Tag Archives: Genealogy

2024 Genealogy and Local History Fair recap

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On Oct. 26, genealogists and historians, as well as representatives from historical organizations, lineage societies and genealogical societies, visited the Indiana State Library to attend the biennial Genealogy and Local History Fair!

This year’s theme was “At the Crossroads of America: Westward Migration and Family History” where we looked at migration routes across the United States and how and where people traveled after they arrived in America.

Our speakers were professional genealogists and lecturers Annette Burke Lyttle and Eleanor Brinsko. Burke Lyttle presented “The National Road: America’s First Federal Highway” examining the route that took settlers from Maryland to Illinois and helped open up the Midwest. The National Road, known as Washington Street in Indianapolis, traces through the heart of downtown just two blocks from the library, so this topic was of particular local interest. Burke Lyttle also presented “How Advertising Brought Our Ancestors to the Midwest,” which looked at the many forms of marketing that were used to attract new settlers both from the East and from Europe.

Brinsko presented “Westward Ho: Migration Methods of the United States” exploring how people moved across the country and how the travel methods available to them influenced where they chose to go. Regardless of the time period, travel across the United States was often difficult and dangerous, and it was impressive to learn about the things our ancestors faced as they sought a place to live.

The Genealogy and Local History Fair will return on Oct. 24, 2026. We hope to see you there!

This blog post is by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor.

I always feel like someone is watching me – the citizen spies of the American Protective League

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The book “German Settlers and German Settlements in Indiana; a Memorial for the State Centennial, 1916” was written to celebrate German Americans in Indiana for the state’s 100th anniversary. Yet, by 1917, much had changed. The United States had entered World War I on April 6, 1917 and Germans in the country were under new scrutiny.

A Spy is Born
In 1917, an idea was birthed at Indiana’s doorstep in Chicago by Albert M. Briggs, a wealthy businessman. Briggs became concerned about the abilities of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation to handle the demands of their jobs; so he started a volunteer group of fellow businessmen to drive Bureau of Investigation agents in need of automobile transportation. The group, known as the American Protective League, eventually donated motor vehicles to the Bureau.

The gift of the automobiles opened the door to Briggs making a proposal to the chief of the Bureau that the American Protective League further assist the Bureau by looking for German spies.

Volume 1, Number 1, June 4, 1918.

Approval was given on March 20, 1917. Bureau of Investigation agents were informed that a volunteer committee was being formed to co-operate with the department for gathering information of those foreign persons unfriendly to the government. The American Protection League would provide information to the agents at the agents’ request and would also gather and provide information on their own volition.

The American Protection League’s day-to-day concerns involved tracking down draft dodgers – in the slang of the time, known as slackers – and German spies ensconced stateside. Specifically, the American Protection League was concerned with enemy aliens, first-paper aliens (i.e., those Germans that had filed their intention to become a naturalized citizen), pro-German “radicals,” native-born Germans, naturalized Germans, possible spies or German agents and pro-German applicants for government positions.

To achieve their many and varied goals, since they had no legal or official authority, agents would sometimes tar and feather suspects, drive the suspect out of town, burn down a suspect’s home or lynch the suspect. Complaints were made to the Attorney General’s Office that accused the American Protective League of wiretapping, illegal arrests, extortion, kidnapping, rape and murder.

Over concerns by the Attorney General that the American Protective League with their vigilante tendencies had violated individual rights – and since the war was over – the American Protection League was shut down and disbanded by the Federal Government in February of 1919. However, the American Protective League unofficially kept the hate alive by easily transferring the hatred from German Americans to Russian Americans suspected of being Bolsheviks.

Good Old Hoosier Hostile-ality
During World War I, all over the nation, anti-German sentiment was seen as patriotic, and Indiana was just as patriotic as any other state. In the Hoosier state, anti-German sentiment included the cessation of teaching German in schools, the death of German newspapers and the suspicion of German names.

The Hammond Lake County Times, April 9, 1918.

The Hoosier state saw German spies everywhere, as demonstrated by this editorial from the Richmond Palladium newspaper:

Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 42, Number 316, Nov. 16, 1917.

In Hammond, a girl turned in her boyfriend to the police whom she suspected of being a German spy; he also had a wife in Chicago.

German Hoosiers wrote letters to their local newspapers decrying their innocence of espionage.

Even Kurt Vonnegut’s grandmother Nannette Vonnegut was spied on by the family’s chauffeur.

