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It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.
- Indiana State Archives, 6440 E. 30th St., Indianapolis, IN 46219; (317) 591-5222, [EMAIL]
- Indiana State Dept of Health, Vital Records Dept,
6 W Washington Str,
Indianapolis, IN 46204;
(317) 233-2700
- Indiana Commission on Public Records, 402 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204-2739; Phone: (317) 232-3380, Fax: (317) 233-1713
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"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette."
Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum,
Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
- Indiana State Library,
Attn: (Division or Staff Name),
140 North Senate Avenue,
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296
Loan Desk and General Inquiries: 317-232-3675,
ind@statelib.lib.in.us
Genealogy Division: 317-232-3689,
genealogy@statelib.lib.in.us
- The Southern Indiana Genealogical Society, P O Box 665, New Albany IN 47151-0665
- Indiana Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 10507, Fort Wayne IN 46852
- Indiana Historical Society, 450 W. Ohio St, Indianapolis,IN 46202; 1-800-447-1830 or 317-232-1882
- IGS North Central District, 55455 Birch Rd., Osceola IN 46561-9795; Phone (574) 679-4628, [EMAIL]
- Marion Co Genealogical Society, Inc., PO Box 2292, Indianapolis, IN 46206-2292, ph 1-317-254-5620, Email
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Search The PERiodical Source Index
Several genealogical societies publish periodicals as well. The Allen County Public Library is the headquarters for the extensive Periodical Source Index which covers several thousand periodicals, not limited to Indiana's..
Statewide or regional publications include the following:
[ see specific county page for individual county list ]
- The Hoosier Genealogist (Indianapolis: Genealogical Section of the Indiana Historical Society) began printing Indiana genealogical information and extractions in January 1961; it is published bi-monthly. County, cemetery, church and family records from this periodical have been published by Willard Heiss in several volumes of Indiana Source Book, Genealogical Material from the Hoosier Genealogist (3 vols. and index. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1877-83).
- Indiana Magazine of History (Bloomington, Ind.: Dept. of History, Indiana University in cooperation with Indiana Historical Society), published quarterly, includes well-written and documented state history articles, listings of recent pertinent publications, and reviews of books relevant to Indiana historical research.
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Search Historical Newspapers
Indiana's first newspaper, the Indiana Gazette, was published in Vincennes in 1804. The largest newspaper collections in the state are located in the Archives Division of the Indiana State Library and the Indiana University Library. For an excellent Indiana newspaper history and finding guide see John Miller's Indiana Newspaper Bibliography (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1982). This is alphabetically arranged within counties by name of town or city where published. It is indexed and includes listings of approximately 8,000 newspapers published between 1804 and 1980, with locations of all known original and/or microform copies.
Indiana has the unusual requirement of having their county recorders maintain, for public use, bound volumes of all newspapers published in their jurisdiction. These may begin as early as 1852. See also Margaret R. Waters, Dorothy Riker, and Doris Leistner, Abstracts of Obituaries in the Western Christian Advocate, 1834-1850 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1988) which includes all genealogical data found in more than 8,000 obituaries in this Methodist church newspaper. The entries are not, however, limited to Methodists; they basically cover the states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. There are surname and geographical indexes.
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
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