Methodology Monday in Indiana Courthouses

Not all evidence analysis takes place after we've found it. In 1981 Indiana State Archivist John J. Newman gave a talk at the state historical society's spring family history symposium. The society still sells the text for $1 as a 16-page pamphlet. How many of today's PowerPoint lectures could be translated into this lasting format, or would hold up as well a generation after they were given?

Newman's unsparing indictment is that "genealogists usually fail to manage their research." His recommendation, from the pre-internet days, is to plan to spend "several hours in your home [county's] law library" in order to save "many more hours in the field." {1, 8}

If, as he suggests, you learn what's in the "order books, entry dockets, issue dockets, appearance dockets, general entry, claim and allowance docket, complete order books, civil pleadings, probate proceedings," and more, then you'll be in a position to ask the clerk "for a location of a record, not where information can be found." And that's a big difference.

Newman, John J. "Research in Indiana Courthouses: Judicial and Other Records." Indianapolis: Indiana State Historical Society [1981]. Includes material from a 1979 presentation on county records as well.

Hoosier Genealogist Spring/Summer

Contents of the Indiana Historical Society's consistently well-edited semi-yearly -- it's almost like getting a small book in the mail!:

"What Is History? Pulling Sources Together to Tell Meaningful Family Stories," by M. Teresa Baer

"Minister, Educator, and Historian: The Life of the Reverend Henry Bascom Hibben, 1826-1890," by George C. Hibben. A Methodist of the generation after the legendary circuit riders who became a Navy chaplain: "His sermons were prepared with great care, and were masterpieces of eloquence and power."

"Federal Court Records: Researching Hoosier Family History at the National Archives-Great Lakes Region, Chicago, 1817-1859," by Martin Tuohy, who has the gift of making you want to drop everything and head for his repository. "Tenant farmers...are often written out of history by genealogists who rely upon records about land ownership but overlook records about land occupation and use," such as federal ejectment suits.

"'Still with the Hoosiers': The Reminiscences of Solomon Ashley Dwinnell, St. Joseph County, 1835-1836," by Rachel M. Popma -- a Congregationalist who didn't fit in so well and ended up in Wisconsin.

"Legal Documents: Abstracts of the Hamilton County Legal Documents in the Barnes Manuscripts Collection, 1839, 1865-1871," transcribed by Wendy L. Adams and Rachel M. Popma

"State Centennial Celebration: Perry County Commemorates the Indiana State Centennial, 1916," by Bethany Natali

"Just a Country Girl: Stories from an Early Twentieth Century Hoosier Farm Family, Part 4," by Martha Brennan

"Online Publications: Digitized Images and Every-Name Index for the First Order Book of the U.S. District Court for the District of Indiana, 1817-1833," by Doria Lynch. Woo hoo -- go to indianahistory.org, and hit Family History, then Family History Publications, then Online Family History Publications.

"Elliott Family History: A 1908 History of the Elliott and Related Families of Jefferson County, Indiana," by David McClure Elliott, annotated by Ken Hixon

"Using City Directories for Genealogical Research," by Geneil Breeze

Quakers and federal cases on line at the Indiana Historical Society

The April issue of the Indiana Historical Society's Genealogy and Family History E-Newsletter is out. Contents include a plug for IHS's August 15-16 conference in Indianapolis, "Midwestern Roots," with an impressive program I can't do justice to right now.

There's also a table of contents for the forthcoming issue of The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, and a pointer to the Society's ongoing Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana, AKA the Quaker Records abstraction project, edited by Ruth Dorrel and Thomas D. Hamm. The first two volumes came out in print but the third is gradually appearing on line. This material isn't for casual browsing, but if you have Friends in your family tree it may be quite rewarding. Currently up are items from Hancock, Henry, Madison, and Rush counties.

The key URL to keep an eye on is IHS's Online Family History Publications. As of now the other publication listed there is the 23-page Name Index to the U.S. District Court Order Book, District of Indiana, 1817-1833, compiled by Doria Lynch.

Midwesterners in NGSQ

Midwesterners figure in two of the intricate methodological adventures in the current (March) issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

In "Clara V. Moore and Carrie Peterson: Proving a Double Enumeration in the 1910 Census," J. H. Fonkert, CG, manages to prove that 34-year-old Norway-born Clara V. Moore and her "sister" 37-year-old Norway-born Carrie Peterson in the household at 24 Thirteenth Street in Minneapolis were in fact the same person -- the double entry being the product of some extraordinarily inept census-taking. Conclusion: "Clara was Carrie, Vivian was Sigrid, and Earl was Hjalmar....Researchers must always question census information."

In "Tying Together Indirect Evidence: Finding Frederick Drollinger's Father," Kay Germain Ingalls, CG, produces what seems at first to be genealogical sleight-of-hand, proving that Frederick's father was John from a Preble County, Ohio, Chancery Court case that was litigated long after Frederick and John were both dead, in a state where neither ever lived.