Digging Up the Past Together

A family of seven has been indexing in Guatemala City. Mom, Dad, five children, and Grandpa and Grandma live together and share one computer that has Internet access. They balance taking turns indexing with all the children being in school, Dad working, and Mom finishing her studies at the university. At times, the family goes to the local family history center to work on more machines with Internet access. In 2011, the Lanuza family indexed over 37,000 records.

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FamilySearch indexing just hit a major milestone. Sometime in the last month or so, the number of searchable names on FamilySearch.org surpassed the 2.5 billion mark. And the majority of those names are there because you and others like you took the time to index them.

To put that number in perspective, let’s look back at what once was and also look forward to what may be.

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Fold3, one of the largest online collections of original historical American documents, is offering free access to its Black History Collection throughout February.  In there you will find “colored troop” service records, court slave records, slave registries, Amistad court records, and many more.  If you like what you see, remember that at the Newberry, you have access to the Black History Collection and the rest of Fold3’s databases year-round without cost to you.  (Fold3 used to be called Footnote.com.)

Enjoying a beautiful spring day, my husband and I set out on a hike. Planning ahead, my husband had calculated the length of our hike to be about 6 miles. I packed our day packs with the needed supplies so we could enjoy the day and stop for small breaks and a refreshing lunch.

It was a crystal clear day, not a cloud in sight, as we hiked along the mountain ridge where we could see down both sides of the mountain. Not being in the best of shape, I knew that 6 miles would be a good hike for me and would take a few hours to complete.

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Remember as a kid how Christmas never came soon enough? Waiting was torture, and talking about it did nothing to relieve the suffering. But you talked about it and thought about it and dreamed about it anyway because it was just so doggone exciting.

For genealogists, Christmas comes in April this year when the National Archives releases the images of the 1940 US Federal Census. And while pictures are nice, the real present won’t be unwrapped until the census is fully indexed and safely published online for everyone to freely access. Now that’s a gift worth waiting for!

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When it was announced that the Hull House Association would be shutting down, I was struck by how many people were shocked and saddened by the news. Having worked for two years at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, I was prepared to know a lot of people who would be emotionally affected by the closure of the organization, people dedicated to telling the stories of the revolution that had its humble beginnings in that very building on South Halsted Street.

The Hull-House complex at 800 S. Halsted Street, c. 1910. CHM, photograph by Barnes-Crosby, i19288

But the Hull House Association was not a museum: it was the living, breathing legacy of the most famous settlement house in America. The impact of its closing reaches far beyond the history lovers and devotees of Jane Addams, the so-called “grandmother of social work.” The association, working in the spirit of Addams and the countless residents of the Hull-House Settlement, provided services to those who needed it most, and its closing is a great loss to communities around the city.

Jane Addams, social reformer and activist, c. 1892. CHM, i09378

Hull-House played an important role in the building of Chicago. It began more than 120 years ago when Jane Addams and her close friend Ellen Gates Starr arrived on the Near West Side, the most depressed and heavily populated part of town. Their initial goal, to bridge the gap between the rich and poor by offering encounters with art and culture to a population of the city without access to such luxuries, was soon joined by many more pressing needs. The two women realized that, while these were, perhaps, wonderful ways to lift the spirits of their neighbors, it was a far cry from all they truly needed. And thus began a remarkable foray into what we recognize today as social services.

Children in a Hull-House art class, 1924. CHM, Chicago Daily News collection, DN-0076595

The impact of the Hull-House Settlement is more far-reaching than most can imagine. When I arrived to work at the Hull-House Museum on the campus of UIC in 2009, I knew very little about Jane Addams, the function of a settlement house, or the Hull-House Settlement’s history. What I learned about the work of Hull-House residents astounded me. How could these women accomplish so much at a time when they didn’t even have the right to vote? It was truly a progressive era! The environment they cultivated in the house (and ultimately throughout the complex of thirteen buildings) and the legislation that passed and the policies that were reformed due to their collective efforts and savvy navigation of the local, state, and federal governments gave rise to the very foundation of our democracy:

