A Review of Our Genealogy Lecture Series

We've been trying some new things out this year. One of those new things is live-tweeting our lectures. For those of you who aren't on Twitter, that may not mean anything, but it's a quick way of communicating little tidbits of information from our events to people who are unable to be here physically. Of course, if you're not on Twitter, you might feel like you're missing out on some of our services!

This is where another new thing comes in: We've collected those tweets using a service called Storify, so if you aren't familiar with Twitter, you can still read those tidbits easily. We've collected four of our genealogy lectures here for your enjoyment.

Cemeteries
Jeannie Regan-Dinius kicked off our lecture series with a discussion of Indiana cemetery laws and how to preserve them and conduct genealogical research using cemetery records and tombstones.

1940 Census
Allison DePrey spoke about the 1940 Census, which was recently released to the public. She discussed what questions were asked, how to search the census records, and how to use the results for genealogy.

From Daguerreotype to Digital: Dating and Preserving Your Family Photos
Joan Hostetler of Heritage Photo and Research Services gave a great presentation on family photographs, and there was a great deal of audience participation as she helped people with their own collections.

Maria's Journey: Writing Your Family History
Ramon and Trisha Arredondo gave an entertaining and informative presentation on their own journey through researching and writing their book Maria's Journey, about Ray's mother.

We hope this proves to be a helpful service to you. Please let us know what you think!

Follow Maria's Journey with Ramon and Trisha Arredondo

Everyone has a story to tell. Maybe someone in your family fought in World War II or marched with the Civil Rights Movement. Maybe one of your ancestors developed an important advancement in the medical or engineering fields. Maybe it's just a story about where you were the day you heard about JFK's assassination... the Challenger explosion... the World Trade Center collapse.

Whatever the story you have to tell, you'll want to join us this coming Thursday for our next genealogy lecture--Writing Your Family History!

Ramon and Trisha Arredondo of northern Indiana told an amazing story about their family when they wrote Maria's Journey, a true story about a fourteen-year-old Mexican girl named Maria, who entered into an arranged marriage to Miguel Arredondo. Maria, Miguel, and their young daughter immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and experienced the Great Depression, the Labor Movement, World War II, and other important eras in American history.

Join us Thursday, October 3 at 7 p.m. in the Carriage House for this fascinating discussion. Ray and Trisha will have copies of their book for sale and will be signing books while they are here.

This lecture is free and open to the public, but seating in the Carriage House is limited. Please RSVP so we can expect you by emailing study@ben-hur.com or calling us at 765-362-5769.

Come Play in the Dirt!

Mark your calendars for this autumn's History Beneath Us weekend. On September 22 & 23, archaeologists from the University of Indianapolis will be joining us to continue excavations on Lew's reflecting pool.

Anne Moore measures the dig site

Visitors will be able to observe archaeologists at work and learn about their methods. Anyone wishing to help with excavations is welcome to do so. Maybe you'll be the next person to find one of Old John's horseshoes. Or you might uncover pieces of window glass, a marble, or even animal bones!

Dr. Chris Moore of the University of Indianapolis and Anne Moore, along with U of I students, will be performing field work here at the Study most of the day Saturday and Sunday. We open at 10, and the archaeologists usually go to lunch sometime around noon. Then they'll be back in the afternoon until 4. Sunday's dig will have the same hours. This event goes on rain or shine, so come prepared for the weather!

This is a great time for scouts to work on badges. We've had several Boy Scout troops come on past weekends. This is also a great family activity. We'll have a kid's area set up where younger children can learn about archaeology while making "discoveries" of various (planted) items.

For more information about History Beneath Us, email us at study@ben-hur.com or call 765-362-5769.

From Daguerreotype to Digital: Dating and Preserving Family Photographs

Lew & Susan Wallace Descendants pose for a family photo.
Come to the Carriage House for a closer look!

Is your family photo album neatly organized with all the names, dates, and locations written on the back? Even more organized, is it in archival scrapbooks with appropriate labels in chronological order? Or is it more like mine--a few haphazard scrapbooks and albums with photos that may or may not be labelled, with the extra photos shoved in boxes that aren't organized by...much of any criteria?

Whatever the answer, you may be interested in popping in for our upcoming genealogy lecture. If you're uber-organized, you can sit there and feel smug. If you're like the rest of us, you can learn how best to preserve your family photographs. And if your photos are unlabeled, you can learn how to be a photographic detective and figure out a little bit more about those unlabeled, undated, unidentified photos!

Join us September 12 at 7 p.m. at the Carriage House for this free lecture. Joan Hostetler of Heritage Photo and Research Services will discuss photographic processes and formats from the 1840s to the present. She will share clues for dating photos and techniques for preserving them. Bring your own family photos to learn more about them!

The lecture is free, but we do like to have a head-count beforehand, as space is limited. Please RSVP by emailing us at study@ben-hur.com or calling us at 765-362-5769.