The American Protective League in Indiana
American Protective Leagues were formed in many Indiana communities; including Howard County, Huntington, Elkhart, Evansville, Lake County and, of course, Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Protection League boasted of the internment of 50 alien enemies and the handling of over a thousand cases.

The work of the Indiana American Protective League can be found in the American Protection League’s authorized history: “The Web – A Revelation of Patriotism:”

“Though wireless scares are most frequent on the seaboard, almost every city can boast several of them. An Indianapolis operative thought he had discovered certain wireless antennae on the property of a family with a German name. A pole was found fastened to the roof of a shed, wires being used to connect it with the attic of the house. It was noticed that the attic had close-drawn blinds, whence lights were occasionally seen. The whole thing simmered down to an outfit put up by some young men to practice telegraphy.”

And

“On this same expedition we stopped to see the Lutheran minister as private citizens, and told him that the people of Jasper County wanted no more German preaching and no more German teaching in the schools; also they would like to see Old Glory floating from the mast-head. We told him also that this was the last time that he would be notified. In about three hours we returned that way and stopped again. Old Glory was floating at the mast-head; the German school books had disappeared, and there has been no more German teaching nor preaching.”

If you are wondering if anyone in your family was accused of being a German spy or even someone that did the spying; you are in luck!

Ancestry – available for free when you visit the Indiana State Library – has the following collections: American Protective League Members Record Cards and Registers of Members, 1917-1919 (and yes it includes the state of Indiana!) and American Protective League Correspondence, 1917-1919 – Correspondence on Investigations.

The Indiana State Library also has in its collections the Indianapolis American Protective League Membership List; American Protective League of Indianapolis During World War; call number: [Vault] ISLV 940.3772 I388B.

You can also search the Indiana State Library’s various newspaper databases for ancestors’ names in the results that are returned with the words “German spy” and “American Protective League.”

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

Additional Resources
Alien Enemy Index, 1917-1919.

American Protective League. Issues of the Newsletter “Spy Glass,” 06/04/1918–01/25/191. Series A1 16. NAID: 597894. Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1896–2008, Record Group 65. The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

“Genealogical Records of German Families in Allen County, Indiana 1918;” call number: ISLG 977.201 A425BL.

Genealogical Records of German Families in Allen County, Indiana 1918.

Huntington County in the World War. Volume 1, number 21 – American Protective League.

The Web – “A Revelation of Patriotism.”

“800 ARE NAMED AS ENEMY ALIENS: Complete List Given of Local Residents Affected by Government Order – Names of Unnaturalized Germans Registered Here;” The Indianapolis Star, December 7, 1917, page 12.

Genealogy Fair returns to Indiana State Library in October

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The popular Genealogy and Local History Fair will return to the Indiana State Library on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

This year’s theme is “At the Crossroads of America: Westward Migration and Family History,” and will examine where the ancestors of many Americans went after they arrived in the United States, and how they got there. The fair will feature a full day of genealogy presentations and exhibitors.

Registration is not required but is preferred. Click here to register and to read more details about the presentations and speaker.

Indiana library staff can receive up to three LEUs for attending. Those seeking LEUs should register for recordkeeping purposes.

Parking validation will be available for attendees who park in the Senate Avenue parking garage directly across from the library and bring their ticket in for validation.

Eleanor Brinsko will present “Westward Ho: Migrations Methods of the United States.” Brinsko will focus on the people who have called the land called America “home” and the methods they chose to migrate across the country. Questions like “How did they get to their chosen place of settlement?” and “What modes of transportation were available?” will be answered.

Annette Burke Lyttle will present “How Advertising Brought Our Ancestors to the Midwest.” Business owners, land speculators and communities wishing to grow all turned to various forms of advertising to entice people to migrate to the Midwestern territories and states. Lyttle will look at what kinds of messages these ads used in order to make hard work and pioneer living seem attractive.

Lyttle will also present “The National Road: America’s First Federal Highway.” Built between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was the first federally-funded highway in America. Extending from Maryland to the frontier of Illinois, this migration route allowed thousands of people to settle in the Midwest.

Genealogy and Local History Fair, 2018.

Eleanor Brinsko is a genealogist who does European-American genealogy by looking at genealogical and social trends on both sides of the Atlantic. Eleanor has given lectures for the Wisconsin Historical Society and public libraries, genealogical societies and family reunions around the United States. She taught a graduate-level course on genealogy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool and is also a contributor to the show “PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.”

Annette Burke Lyttle, CG® owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education and writing. She speaks on a variety of genealogical topics at the international, national, state and local levels and loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. Annette is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the British Institute. She is a published writer whose research interests include Quaker ancestors and ancestral migrations in the U.S. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.

