InfoExpress statewide courier service – December update

Posted on by

NOW Courier has continued to move Indiana library materials out of their warehouses -both main and annex locations – and back in to Hoosier readers’ hands. In the past month, Indiana State Library administration and Library Development Office staff had a chance to visit NOW’s new location on the east side of Indianapolis and see their sorting operation in action. NOW has a team of four dedicated sorters who are moving quickly through old, often mislabeled items, as well as new shipments being picked up and returned to the warehouse. While NOW’s priority is to deliver these materials themselves, a few Indianapolis-area libraries were invited to pick up their materials in order to speed up the process and help make room in the warehouse and loading area. Several libraries reported receiving full pallets of materials in the first two weeks of December, which is promising. NOW is continuing to sort the 50 remaining gaylords – large pallet-sized cardboard shipping containers – of materials shipped earlier this year and getting those materials out.

Additional signs of recovery include NOW delivery drivers making over 600 stops the week of Dec. 4, which is drawing closer to our normal service model of over 800 weekly stops. As NOW continues to hire drivers with appropriately-sized vehicles, libraries should begin to see their driver more frequently, in addition to more of their materials in the coming weeks.

The Indiana State Library will update libraries about the claims process – particularly how to submit bulk claims – and the 2024-25 subscription rates as soon as those are known in the new year. Until then, please continue to report service issues to the InfoExpress coordinator.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.

Opera was his life, but genealogy was his swan song: William Wade Hinshaw

Posted on by

If you run with the genealogy crowd, you may be familiar with name William Wade Hinshaw as the author of the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. What you might not know is that during his lifetime, he was known as an opera singer.

William Wade Hinshaw was born in Providence Township, Hardin County, Iowa on Nov. 3, 1867 to birthright members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), Thomas Doane Hinshaw and Anna Harriet Lundy. The Hinshaws were members of the Honey Creek Monthly Meeting in Hardin County, Iowa.

The birthright membership of William Wade Hinshaw’s parents gave them automatic membership in the Religious Society of Friends, due to being born of Quaker parents. The Hinshaw family had been Quakers since the early 1700s in Ireland, coming to the American colonies in the mid-1700s and settling in North Carolina. The Lundy family had been Quakers since the late 1600s, with the arrival of Richard Lundy in Pennsylvania.

Honey Creek Meeting House.

Thomas Doane Hinshaw family. William Wade Hinshaw on the left.

Playing the cornet at 9 years of age and then leading a brass band at 13, Hinshaw was educated at the Chester Meeting School and later attended the New Providence Friends Academy in Hardin County, Iowa.

In 1893, he attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, graduating in 1890. While attending Valparaiso University, his love of music deepened. In his own words:

Valparaiso University Alumni Bulletin, June 20, 1930.

While attending the university, he also managed to direct a Methodist Episcopal choir. This is where he met Anna T. Williams, a member of the choir.

William A. Pinkerton at his desk.

In 1890, the newborn graduate made his way to Chicago, meeting with William A. Pinkerton – son of Allen Pinkerton and successor to the Pinkerton Detective Agency – to secure a job directing a church choir. The Landmark magazine details that meeting.

Page 96 from The Landmark, the monthly magazine of the English-Speaking Union, Volume VI, 1924.

1893 was an eventful year for Hinshaw. In the summer of that year, he performed for the first time on a public stage at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. He probably sang as part of the Apollo Musical Club – of which he was a member.

Then, in September of 1893, he married Anna T. Williams, the woman he met while directing a church choir in her hometown of Centerville, Iowa.

1894 was the year of the birth of his first child, Carl W. Hinshaw, and the year that he landed a new job as a music instructor at Iowa College, Grinnell.

Estherville Daily News, Aug. 9, 1894.

While Hinshaw was the head of the Music Conservatory at Valparaiso University from 1895-1899, his wife Anna attended the university and became a mother to William Wade Jr. in 1899.

In 1900, the Hinshaw family was living in Chicago and William had listed his occupation as opera singer, as by then he was singing with the Castle Square Opera Company.

Abilene Weekly Reflector, Feb. 27, 1902.

Throughout the 1900s, he directed and taught at the Hinshaw School of Music, part of the Chicago Conservatory of Music.

Auditorium Building, Chicago, Illinois.

