritage: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Methodism in Tallmadge, Ohio
• Memories of Stony Hill
• A Centennial History of Akron, 1825-1925

Trumbull County, Ohio

• The Greene Story, 1817 - 1963

Wayne County, Ohio

• Presbyterianism in Dalton, Ohio, 1814-1964
• Index to Marriages Wayne County, Ohio 1813-1898
• Wayne County, Ohio Burial Records
• Seventy-Five Years of Wayne County Ohio Marriages

Western Reserve

• Ohio's Western Reserve, the Story of its Place Names
• Sketches of Western Reserve Life
• Early Years on the Western Reserve

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the MCDL Genealogy Team at 330-725-0588 x5017 or me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info.  

Most Overlooked Family History Resource - Periodicals

Family Tree Magazine, Internet Genealogy and Your Genealogy are just three of the family history
 related magazines that Medina County District Library subscribes to.

Most public libraries invest money and precious space to their magazine collections. And that holds true for genealogical collections too. 

However, to the dismay of family history librarians, the magazines are not used much by our members.

We get it. Finding time to read magazines is hard. Four magazines are sitting on my desk right now waiting for me to "have a spare moment" to read them. 

But if we make the time for them, we can get so much out of them!

How they can help our research

• Their articles cover research methods and sources to broaden our genealogy education
• They offer the opportunity to discover the history & people of a location
• They reveal what resources historical and genealogical societies have
• They provide a place to pose questions and get help tackling that brick wall

Genealogical publications can be classified into several categories

 Magazines/journals  

• General interest magazines - Like the ones pictured above feature many how to articles on general, ethnic and foreign research. Just in these issues items covered are:
• Scanning your photos & documents
• Italian Roots
• Pennsylvania Research Guide
• African American Research
• US Social Security & Delayed Birth certificates
• And much, much more!
• Regional- the magazines below cover regional topics, specifically, Ohio family history research, Ohio history, and New England ancestry. Articles include:
• Cases where DNA has upended people's identities
• Letters from an ancestor who had participated in the Women's Club movement
• An interview with author, Conrade C. Hinds about his book Lost Circuses of Ohio
• The restoration of the Warren G. Harding home and construction of his presidential library in Marion, Ohio
• "Women on the Ohio Canals", and
• "Ohio Civil War Veterans Buried in DeKalb County, Illinois"
• Scholarly - journals, like The Register,  present case studies of New England ancestor's using the most stringent research criteria. It is a great learning tool for resolving brick walls and conflicting data. This issue contains articles on:
• "Excommunication of Mayflower Passenger William White..."
• "Sorting Out Several Daniel Lanphear Men"
• "The Second Wife of Moses Gile of Hampstead, New Hampshire; Which Mary Clark?"

Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly is the OGS' journal that comes with membership

in the Society. Echoes comes with membership in the Ohio Historical Connection. And

American Ancestors is part of membership to the New England Historic Genealogical 

Society (NEHGS). 

The Register is another publication
from NEHGS that is more scholarly.

Newsletters - are more casual publications than magazines or journals. They tend to have a limited audience, aren't printed on glossy paper, and don't have bindings. But don't underestimate them! They are published by:

• Historical/genealogical societies
• Libraries
• Counties/regional/state societies
• Surname/family groups
• Ethnic/nationality populations

Spencer Town Crier, Past Pursuits, The Medina County
Story, The Medina County Historical Society (formerly
Smart Talk) and the Chatham Historical Society Newsletter.

These newsletters are in the local history collection at the Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center at the Medina Library.

They inform about local happenings and recount historical events. Local genealogical society newsletters often have a section where you can post queries and get responses from local historians. Past Pursuits is the newsletter for the Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.  They highlight their databases, list when new materials they've acquired and list any special events or classes at the Library.

