Archived News
May 21, 2013
Cemetary Records
If you can't make it to Lunch Bunch for Tiptoe Through the Graveyard, you can always check out our cemetery records. We have cemetery books for DeKalb County as well as some surrounding counties in Indiana and Ohio.
April 01, 2013
Peek into the Past!
Photo from Willennar Genealogy Center Collection
This picture was taken in 1976 by Davis Studio, of four children posing in front of the bikeway sign north of Auburn on the East side of State Road 427 in the area of DeKalb High School. The bikeway that runs between Waterloo and Auburn was built over the old interurban line in one of the first rails-to-trails initiatives in the state.
Check out our Photo Archives for more scenes from the past. People and places are identified by genealogy staff and volunteers using the best resources available. If you have any information about unidentified people and places in our photos, please contact us.
February 20, 2013
Marriage Customs
Join the History Discussion Group on Wednesday, February 20th at 6 PM to discuss marriage customs of our British ancestors as they settled in North America. Recommended reading is David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed, or check out the links below for other background reading.
Appalachian American Genealogy: MarriagesMarriage Customs in Colonial America
January 31, 2013
Ring in the New Year with Research!
Willennar Genealogy Center is proud to provide our patrons access to fold3.com and Origins.net. Fold3 can be accessed by our patrons from home with a valid library or computer-use card or at The Genealogy Center. Patrons can search millions of photographs, military records, and city directories. Origins.net is a great source for British and Irish records and must be used at The Genealogy Center. Please see staff for details.
December 17, 2012
No Lunch Bunch
There is no Lunch Bunch the week of December 17th. Have a wonderful holiday season!
November 20, 2012
View the Sidney B. Pepe Collection!
The first images from the Sidney B. Pepe Collection of covered and iron bridges are now available in our Photo Archives. You can visit our Photo Database and use the Search or Advanced Search features to find specific bridges. If you would like to browse a sampling of the collection, visit our Virtual Exhibit page!
October 31, 2012
Heritage Quest
Eckhart Public Library now offers computer users remote access to Heritage Quest. Just click on the Heritage Quest link and enter your library card number.
If you do not have a library card and do not live in Union Township, you can get a computer use card at no cost at the Information Desk in the main library.
October 24, 2012
Friends Book Sale
The Friends of Eckhart Public Library will be having their book sale October 24th-26th!
October 24th: Exclusive to Friends Members (Memberships available at the door)
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
October 25th: Open to Public
10:00 am to 7:00 pm
October 26th: Open to Public
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
$1 a bag special.
The next book sale will take place in February 2013
The book sales will take place at Willennar Administrative Annex.
October 17, 2012
British Ancestors in North America
Have you traced your ancestors back to Europe and want more than just names and dates? Join us Wednesday, October 17, at 6 PM, for the first in a series of talks about how the places our ancestors came from influenced the culture and language of the regions of the United States they settled. We will begin this group discussing our British ancestors. Were the Puritans really puritanical? Was the back country really backward? Some of the facts may surprise you. Source material includes David Hackett Fischer's 1989 book Albion's Seed. If you do not have access to this book, check out these websites for some background reading.
The Puritan Migration: Albion's Seed Sets Sail Albion's Seed Grows in the Cumberland GapSeptember 04, 2012
Lunch Bunch
If
you have ever been confused about just what records you can get from
the DeKalb County Courthouse, do not miss
Lunch Bunch in September. The County Recorder will be at Lunch Bunch
on September 4 to talk about what information is available in the
Recorder's Office. The County Clerk will be here on the September 18 to
cover what information is available for genealogists
in the Clerk's Office. Registration is not required.
August 04, 2012
"Transportation in Indiana" Reception
The genealogy center was awarded a 2012 LSTA digitization grant to digitize the Sidney B. Pepe Collection. The Pepe Collection includes thousands of photographs of interurbans, trolleys, iron bridges, covered bridges, and many more materials detailing Indiana's past as a transportation hub. Join us for a reception on Saturday, August 4, 2012 to learn more about the Pepe Collection and our plans for the future in digitization. Light refreshments will be serves. Please RSVP by July 25 to ddavidson@epl.lib.in.us or to 925-2414 ext. 401.
July 18, 2012
Join us for a Cemetery Walk!
Don't miss the first cemetery walk of the season at Big Run. Learn from re-enactors about area families, as well Civil War veterans and their families. Big Run Cemetery was established in 1854. This cemetery is listed in Indiana's Cemetery and Burial Grounds Registry of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. From Butler, travel east on U.S. 6 to County Road 75 and turn right (south) on County Road 75. The cemetery is approximately located 1/4 mile on the right (west) side of County Road 75. It is just south of Big Run Church. If you can't make it, stop in and look through our cemetery records for this and other township cemeteries.
Family names include Moughler, Hackley, Diehl, Arford, Crise, Shatto, Steckly, Riser, Blaker, Gunsenhouser, Cather and Imhoff.