According to the 1905 Chicago City Directory, Hinshaw the music instructor was living on the ninth floor of the Auditorium Building. Hinshaw must have found this location of residence convenient as he also performed in the building’s theater as part of the Apollo Musical Club.

On Nov. 30, 1905, Anna died of pneumonia, leaving the care of their four children – three boys and a girl – to William. The Hinshaw family made their home in Valparaiso, Indiana after her death.

However, by 1909 things were looking sunnier, as Hinshaw was the owner of his own opera company.

The Enid Daily Eagle, Oct. 3, 1909.

By 1910, life was even better when Hinshaw debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House on Nov. 16, 1910 in a production of Tannhauser.

Chicago Examiner, Aug. 14, 1910.

For all of 1910, William Wade Hinshaw is the talk of the town.

Advertisement from The Morning Chronicle, June 10, 1910.

The Silver Messenger, Oct. 4, 1910.

The Star, Nov. 16, 1910, page 3.

Sheet music, 1911.

In December of 1910, he met Mable Clyde at tea held at her parents’ home in New York. By March of 1911, the couple were engaged to be married. The marriage made the society page.

The Inter Ocean, April 30, 1911, page 29

Hinshaw was singing at the Austrian Das Rheingold Festival in the summer of 1912. He would return to New York in October to perform again with the Metropolitan Opera.

The steamship George Washington, baritones Antonio Scotti, Pasquale Amato and William Hinshaw, Oct. 29, 1912.

On March 16, 1913, he played Carnegie Hall. He followed that performance the next year in April and May when he appeared on Broadway in a production of the “H.M.S. Pinafore.”

Music News, Volume 5, Issue 1, 1913.

Broadway production of the “H.M.S. Pinafore,” 1914. White Studio (New York)  Museum of the City of New York. Accession number: F2013.41.2658. William Hinshaw as Captain Corcoran (left).

In July of 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw were in Berlin, Germany. Mr. Hinshaw was singing with the Paris Opera at the Theatre des Westens.

The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, July 4, 1914.

Theatre des Westens, Berlin Germany, German postcard.

However, if you know your history, you may already suspect what event is coming up. World War I was declared on July 28, 1914. A fellow American musician returning from Germany, reported to the Musical Courier:

Musical Courier, Aug. 19, 1914 page 23.

Musical Courier, Aug. 19, 1914 page 23.

In August of 1914, U.S. Consular Officers in Europe were authorized and advised to issue emergency passports to those U.S. citizens stranded in Europe after the declaration of war. The emergency passports issued to those stranded provided citizenship verification for protection and the paperwork needed to safely seek passage back to the United States.

That August, Hinshaw applied for an emergency passport.

Hinshaw’s emergency passport application, August, 1914.

After first securing passage for the Hinshaw children earlier in September, Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw left Rotterdam on Sept. 23, 1914 and arrived in New York on Oct. 2, 1914.

In 1916, he established the Hinshaw Opera Prize of $1,000 for the composer of a new American Grand Opera. If won today, the prize amount would equal $23,000-$24,000.

Chicago Examiner, Dec. 30, 1917.

During the 1920s and 1930s, he was the director of his own opera touring company. Throughout his career as an opera singer, he supported and sang English opera, which are operas that have been translated into English from French, Italian or German to make them more accessible to an English-speaking audience.

While Hinshaw’s children found a home base in Ann Arbor, Michigan with their aunt Lydia Fremont Hinshaw Holmes, their father established his home in New York City with his wealthy in-laws.

William Wade Hinshaw’s father-in-law was William P. Clyde, owner of the Clyde Steamship Company. The Clyde family lived on 5th Avenue in a house formerly owned by Andrew Carnegie. According to the 1920 census, 26 people were living in the house – 13 of those being servants. Of the remaining 13 persons – besides Hinshaw who listed his occupation as opera manager – their occupations are listed as “none.”

King’s Handbook of New York City, page 100, British Library.

Cover page of the program for Cosi Fan Tutte, 1922, Multnomah County Library, digital gallery.

The Evening News, March 23, 1926, page 4. 1926 – First American Mozart Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Clyde family home, William Wade Hinshaw’s residence in the 1920s. Wurts Bros/Museum of the City of New York. Accession number: X2010.7.2.14118.

Michigan Daily, May 10, 1931.