For questions, or to register as an exhibitor, please email the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library.

This blog post is by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor.

Shirley family collection

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The Shirley family collection is a recently-processed collection that contains an interesting item. The collection consists of a copy of “Stemmata Shirleiana,” along with a photo album belonging to Ellen Shirley of Baltimore, Maryland. The book was purchased by the Indiana State Library in 1951. The bookseller gave the library the album since it was in the same lot of items that he had purchased. The photo album contains several images of not only Ellen Shirley’s immediate family, but also more distant relations of William Shirley.

William Shirley, Ellen’s husband, was born January 1816 in London. His family was involved in the crockery and glassware trade, something he followed in their footsteps by being sent to Brussels to learn the trade.

When William was 18, he immigrated to Baltimore and found a job in a crockery firm. His brothers John and Jesse Shirley also came to America and traveled to California where they were involved with the glassware and crockery business. Jesse Shirley died in March of 1862 in Sacramento, California, while John died in 1911 in San Francisco. In the album is a photograph of Jesse Shirley probably from around the 1850s, as well as a later photograph of his brother John in California.

William and Ellen Shirley had four children: Henry Clay, William Walter, Hannah and Eliza Ann Shirley. Some of the children are represented in the photo album. There are also two photographs of Henry Clay Shirley’s sons – Henry Clay, Jr. and Joseph Whitney Shirley – in the album wearing uniforms from the Pennsylvania Military Academy.

William Shirley’s maternal cousins are also featured in the book. John and William Arnold along with William’s wife Emma left England in 1831 for the United States arriving and living in New York, before traveling south to Baltimore in the 1840s. By the 1860 census both John, William and his family are living in Terre Haute. After William Arnold’s death in 1860, the family moved to Indianapolis where they are found in the 1870 census. Two of William’s daughters married men who were photographers. His oldest, Elizabeth, married Adam Rodabaugh Miller in December of 1851 while his youngest daughter Mary married William H. Salter in September of 1865.

William H. Salter was born in Indiana in 1839. He married Mary L. Arnold in September of 1865. By 1870, William was a partner in a photography studio with his wife’s brother-in-law Adam R. Miller. He worked with Miller until 1872 when he went out on his own. Around 1873, he partnered with Judd. Their partnership only lasted a few years and by 1877 William was back out on his own. William ran his own studio until December of 1882 when he died of typhoid fever. He was buried at Crown Hill cemetery. In the collection are several photographs of his daughters Emma and Bessie, these were taken during his time at Salter & Judd’s.

Adam R. Miller was born in Montgomery County, Ohio on June 9, 1827. He married Elizabeth Arnold in Montgomery County, Ohio in December of 1851. He moved with the Shirleys to Terre Haute, showing up on the 1860 census with the family. In Terre Haute, Adam ran a studio, but by the mid-1860s he had partnered with Francis L. Frank operating a studio in Indianapolis. He would later partner with William H. Salter running a studio for a couple years in the 1870s. He had one daughter with Elizabeth, Sarah Lydia Miller, who would die in 1882. Adam and Elizabeth had a tumultuous relationship getting married and divorced twice. He also had issues with creditors and landlords due to nonpayment of bills. By 1880, Adam had ended his photography business and was a real estate agent. There are two unlabeled photographs by him in Ellen Shirley’s photo album, one of a woman and the other a young girl who could possibly be Elizabeth Arnold Miller and Sarah Lydia Miller.

You can see more of the Shirley photographs by going to the Indiana State Library’s Digital Collections page and searching “Shirley,” or by visiting the State Library.

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.”

The Rock House

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The striking Rock House on State Road 252 in Morgantown, Indiana catches the eye of many a passer-by. It started life as a home for a local businessman and his very large family. Construction on the house began in 1894 and was completed two years later. James Smith Knight, the builder and owner, used cement blocks more than a decade before they became widely used in construction. He then embedded them not only with rocks and geodes, but also colored glass, keys, coins, dice, pottery, marbles, seashells and even doll heads. Most of the rocks came from nearby Bear Creek. Knight’s name, as well as that of his first wife Isabelle, were embedded into the house using small black stones. A side porch contained a block with a tusk of a wild boar that Knight had killed. The interior of the home included a dumbwaiter, laundry chutes and a bedroom designed for the delivery of Knight’s 22 children born between 1891 and 1932. The second story of the round tower was intended for the upkeep of Isabelle’s plant collection. The total cost of the construction was $9,000 or around $328,000 today.

