Friends Of The Archives Archives Current

Friends of the ArchivesArchives CurrentNewsletter of the Friends of the Indiana State Archives, Inc.Spring 2010Winter 2013Indiana Part of Preserving America’s Digital Heritageriagelicensesand other vitalbecause of Made EasyThe ds for rebuilding livesthe generalArchives (www.indianadigitwashed away in the flood, and public’s inalarchives.org) is one of tenThe faithful volunteers of the Indiana State Arstates participating in a multi- local government was not able terest in thischives have mounted a personal campaign to bringto quickly replace them.information.state preservation partnerattention to precious documents in a leaky facility.Indiana has made a vaThis databaseship project. Funded by theSteve Towne, President of the Friends of the Statewill includeLibrary of Congress and initi- riety of databases availableArchives penned a memo encouraging volunteers toonline. Most of these datanames, regiated by the Washington Statecontact their state legislators and share the inforbases were created by Statement, comArchives and Library, themation on the condition of Indiana’s Archive withArchives volunteers. Andrewpany, whenproject focuses on capturing,their friends and any genealogy organization theythey musteredpreserving, and providing ac- Frohberg, a graduate studentcould think of. We even added a handy “How tofrom Indiana Universityout, andcess to a rich variety of stateFind Your Legislator” link (http://district.iga.in.gov/and local governmental infor- Purdue University Indianapolis towns of allDistrictLookup/) or (http://www.state.in.us/legislawho servedmation. In addition to Indiana (IUPUI) is making sure thetive/2345.htm)Indiana materials are consisfrom Indianaand Washington State otherGeorge Jones Civil Wartent with the Washington State during thestate partners include Idaho,Photograph Collection donated The Indiana State Archives protects andformat. The databases include StateCivilWar. ItBoard recordsMontana, Oregon, Alaska,Nursingare coveredwith byto the IndianaState Archivespreserves important and irreplaceable recordsthe Soldiers’ and Sailors’willbethemostColorado, Louisiana, Northplastic to protect themthefrominclementGeorgiaDivisionweatherof Archivesof all branches of state government, as well asand History.Children’s Home, Deaf School insidecompletelisting State Archives building.Carolina and Nevada.the Indianalocal governments. Included are Indiana’s stateAdmission Register, the Boysof Civil War solAs a result of this projconstitutions, legislative bills, governor’s records,School, Mexican War Veterans, diers that any state has done.ect a cost-effective interstate The conditions in which the Indiana Stateand Indiana Supreme Court case files.selected Land Records andThe Digital Archivestechnological archiving sysArchives are currently housed are the worst amongCourt Records, and Countynow includes naturalizationtem will be established. Vitalthe fifty state archives in the country. The State Archives are currently housed inNaturalization Records (Seerecords from Marion andrecords, land ownership andan old factory warehouse with a long history of roofpage 2 for the complete list).St. Joseph counties and willuse documentation, court The Indiana State Archives need a newleaks. Important state records have been damagedAs of late February, 409,779soon be hosting informationrecords and Web-based statebuilding in which the state’s documentary treasuresby rain and melted snow.and local government reports of the records prepared by vol- from the Vincennes land ofmay be preserved safely for years to come, andunteers are online. The otherfice. Users will also be able towill be included.where citizens, schoolchildren, and researchers may It is unlikely that the warehouse buildingsearch through current govCitizens depend on state 1,861,966 records are fromvisit to learn about Indiana.would survive a tornado or near-tornado-strengththe State Library’s collectionernment publications, thanksand local government inforwind storm. The State Archives’ documentaryof online state governmentto Kimberly Brown-Harden ofmation. Hurricane Katrina By doing nothing, we simply wait for a ditreasures would be destroyed, striking a seriousdocuments and the Socialthe State Library. These pubtragically illustrated thissaster to strike to wipe out records upon which stateblow to effective state governance.Security Death Index, whichlications will include annualdependency. When Katrinagovernment is based.the Washington State Archives reports, flyers and other pubtopped the levees of New The warehouse building’s heating andlications that Indiana agenOrleans in 2005, thousands of includes for each state.What more can we say?air conditioning system is terrible, allowing largeThe Civil War muster roll cies have made available onpeople lost their homes, theirfluctuations in heat and humidity levels that are verydatabase will be available inwww.IN.gov.livelihoods, and their identibad for old records.March. This is exciting newsties. Birth certificates, mar-

