Understanding and classifying Indiana marriage records

Have you squeezed out all possible information about your ancestors' Indiana marriages? Probably not if you haven't checked for sources beyond the license and return.

Beginning in the early 1880s, Indiana marriage records provided increasing amounts of information. They also caused increasing confusion, because both the information and the forms it was recorded on changed and were inconsistently named. At times different records were called by the same name, and the same records were called by different names.

Records were created under the auspices of the state Board of Health decades before the informative marriage applications were made mandatory in 1905. Some counties cooperated in creating these earlier records; some have preserved them; some continued to use them even after 1905, giving lucky genealogists a chance to glean additional information by comparing the records. The story is spelled out in my new article in the Indiana Historical Society's twice-yearly The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections.

If you have Indiana people, you need this magazine.



Harold Henderson, "How Hoosiers Got Hitched," The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections vol. 53, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2013), 13-24.



Harold Henderson, "Understanding and classifying Indiana marriage records," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 3 April 2014 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : viewed [date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Most Viewed MWM Posts January 2013

Once again it's time for the monthly popularity contest, listing the most-viewed blog posts made here during January.

And once again the top finisher ran well ahead of the pack, my unsolicited advice to would-be revolutionizers of genealogy: "Practice first, preach later. Lay off the endless theorizing and pontificating (at least in public). SHOW US how your new approach is different and better by applying it to a specific family or problem, writing up the results, and publishing them -- in one way or another -- for others to analyze and evaluate."

1. So You Want to Re-Invent Genealogy? Here's How (January 11)

2. A Sad Day for Chicago Researchers (January 28)

3. More on the Toughest Genealogy Course (January 19)

4.  Some Good Words for Ancestry in General and Ancestry Trees in Particular (January 4)

5.  2013 Updated List of Paid Writing Opportunities (January 3)


Least viewed:

Illinois Probates, Indianapolis Courts, and the Hoosier Genealogist (January 30)




Harold Henderson, "Most Viewed MWM Posts January 2013," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 8 March 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Illinois Probates, Indianapolis Courts, and the Hoosier Genealogist

Included in the new Hoosier Genealogist: Connections (Fall/Winter 2012), published twice a year by the Indiana Historical Society, are Randy Mills on writing memoirs ("Give yourself permission to write that lousy first draft"), Christina R. Bunting on the old French Lick resort, more on John Wooden's boyhood, and Cathy Callen on mysterious relative (or is it relatives?) Allen H. Neff.

The Neff article is interesting in that the author still has questions about the fellow's identity, and a new on-line index from the Indiana State Digital Archives might help by making Marion County court records more accessible.

Meanwhile, west of the Wabash, FamilySearch now has on line more than 1.1 million images of probate records from 44 Illinois counties (none of the big ones unless you count Rock Island and Champaign)! These are browseable and include the print indexes, but the images themselves are not indexed, so it takes some work to get to the original images.



Harold Henderson, "Illinois Probates, Indianapolis Courts, and the Hoosier Genealogist," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 30 January 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

2013 Updated List of Paid Writing Opportunities

Read the publication first, then inquire or submit something appropriate. Expect to be edited. This list will be updated as needed, in hopes that it will outgrow the size of a blog post!
** indicates editor is certified by BCG or accredited by ICAPGen.


PROFESSIONAL

Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly

NATIONAL

**Archives.com "Expert Series"

Crossroads, published by Utah Genealogical Association

INDIANA

The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, published by Indiana Historical Society

Indiana Genealogist (one prize per year), published by Indiana Genealogical Society

TEXAS

Pegasus, published by Dallas Genealogical Society beginning Spring 2013

COMMERCIAL

Internet Genealogy



Harold Henderson, "2013 Updated List of Paid Writing Opportunities," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 3 January 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Indiana Nurses, Coach Wooden, and the Underground Railroad

The Spring/Summer issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections has a wide variety of articles for Indiana-minded researchers and maybe even non-researchers.

Three Morgan County experts present the first installment of a series on the family and early life of legendary basketball coach John Wooden (1910-2010), based on new documents, and correcting some previous reports.

Editor M. Teresa Baer gives a list of the records indexed and abstracted by the late Jane Eaglesfield Darlington (1928-2012). You may have seen her name while wandering the library. I've benefited most from her transcriptions of local tax records, but I had no idea that she had produced at least one year for 17 different counties: Fayette (1842), Greene (1843), Harrison (1844), Dearborn (1842), part of Franklin (1822), Marion (1842), Marshall (1843), Morgan (1840), Noble (1847), Perry (1824-1826, 1828-1829, 1832, 1835-1837, 1840-1843, 1845), Posey (1842), Scott (1839), Spencer (1846), Switzerland (1843), Tippecanoe (1848), Vigo (1828), and Whitley (1841).

