IGS Welcomes New District Directors

The Indiana Genealogical Society is proud to welcome new directors for the Northwest and South Central districts.

Barbara Kirkpatrick of Lafayette is the new director for the Northwest District (which covers Benton, Jasper, Lake, La Porte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties). She is active in the Tippecanoe Area Genealogical Society (TIPCOA).

Mobie McCammon of Bloomington is the new director for the South Central District (which covers Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Scott and Washington counties). He is active in the Monroe County Historical Society.

Marriage Indexing: Type Only What You See

The cardinal rule to indexing historical records is TYPE ONLY WHAT YOU SEE.

The ONLY exception to that is when a state has been abbreviation, please spell it out!

If the number of marriages says 'One' on the document, then you type 'One.' If it says '1,' then that is what you type -- '1.' For race, if it says 'White,' then that is ACTUALLY what you type, but if it only says 'W,' then that is what you type. DO NOT ADD your own interpretation of what is meant. How you interpret it today may not be what was meant when the document was created. We cannot CHANGE an historical document -- ONLY TYPE WHAT YOU SEE.

And thank you to all the great indexers and arbitrators who are hanging in there with us to see these records finally become available -- soon we hope!

Marriage Indexing: Multiple-Page Marriage Records

There are four buttons in the middle of your indexing screen and slightly to the left that you should be using. They are B, U, B, and U and they are enclosed with <> brackets.

The first one is for marking a FIELD as blank; the second is for marking a FIELD as unreadable; the third one is for marking an entire RECORD/LINE as blank; and the last one is for marking the entire RECORD/LINE as unreadable.

EVERY LINE should have something entered for it. There is either information that is entered on the grid or if there is nothing there to index, mark the entire line as blank with the second button.

In some of the records we are getting now, the line numbers may be missing or many of the lines may be blank. DO NOT renumber the lines or add line numbers if none are present.

African American Genealogy Workshop in Indianapolis

The Indiana African American Genealogy Group will hold its 5th annual African American Genealogy and History Workshop on Saturday, November 1, 2008 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Eiteljorg Museum (500 West St., Indianapolis IN). The theme of the workshop is "Telling Your Family Story," and there will be three tracks offered, along with free research assistance on Friday, October 31, 2008 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Indiana State Library. Pre-registration is $25 for IAAGG members, $35 for non-members.

Indiana State Library Offers Orientation Tours

The Indiana State Library is offering a series of free tours of the various genealogy resources located on the library's first and second floors. The tours will be given on:

--Thursday, October 2, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Thursday, October 9, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Tuesday, October 14, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Tuesday, October 21, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Thursday, October 30, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Thursday, November 6, 2008--9:30 to 11 am
--Tuesday, November 18, 2008--9:30 to 11 am

Pre-registration is required--please call (317) 232-3689.

Genealogy After-Hours Event in Hendricks County

The Danville Public Library will hold an after-hours genealogy research session on Saturday, October 25 from 5 to 10 pm. Indiana Room staff will be available to answer questions and their collection will be open for uninterrupted research. Computers will also be available, and there will be a pitch-in supper. Registration is required and space is limited--call (317) 745-2604 to reserve your space.

Indiana State Library To Host Family History Day

The Indiana State Library will hold a free all-day event on Saturday, October 25, 2008 in celebration of Family History Month.

Schedule:
8:15-8:50 am--Sign-in

8:50-9:00 am--Welcome

9:00-10:00 am--Back To Basics: Beginning Your Family History. There will be research guidelines for the beginning genealogist and reminders for the experienced researcher.

10:15-11:15 am--Family History Research at the Indiana State Library. This will be an introduction to the family history-related materials located within the State Library's collections.

11:15 am-12:30 pm--Lunch (On your own)

12:30-1:30 pm--Family History Resources at the Indiana State Archives. This will be an overview of the Indiana State Archives and their resources of interest to genealogists.

1:45-2:45 pm--Indiana State Library and Archives Q&A Panel. State Library and State Archives staff will field questions regarding resource availability and research techniques.

2:45-3:45 pm--Family History Tour. You will be given a tour of the many family history resources located at the Indiana State Library.

Registration is required--the deadline to register is October 22 (you may registration for individual events). To register, please call (317) 232-3689 or e-mail augonzalez@library.in.gov.

Boone County Genealogical Society Annual Meeting

The Boone County Genealogical Society will hold their Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 28 at 6:30 pm at the Sugar Plains Friends Church (8891 W. State Rd. 47, Thorntown IN). The public is welcome to attend.