• The eight-hour workday
• Investigation into and reform of child labor laws
• Founding of the first juvenile court in the United States
• Establishment of housing codes
• Establishment of the first public playground
• Protection of immigrants’ rights
• Advocacy for women’s rights
• Health services for babies, children, and mothers
• Access to the city’s first public baths (since many in that neighborhood did not have a place to wash at home)
• Access to art-making in all media, including dance, music, and theater
• A safe place to celebrate one’s heritage and find camaraderie
• Among many, many others

The Hull-House Settlement was keenly aware of the changing needs of the people it served. By the 1960s, Chicago’s many immigrant communities had spread out to different neighborhoods, so Hull-House (which was, by this time, officially the association) set up satellite centers throughout the city, hoping to serve as many communities as possible.

When UIC was established in its current location, it turned two of the original thirteen Hull-House buildings into a museum to serve as a memorial and tell the stories of the thousands of people who lived and worked there. The Hull House Association, until last week, continued to work with and advocate for Chicago’s underserved population, offering classes and social services and preserving Jane Addams’s legacy.

Right now, you will find Jane Addams and the history of Hull-House in two Chicago History Museum galleries: the Crossroads exhibition and Out in Chicago. These displays explore the important work that was done at the Hull-House Settlement to shape our city and our nation.

If you want to learn more, I invite you to visit the Chicago History Museum, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at 800 S. Halsted Street, and these online resources:

> Plan your visit to the Chicago History Museum

> Visit the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum website

> Read a brief history of Hull-House

> Explore related primary sources and scholarly essays

> See photographs of social reform

> Discover the end-of-life story of Hull-House co-founder Ellen Gates Starr

Alison Hinderliter, Project Manager of the Newberry’s Everywhere West project, has posted part 2 of an excellent article on the use of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad’s land records for family history research.  She follows the case of Swedish immigrant Axel Frisk.  Check part 1 of the article out here.  For further information about Everywhere West’s efforts to preserve and enhance access to the CB&Q records, follow the project at http://publications.newberry.org/cbq/

Date:   Saturday, February 4th
Times:  10:00 am
Where: National Helenic Museum of Chicago, 333 S. Halsted St., Chicago
More information: http://www.chicagogenealogy.org
Email: chgogensoc@att.net

Young Greek boys and men began arriving in Chicago in the 1840’s to escape extreme poverty and war. These were primarily seamen who became engaged in the commerce on the Great Lakes. The 2000 federal census counted over 100,000 people of Greek ancestry in the Chicago metropolitan area. Learn about the impact of Greek immigration on Chicago.

Updated Tree Search Form

A new Trees search screen has been added to the FamilySearch search page. You can access this search screen by clicking the Trees tab.

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At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 4th, Matt Rutherford, Curator of Genealogy and Local History, will introduce novices to the basics of research with a free informal orientation. No reservations are necessary. The session will be held in the Towner Fellows’ Lounge on the second floor of the Newberry Library. Click here for directions to the Newberry.  Click here for a list of all genealogy orientations for 2012.

ChicagoAncestors.org is a free website designed to help genealogists and local historians discover and share historical information about Chicago. ChicagoAncestors.org allows you to search for historical data by address, neighborhood, type of information or keyword. The results are plotted on a Google map. Users are also able to add tags, comments or new points to the map simply by becoming registered users.

 Here are just some of the types of information you’ll find:

• Locations of many synagogues and churches for a variety of denominations, along with information on where to access their records
• Locations of schools whose yearbooks are held by The Newberry Library or the Chicago History Museum
• Bibliographies for each of Chicago’s 77 community areas
• Homicide records covering over 3,400 crimes.
• Images of Chicago from Jazz Age Chicago, ChicagoPC Postcards, the Charles W. Cushman Photograph collection and more
• Chicago Tribute Markers commemorating notable Chicagoans
• Information on locations such as: public housing, historic restaurants and cemeteries
• Submissions from other users of ChicagoAncestors – locations where their ancestors lived, worked and played.

We’ll be publishing helpful tips on using ChicagoAncestors in future postings.  If you’re interested in Chicago history or genealogy, be sure to check it out!

