Sometimes genealogists forget that libraries may subscribe to online services that could be helpful to them in their own research.
While leading a recent trip to the Allen County Public Library, I had some time to experiment with Genealogybank.com--which the library provides to onsite patrons in their facility. The historical books, newspapers, and documents indexed here are a treasure trove of information. Genealogybank.com is also a subscription that individuals can obtain privately for use in their own home, with a variety of subscription plans. Its concentration is on materials that were originally created in print format and nicely augments other subscription databases that focus on federal records.
I located a early twentieth century article on a cousin detailing his 20,000 mile trek around North America, eluding police officials until his capture in Boston in the early 1900s. Locating this article would have been impossible with out the OCR search capabilities offered on Genealogybank.com. This relative will be mentioned in future blog posts and articles as I learn more about his escape from police officers and his involvement in Cuban stamp fraud (among other things).