The 1930s found Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. William owned a music shop, and he spent the last two decades of his life actively researching genealogy. Involved in family research by at least 1923, perhaps, as he stopped traveling for opera performances and settled down, he now had more time for genealogy research. He was assisted by genealogist Edna Harvey Joseph in his research of Quaker monthly meeting records for his family genealogy. She suggested that with all the money and time spent gathering monthly meeting records for his family, that perhaps entire monthly meeting records could be copied – not just those that pertained to his ancestors. This suggestion eventually results in the creation of the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy.

The research that would result in the encyclopedia was underway by at least 1934, as reported by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The first volume of the encyclopedia was published in 1936 by the Edwards Brothers of Ann Arbor and distributed by the Friends Books and Supply House of Richmond, Indiana.

Advertisement for the Friends Book and Supply House from the Richmond Palladium, April 28, 1921.

Having started so late in life on his genealogical endeavor, at his death in 1947, most of Hinshaw’s obituaries across the nation are headlined by the fact that he was the father of California Congressional Representative Carl Hinshaw. Secondary to his time as an opera singer – if genealogy is mentioned at all – Hinshaw is called an amateur genealogist.

However, at least one obituary highlighted his contributions to the world of genealogy research:

The Fairmount News, Dec. 11, 1947.

The Fairmount News, Dec. 11, 1947.

The Fairmount News, Dec. 11, 1947.

William Wade Hinshaw’s life presents this lesson for established genealogists and anyone temped to pursue family history: However many passions you have in life, there is always time for genealogy.

This blog post is by Angi Porter, Genealogy Division librarian.

Resources in the Indiana State Library Collection
Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy; call number: ISLG 929.102 F911h, Volumes 1-6

Genealogy Manuscript: Edna Harvey Joseph collection 1851-1969; call number: Mss G ISLG G.053

Ancestral Lineage of William Wade Hinshaw; call number: Pam. ISLG 929.2 H UNCAT. NO. 1

Online resources
Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volumes 1-3

“The Lundy Family and Their Descendants of Whatsoever Surname : with a biographical sketch of Benjamin Lundy”

 

Building a collection through donations

Posted on by

The Indiana State Library Foundation provides the Indiana Collection with a small book budget annually. These funds purchase newly-published books, dissertations, plat books and select serial titles about Indiana. However, much of what the State Library hopes to collect can’t be bought. We are always evaluating and accepting donations. Items we’re most interested in collecting are trade catalogs from Indiana manufactures, annual reports from local and statewide organizations, commemorative history publications and event programs. We have the space, knowledge and resources to accept donations of rare and at-risk print items representing Indiana. Our mission is to ensure long-term access to these materials for future generations of Hoosiers.

A recent notable donation was received from the Orange County Historical Society. They had large collection of print newspapers from a local newspaper office. The Indiana State Library accepted 30 years of the Paoli Republican and 10 years of the Paoli News – which fills a gap in our archive holdings. Print newspapers are notoriously fragile and difficult to store because of their size.

Time takes a toll on newsprint quicker than other types of paper so newsprint should be transferred to another format for long term preservation. The Indiana State Library works with the Indiana Archives and Records Administration’s State Imaging Lab to put newspaper to microfilm, which is the preferred archival format. The State Library and IARA will work to put these papers on microfilm and the library will house the older issues with our print newspaper archive. These are services many local historical societies and libraries do not have to resources to complete. Working together to preserve history is an amazing feeling. Thank you to the Orange County Historical Society for their donation!

If you have printed matter relating to the history of Indiana you think would be best housed at the Indiana State Library, please reach out to Monique Howell.

To make a monetary contribution to the Indiana State Library Foundation – which supports our work to preserve the materials – please visit the foundation’s webpage.

This post was written by Monique Howell, Indiana Collection supervisor.

All the student news that’s fit to print!

Posted on by

“The city newspaper, that is thrown upon the porch every day brings world, national and state news. One reads this news because it is informative. The mailman delivers the Martin County Tribune to the homes in Loogootee. The local incidents in the Tribune not only inform the reader but become a part of his conversation.