Clinton County Genealogical Society To Meet

The Clinton County Genealogical Society will meet on Wednesday, October 22 from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Frankfort Community Public Library. The group meets the 4th Wednesday of the month (there are no meetings in January or November). For more information, contact Grace Mary Gouveia (ggouveia@accs.net)

La Porte County Genealogical Society To Meet

The La Porte County, Indiana Genealogical Society will meet on Tuesday, October 14 at 7 pm at the Swanson Activity Center for Older Adults (910 State St., La Porte IN). Darlene Jackson will present a program, "The Legacy of Madam Chevalier's Family, Long-Time Residents of Fort St. Joseph." The public is welcome to attend.

IGS Adds Free Database

The Indiana Genealogical Society has added another database to the Members-Only section of its website. "Enumeration of Veterans at Soldiers Home, Marion (1890)" is a detailed listing of the military service of those veterans who were living at the Soldiers Home in Grant County, Indiana in 1890 and is freely available to the public.

Query: Jones of Boone County

I'm looking for more information on the children and descendants of Jacob Jones, Sr. who stayed behind in Boone County, Indiana when he took the rest of his large family and moved to Oregon around 1851. I believe the names of his children who stayed were Jacob Jones, Jr. and James Jones (born 1821).

Contact:
Kelsy Jones-Sabin
111 NE Rifle Range St., Apt. 17
Roseburg, OR 97470
E-mail: ahickfromthesticks@yahoo.com

Query: Hamlin of Miami County

I am trying to find proof that Neamiah Hamlin (born 1820 in Ohio, died 1861; buried in County Cemetery, Miami County, Indiana) is the son of Reuben W. Hamlin who was born in 1798 and died 7 October 1855 in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.

Contact:
Frank Benson
34 Venezio Ave.
Albany, NY 12203
E-mail: bensonfr@aol.com

Query: Hester/Cole of Benton County

I am looking for any information regarding Clara D. Hester of Ambia, Benton County, Indiana on March 4, 1904. She was the daughter of J. H. Hester and Cora C. Hester. I want to locate information regarding a Thomas Cole (born March 18, 1890) who was also of Ambia, Indiana.

Contact:
Daniel Lee Cole
302 NE Oak Tree Place
Lee's Summit, MO 64086-3130
E-mail: danlcole_43@yahoo.com

Query: Bates of Ripley County

Looking for information on Alfred Bates (born about 1794 in Virginia and died in or after 1872 in Ripley County, Indiana) and his wife Margaret. They settled in Ripley County and their children included:

--Jane, b. 1818, married Lewis B. Wilson
--Elizabeth, b. 1820, married Robert Means
--George, b. 1823, married 1st Mary Wise, married 2nd Mary Buckhanan
--Dorothea, b. 1824, married Justus Shelp
--Martha, b. 1826, married Barnabas Hopper
--Nancy Agnes married George Beebe
--Mary married James Folsom

Alfred was in the War of 1812, pension # 14246.

Contact: Maureen Duncan
1411 N. Gladstone Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46201
E-mail mduncan75@excite.com

Query: Scroghams of Brown County

Query: I am looking for information on Scrogum or any spelling variations of this surname. Mine are from Texas but think that I could be related to the Scroghams (?) in Brown County, Indiana--they supposedly owned a farm and later turned it into a bed and breakfast called Fifth Generation B & B. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Contact: R. Lynn Scrogum
25325 John Wayne
Morrison, OK 73061
E-mail: greybear23@yahoo.com

Marriage Indexing: Different Type of Records to Index

The batches that you download for the next few weeks are the fourth-record type that was used to record Indiana’s early marriages. They are multi-page style registers that present special problems in getting them digitized and indexed.

Imagine if you will an open book with each line across the pages containing information about one marriage and about 25 or more lines/marriages to a page. Now imagine two narrower fold-over pages inserted in the middle of those two full pages in order to record additional information about each of the marriages – kind of an extension to the pages but bound into the middle of the book. Moving the fold-over pages to either left or right still leaves a portion of the full pages in sight but hides part of the full pages as well

If both fold-over pages are folded to the right, that is one image for the marriages on that page and is one batch. However, it does not contain all the information for those marriages. Move the first of the two fold-over pages to the left and you create a second image and batch but it too does not contain all the information for the marriages on that register page.

When the second fold-over page is folded to the left, a third image and batch is created, again not containing all the information on any of the marriages. It will take the information from all three of these images/batches to have complete information on the marriages recorded on this register page.

Since each ‘page’ is actually three pages and each ‘page’ might contain 25 or so different marriages, that would mean 75 or more records for each batch if we did them as we have been doing all the other records. Not wanting to create batches that large, it was decided that they would be broken into three separate pages/batches for indexing and arbitrating, but reassembled by FamilySearch after that part was finished. That means that none of the batches you will be getting will contain ALL the information on any of the marriages for that ‘page’ from the register. You will have either the fold-over pages both to the right and that will be page one or if the first fold-over page is to the left, you will have page two and if both fold-over pages are to the left, you will have page three.