The Rock House, courtesy of morgantown.in.gov.

There are several legends associated with the Rock House. Family lore holds that Knight was friends with the father of John Dillinger, and that Dillinger himself stayed in the house for a night along with a friend. Some of Knight’s children claimed that another man on the run from the law was hidden in the attic for several years. Certain versions of the story state that the man was driven out from his hiding place after he accidentally set a small fire.

James Smith Knight and his first wife Isabelle with their six oldest children: Fred, Regina, Charles, Inez, Nadene and Garnet, in 1903. Pallas Houser Collection, Genealogy Division.

Knight married Myrtle Settles after the death of his wife Isabelle in 1915, and they lived in the Rock House until James’ death in 1943. More information about Knight and his family can be found in the Pallas Houser Collection in the Genealogy Division.

This post was written by Laura Williams, genealogy librarian at the Indiana State Library.

Cultivating a family history garden

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Spring has arrived and many genealogists will be putting their research aside to spend more time outdoors, but did you know you don’t have to choose one over the other? Take your genealogy outside by growing plants with ties to your family heritage.

Children working in a garden during World War I. From the Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

In addition to reaping the benefits of spending time in nature and beautifying your outdoor space, gardening with ancestors in mind brings family history to life. It may come naturally to those who don’t even realize starting the seeds an aunt passed down or planting grandma’s favorite tomato variety is a connection to their heritage. Others may be interested in learning more about the flowers, fruits and vegetables their ancestors raised so they can grow them as well.

The simplest way to get started is by taking inventory of your own memories and noting plants which are meaningful to you and your family. For example, my grandmother grew grapes and hot peppers in the backyard garden of her small ranch-style home in Speedway. In the limited space she had, she chose those specific plants for a reason. She probably learned to raise them from her own mother while she was a young girl. Planting them in my garden doesn’t just remind me of my grandmother’s loving kindness, it’s a connection to those ancestors that passed along their knowledge of growing those plants for generations.

Next, reach out to family members and ask about their gardens or what they remember growing in their childhood. In these conversations you may discover that your relatives still have access to some prized family favorites. They may be willing to gift you a clipping from a raspberry bush that’s been in the family for generations or share seeds from prize-winning pumpkins. Maybe you’ll learn there are treasured plants at the family homestead that you could transplant into your own space.

After harvest jubilee, ca. 1929. From the Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

Before you abandon your genealogy research to start planting, use it to learn about the crops ancestors once grew. There are many helpful resources to search for information. For example, the U.S. agricultural censuses inventory the livestock and produce raised by farmers. If your ancestors are from Indiana, the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 Indiana agricultural censuses are available at The Indiana State Library on microfilm. Ancestry Library Edition can be searched for free on the library’s computers and includes agricultural censuses from various other U.S. states. For example, I learned from this 1860 Pickaway County, Ohio agricultural census my ancestor grew corn, oats, potatoes and wheat on their farm.

1860 U.S. Federal Census Agricultural Schedule. From Ancestry.com.

The U.S. federal census is another potential resource. For example, the 1920 census of Kosciusko County, Indiana identifies Frank Stellingworf of 52 Chapman Road as a celery farmer. While it is often overlooked, it’s rare to have a holiday meal that doesn’t include one or more dishes with celery as an ingredient. It was also commonly grown by Dutch immigrants, like Mr. Stellingworf. If you have Dutch ancestors that grew celery, you could connect to that heritage by growing it in your garden.

1920 U.S. Federal Census. From Ancestry.com.

In another example, Oscar Fredrick and Ora Poe are listed on this 1920 Knox County, Indiana census as melon farmers. There are few things sweeter than fresh Indiana melon in the summertime.

1920 U.S. Federal Census. From Ancestry.com.

The library’s newspaper databases include news about local farms, gardeners or gardens. By searching these databases, you may learn interesting tidbits about your family, like that your relative grew the largest pumpkin, planted the sweetest strawberries or raised the fattest carrot in their town. For example, Earl Grider is shown below with an impressive ten-pound cucumber that is taller than his 3-year-old son.

The Republic, Aug. 19, 1964. From Newspapers.com.

Mike Vulk, is pictured standing inside of the plot he grew on a small strip of land on Maryland St. in 1934. He didn’t allow the lack of a yard to stop him from growing carrots, beans, cabbage, and corn in his city garden.