If you're unable to join us that night, you can always follow us on Twitter, where we livetweet tidbits from the lecture with the hashtag #genealogy.

Fall Events at the Study

Happy September! We have a busy fall planned. We'll blog about all of these events in more detail later, but for now, here's a quick overview of important dates at the Study in September and October. Visit our website for a printable PDF version of this schedule.

Sept 12 - 7 p.m. - "From Daguerreotype to Digital: Dating and Preserving Family Photographs" Genealogy Lecture - FREE at the Carriage House

Joan Hostetler of Heritage Photo and Research Services will discuss photographic processes and formats from the 1840s to the present, as well as clues for dating photos and techniques for preserving them. Bring your own family photos to learn more about them. Please RSVP.

Sept 21-22 - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - History Beneath Us Archaeology - FREE on the Study grounds

Assist archaeologists from the University of Indianapolis as they continue excavations on Lew Wallace's reflecting pool. Join in the fun by digging and sifting for artifacts. Great for the family or scout troop!

Sept 29 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Smithsonian Museum Day Live - FREE with Smithsonian pass

Free admission to the Study with printed pass from Smithsonian Magazine. See the Smithsonian Magazine website for more information.

Oct 3 - 7 p.m. - "Writing Your Family History" Genealogy Lecture - FREE at the Carriage House

Ramon and Trisha Arredondo will speak about the process of writing their book Maria's Journey, a family story about immigration, the rise of the unions, the Great Depression, World War II, and more. Please RSVP.

Take a Walk in the Garden with Deb King

Grounds Manager Deb King invites you to visit us Sunday, July 14 at 6 p.m. for a Garden Tour.

Learn about her ongoing re-creation of the Moat Garden, the Montgomery County Community Foundation Going Green Grant she was awarded, and how she chooses what plants to grow here.


Discover plants such as ligularia, moonflower, celosia, and more. Come armed with questions. For a preview, check out Deb's 2013 Bloom Report and 2012 Bloom Report on our Facebook page.

Admission is $5. Some potted plants will be available in exchange for a donation to the garden fund.

Please RSVP or call 765-362-5769 to reserve a spot.

Learning about the 1940 Census

Our Genealogy Lecture series continued last night with a fun and informative talk from Allison DePrey about the 1940 Census.

Allison DePrey from IHS
talks about the 1940 Census

Allison DePrey is Assistant Coordinator for Education and Community Engagement at the Indiana Historical Society. She went over some interesting facts about the 1940 Census and discussed how to read the forms and maximize your research and understanding of the census.

The 1940 Census records were just released last year. Census records are held for 72 years before being released publicly, and they are an invaluable tool for genealogy researchers. The 1940 Census had some new features that previous census questionnaires didn't have, and the method used to take the census was new in 1940.

Here are a few tidbits we learned last night:

• Section 14 covered highest grade completed in education for the first time on a census.
• 16 supplemental questions were asked of only 5% of the population--place of birth, earliest language spoken, etc.
• People probably didn't admit on the 1940 Census that they spoke German at home thanks to anti-German sentiment from WWI.
• The supplemental questions asked for information about Social Security for the first time.
• Before 1940 no record was made of who provided the information--it could have been a neighbor or milkman!
• There were questions about place of residence in 1935, which reflected the impact of the Great Depression. About 14% of the population had migrated within the United States.

If you want to do genealogy research, start with the free official 1940 Census website. Other sources include Archives.com, FamilySearch.org, and Brightsolid. Ancestry.com also provides access to the 1940 Census.

Three additional Genealogy Lectures are planned throughout 2013.  Topics include Wallace family history (July 25), how to date and preserve your family photographs (September 12), and how to write your family history (October 3).  This lecture series is made possible through a grant from the Indiana Humanities Council in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We need your help with our Strategic Plan

This Thursday, May 16, we are hosting a public comment meeting at Crawfordsville High School. The Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society and Study staff are hard at work developing a new strategic plan. The strategic plan is a vital document that guides how we serve the community and our visitors. It helps us shape our programming and exhibits.

We would love to have your input in this process. We invite everyone to come to the public comment meeting and share thoughts, questions, concerns, and ideas. The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum celebrates and renews belief in the power of the individual spirit to affect American history and culture--and one way to do that is through helping shape our future efforts here at the Study.

Please join us at 7 p.m. at Crawfordsville High School and share your thoughts with us!

Civil War Music Coming to the Study

Lew was a fan of music. He played the violin and Susan played the guitar. One of his reasons for building the Study was so he could play the violin at midnight if he chose. We think he would approve of our upcoming event! A choral group from Wabash College will be performing a concert of Civil War songs inside the Study building Thursday, April 4.

Songs being performed will include:
Battle Cry of Freedom
The Soldier's Return
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
The New Emancipation Song
Ashokan Farewell
Battle Hymn of the Republic

Because seating is limited, RSVPs are required. Please call the Study at 765-362-5769 for details and to reserve a spot.

