Periodicals Can Be A Treasure Trove

 Picture this scenario, if you will please.  James Brown is 55 years old and a Methodist circuit rider in very rural Wisconsin in about 1870. He felt "called" and loaded up his saddle bags on Old Nellie and set off to preach the gospel.  When Grandpa James was 75, and was a widower and getting somewhat feeble, he went to live with his daughter in St. Louis, Missouri. He had kept all his saddle-bag-books of his sermon notes and the baptisms and marriages he performed.  When he died, Daughter gathered up all his stuff (at his insistence) and carted them off, along with him, to her home in St.Louis. Years pass, James' books and papers get "lost" in a box somewhere. Finally in about 1995, a granddaughter, who is very interested in her family history, stumbled upon the box and is delighted beyond words! Records written in her gggg-grandfather's own hand! 

After the gggg-daughter enjoys and extracts information from Grandpa Brown's records, she realizes the importance of them. They must be preserved and made available, she reasons. Ans she's right. So she gives them to her local genealogical society and they publish abstracts from the records in their (Missouri) periodical. Obviously, far from Wisconsin! 

Why am I sharing this scenario/story? Because if James Brown was YOUR ancestor and you never knew where he died, and, more importantly, what happened to his religious records, you would be so happy to find out, wouldn't you? 

The above image is from a family surname periodical, the Adams Agenda, this issue published in 1979. This publication contained mostly Adams-surname information but there were other goodies. I know you cannot read it, but catch this: "Genealogy of Capt. John Johnson," or "Norris, Hackett, Prescott & Allied Families." Or "Some Descendants of Philip Sherman."

While a surname-oriented periodical might not be your best "bingo," I know there is a St. Louis Genealogical Society which has a periodic publication. Might/could have James Brown's Wisconsin records be published there, in St.Louis, Missouri? And, most importantly, would you think to look there for that information?

I really urge you to learn about PERSI (Periodical Source Index) and use it. This is where you'll find indexed all the genealogy-related periodicals that the Allen County Public Library (aka Fort Wayne) could/can locate. Click to the FamilySearch.org/WIKI and ask for PERSI. Self-education will bring great rewards, I guarantee. 

PERSI Update

 

Periodical Source Index (PERSI) Available for FREE at ACPL

This update penned by Gena Philibert-Ortega on February 11, 2022, caught my attention:

Have you used PERSI? If you have been using PERSI over the years, you may have searched it from a genealogy subscription website, but it was recently announced that PERSI is going back to its home at the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library. You can now search PERSI from the Genealogy Center website for FREE. 

Not sure what PERSI is? Let's start with an introduction.

 The Periodical Source Index 

The Genealogy Center explains that “PERSI is the premier subject index for genealogy and local history periodicals, and is produced by the staff of The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library (ACPL). Using this valuable resource provides citations to readily-available periodical sources.” 

PERSI is a periodical index of history and genealogy magazines, newsletters, and journals that span the 1800s to the present day. The majority of the periodicals are US-based, but it also includes publications in Canada, the British Isles, and other countries. The periodicals in PERSI are in the collection of the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana), and they index the materials. However, it is not an every-name index. Instead, it is a subject index and includes indexed words such as record types, location, surnames as subject, and how-to articles.

Why Use PERSI? 

You might be thinking, "why should I use PERSI? After all, it's an index!" Indexes provide us with a unique finding aid. In this case, these periodicals have articles of use to our research including histories, images, and indexes of local records that genealogy societies, historical societies, and individuals have published in newsletters, magazines, and journals. These articles can provide an ancestor's name or context for researching your ancestor's time and place. And they can point the way to unique record collections you didn’t know existed. It's vital to seek out and identify materials located in the place your ancestor lived. These periodical articles can provide a glimpse of what is available. 

To read the rest of Gena's article, and to see her examples, click to the Allen County website (www.alcp.lib) and scroll down to the article........ and enjoy whatever else you may find on this good website!