Now a school paper is to be published monthly and carried to practically every home by school children. This paper, The Echo of LHS, will bring to the attention of its readers the activities of the school. It too, will be informative and will stimulate conversation; furthermore, it will set into vibration inert feelings. One will read the Echo, talk the Echo, and sincerely feel The Echo.” – The LHS Echo, Dec. 20, 1929, Loogootee, Indiana.

School newsletters and newspapers were, and still are, a vital part of a school’s distribution of information about students, class news, events, graduations, sports, editorials and sometimes jokes and short stories. Students interested in journalism often wrote the articles and a student-run print shop produced the newsletters for distribution as part of the school curriculum. Here are a couple of great examples – The Orange Peel from the Sarah Scott Junior High School in Terre Haute and the Annex News from the Roosevelt High School in Gary.

Colleges and universities also published their own as well, such as the College Cycle, published at the short-lived Ridgeville College, in Ridgeville, Indiana. These often focused on academic editorials and articles. In the March 1893 issues, one can read about “Characteristics of the Elizabethan Literature” or “Science and Literature in the Primary School.”

Some were very specific, such as The Clothesline, the publication of the Block’s High School Fashion Board. The board was organized in August 1940 and met at Block’s Department Store in downtown Indianapolis. These have information about the board members who are students from local high schools, editorial column, general fashion information, school information, society news, sports and general articles.

The state schools and institutions also published newsletters. The students at the Charlton High School, part of the Indiana Boys’ School in Plainfield, wrote and printed a monthly school newsletter, called The Charlton Hi-Lights. It was sponsored by the Indiana Department of Commerce and the Department of Education and includes editorial sections, book reviews, illustrations, quotes, quizzes and general information about the school and students.

The Indiana State Library has a small collection of these newsletters, and many have been digitized and are available in our Education in Indiana digital collection. You can research or peruse them via the Suggested Topics link, then Student Newspapers and Periodicals.

If you have any old school newsletters at home and you’re not sure what to do with them, we are always looking for donations to help build our collections.

This post was written by Christopher Marshall, digital collections coordinator for the Indiana Division at the Indiana State Library.

Note on terminology: Language used in the primary sources sharing does not reflect language that would be used today.

 

Butler vs. Purdue: A Thanksgiving story

Posted on by

Football is as integral a part of American Thanksgiving as turkey and pumpkin pie. Indeed, both Thanksgiving as a national holiday and the game of football originated around the same time. President Ulysses S. Grant established the official holiday in 1870, a mere year after Rutgers University defeated Princeton 6-4 on Nov. 6, 1869 in what is widely considered the first match of American football ever played. The game quickly grew in popularity, particularly among American universities, and as popular trends usually do, it eventually found its way to Indiana.

From the Indiana Pamphlet Collection. ISLO 813 no. 26.

A fictionalized account of an early Indiana football game can be found in the short story “Butler vs. Purdue: A Thanksgiving story,” written and published by George S. Cottman, a prolific historian and author who ran a printing press out of his home in Irvington. The story opens in Indianapolis on Thanksgiving morning 1890 with a young woman named Esther pleading with her father to take her to a local football match between Butler University (whose campus was located in the Irvington neighborhood at the time) and Purdue University. Her father, a stern military man dubbed Colonel Cannon, initially refuses and chides his daughter’s interest in the sport. Like many other older adults at the time, he holds the notion that football is an unusually violent sport and unworthy of being associated with institutions of higher learning. With little self-awareness he declares “If I’d a boy in college… who spent his time tussling about in the mud when I was paying for the cultivation of his brains I’d cudgel him till he took to his bed. Is that what they go to college for – to break bones and mash each other flat?”

After further cajoling and some overly dramatic tears from Esther, he relents and they make their way to the YMCA athletic park, located at the time in the Arsenal Heights neighborhood, just east of downtown. The game has already started and Butler is losing to Purdue 10-0. Esther, who incidentally is also being courted by a football player from Butler, is in despair at how dominant the Purdue team seems. “What great big ugly things they are! It’s too much to expect our boys to stand against a lot of elephants!”

She is equally disgruntled with the Purdue fans who have made the long trip to Indianapolis to cheer on their team. “Hear those horrid people. I hate to see country jakes come in and try to take the town. If they love to bellow so why don’t they go out in the woods around Lafayette and do it to their hearts content.” The snub “country jakes” is a jab at Purdue’s notoriety as an agricultural school and belies a distinct snobbery at the rural-urban cultural divide which was likely a common sentiment for city-dwellers such as Esther.