In "Escaping Slavery," Jeannie Regan-Dinius has an easy-to-follow history of the Underground Railroad in Indiana, a history of the research on it, and a how-to guide on how to pursue the research. Court records are often critical.

Indiana State Archives volunteers Ruth May and Sandy Ricketts describe the on-line indexes at Indiana Digital Archives for several now-closed nurses training schools in Bloomington (1906-1946), Vincennes (1908-1959), South Bend (1907-1975), Indianapolis (1899-1932), Goshen (1909-1938), South Bend (1894-1988), Terre Haute (1900-1965), Evansville (1914-1955), and Indianapolis (1883-1980). The extracted data on line is a small fraction of what can be ordered from the archives provided that the records are 75 years old or more.

It would be interesting to be able to view and compare all the various state genealogy publications. After the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, this one has to stand near the top.


M. Teresa Baer, "Jane Eaglesfield Darlington: A Bibliography of Works by a Master Indexer of Hoosier Records,"The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, vol. 52, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2012):4-5.

Curtis H. Tomak, Joanne Raetz Stuttgen, and Norma J. Tomak, "John Wooden: A Revised Beginning," Part 1, The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, vol. 52, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2012):6-14.

Jeannie Regan-Dinius, "Escaping Slavery: Discovering Indiana's Underground Railroad Connections," The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, vol. 52, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2012):15-25.

Ruth May and Sandy Ricketts, "Nurses' Records: The Indiana State Archives Houses Records for closed Indiana Nursing Schools and Indexes Them Online," The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, vol. 52, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2012):57-61.

Harold Henderson, "Indiana Nurses, Coach Wooden, and the Underground Railroad," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 13 August 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Hoosier Genealogist: Connections Fall/Winter 2011

Indiana's semi-annual genealogy magazine The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, from the state historical society, has a number of articles:

Rick Bell, "Below the Falls," a story of early New Albany and other Ohio River towns, tied into the new IHS collection of essays, Full Steam Ahead: Reflections on the Impact of the First Steamboat on the Ohio River, 1811-2011.

Jennie Regan-Dinius, "SHAARD," describing a database of historic properties and cemeteries across the state. Searchable categories are theaters, ISSHI (Indiana Historic Structures and Sites Inventory), cemetery registry, bridges, and National Register [of Historic Places]. Begun in 2009 with federal government support, it remains a work in progress as information both new and old continues to be added.

Geneil Breeze, "Early Settler: Thomas Kirby Warner...," on an early settler of Kosciusko County. I was struck by how various siblings reacted to the deprivations of pioneer life, and came and went accordingly.

Karen M. Wood, "Constructing a Biography," on William S. Hall of Rush County and his role in early stages of school consolidation, beginning in 1873.

Joyce Baggerly, "Family Poetry," with extensive quotations from Margaret Bruner's poems and the Baggerly family.

Glenda Thompson and Judy Ditzler, "The Indiana Boys' School." The Indiana State Archives holds letters and files of the school and a database of boys committed to the institution 1868-1930 is in the works. In the meantime, a visitor to ISA in Indianapolis can view bound volumes of commitment records in chronological order. (Always call first before visiting an archive!)

Indianapolis Orphan Asylum 1851-1940

For those with an interest, my feature article about the Indianapolis Orphan Asylum, entitled "Early Midwestern Orphanage," has just been published in the Spring/Summer issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, published by the Indiana Historical Society. The society holds about three dozen volumes of detailed records from the asylum's 99-year history, which when incorporated into a planned database should be of great interest to many genealogists, some of whom may not even know it. (Children came mostly from central Indiana, but some were adopted as far away as Kansas.) Regular readers already know that this is one of two quality genealogy magazines published in the state.

From what I have seen, the asylum's records also contradict the historical stereotype of such institutions as primarily warehouses for children. In fact, most of its children were placed in new homes or back in their families. And the records sketching out why children arrived there in the 1890s and early 1900s document the terrible stories of ordinary people down on their luck in a society with a minimal safety net.

History and Genealogy in Indiana with THG: Connections

The new issue of the semi-annual The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections (Spring-Summer 2010) is out, with a focus on the interconnections between genealogy and history. Robert W. White reflects on "Hoosier Genealogy and Indiana History: Using Each to Inform the Other." Tanya D. Marsh shows how it's done in "Following the Bee Line," an account of the Scherman/Sherman family who came to Indianapolis to work for the railroad and stayed to do many more things.

