Our Day in History: Genealogy Gold in Fort Wayne

By Roberta Ridley & Ngozi Rogers
Photos: Ridley Family Collection

Oral Family Story: Cousin Dorothea born in Fort Wayne, attended modeling school in Chicago around age 16, later moved to California, we didn’t know much after that..

Genealogy Research: Dorothea Durham was born in 1912 in Fort Wayne, family moved to Chicago where she attended modeling school, later they moved to Los Angeles, Dorothea became a dancer at the Paradise Club and Frank Sebastian’s Cotton Club, model for La mel Sommers Agency and actress who appeared in the 1943 movie Cabin in the Sky among others.

Dorothea Durham was just one of the many stories uncovered at this year’s Midwest African American Institute. Established in 2013, MAAGI is the only African American focused genealogy education and training institute offering 48 genealogy classes over three days with lectures and guided personal instruction by local and nationally recognized instructors. “Research opportunities with MAAGI sessions provided unique learning and practice with individual research and sharing of results” explained Fort Wayne instructor Dr. Alfred Brothers, “and dialogue among the attendees and sharing of research techniques helped solve genealogy brick walls and establish effective research strategies.”

This year’s MAAGI was held virtually on July 7-9 but for the past five years has been held at one of the largest genealogy libraries in the country: the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Did you catch that? The Genealogy Center within our local library is one of THE places to go for genealogy research and family history. The ACPL offers the second largest genealogy collection outside of the collection in Salt Lake City, Utah. Because African American history and genealogy is so intrinsically intertwined with Anglo American history and genealogy, it is important to research both sets of records and then find ‘out of the box’ resources for more complete details of our history. That’s where the Midwest African American Institute comes in to educate and train researchers to find their ancestors with courses like DNA Studies and Results, Ante Bellum Plantation Documentation Resources, Slavery and the Law, Military Records and History for African Americans and more.

Attendees came from across the nation including Chicago, California, Arizona and Texas searching for information about ancestors in America, Trinidad, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and more but surprisingly, MAAGI lacks local participation. There were a few attendees from Fort Wayne and of course we at the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne support the annual event with opening reception, lunches, room monitors, transportation as well as local instructors. The Midwest African American Institute platform has been provided, the Allen County Public Library offers the second largest genealogy collection right here in our city, assistance and support is available from the local African American genealogy society and yet ancestor’s voices from Fort Wayne residents are not being researched, uncovered and shared. Why?
Having MAAGI in Fort Wayne at the Genealogy Center in the ACPL is a win-win situation for researchers old and new. The true stories of Black people’s lives from bondage to freedom, migration for better lives, and for some, parents and grandparents must be researched, proven and shared for healing and understanding. The path to finding your ancestors and long lost relatives starts here at the Genealogy Center in the downtown Fort Wayne library and is accessible with your library card. The time is more than right for Fort Wayne’s African American families to claim their roots and share their stories. The Midwest African American Institute will return July 6-8, 2021 register at www.maagiinstitute.org. Get ready for 2021 with help from the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne at www.facebook.com/aagsfw or aagsfw@gmail.com . We are here to help!.

Memorandum: The AAGSFW would like to express our condolences to the family of Mrs. Delia Cothrun-Bourne (October 30, 1953 - July 9, 2020) the ACPL reference librarian in the Genealogy Center who helped many with their research since 1983. Her smiling face and commitment to assistance will be greatly missed.
Genealogy Research Tip: An important part of genealogy research is sharing your findings. Share with your family, publish your findings and donate a copy to the Genealogy Center at the library, share your family tree on ancestry.com or familysearch.org not only helps preserve your family history but also helps future generations to find their roots. This is one way that we can all unite.

‘Our Day in History’ is presented by the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne (AAGSFW) and the African/African-American Historical Society and Museum (AAAHSM) celebrating the AAGSFW 10th and AAAHSM 20th anniversaries! This monthly column highlights Fort Wayne’s rich African American history. Learn more at www.facebook.com/aagsfw.

Dorothea Durham portrait by John E. Reed, Hollywood photographer. (Late 1930’s)

Dorothea Durham and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson in movie Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Dorothea Durham dancing at the Paradise Club in Hollywood. (1937)