PERSI - 

is the PERiodical Source Index created by the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They index genealogical and historical magazines and newsletters from around the world. Want to know if there are articles in Colorado publications about your ancestors? Run a search through PERSI. Once you find an article you want, you can get it directly from Allen County or use your local library's interlibrary loan service. (There may be a fee for this service.) PERSI is available on FindMyPast. The easiest way to access it is to type "findmypast persi" into your favorite search engine. 

Online magazines/journals - some magazines don't require a trip to your local library or bookstore to check out and read. They are available:                                                                        

• Through online personal subscriptions or memberships
• Through popular reading apps, such as Overdrive and Flipster which are available through your local library.

Wherever and however you find them, genealogy magazines, journals and newsletters are an invaluable resources that you cannot afford to skip!

Tips for Searching US Census Records

Every family tree has relatives who should be in the United States Federal Censuses, but you just can’t seem to find them. Here are three tips for tracking down hard-to-find ancestors.

1. Search multiple databases. Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, and HeritageQuest all have census records and those same records are all indexed differently.  If you can’t find your relative in one database, try another.  This strategy works best when the census enumerator had poor handwriting and/or when the indexer couldn’t read the records.  Here’s an example: 

In 1870, Lucian C. Sturgess lived in Medina Township, Medina County, Ohio.  

FamilySearch and FindMyPast correctly index his surname as Sturgess. 

Ancestry and HeritageQuest, on the other hand, index this family’s name as Sturgep, with Sturges added as an alternative. If you only used Ancestry or HeritageQuest, you might not find him!  

You can try all four databases through MCDL. At present, you can access Ancestry and HeritageQuest from home with your MCDL library card. FamilySearch is always free. FindMyPast is free to use at Medina Library. Learn more about MCDL databases here.

2. Build a timeline and narrow your geographic focus. If you can limit your search to a state or a county (or even better, a township or city!) will improve your chances of finding your relatives.  A good way to do this, is to create a timeline of where your relative was living.  Resources that can help include city directories, newspapers, state censuses, and/or vital records. Here’s an example: 

George Wirkner, born 1873 in Medina County, Ohio appears in the 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1940 censuses.  But he can’t be found in 1930…

• At the time of the 1920 census, he lived in Liverpool Township. 

• A 1923 newspaper article notes that “Mr. and Mrs. George Wirkner have sold their farm and have bought a home in Medina and expect to move there soon.” 

• When George’s daughter Irene was married in 1935, she listed her residence as Medina. 

• At the time of the 1940 census, he lived in the village of Medina.  

Based on these additional details, it appears that the Wirkner family left Liverpool Township in 1923. At this time they moved to Medina, where they lived for the next 17+ years.  From the timeline, it seems likely that they were in Medina in 1930.  By narrowing down our geographic location, now there is a more specific place to look for George Wirkner. 

3. Search with given names only, leaving the surname field blank, for as many family members as possible in a single search.  This tip works best if you’ve homed in on a specific geographic region to search.  In the case of the Wirkner family, building a timeline suggested they would be in Medina village in 1930.  From other records I knew that George’s wife was named Mary and they had a daughter named Irene. 

It might seem counterintuitive, but searching with just a first name and a couple of relatives,
in a specific location, may help you locate a relative on the census. 

By searching with the context of his family members, this technique ultimately helped me find George.  My initial search – with his full name of George Wirkner – failed, because on the 1930 census he was enumerated as George WirkMer.  (And one letter made all the difference!)  

To get the most out of this tip, consider…

• Limit your search to an exact location (a feature that is available in most major databases). 

• Search for a child of the family, instead of the householder.  This strategy is helpful because most databases will allow you to search for an individual and their parents’ names, while only some databases allow you to search for multiple children of an individual simultaneously.  

Bonus Tip!  Still can’t find who you are searching for? Ask for help! Contact the MCDL Genealogy Team and set up a one-on-one appointment (now available in person and virtually) to have a team member review your research problem and make suggestions. Reach the team at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info or 330-725-0588 x5017. Learn more about scheduling appointments at https://vwmandmcdl.blogspot.com/2021/06/genealogy-local-history-help.html.