Other articles include a mysterious general store ledger from Bond County, Illinois, in 1888; a calendar of musical performances in Marion (Grant County), 1897-1898; abstracts of Montgomery County court papers; and letters from a not altogether appreciative itinerant bookseller, S. Harper Crawford, who attempted to sell books in Dearborn, Ripley, and Decatur counties in 1855.

Crawford didn't care for the wet lands in southeastern Indiana: "Their mode of building houses is as follows -- They select the driest spot they can find -- saw off oak logs about 5 feet in length [,] set them up on end and thereon erect their hut. I noticed a number of them with water enough under them to float a small boat."

White co-authors the second and final installment of the White-Eggleston family in Decatur County, Indianapolis, and points west. Timothy Mohon has a second very thorough installment on Baptist records, this involving two almost identically named Baptist organizations who covered the same western Indiana territory. (If you have Indiana Baptists, you need this resource!) And Autumn Gonzalez gets us started on federal documents.

And speaking of history, this issue begins the 50th year of the state historical society's publishing a genealogical magazine. Don't forget to visit its virtual companion, "Online Connections" as well, once it gets installed on the new IHS web site.

Insanity

The new issue of Connections: The Hoosier Genealogist from the Indiana Historical Society -- arguably the best genealogical journal between the coasts -- has a fascinating pair of cover stories. The first, by Elizabeth Flynn, details the history of mental health care in the state; the second, by Alan January of the State Archives, describes the histories of the various state facilities, their many records, and how the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has made them very difficult to access.

Key point: Indiana law opened most records to the public after 75 years; under HIPAA all individually identifiable health records are closed forever (although there may be ways around this on a case-by-case basis, depending on your state). The magazine carefully blacked out the name of an individual from a document about her release from the Indiana Hospital for the Insane in 1863, in order to protect her privacy.

Summer Hoosier Genealogist

Lots of good stuff in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, from the Indiana Historical Society:

"Research Serendipity," by Sharon Ogzewalla

"A Popular Outlet for Spare Time," by Mary Owen, on Indiana women's clubs from about a century ago

"'To Make Up a Soldier's Life," by Rachel M. Popma -- letters to the Tipton Times from Spanish-American War soldiers

"Court Papers: Abstracts of the Delaware County Legal Documents in the Barnes Manuscripts collection, 1864-1892," by Wendy L. Adams and Melinda Moore Weaver

"Prescriptions, Poetry, and Prose: The William Daviess Hutchings Papers, Scott and Jefferson Counties, 1855-1914," by Geneil Breeze

"Hoosier Baptists, Part 1: Anti-slavery Associations, 1826-18302 and African American Associations and Death Notices from Annual Minutes, 1848-1912", by Timothy Mohon

"The Crooks Family" by Constantina Lyla Spath (Delaware County)

"The Indianapolis Gardeners Benefit Society," by Cathy Born

Insurance and Bankruptcy in Chicago

Cynthia has an intriguing post over at Chicago Genealogy -- "The Chicago Fire: Was Your Ancestor Insured?" about the possibilities of using insurance records to learn more about your research targets. Interestingly, most of the materials she's found are in the Minnesota Historical Society. (Hat tip to the Newberry Library blog.)

Locally the treasure trove is at the National Archives Great Lakes Region. Bankruptcy cases are federal cases, and most Illinois-based insurers were bankrupted by the Chicago Fire (and not just because it was a big one -- they had been conducting business recklessly as well). So one entry point to insurance matters is through bankruptcy cases in 1871, 1872, and thereabouts.

One of my research targets was in the insurance business, so I had occasion to pay a very pleasant visit to NARA Great Lakes, out on South Pulaski, last summer. (None of what I say below should in any way replace your calling an archivist there before showing up -- they are very helpful, and these records are not simple to deal with. I'm not blowing smoke; check out the on line info on Record Group 21, Records of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago. Learn from it, but this ain't DIY territory.)

The more you already know about your research target, the better. Using the historical index to the Chicago Tribune at ProQuest newspapers (in your better libraries) may help you latch on to a case or a company that your research target was mixed up with. Many of the bankruptcy files are not indexed. But I got good results -- YMMV -- by coming in through a side door and working my way through the early years of the Defendant's General Index to Equity & Law 1871-1911, in five volumes (so you have to look for each surname in up to five places) but on one microfilm. Many of these are bankruptcy cases, and if your luck holds you can learn a lot about your people if they're involved. But this is not an every-name index; your best shot may be to find a company that you know your people were connected with, and follow that lead.