June 11, 2012
Genealogical Research & Adoptees
If you are an adoptee or come across an adoptee in your genealogical research, we have a few aides for you. Click here for how Indiana handles adoption records and original birth certificate requests, as well as some tips on national and global adoption research.
June 06, 2012
Scenes from Butler Screening
Join us for a screening of Scenes from Butler, 1937 and see if you can identify people and places from long ago. This 45-minute presentation was compiled with footage shot over the course of several months in and around Butler in 1937. Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM, June 6, 2012 at Willennar Genealogy Center.
June 01, 2012
Research Lock-in
Register now for the Research Lock-in at Willennar
Genealogy Center, Friday, June 1 from 6-10 PM. Whether you are just
beginning or are an experienced researcher, you can use our resources
and talk with other genealogists.
April 28, 2012
Ancient Egypt Resources
Click here for a list of suggested resources for May's History Discussion Group. For more information, click here!
April 26, 2012
Township School Memories
The DeKalb County Historical Society wants your memories of township
schools. Click here to download a form to fill out and send back to us at genealogy@epl.lib.in.us. You can also stop in to the genealogy or the main library to fill out these forms.
April 11, 2012
War of 1812 Presentation
Was
your great, great, great grandfather in the Battle of New Orleans?Â
Join Robert Wilder for a presentation about researching your War of 1812
ancestors. Click here for more information!
April 06, 2012
Heritage Quest
If you want to search census records but the Genealogy
Center is closed, try Heritage Quest! You can search and browse at
home. The Genealogy Center subscribes to Heritage Quest, through which
you can search the U.S. census and The Freedman's Bank, or browse the
Periodical Search Index (PERSI) and request journal articles for your
research. If you would like more information, please stop by and talk
to our staff or contact us.
April 04, 2012
1940 Census
On Monday, the National Archives released information from the 1940 Census. Click here to find out more about what that information can give us!
If you need help finding an address to search the 1940 census, Genealogy has city directories that will help! Contact us for more information.
March 15, 2012
Holocaust Resources
Click here for a list of resources for the next History Discussion Group on April 19th. This month's topic is the Holocaust.
March 01, 2012
Women's History Month
March is Women’s History Month, and to celebrate, The Genealogy Center will be hosting a discussion on the Women’s Suffrage Movement, March 15, at 2:30 PM. If you can’t make it to the discussion, you may be interested in checking out some of our newspapers on microfilm from that era to get an idea of how the Women’s Suffrage Movement affected Auburn and the surrounding communities. Â
Click here for our list of Women's History resources.Â
February 23, 2012
From the National Archives
"On April 2, 2012, users will be able to search, browse, and download the 1940 census schedules, free of charge, from their own computers or from the public computers at National Archives locations nationwide through the new 1940 census website. The public is encouraged to bookmark the website now in order to more quickly access the 1940 census data when it goes live. No other website will host the 1940 census data on its April 2 release date.”
For more information, contact the genealogy staff!
February 13, 2012
Making Sense of the Civil War
This year, Eckhart Public Library is hosting many events about the Civil War. Come in and check out the beautiful displays of DeKalb County Civil War soldiers' photos at Willennar Genealogy Center. Contact us for more information.
January 30, 2012
Civil Rights Resources
This month's history discussion group is about the Civil Rights Movement. Study of this topic prior to the meeting is encouraged but not required. For a list of resources, click here!
January 25, 2012
Turn Your Slides & Negatives into Photographs!
If you have old slides or photo negatives, you can view them or make prints at The Genealogy Center. We have a new Viewscan Microfilm Reader that can do more than just read microfilm. Contact staff for more information.
January 23, 2012
Writing Your Life Story
Are you interested in learning how to tell your personal and family history? You won't want to miss this month's Family History Flick! Click here for more information.
January 07, 2012
Organizing Your Work
Learn more tips and tricks on organizing genealogy "clutter". There is not a right or wrong way; each researcher has a unique method. Please attend Lunch Bunch and share!Â
For more information click here.
December 05, 2011
Lunch Bunch
If you geek Lunch Bunch, be sure to attend the potluck lunch on Tuesday, December 6, at noon.Bring a favorite dish to share while you enjoy the holiday spirit. For more information, click here.
There will be no meeting on December 20th.
November 28, 2011
Changes at Willennar Genealogy Center
Gregg Williamson, manager of Willennar Genealogy Center, has been hired as the new director of Kendallville Public Library.We will miss him, but we offer our congratulations. Darcy Davidson will take on the role of administrative supervisor.She is a 2008 graduate of Manchester College with a B.A. in history.She looks forward to meeting the patrons of Willennar Genealogy Center and learning more about local history.
November 09, 2011
Library Closed
The Eckhart Public Library campus will be closed on Friday, November 11th. We will be open again on Saturday, November 12th.
September 06, 2011
Willennar Genealogy Important News
The staff of the Willennar Genealogy Center is working to create several new online databases. The first will be an obituary and vital record database. Using the thousands of obituaries already collected by the genealogy center will be make a searchable tool patrons will be able to use from their home.
