In the early 20th century, Indiana was home to the Advance-Rumely company, which produced farming and agricultural machinery that was used all over the country. The company was officially formed in 1915, but traces its origins back to 1848 when Meinrad Rumely came to America. His business venture became known as the M. Rumely Company in 1887, and produced incredibly popular agricultural products such as the Rumely Oil Pull, which was a gasoline powered tractor.
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Tag Archives: Indiana History
Genealogy & Local History Fair October 24
It’s nearly time for the 2015 Genealogy and Local History Fair at the Indiana State Library. With a theme of “Crime and Punishment in Indiana,” the Fair promises to be a fun and educational event for genealogists, librarians, and local historians.
Judy Russell will speak at the Genealogy & Local History Fair October 24
The Fair is Saturday, October 24, and doors open at 9:30 am, with opening remarks at 9:45. The first speaker of the day will be Keven McQueen, author of several historical true crime books. He will speak on unsolved murders in Indiana. After lunch, Judy Russell, author of the Legal Genealogist blog will give two presentations covering court and prison records.
Between sessions and during the lunch break, attendees may browse the exhibition hall, featuring over 30 vendors, including historical societies, libraries, authors, and other organizations. Attendees may also explore the beautiful 1930s era Indiana State Library building or do a bit of research in the Library’s large genealogy collection. Also, there will be a raffle of several door prizes, including a Kindle and a handheld document scanner.
Admission is free and there is no registration required. All sessions have been approved for LEUs for Indiana public librarians. Parking is available in the Senate Avenue Parking Garage, 220 North Senate Avenue, for $5.00 per car.
If you have any questions about the Genealogy and Local History Fair, please don’t hesitate to contact the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3689.
Genealogy and Local History Fair
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Indiana State Library
315 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
This blog post was written by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317)232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm
A One-on-One Conversation with Genealogy Librarian Crystal Ward
This article originally appeared in the December 24, 2014 issue of the Wednesday Word.
For the fourth installment of this five part December series, I sat down and had a conversation with Genealogy Librarian Crystal Ward. Genealogy is a huge part of the services that the Indiana State Library provides, and Crystal was more than happy to talk about all of the interesting artifacts in the ISL collection.
RB: Tell me about how you came to ISL, and what made you want to become a librarian in the first place?
CW: I started out working in libraries. In high school I was a page at the Haughville Branch, and then I worked at several libraries. I worked at academic libraries, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Marion County Jail Library, so I’m used to working with the public doing reference work. When I saw the job listing for ISL I thought, “Oh that sounds very interesting.” I had done my own genealogy, so it was kind of a hobby to start with. When I had seen the position I thought, “Oh I can do that!” So I applied, and that is how I ended up here. When I was working in high school I never thought that I would be a librarian. I just needed some money to get a car and all that stuff.
RB: Were you volunteering there? Continue reading
Preserving Family History
My name is Crystal Ward, and I am a librarian in the Genealogy Division. I have been asked “what does a genealogy librarian do; what is your job like”? As a genealogy librarian, I work to preserve the family history of the citizens of Indiana, and to ensure that the items we collect are preserved and protected for use by future generations.
One often overlooked factor in librarianship: preservation and conservation, environmental control; or more specifically, dusting, is one way that I help conserve the materials that we have in the collection. Yes, like housework, librarians dust the books in the collection to keep them in good shape. By cleaning books and book shelves of dust, dirt, and debris, we are creating a happy and healthy environment for the books.
This is not a simple task, and comes with certain tools. For example, when I clean my assigned section of shelves, I wear an apron, rubber gloves, and a dust mask, as in the glamorous photos above. I use a special brush with horse hair bristles, a HEPA vacuum cleaner, and I always have my iTunes playing.
I will spend up to an hour cleaning and dusting one section of books, and this task is made more enjoyable by my iTunes playlist. While cleaning a section today, I played several songs by the Beastie Boys, “Float On” by Modest Mouse, and Will Smith’s “Summertime.” I also run across some really amazing books and often keep my eye open for unusual titles. I was not disappointed in the titles I found while dusting today: “Magician Among the Spirits” by Harry Houdini, ISLM 134 H836N; “Alcohol Education for the layman” by Monroe and Stewart, ISLM 16.178 M753A; “Sorry but you’re wrong about it” by Albert Wiggam, ISLM 133.7 W655s; and “Frustration: the study of behavior without a goal” by Norman Maier, ISLM 132M217F.
This blog post was written by Crystal Ward, Genealogy Librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317)232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm
Pets Are Family Too!
The Genealogy Division at the Indiana State Library does not collect just published books and materials. They also have a small but growing collection of genealogy manuscripts. These collections contain family papers, research notes, and other items that cannot be put out on the shelves due to their fragile state or because they are boxes of loose papers. However, these items are available to researchers and may be requested at the Genealogy Division reference desk on the first floor of the Indiana State Library.
Some of these collections even contain family photographs, such as this studio portrait of chow chows from the Jackman family collection:
The advent of photography made it easier for people to visually document every aspect of their lives, including their pets.
In the interest of family history… and cuteness, the staff of the Genealogy Division would like to share a few of their furry family photographs:
Jack McFarland Duty
Dwight Hans Dieter Schrute Ward
Odessa Jane and Mosiah Ward
Julius Cesar “J.C.” Dunn
Jasper Dunn
Liam Bohr, the perfect pet for the apart-ment dweller.
Liam would like to invite all Indiana State Library blog readers to Genealogy for Night Owls, April 29th 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Indiana State Library!
This blog post was written by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317)232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm