FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — At 62 years old, Duane Perry was embarrassed that he did not know much about the paternal side of his family. More than a decade later, Duane has two books and counting, with more information than most people will ever know about their family lineage.
Perry grew up in Fort Wayne, but it wasn’t until adulthood that he took advantage of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center to start tracing back his roots. “When I started, I said, I’m going to find out this about this Perry family, my father’s grandfather, and this family that I am related to,” said Perry from the quiet of the Genealogy Center.
With a heartfelt passion, Perry began using all of the resources available to him. His biggest breakthrough was submitting his DNA. The DNA search connected him to a relative in St. Louis. “He said, oh, by the way, you have an aunt, your father’s sister, that is still alive, and she was 78 years old at the time, and I had three years with her before she passed away, but that opened the door wide open.”…