From the June 23, 1934 Indianapolis Times:

“Trucks and automobiles whiz by Mr. Vulk’s garden daily; just across the street, workmen in a factory have watched its progress with interest. But Mr. Vulk doesn’t think it anything unusual. He eyes the green, flourishing rows of vegetables with satisfaction.

 

‘A fine garden!’ Mr. Vulk comments. ‘There’s many a good kettle of soup that will come out of that garden.’

 

And the scarecrow doesn’t answer a word.”

Indianapolis Times, June 23, 1934. From Newspapers.com.

During wartime, many people planted Victory Gardens to support the effort and supplement groceries. Victory Gardens were reported on in the newspapers frequently to promote them within the community. According to this article in Evansville Courier Sun featuring a lovely Mrs. Kenneth Miller working in her Victory Garden while inexplicably wearing fine clothes and pearls, “Mrs. Miller digs into the soil which she hopes will fork over plenty of corn, beets, potatoes and what have you in the vegetable line to chase away the ration point blues.”

Evansville Courier Sun, April 22, 1945. From Newspapers.com.

County histories often include details on early farm life and the local flora and fauna. By researching the history of the area you may discover the plants your ancestors were likely to encounter or grow. For example, “The History of Hancock County, Indiana; Its People, Industries and Institutions” by George J. Richman describes the principal crops, soil types, native plants and animals and area farms. The Indiana State Library has numerous county histories in the collection, and you may find some digitized online you can read for free on websites such as Archive.org or Familysearch.org.

There are few things more satisfying than harvesting fresh ingredients from your own garden and incorporating them into family meals. Pass those memories on to the next generation by preserving your connections to those home-grown foods. Books like, “From the Family Kitchen: Discover Your Food Heritage and Preserve Favorite Recipes” by author Gena Philibert-Ortega and “Preserving Family Recipes: How to Save and Celebrate Your Food Traditions” by Valerie J. Frey offer insights and ideas on how to share that history with your family.

Now is a perfect time to share the gift of your garden with your loved ones while connecting it to your family story.

However you choose to celebrate springtime with your family, I wish you a very happy and fruitful season!

This blog post is by Dagny Villegas, Genealogy Division librarian.

Finding original marriage records

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Historically, original marriage records in Indiana were held solely by the county clerk’s office that issued the original record. So, if you need a copy of an original record, your best bet is to contact the county. But, if you’re not sure which county or you just need the information from the record but not the record itself, there are other sources for these records.

John Parrish and Florence Heaton marriage certificate, Marion County, Indiana, 1916. Katherine Parrish Mondor collection, Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library.

Why 1958 was an important year
In 1958, Indiana began to file marriage records at the state level rather than just at the county level. So, one copy of the record was retained at the county clerk’s office while a second copy was sent to the Indiana Department of Health. This makes it easier to locate more recent marriages, because the Indiana Department of Health can search all 92 counties at the same time.

Indexes vs. records
Many of the Indiana marriage records available to researchers at the Indiana State Library are indexes rather than record images. For example, Ancestry Library Edition currently does not offer scans of marriage records for Indiana. Instead, they offer indexes to the records that summarize what the record contains. FamilySearch offers both indexes and record images; however, while the indexes can be accessed freely from home, to access the images you will need to be at the Indiana State Library or another FamilySearch Affiliate Library or Family History Center.

FamilySearch’s Indiana Marriages database has over 1.2 million records.

You can also search our Indiana Marriages 1958-2021 index on Indiana Legacy, which is available at home to researchers for free.

These limitations are applicable to both very old records and more recent records. So, whether you are doing genealogy research or looking for your own record, you will have to work within the parameters of the databases.

Where else to look?
One issue that the librarians here at the State Library have noticed is that the indexes are not always correct. Verifying the correct county that issued a marriage record can be tricky, but we’ve developed a few tips to help you narrow down your search.

First, look at where the couple was living when they got married. The farther back in time you go, the less likely it is that a couple traveled to get married. Also, in order for a county to issue a marriage license, one of the members of the couple was supposed to live in that county.

If you’re not finding a marriage record in the index, or you think the index may have incorrect information, you can also search newspapers. For years, local newspapers included a list of marriage licenses issued in the county, usually on a weekly or biweekly basis. This can help you determine which county actually issued the license you need and also confirm the approximate date of the marriage. You can use Hoosier State Chronicles to search Indiana newspapers for free from home, or if you visit the Indiana State Library you can access Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and the Indianapolis Star.

Marriage licenses listed in the Terre Haute Weekly Gazette, April 16, 1885.