In what today would seem a bit of a gendered role reversal, Esther spends much of the game explaining the sport to her befuddled but increasingly interested father. The game she describes is quite different but still recognizable to the sport in its modern form. The match consists of two 45 minute innings. Touchdowns are worth four points and conversion kicks add another two. Teams have three downs to advance the ball five yards. Colonel Cannon’s martial sensibilities are particularly delighted by offensive plays employing the flying wedge formation, which is unsurprising considering the early football tactic was based on a centuries-old military maneuver (and then quickly banned in 1894 because it caused so many injuries).

As this is a story written by an Irvington resident, it predictably ends happily for Butler. The Butlers (the nickname Bulldogs was not adopted until 1921) rally in the second inning and ultimately win the match 12-10. The Purdues (the term Boilermaker wouldn’t make an appearance until the following year in 1891) fail to get any more points on the board. Colonel Cannon has been converted to football fandom and Esther can now safely invite her beau to dinner without dooming him to her father’s archaic notions on collegiate sports.

While Esther and Colonel Cannon are fictional characters, this game really did happen and was held Nov. 27, 1890. It was the state championship game for Indiana football and extensive coverage of the match appeared in multiple Indianapolis newspapers.

Indianapolis Journal, Nov. 28, 1890. From Newspapers.com.

While 1890 was a bit too early for photographs of the event to be printed in local papers, it was deemed an important enough event by the Indianapolis News to dispatch an artist to draw illustrations for the story.

Indianapolis News Nov. 28, 1890. Images from the game-day coverage. From Hoosier State Chronicles.

Adding to the day’s drama was the fact that a rowdy post-match victory drive through the streets of Indianapolis resulted in a large wagon referred to as a “tally-ho” being overturned and seriously injuring several football revelers, though all seem to have survived the ordeal.

Football continues to be an important part of Thanksgiving in Indiana, especially for Purdue. While the school no longer plays Butler in football, their annual Oaken Bucket game against in-state rival Indiana University is usually played near Thanksgiving. The weekend following Thanksgiving is also when high schools from throughout the state converge on Indianapolis to battle for various football championships. And of course, millions of Hoosiers will tune in to watch professional football from the National Football League, a holiday tradition that dates back to the NFL’s first Thanksgiving game held in 1934.

This blog post was written by Jocelyn Lewis, Catalog Division supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Remaining 2023 Indiana State Library LEU opportunities

Posted on by

Believe it or not, 2023 is coming to a close, but we still have many opportunities for you to get LEUs this year, in-person and online.

“Every Child Ready to Read & School Readiness in Storytime” – in-person:
Dubois County Public Library – Jasper Branch, Nov. 17, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST
Talking, singing, reading, writing and playing! Parents who do these five things (while sprinkling in early math & science skills) can set their children up for success in school. This workshop will introduce attendees to the Every Child Ready to Read program, as well as the basic tenants of the Reimagining School Readiness program, and will discuss ways to encourage reading and school readiness during storytime. Join us for this interactive workshop that will provide you with concrete examples for using ECRR in your library.

Note: This workshop includes a lot of crowdsourcing and brainstorming! If you are a storytime practitioner, please reflect on your storytime favorites (books, songs, rhymes, etc.) before the workshop and come prepared to share!

Webmaster Roundtable – virtual:
Nov. 28, 2-3 p.m. EST
Would you like to connect with other library staff members in Indiana who are tasked with their library’s webpage? This roundtable shares skills, brainstorms and mentors each other.

“What’s Up Wednesday – Anatomy of a Book Challenge” – webinar:
Nov. 29, 10-11 a.m. EST
As the pressure to remove and censor books from our libraries increases, librarians have to be prepared to defend everyone’s right to read. Learn how one school corporation has dealt with several recent challenges to their school library collections and has been able to educate their staff and community on the tenants of intellectual freedom. While challenges can be stressful situations, the presentation will offer you several tools, resources and guidance to help you find some unintended positive outcomes when these contentious situations find their way to your library.