Friends of the Archives2009-2010 Board of DirectorsThe Friends of theThe Best State Website – AgainIndiana State Archives havePresident: Stephen TowneThe “BestState TerpeningWebsite” list honorsVice President:VirginiaAmerica’s leading genealogyresearch websites.Secretary/Treasurer:Tom KraseanBoardMembers: sites listed represent the go-toThe seventy-fiveRayBoomhowerbookmarksfor browsing America’s past, state byMaryEllenGadskistate. The Indiana Digital Archives joined IndianaRobertL. GildeaGenealogy Collection as one of onlyState Library:Alan F. Januarytwo honorees from the State of Indiana. FamilyJames W. Merritt, Jr.Tree Magazine also named the Digital ArchivesClayton C. Millera “Best Websiteof 2012,” which encompassesMichaelB. MurphygenealogyOsbornand history-related sites from all sourcesElizabethpublicor private, subscription or free as well as aMattPierceBestStateWebsite in 2010 and 2011.Connie RendfeldWilliam SchneiderNoraleen“TheYoungefforts of the State Archives’NewsletterEditor:Virginiavolunteers continueto beTerpeningrecognized nationally asLayout:CaroleAllenthey work to put hundreds of thousands of recordson-line,” said Jim Corridan, Indiana State Archivist.“It’s great to see the progress Indiana has made inallowing thousands of people to connect to theirHoosier heritage.”Friends of the Indiana State ArchivesFriendsof havethe IndianaStatevolunteersspent thelastArchives,17 years Inc.6440East30th Streetcreatingindexesfor many of the state’s recordsIndianapolis,IN 46219-1007that are now availablewithin the Digital Archives.Researchers can browse these indexes to manyof the most popular Indiana State Archivescollections, including death, institution, militaryand naturalization records, among others.About the Indiana Digital ArchivesThe Indiana Digital Archives is operatedby the State Archives Division of the IndianaCommission on Public Records. The result of acooperative partnership made possible by a grantfrom the Library of Congress and administered bythe Washington State Archives, the Digital Archiveshas more than 2.8 million searchable recordsonline. Other partners include the states of Alaska,California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montanaand Oregon.joined other libraries andFrom before statehoodin 1816 theandlatestonarchives utilizingthrough to its approachingbicentennial,Indianasocial media to stay in touchhas been home to thousandsof settlersandwith patronsand supporters.immigrants. The Digital ArchivesenablesThe Friends willHoosierspostand citizens worldwideto browsethe vastthecollectionupdatesconcerningStatehistorical and vital recordshousedattheStateArchives and FISA activitiesArchives.via Twitter and Facebook. Tofollowour Magazinetweets visit http:About FamilyTree//twitter.com/indianaarchivesFamily Tree Magazine,America’s(indianaarchives)and#1visit usfamily history magazine,isthefirstmasson Facebook atmarket, beginner-friendlygenealogy magazine.http://www.facebook.com/It covers all areas ofpages/Indiana-State-Archives/potential interest to familyhistory enthusiasts, reachingbeyond(Indianastrict314341008346genealogy research toinclude historical travel,State-Archives)family reunions, scrapbooking, oral history, ethnicheritage, memoirs and other ways that familiesconnect with their pasts. Family Tree Magazinestrives to give readers all the resources they needto discover, preserve and celebrate their familyhistories, and to provide engaging, easy-to-understand instruction that empowers readers to take thenext step in the quest for their pasts.

Friends of the Archives2009-2010 Board of DirectorsMore Naturalization Records!President: Stephen TowneVice President: Virginia TerpeningSecretary/Treasurer: Tom KraseanBoard Members:Ray BoomhowerMary Ellen GadskiRobert L. GildeaAlan F. JanuaryJames W. Merritt, Jr.Clayton C. MillerMichael B. MurphyElizabeth OsbornMatt PierceConnie RendfeldWilliam SchneiderNoraleen YoungNewsletter Editor: Virginia TerpeningLayout: Carole AllenFriends of the Indiana State Archives, Inc.HarrisonCounty recently became the 40th6440 East30th StreetIndianacountytohave its naturalization recordsIndianapolis, IN 46219-1007added to and made available through the IndianaDigital Archives. Four naturalization bookscontaining nearly 1,000 entries and spanning theera from 1830 to 1926 were indexed as a part ofthis project. Harrison County Circuit Court JudgeThomas J. Wilson ordered the discontinuance ofHarrison County naturalization proceedings onSeptember 27, 1927.“With the enormous effort of the StateArchives volunteers, people across the worldcan now access primary-source records abouttheir ancestors from Harrison County,” said JimCorridan, Director & State Archivist of the IndianaCommission on Public Records. “There are nowmore than two-million records available to search onthe Indiana Digital Archives at no cost. These recordsprovide access to incredible pieces of family history.Researchers can view many Indiana countynaturalization databases along with indices to manyThe Friends of theState Archiveshaveother popular IndianaIndianaState Archivescollectionsjoinedotherlibrariesandat indianadigitalarchives.org. The naturalizationarchivesthe latestdatabases provide greatinsightutilizinginto Hoosierimmisocialmediatostayintouchgration at the county level. Friends of the Indianawith havepatronsandsupporters.State Archives volunteersbeenhardat workThe Friendspost offor nearly two decades creatingindices willfor manyupdatesconcerningtheStatethe state’s records. From before statehood in 1816andbicentennial,FISA activitiesand on through to its ArchivesapproachingviaTwitterandFacebook.ToIndiana has been home to thousands ofsettlers andfollowour tweetsvisithttp:immigrants. The aarchivesand citizens worldwideto view the vast collection(indianaarchives)visit usof historical and vital records housed at andthe Stateon Facebook atArchives.The Harrison http://www.facebook.com/County Naturalization Indexpages/Indiana-State-Archives/records were indexed by Fred J. Engelking. The314341008346index was edited by MaryEtta Boren(Indianaand Dale ArmState-Archives)strong.About the Indiana State ArchivesThe Indiana State Archives collects recordsof historical value from all branches of Indiana stateand local government, including governmental history, census and naturalization records for families,selected medical, military and criminal records,records of land ownership, maps, blueprints andphotographs. Visit archives.icpr.IN.gov for a detailedlisting of these resources, including links to onlineexhibits and electronic indices of select records.The Static Machine and X-Ray Coil was picturedin The Christian Hospital and Training School forNurses, Valparaiso. The school was established in1905. How modern!