For recent marriages, you can also check the Marriage License Public Lookup. This database covers the entire state from 1993 to the present. It is updated regularly, and new marriages typically take two weeks or less to appear in this index.

What about certified records?
Only the county clerk and the Indiana Department of Health can issue certified copies of marriage records. Any record you obtain from a genealogy database will not be certified and cannot be used for Social Security, Real ID or other official business.

What if I’m really stuck?
You can contact the Indiana State Library through our Ask-a-Librarian service and we will do our best to locate the marriage you’re seeking.

This blog post is by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor.

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

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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”

 

October is Family History Month

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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.”

Indiana’s Dutch roots

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The names Banta, Demaree, Terhune, Voris and Van Arsdal are familiar to many Hoosiers. The roots of these names lie in an intrepid group of pioneers who immigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky in the late 18th century. The group was led by Hendrick Banta, who was seeking to form a colony that would preserve Dutch culture, language, and religion.

Hendrick Banta was descended from Epke Jacobs, who came to the then Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1659 from the village of Minnertsga in the Friesland province of the Netherlands. He was accompanied by his wife, Tietske Dircksdr (also spelled Sistske Dirksda), and five young sons. After first setting in what is now Flushing, Queens, the family had relocated to Bergen County, New Jersey. The first recorded instance of the surname Banta came in 1696, as the family had previously followed the Dutch tradition of patronymic naming. For example, Epke Jacobs was Epke, son of Jacob. After the British gained control of the Dutch colonies in America, settlers adopted the practice of hereditary surnames. It appears that “Banta” was the name of the farm in the Netherlands owned by Epke Jacobs’ grandparents.

New Netherland, 1600s. Courtesy of the New York State Library Digital Collections.

Epke’s great-grandson, Hendrick, or Henry, was born in Bergen County in 1718, and married Rachel Brouwer, or Brower, in 1738, with whom he had six children. Rachel died in 1749, and Hendrick married Antjin, or Ann Demarest, in 1751. The couple went on to have 13 surviving children. Hendrick’s concern that the Dutch community was being influenced by other cultures led him to move his family first to Somerset County, New Jersey, and then onto Conewego outside of York, Pennsylvania.

By the 1770s, the area that we now know as Kentucky was opening to settlement. However, getting there was far from easy. Settlers faced two treacherous options. The first involved crossing the Appalachian Mountains via the Cumberland Gap. The second used the Ohio River, and this was the route taken by Henrick Banta and his travelling party. The group included 12 of his 19 surviving children and 19 of his grandchildren, many of whom were younger than 12-years-old. As well as Hendrick’s immediate family, representatives of the Van Arsdale, Demaree, Riker, Westervelt, Voris and Dorland families were part of the travelling party. The first part of the journey began in late 1779 with a 200-mile trek to the source of the Ohio River near what is now Pittsburgh. They traveled in canvas covered wagons drawn by horses or oxen, also transported sheep, cattle and hogs. Here they constructed flatboats, which they then used to float down the river to the Falls of the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky. The journey was nearly 600 miles through dense forest and took about nine days to complete. The Banta party arrived on April 6, 1780.

A flatboat floating down the Ohio River. Engraving by Albert Waud.

They first settled near the Ohio River, in many cases using the lumber from the flatboats to build cabins. However, the Native Americans in this area were hostile to European settlers, and the group moved southeast to Harrodsburg in Mercer County. In 1786, Squire Boone, brother of Daniel, sold over 12,000 acres of land in Henry and Shelby Counties to the Dutch. This became known as the Low Dutch Tract. Individual families were given 200 acres of land, but the entire tract was held collectively by the Low Dutch Company.

The Old Mud Meeting House, Harrodsburg, KY.

Despite Hendrick’s best efforts, members of the Dutch colony began to intermingle with settlers of other backgrounds and religion. In 1795, he and other elders of the community wrote to the leadership of the Dutch Reformed Church with a plea for a minister to be sent out to them. Indeed, two of Hendrick Banta’s sons became Baptist preachers, and others joined the burgeoning Shaker movement.

Hendrick Banta died in 1804, and in the following years large numbers of settlers left the original Low Dutch Tract, including many who moved to southern Indiana as well as Johnson County. One of the many descendants of these settlers was David Demaree Banta, who was the first dean of the Indiana University Law School.

To learn more about Indiana’s Dutch roots, please contact the Genealogy Division at the Indiana State Library. They can be reached at 317-232-3689 or by using the Indiana State Library’s Ask-a-Librarian service.

This post was written by Laura Williams, genealogy librarian at the Indiana State Library.