Adventure Begins at Your Library – CSLP 2024 Training & Roundtable – in-person:
Lawrenceburg Public Library District, Dec. 1, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Warsaw Community Public Library, Dec. 8, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Porter County Public Library – Valparaiso Branch, Dec. 15, 10:00 a.m.-12 p.m. CST
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, Dec. 18, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Brown County Public Library, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST

Get started planning your 2024 Summer Library Program by attending one of our Collaborative Summer Library Program trainings/roundtables across the state!

Join the Indiana State Library for this training where you will be introduced to and receive updates about the 2024 CSLP Summer Reading Program “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” followed by a round table discussion of programming ideas.

What does this mean? Bring your program ideas! Each participant should bring at least one program idea to share with the group. Program ideas may or may not be related to the CSLP theme “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” and can be geared for any age. We want to hear what your library is up to and what you’re excited about!

CSLP’s Summer Symposium (FREE National Virtual Conference on Summer Reading) – virtual:
Dec. 7, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EST
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) will host the third annual CSLP Summer Symposium on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023! This half day FREE & virtual offering is for public library staff to connect, learn and collaborate as we plan for summer library programming around the upcoming theme of Adventure Begins at your Library.

Sessions will include:
“Simplifying the Adventure of Summer Reading: Observations from a Seasoned Storyteller,” presented by Jenifer Strauss.
“2024 Manual Highlights: Adventure Begins at Your Library!,” presented by Alyssa Graybeal and manual committee chairs.
“Once Upon an Adventure: Practical Tips for Gathering Stories to Promote Your Library,” presented by Angela Hursh.
“Taking Adventure Outdoors: Programming and Partnerships,” presented by Amanda Raiche.

“Navigating Privacy Issues in the Public Library” – webinar:
Dec. 12, 10-11 a.m. EST
The library is a public place where individuals go to seek information and resources for reasons and purposes that they may want to keep private. It’s no surprise, then, that privacy issues arise every day in the public library. In this webinar, we will answer some common questions about privacy, including: What patron or employment records must be disclosed and to whom? Can a citizen take video of staff and other patrons – and the materials they are accessing – in the library without their consent? Can a staff member post cute photos of children participating in library programming on the library’s social media? This webinar will provide you with an overview of various state and federal laws that address privacy in the library and considerations for crafting related library policies.

Don’t forget, you can also earn LEUs for watching Indiana State Library archived webinars. Information on how to obtain your LEU from the recordings can be found on our Continuing Education site under LEU Policies.

This blog post was written by Courtney Brown, Southeast regional coordinator from the Indiana State Library’s Professional Development Office.

InfoExpress statewide courier service – November update

Posted on by

As we enter November, library courier service schedules have yet to return to normal. Indiana State Library staff continue to meet with NOW Courier, our current service provider, at least weekly to receive an update on progress since NOW assumed the contract in September.

To help alleviate some of the volume, Evergreen Indiana libraries underwent a second transit pause for two weeks in October to reduce volume in the system and allow the courier additional time to get caught up. This was helpful, and as of this week, NOW Courier staff tell us they have sorted through all parcels picked up from the previous courier. Even with this backlog resolved, many items shipped this summer are still in the system (either at the warehouse awaiting delivery, or at the shipping library awaiting pickup). Indiana State Library staff are asking libraries to refrain from submitting lost item claims until we have been notified by NOW Courier that only new items are in the warehouse.

NOW has been prioritizing locations with a large volume of items for delivery in order to clear space in their loading dock and annex locations. Most libraries have received at least one visit, and in some of the hub libraries schedules are drawing closer to normal. Unfortunately, we are aware that some library locations have yet to receive a visit, due to route staffing issues or volume prioritization. NOW reports they have hired four additional permanent drivers to the routes serviced by the central Indianapolis hub. This will helpfully improve service to Indianapolis libraries, the donut counties and even those further out serviced by this hub.

Indiana Humanities and the Indiana State Library have temporarily suspended their book club kit and other circulating kit services until service normalizes.

We are still far from normal service as subscribed. We encourage libraries that have not had any service since Sept. 1 to please contact InfoExpress. The Indiana State Library will continue to share updates with the library community at least weekly.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.

