The Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center must be an awesome place to visit! The Center has a collection of over 350,000 printed volumes and 500,000+ items of microfilm/microfiche. Their online databases can be accessed for free from anywhere. On their website (http://genealogycenter.org/Home.aspx) you will find a long list of free databases - among them not only Indiana records but 'gateways' to African-American and Native American research. family Bible transcriptions, and an array of other states' resources. One of the many free databases available is the "Genealogy Center Surname File." Created in 1998 and updated quarterly, this is a compilation of researchers' names and contact information and the surnames they're researching.  (The website description of this file says contributors are Genealogy Center patrons.) Here's the link: www.genealogycenter.info/search_gensurnames.php. After typing in the name you wish to query, you can select one of these options:

• Exact - will search only for exact text
• Fuzzy - will search for a string of characters which may appear as part of another name. Example: looking for Smith will find Smithfield, Arrowsmith, etc.
• Soundex - will search for variants. Example: looking for Smith will find Smythe, Schmidt, etc.

Take a look. It's another way to connect with those distant cousins.