Right in Our Region
Solving Family Puzzles in Fort Wayne
(Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library photo)
By Janine Pumilia
People new to family research need not be intimidated. It’s a matter of asking and answering one question at a time.
“W
ear comfortable shoes.” That friendly piece of advice, posted on the website of the Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library in downtown Fort Wayne, is a clue to what’s in store for visitors: A collection so vast that it inhabits a space equal in size to a football field. Only the famed LDS genealogical library in Salt Lake City is larger. “I believe in each of us there is a longing to know our stories,” says Curt Witcher, the nationally recognized genealogist who’s managed this Fort Wayne gem for 34 years. “Our primary task – and we don’t really view it as a task because we love doing it so much – is to help people succeed in discovering their family stories.” To that end, his team of seven professional genealogists help novices and seasoned researchers alike to navigate the sprawling facility that welcomes 100,000 visitors each year from across the U.S. and beyond. The caliber of staff; the quality and breadth of both physical and digital collections; and unwavering community support that began long before genealogy exploded in popularity, add up to the Center’s national reputation for excellence.
nealogists are – amateur historians. These folks don’t just come to a library seeking one specific thing and then leave. They settle in and keep digging. “So, mid-century, Fred made it his mission to build a genealogist-friendly library. It was like putting a match to dry wood – it grew like wildfire. All sorts of groups in Fort Wayne donated books to support the collection, groups like the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and Fort Wayne Women’s Reading Club. They recognized the importance of people being able to research their family histories.” The size and quality of the genealogy collections grew, as did staff expertise, and the community funded the $65 million facility housing it. Today, the Center boasts 1.2 million items in its physical collection and provides access to a long list of databases, many of them licensed and only available inside certain libraries. The Center is especially well known among researchers for its Periodical Source Index, which subject indexes more than 10,000 titles of genealogical and historical periodicals published since 1800.
Ahead of its Time
Without community support, this feather in Fort Wayne’s cap – a feather that indirectly generates $6 million of economic impact each year (pre-pandemic) – would not exist. “Like most local libraries, we’re supported by local taxpayers,” Witcher says. “This community loves its library.” Because it serves people from across the U.S. at no charge, the Genealogy Center is a gift from Fort Wayne to the entire country.
So, how did Fort Wayne become a mecca for family researchers? The idea first took shape in the mind of a 1960s Fort Wayne library director named Fred C. Reynolds. “He was somewhat alarmed when he looked around the country and saw that genealogy researchers were being treated like second-class citizens,” explains Witcher. “A lot of libraries weren’t set up to accommodate ‘power users,’ which is what ge16
Smart Living Fort Wayne
February 2022 • II
Fort Wayne Loves its Library
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