Digitized field notes bring detail to the history of land surveying in Indiana

Posted on by

The United States Land Ordinance of 1785 marked the beginning of cadastral surveys in this country, the official way of preparing U.S. land to be registered for ownership. Surveyors used a rectangular survey system to divide land into townships measuring six miles squared, containing about 23,000 acres of land each. Jill Weiss Simins, of the Indiana Historical Bureau, details the history of surveying in the U.S. and its impact on Native Americans in her blog post, Democracy for Some: Defining the Indiana Landscape through the Rectangular Survey System. The ordinance established the nation’s Public Land Survey System as a replacement for metes-and-bounds surveys.

On Nov. 25, 1792, Alexander Hamilton, then first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, wrote a letter to Colonel Israel Ludlow. It mentions an Act of Congress from April 12 of that year. This was An Act for ascertaining the bounds of a tract of land purchased by John Cleves Symmes. It discussed the boundaries of the tract of land totaling one million acres now called the Miami Purchase. Hamilton’s letter, owned by the Indiana Historical Society, made the request for Ludlow to survey the land and detailed his compensation.

Letter, Alexander Hamilton, Treasury Department, to Israel Ludlow. Nov. 25, 1792. Indiana Historical Society.

Revolutionary War Brigadier General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, namesake of Wayne County, Indiana was a victor at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in what is now Toledo, Ohio. There, his U.S. Army troops and Kentucky militia defeated members of Miami, Shawnee and Lenape tribal forces along with Canadian troops. This lead to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 by Wayne and 13 Native American tribes where the tribes ceded most of Ohio and sections of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The treaty created a triangle-shaped area of land that became “The Gore of Indiana,” meaning triangular piece, as described in Purdue University’s Indiana Land Surveys: Their Development and Uses. It was the first place in Indiana to use townships, sections and quarter-sections. What was referred to as “the gore” is now the counties of Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Switzerland, Union and Wayne.

Following the enactment of the U.S. Land Ordinance of May 18, 1796, which created the first permanent office of the U.S. Surveyor General, Indiana’s Greenville Treaty Line was surveyed by Ludlow from 1797 to 1799. This established the first treaty line in U.S. history to separate white settlements from Native American living and hunting areas. A marker from the Indiana Historical Bureau once stood on the old Indiana part of the boundary line. Following the Greenville Treaty, Ludlow surveyed the First Principal Meridian.

Erected by the Indiana Historical Bureau, 1966. No longer standing.

In the same year as the Louisianna Purchase – on April 30, 1803 – surveying of Indiana was continued by a different team of surveyors and headed by Colonel Jared Mansfield, Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory as appointed by President Thomas Jefferson.

Freeman surveyed the Vincennes Tract, a 1,600,000 acre area in the summer and fall of 1802 and established a boundary for the portion of land below the Vincennes Tract known as the Freeman Line. Native Americans sold this portion at the Treaty of Vincennes in 1804. (See the March 1916 Indiana Magazine of History article, The First Public Land Surveys in Indiana; Freeman’s Lines.)

G.C. Steinhardt and D. P. Franzmeier state in their paper Indiana Land Surveys, Their Development and Uses, “The state survey was completed about 1834. In the process, the surveyors took notes that vividly described the physiography and vegetation, location of settlements and Indian villages and problems encountered.”

These field notes have now been made available to the public with a project that has lasted more than a decade. The Historical Indiana PLSS Township Records project allows the public to view surveyors’ technical descriptions of the land from the years surrounding Indiana becoming a state.

The Indiana PLSS Notes and Plats are available on the Internet Archive. The entire team responsible for the work of the project is listed here.

The State Library and the Indiana Geographic Information Council sponsored a webinar in 2021 featuring Lorraine Wright, a Licensed Geologist and GIS Professional, which gives details about the ongoing project.

Clayton Hogston, a professional land surveyor based in Indianapolis, provides the Indiana Transcribed PLSS Records from federal, state, and county surveyors to the public for free. He distributes these records using a thumb drive. Request a copy by sending an email or contacting the Indiana State Data Center.

Explore the project on the new IndianaMap website.

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678 or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

October is Family History Month

Posted on by

October was designated Family History Month by the Senate in September of 2001. Senate Resolution 160, sponsored by Orrin Hatch, and cosponsored by 84 other members was passed unanimously on Sept. 26, 2001. Hatch noted, “Genealogy is currently the second largest hobby in the country and is very unique in that it crosses over all religions, ethnic backgrounds and age groups. Essentially, we are all immigrants to this country. Our ancestors came from different parts of the globe and by searching for our roots, we come closer together as a human family.”

