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IN-PERSON: Making the Records Talk – with

Timothy Pinnick & Janis Forte

Join us for a FREE, IN-PERSON program on Saturday, October 18th from 9 AM to 5 PM in the Discovery Center!

Making the Records Talk will feature African American research experts, Timothy Pinnick and Janis Forte. Tim will present Toolbox Building I: Eight Essential African American Resources and Toolbox Building II: Fifty Noteworthy Books for the African American Researcher in the morning while Janis will present Seven Proven Strategies for Identifying Slave Ownership & Reconstructing Slave Era Families and They’re Not on the Census: Using Non-Traditional Sources to Identify Slave Holders. This information-packed day will offer much to beginning and more experienced researchers alike. Making the Records Talk is free, and it offers great opportunities to enjoy more success in finding your families’ stories.

Timothy N. Pinnick is an accomplished researcher, popular national speaker, author of the book, “Finding and Using African American Newspapers,” and owner of History and Genealogy Spotlight, a business specializing in assisting libraries and individuals in identifying new and used African American books relevant to the African American research process. Tim is the author of more than half a dozen articles, including “Using an Extended Research Project to Reconstruct a Community” which appeared in the Association for Professional Genealogists Quarterly, “Answers in African American Newspapers” written for Family Tree Magazine, “The Carnegie Medal” in the NGS Magazine, and most coauthored “From Runaways to Reunions” in the January/February 2018 edition of Family Tree Magazine.

Janis Minor Forté is the granddaughter of slaves. She has been researching her family history since about 1979. Elements of her genealogical research have been presented before large and small audiences on radio talk shows and national television. Articles about her research have appeared in the Chicago Tribune. She has also authored articles in several genealogy journals and magazines. In 2009, she chaired the publication of an African American Heritage Book. This 386-page hard cover fully indexed book is housed in all of the major genealogy libraries and archives. It has been digitized by FamilySearch.org and is available for online reading.

This is an in-person program partnership with the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne and the ACPL Genealogy Center.