One final repetitive caution: this is not the place to start if all you have is a name and a handful of census lookups. Get to know your people before you start in on this fascinating and rarely-taken research journey -- who they worked and lived with, who they associated with. As Tom Jones says, it's about identities, not names.

The above has to do largely with post-1871 Chicago research, but Martin Tuohy of NARA Great Lakes has a thorough and inspiring article, "Federal Court Records: Researching Hoosier Family History at the National Archives-Great Lakes Region, Chicago, 1817-1859," if you can lay hands on the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections (volume 48 issue 1), published by the Indiana Historical Society.

The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections Fall/Winter 2008

If you can't find some new inspiration and new records to investigate from reading the fall/winter 2008 issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, the semiannual from the Indiana Historical Society, you probably aren't paying attention. The well-written and well-edited articles include:

"After the War: Billy Yank Comes Home to Small-Town America," by Mary Blair Immel, focusing on Civil War veterans in and around Covington, including the unpleasant parts.

"Census Records: Federal Non-Population Schedules," by Curt B. Witcher of the Allen County Public Library. These lesser-known and lesser-used schedules include agricultural, manufactures, social statistics, and mortality. They're all worthy of genealogical attention -- sometimes for basic genealogical information, sometimes to point the way to additional genealogical sources, and sometimes to enlarge our understanding of how our ancestors lived in their place and time.

"'C'est La Guerre': The World War I Correspondence of Kenton Craig Emerson, Steuben County, 1917-1919," by Geneil Breeze

"History in Church Minutes: The Rise and Fall of the Lick Creek Baptist Church, Henry County, 1835-1848," by James B. Cash

"Bank Crash: Legal Papers Gathered in Wake of Bank Failure Tell Stories of Elisha and Martha Hyatt Family and Neighbors in Daviess County, 1885-1896," by Rachel M. Popma

"Servant Cries Foul: Open Letter from Runaway in Indiana Sentinel September 1819, Offers Flavor of Frontier Life," by M. Teresa Baer

"The 'Raintree County' Project: Annotated Transcriptions, Biographical Database and History Compiled through Research of Letters in Grandparents' Attic," by James B. Cash

"The 'Jefferson Chronicles': Statewide Articles from a Nineteenth-Century Indiana Newspaper Correspondent," by George C. Hibben. Rev. William W. Hibben's work as a special correspondent of the Indianapolis Sentinel.

"Civil War Pension File: Some Genealogical Data and Other Gleanings Found in My Great-Great Grandfather's Pension File," by Robert D. Hennon

"Citizens' Petitions: Official Requests to the Governor of Indiana in the Indiana State Archives," by Kurt Jung

"Spanish-American War: United Spanish War Veterans Collection at the Indiana State Archives," by Ron Darrah. A few months of war, a century of records.

Relevant additional material will be posted at Online Connections later this month.

Connections: The Hoosier Genealogist

Now a snazzy semiannual, the fall/winter issue of Connections: The Hoosier Genealogist is published by the Indiana Historical Society. Accordingly it often reads a bit like a genealogy magazine turned inside out: instead of authors struggling to find evidence about their ancestors, the authors here are writing about whoever is already in the IHS archives and collections. Sometimes this allows them to tell a crackerjack story.

The genealogically juicy part is that the print magazine's companion, Online Connections, which has indexes associated with some of the articles: for instance, the list of Grant County dentist Charles Priest's patients, and a three-part index of people mentioned in Lucius Keaton's diphtheria diary, with identifying information when available.

"Our Fathers' Stories: The world War II Oral History Collection at the Indiana Historical Society," by Elizabeth Flynn

"Earning Credentials: Genealogical Certification and Standards for Quality," by Elizabeth Shown Mills

"Early Dental Practices: Charles A. Priest's Dentist Accounts, Grant County, 1920-1937," by Geneil Breeze

"Diphtheria Victim's Journal: The Diary of Lucius S. Keaton, Shelby County, 1864-1865," by Evan Gaughan

"Community News: Social Columns of the Rockport Democrat, Spencer County, 1907," by Ruth Dorrel and Evan Gaughan

"Just a Country Girl: Stories from an Early Twentieth Century Hoosier Farm Family, Part 3," by Martha Brennan

"Civil War Soldiers: Addendum to GAR Series, Covington, Indiana, Part 2," by Mary Blair Immel

"Ancestor Migrations: Hennon Siblings Move from Ohio to Indiana and Farther West, 1850s through 1870s," by Robert DeWeitt Hennon

"Inheritance Taxes: Indiana's Inheritance Tax Records at the Indiana State Archives," by Barbara F. Wood. These records cover 1913-1933, but don't get your hopes up -- all counties alphabetically before Marion have been lost.