Here are some of the resources we provide at the Indiana State Library to assist you during Family History Month.

Databases
The library subscribes to several databases, including Ancestry Library Edition, Fold3, American Ancestors and Fire Insurance Maps Online. We are also a Family Search affiliate library, which allows patrons to access civil, church records and digitized books in the Family Search catalog. Additionally, we provide several databases outside of the library, including Indiana Legacy and the Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

Photograph of a Barnard family reunion, 1950. Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

Newspapers
We have the largest collection of Indiana newspapers on microfilm in the state available in our Indiana Division, along with access to Newspapers.com, Newspaper Archive and the Indianapolis Star. Indiana newspapers on Newspapers.com are available to Indiana residents through INSPIRE, and our Hoosier State Chronicles database is available to everyone.

Explore our print materials
The Genealogy Division has over 50,000 titles in our collection. In addition to our family histories and various state, county and city records, you can learn how to identify photographs, cite genealogy research, organize and conserve your family papers and genealogy materials and learn to read document a variety of languages. Also, check our online catalog, both the Indiana Division and our General Collection have materials that could be useful to someone researching their family.

The Parrish family, circa 1920. Indiana State Library Digital Collections.

Manuscript collections
While you are taking a look at our print materials, you may also want to look through our manuscript catalog. There are over 5,000 collections from both the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division as well as the Genealogy Division. You might find letters, diaries, photos or completed research on your family.

Try to knock down a brick wall
If you have a brick wall or are just unsure of how to continue researching part of your family, we might be able to help. The Genealogy Division offers 30-minute one on one sessions to go over a particular query or topic. The library also offers an Ask-a-Librarian service where you can submit your questions and they will be answered by one of our librarians.

Hopefully, these resources will assist you on your genealogical journey.

Blog written by Sarah Pfundstein, genealogy librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3689 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Two writing contests for youth open for entries at the Indiana State Library

Posted on by

The Indiana Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress housed in the Indiana State Library, is open for entries for two writing contests for youth this fall. The Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest is open to Indiana fourth graders and the Indiana Letters About Literature Contest is open to Indiana’s fourth through 12th graders.

For the Indiana Statehood Day Essay Contest, Indiana fourth graders are invited to write an essay on the theme of “Playing IN Indiana.” Judges are looking forward to seeing students’ interpretation of the theme which can encompass Indiana sports, recreation in Indiana’s parks, playing music, visiting Indiana’s amusement parks and so much more. The Indiana Statehouse Tour Office partners with the Indiana Center for the Book for this contest which commemorates Indiana Statehood Day each year. Indiana’s 207th birthday is Dec. 11. Winners of the essay contest will be honored at a Statehood Day Celebration. The 2023 celebration is on Dec. 8 at the Indiana State Museum and on Dec. 11 at the Indiana Statehouse. Four top winners will be selected. Each winner will receive a CollegeChoice 529 Deposit of $529 made possible by the Indiana Education Savings Authority! All Indiana fourth graders should take advantage of this exciting opportunity. Find out more about the contest at the contest website. The deadline to enter is Oct. 27.

The Indiana Letters About Literature contest is also now open for the 2023-24 contest cycle. This contest is a reading and writing contest for Indiana students in grades four through 12. Students are asked to read a book, poem, essay or speech and to write to the author – living or deceased – about how the work affected how they see themselves or how they see the world. Letters are judged on how well they interpret the theme of the power of literature to change readers as well as on expression, voice, structure and grammar. One hundred state winners are announced each spring. All winners get published in the annual Indiana Letters About Literature anthology, and top winners receive cash prizes. All winners are invited to an annual virtual celebration where they will get to meet an Indiana author. This year’s author is Rob Harrell, Indiana author of “Wink.” The Indiana Letters About Literature program is supported by the James and Madeleine McMullen Family Foundation and the Indiana State Library Foundation. For more information about Indiana Letters About Literature, visit the contest website. The deadline for entries is Jan. 19, 2024.

The judges are hoping that hundreds of students enter each contest. For questions, please reach out to Suzanne Walker, director of the Indiana Center for the Book. Good luck to all the young Hoosier writers who enter either – or both – contests.

This blog post was submitted by Indiana Young Readers Center librarian Suzanne Walker.