Ashley discovered her interest in family history more than 20 years ago through a high school project on tracking hereditary diseases.
After she finished the project, she didn’t want to leave the research behind. Through Easterseals Northeast Indiana and the Allen County Public Library, she found the resources to keep unearthing hidden facts in her heritage. Supporting Ashley’s efforts demonstrates Easterseals Northeast Indiana’s commitment to empowering individuals with disabilities by helping them pursue their passions and personal goals.
A Lifelong Passion for Family History
The Genealogy Department at the main library in downtown Fort Wayne is the nation’s largest genealogical collection in a public library. Ashley, 41, has been visiting there since shortly after she graduated from high school.
“That’s when I really started in family history, right after high school. I wanted to learn more, to do more research,” she said.
Support That Makes a Difference
That research gained a boost 15 years ago, when Karen Gingrich became an Easterseals staff member. Gingrich is friends with Pam Porter, who is Ashley’s mother and also an Easterseals employee. Porter encouraged Gingrich to apply and suggested she could make working with Ashley a large part of her job—another example of empowering individuals with disabilities through meaningful support and opportunity.
Now Gingrich drives Ashley to the downtown library every other Wednesday evening for an hour or two of genealogical research. On the other Wednesdays, Gingrich takes Ashley to Self-Advocates meetings.
A Family Connection to History
Gingrich said the appetite for historical research is strong in Ashley’s background, too. She noted that Pam Porter studied history in college, and she and Ashley have toured Civil War battlefields together.
That history tourism pointed Ashley toward other roads of research. When she was a child, years before she began her genealogical research, Ashley visited the Gettysburg battlefield with her mother.
“That got me wondering whether any of my ancestors were in the Battle of Gettysburg,” Ashley said. “I found out through my research that I did have some ancestors who fought in the battle of Gettysburg (and at) Shiloh. On both sides.”
She’s also found relatives who were in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Tracing Generations and Discovering New Roots
Ashley has had help from smaller family histories written by her great-grandmothers. But over her years of research, she’s moved far beyond their work. She’s tracked some branches of her ancestry to the 1400s and has identified a distant relative who is a member of the House of Lords in the British Parliament.
Ashley also wants to learn more about her ancestry by having her DNA analyzed. Through her more traditional research, she’s learned that she has ancestors from Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, England, and even some Native American ancestors on her mother’s side.
Continuing the Journey
Her search continues.
“I find different relatives that I never even knew. I didn’t know that I had Native American (relatives),” she said.
Through opportunities like these, Easterseals Northeast Indiana continues empowering individuals with disabilities, helping people like Ashley explore their interests, deepen their knowledge, and build meaningful connections to their past.