Because none of the batches contain ALL the information for any of the marriages, many of the fields on the grid will be left empty. It is necessary to pay attention to the FIELD INSTRUCTIONS on the far right as some things will have changed from what you have been doing.

Pay particular attention to which page you have. If you have the third page/batch for instance, you will have the groom’s name on the far left, while everything else will probably be about the bride and her family but you may not even have her name! And of course, there are separate fields for information depending upon rather it is for the bride or the groom. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? These batches are not for the faint of heart but the good news is that there are not very many of them. I’m told we have only about 2000 such batches so that is very few when you consider that we do thousands of batches every month!

Thank you all for taking the time to come to the blog to read these special notes before attempting to get very far into these really different batches. In addition, I can reveal here that the plan is to put each county online as quickly as possible after finishing the indexing and arbitration. Only 263 of these batches will complete our first county! A second one will be done after the next 363 batches and at the end of the approximately 2000 batches, we will have four counties completed.

What a tremendous effort you have all put forth to get us to this point. You will never the number of researchers that will be grateful to you in the future for what you have done!

Thank you,

Shirley Fields

Query: Beaver of Clay County

I am looking for any information on a Leander Beaver (born 1841). He was to have lived in Clay County for a number of years and also lived there most of 1858-1887. According to information on one of his son's death certificate, Leander was married to a Sarah Whitney. He may have owned a grocery store but also he worked on the river, maybe as a fisherman or light tender. There are also some records that show he was a farmer. He has listed his birthplace as Fountain County and also Madison County. He had 4 sons: Loyal Beaver, Charles Beaver, Frank Beaver and James Edward Beaver. I believe his brother's name was Loyal Beaver (born 1846). In the 1850 census he was listed with a Henry Smith and Susan Smith with a Marion Smith and Leander and a brother Beaver believe it is Loyal. I don't know if his parents had died and this Smith is a relative. Leander's parents were Henry or Harry Beaver and Sarah Welsh according to one of his marriage licenses. If anyone has any information on any of these names, please get in touch with me.

Ruth Ann Conley
201 Esser St.
Washington, IL 61571
E-mail raconley4@sbcglobal.net

Tour of Cemeteries in Hendricks County

The Danville Public Library will lead a tour of Danville East and Danville Primitive Baptist cemeteries on Saturday, October 4 at 2 pm. Cindy Rutledge, Indiana Room manager at the library, and local historian Libbe Hughes will talk about the history of the cemeteries and highlight the graves of historic local figures such as Revolutionary War veterans, judges and college presidents. Tombstone preservation will also be featured, and there will be a demonstration of the art of dousing. The tour will meet in the parking lot of the Danville Middle School (49 N. Wayne St., Danville IN). Registration is required--register via the Events Calendar on the library's website, or by calling (317) 745-2604.

Family History Mini-Course at Fort Wayne

The Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne will hold a mini-course, "Family History: Beyond The Basics," on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25. Margery Graham, CG and Steve Myers, MLS will be the presenters. Sessions will include land records and tax lists and how to trace your ancestors across the Atlantic Ocean. Registration is $50--to register, go to http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/Beyond%20the%20Basics%20Mini-Course.pdf, or phone (260) 421-1225.

La Porte County Genealogical Society To Meet

The La Porte County, Indiana Genealogical Society will meet on Tuesday, September 9 at 7 pm at the Swanson Activity Center for Older Adults (910 State St., La Porte IN). Society members will present a program, "Memorable Persons from La Porte County, IN Townships." The public is welcome to attend.

IGS Adds More Databases for Members

The Indiana Genealogical Society has added some new databases to the Members-Only section of its website:

--Roster of 7th Indiana Infantry in the Civil War (1861-1865)
--Roster of 31st Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War (1861-1865)
--Alumni of Teaching Course of Franklin College, Franklin (1874-1884)
--Deceased Alumni of Earlham College, Richmond (1860-1921)

In addition to providing details on their military service, the database for the 31st Indiana Volunteer Infantry also includes photos of some of the soldiers.

Cemetery Research Workshop in Noblesville

The Hamilton East Public Library in Noblesville will hold a workshop on cemetery research on Saturday, October 11 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm in the library's north meeting room. Participants will learn what kinds of records are available and what are some of the symbols carved on tombstones. Registration is required--you may register on the library's website, or by calling the library's Outreach Department at (317) 776-6939.