We’ve received many comments from FamilySearch users telling us that they find the name of an ancestor in an index but cannot find a record for them. Or, if record images are available, they have to go through hundreds of records in order to find the one they want. Let me explain a couple of tips that will help make your search a more pleasant experience.

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We’ve received many comments from FamilySearch users telling us that they find the name of an ancestor in an index but cannot find a record for them. Or, if record images are available, they have to go through hundreds of records in order to find the one they want. Let me explain a couple of tips that will help make your search a more pleasant experience.

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After 58 years of publishing in Chicago, Playboy Enterprises recently announced the move of all editing, art, and photography operations to Los Angeles. Readers of the announcement, largely communicated through Facebook and other social media, could hardly believe their eyes—and needless to say, they weren’t looking at any centerfold. Say it ain’t so, Playboy!

The first issue of Playboy, December 1953
CHM collection

Departments and archives based at founder Hugh Hefner’s original mansion will leave the city, as will nearly all employees. Only a skeleton crew of staff will remain at 680 N. Lake Shore Drive but the company has not yet divulged further details on who will stay and how they will function at the Chicago offices. Since last year, about 245 employees were based here.

Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion, Chicago, c. 1965
Gift of the estate of photographer Declan Haun, i40391

In 1953, at age twenty-seven, Chicago entrepreneur Hugh Hefner debuted the first issue of Playboy magazine. Aimed at (but not solely appealing to) men who fancied themselves masculine, intellectual swinging singles of postwar prosperity, Playboy was an innovative product that blended hard news and progressive journalism with work of emerging fiction, interspersed between photo spreads of delicious ladies, including startling nude shots of Marilyn Monroe. Within its first weeks of publication, the issue had sold 72,000 copies, and Hefner was on his way to growing a sexual empire. He used the popular yet controversial magazine as a vehicle to explore issues of censorship, sexual freedom and desire, civil rights, political corruption, and creativity.

Hefner expanded by catering to experiences like the members-only Playboy Club, which opened in Chicago in 1960 and sought to fulfill heterosexual male fantasies of having it all: good drink, good company, stimulating conversation, all provided by female creatures/waitresses known as Bunnies clad in low-cut bodices, bunny-ear headpieces, and cottontails. The Chicago club closed in 1988 and the Museum has several artifacts and costumes from the club in its collection.

Playboy Bunny at the Playboy Club, c. 1960
Gift of photographer Stephen Deutch, i23629

Playboy Bunny costume, 1972
Gift of Playboy Enterprises, Inc., 1972.239

It seems Chicago-based historians and the most ardent local fans have dreaded the possible loss of our homegrown girlie magazine over recent years—perhaps even as early as Hefner’s relocation to California in the 1970s—as publishers continue to struggle in this sluggish economy. Today, the most moneymaking piece of Playboy is the brand, and merchandising continues to expand. Despite the failure of the short-lived television series this past fall, the club is still enjoying a comeback with plans for development around the globe.

The Chicago History Museum has a full run of Playboy in its Research Center for historians looking for a little vintage cheesecake.

Thanks for a great run, Playboy.

> Learn more about the Museum’s Research Center

> Learn more about Playboy

> Learn more about Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

Chicago Genealogy 101

Date:   Saturday, January 28
Times:  10:00 am
Where: The Scottish Home, 2800 Des Plaines Ave., North Riverside
Who:    Grace Dumelle
More information: http://www.thescottishhome.org

Learn the challenges of searching for Windy City relations, such as address and street name changes and scores of unindexed newspapers.  Then discover some resources family historians often overlook: fire insurance maps, inquest records, and probate cases.  Grace will offer copies of her book, Finding Your Chicago Ancestors, after the program.

I attended Robert Frost Elementary School. At the time, I didn't know what that meant. All I knew was that the school was kind of “groovy” because there weren't any walls in most of the building. None. I could stand in my fourth grade “learning space” and play my $2.00 plastic saxophone, and my brother could hear my "Taps" in his second grade “learning space” on the other side of the school.

As it turns out, the “no walls” approach was excellent if you were pursuing a Master's degree in “Kum By Ya,” but it wasn't an ideal way to educate grade schoolers.