The Town that Lew Knew

Walk in the footsteps of a literary giant with The Town that Lew Knew, a free architecture walking tour of Crawfordsville. We'll see buildings in the neighborhood and business district that were here when Wallace walked the leaf-lined avenues.

The tour starts at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, October 9, at the Carriage House Interpretive Center, and ends there with light refreshments.

Hope to see you there!

Thrilling Whodunit Kicks Off Brown Bag Book Club

CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN, May 29, 2010— A mysterious, holy grail–like object containing a document with the potential to bring about peace between the different peoples of the world is at the center of the exciting novel The Abyssinian Proof by Jenny White, the first selection for the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum’s annual Brown Bag Book Club. The discussion for this book will take place on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., and participants are invited to bring their lunches for an interesting afternoon dialogue.

Set in late-nineteenth-century Istanbul, this gripping story features city magistrate Kamil Pasha, the protagonist of White’s earlier novel The Sultan’s Seal, who must expose a smuggling ring and recover a stolen reliquary, a box that contains a secret message known as the “Proof of God.”

“Our book club selections are meant to illustrate times and places in history that Lew Wallace would have been familiar with,” said Amanda Wesselmann, Associate Director of the Museum and leader of this month’s discussion. “The Abyssinian Proof is fiction, but since Lew Wallace was U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire during the early 1880s, the descriptions of the area and the historical events of that time were in line with what he experienced.”

The Abyssinian Proof and future Brown Bag Book Club selections can be purchased at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum Gift Shop for 10% off the cover price. For questions about the Museum’s exciting summer of events, contact the Museum at 765-362-5769 or visit www.ben-hur.com.

Member Sneak Preview Party, 3/3/10

Larry Paarlberg, Director of the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, greets guests to the Member Sneak Preview Party for the opening of the Museum's new exhibit, "Sanctuary: Preserving the Legacy of Lew Wallace."

Member Sneak Preview Party, 3/3/10, originally uploaded by WallaceStudy.

New Classes for 2010 Winter Preservation Workshop Series

The General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, continuing the tradition of advocating for historic materials that helped them win the 2008 National Medal for Museum Service, is reinstating its popular Winter Preservation Workshop Series after a one-year break. The first of four workshops, focusing on safeguarding family photos and personal papers, will take place on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 with “Pictures and Papers” from 7:00-9:00 p.m., led by Beth Swift from the Ramsay Archives at Wabash College.

The Winter Preservation Workshop Series, co-hosted by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, offers a wealth of easily-applicable information for people interested in preserving historic buildings as well as personal effects. The four workshops, which will be held on Tuesday evenings in the Carriage House Interpretive Center at the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, will provide instruction on a variety of topics, from roofing matters to Victorian landscapes.

“We’re branching out from buildings this year to cover something that everyone has thought about: how to keep personal papers and photographs in the best condition,” said Amanda Wesselmann, Associate Director of the Museum. “Beth Swift has a lot of good information about easy, inexpensive things that people can do right now keep their documents in good shape.”

“Pictures and Papers” will introduce participants to products and practices used to keep family heirloom documents in the best possible condition for future generations. Beth Swift, the facilitator of this workshop, is the Archivist at the Ramsay Archives at Wabash College and author of the “Dear Old Wabash” history blog. Swift has also been instrumental in guiding the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum in their efforts to properly pack and preserve General Wallace’s personal artifacts as crucial repair work is done to the roof of his iconic Study.

The second workshop of the series, “Historic Roofing”, will provide an overview of historic roofing materials and acceptable replacements, as well as discussing maintenance strategies that can help prevent unneeded repairs. Representatives from Henry C. Smither Roofing Company in Indianapolis will lead the presentation, on Tuesday, February 16, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

“Victorian Landscapes” will be presented by Meg Storrow, Principal Landscape Architect at Storrow Kinsella Associates, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2. This workshop will cover historic landscapes, designs for modern properties, and plants, fencings, and other decorative elements that complement an historic house.

Can preserving a historic building be good for the environment as well? The final workshop of the series, “Green Design in Preservation”, will present ways to incorporate green concepts like solar and geothermal power, water collection systems, and energy-saving products for historic buildings. The workshop, led by Jim Kienle of Moody Nolan’s Historic Preservation Studio, will take place on Tuesday, March 16 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Homeowners, business owners and those interested in historic preservation and landscape architecture are invited to attend these important workshops at the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum. Members of the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society or Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana can attend for $15 a session or $55 for the series. Non-members can attend for $25 a workshop or $90 for the entire series. Inquiries about memberships to the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society can be made at 765-362-5769.
To register for the Winter Preservation Workshop Series or for individual workshops, contact the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum at 765-362-5769 or email study@ben-hur.com. Information/registration brochures are available at the Museum or can be mailed upon request. Registration is limited to 15 participants per session.