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I attended Robert Frost Elementary School. At the time, I didn't know what that meant. All I knew was that the school was kind of “groovy” because there weren't any walls in most of the building. None. I could stand in my fourth grade “learning space” and play my $2.00 plastic saxophone, and my brother could hear my "Taps" in his second grade “learning space” on the other side of the school.

As it turns out, the “no walls” approach was excellent if you were pursuing a Master's degree in “Kum By Ya,” but it wasn't an ideal way to educate grade schoolers.

read more

New Year’s parade in Chicago’s Chinatown, 2011

Happy Chinese New Year, Chicago! Today, January 23, is the first day of 4710 according to the Chinese calendar. It’s the year of the dragon. If you can, check out the New Year’s parade in Chinatown this weekend. It kicks off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, on Wentworth Avenue south of Cermak Road. And, if you go, remember to wear something red for luck in the coming year and wish everyone, “Gung Hay Fat Choy,” or Happy New Year!

Footage from the 2011 Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown:

History of the U.S. Federal Census

Date:   Tuesday, January 24
Times:  7:00 pm
Where: Helen Plum Memorial Library Genealogy Club, 110 W. Maple St., Lombard
Who:    Matt Rutherford
More information: Library Adult Services, (630) 627-0316  http://www.helenplum.org

In genealogy research, we often refer to the decennial U.S. Federal Census simply as “the census.”  But, in fact, it really is twenty-three separate historical documents, each reflecting the purpose, politics, and idiosyncrasies of its era.  We will place each of the censuses in its proper historical context in order to better interpret and apply them to our research.

As we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., this national holiday weekend, I’d like to focus on his mentor and adviser Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), whose 100th birthday we mark this year. For both African American men, Chicago served as important preparatory ground for grassroots activism and community building, and as preliminary training for national speeches and civil rights demonstrations.

Bayard Rustin outside the March on Washington office, around 1963. Photograph courtesy of Bennett Singer.

Bayard Rustin was an architect of the civil rights movement, and devoted his life to the fight against social and economic oppression. His life was inspiring, fascinating, and complicated. Rustin was a Pennsylvania native and Quaker, who felt an early calling to nonviolently promote equality among all races, religions, and classes of Americans. As a young man, he refused to enlist for World War II and was briefly a member of the Communist Party. Later, Rustin was a student of Mahatma Gandhi and eventually shared Gandhi’s methods of peaceful civil disobedience with King, whom he intimately served as elder advisor and mentor. He was the mastermind behind the landmark 1963 March on Washington, but in the years before and after the historic march, Rustin also organized a number of meetings and rallies in Chicago’s poverty-stricken communities, Grant Park, and Soldier Field.

Rustin fought for racial equality, primarily but not exclusively in support of his black brothers and sisters. But as a gay man who was open about his sexuality, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, he suffered from the homophobia of his associates in the movement and in society at large. His relationships defied taboos of love and desire, and of race. Two of his longest and most important relationships were with white men, including New Yorker named Walter Naegle (see below). Bayard Rustin’s guidance of Martin Luther King, with whom Rustin’s homosexuality caused tension, and his commitment to the fight for equality were often tested but never defeated. In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Rustin focused his activism toward LGBT rights.

For further reading on Rustin’s life and activism, I recommend UIC historian John D’Emilio’s moving biography Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. In the author’s words, Rustin’s life “reminds us that the most important stories from the past are often those that have been forgotten and that from obscure origins can emerge individuals with the power to change the world.” Inspiring words; an inspiring life.

Get More Involved:

Please join us on Monday, January 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for free programs in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring music and a performance of The MLK Project by the Writers’ Theatre.
> See a schedule of MLK day events at the Museum

If you wish to learn more about Bayard Rustin and his legacy, the Museum is screening the documentary Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin in its entirety on Saturday, January 28th as part of the “Anything But Straight” LGBT film series. Films will screen back to back from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and are free with Museum admission.
> Learn more about Anything But Straight: the LGBT film series

Another event not to be missed is our February 9th Out at CHM program, “Bayard Rustin at 100: Remembering a Forgotten Hero”. It features a conversation between none other than Rustin’s life partner, Walter Naegle, and Bennett Singer, co-director of the film above.
> Purchase tickets to the Bayard Rustin program