Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights
Winter 2008
Volume 10, Number 1

A PDF version of Indiana: Seeking Ancestors in the Heartland is also available.

Known as "The Crossroads of America," Indiana was one of the first settled regions in the Old Northwest Territory. French explorers-the first white residents of Indiana-traveled from Detroit and arrived in 1679. They established trading posts and forts in the early 1700s, and the first American settlement developed in Clarksville in 1784. Early settlers came from Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the Northwest Territory, and Indiana, which means "the land of Indians," earned statehood in 1816.

The territorial government at Vincennes granted 400 acres to any American, so the land that once belonged to Illinois County, Va., grew into a state with 92 counties. Early settlers included southern Quakers opposed to slavery, African-Americans, Scotch-Irish and Germans from Pennsylvania, Easterners coming west to farm, Irish laborers and German immigrants. These early residents built an economy based primarily on agriculture, but later the state became home to glass plants, quarries and eventually steel mills. South Bend, Muncie, Gary and Indianapolis-the capital-grew into centers of Hoosier population and industry.

While many early residents stayed and made a home in Indiana, others traveled on, north to Michigan or west to unsettled lands, and so many with Michigan roots may be able to trace ancestors back to Indiana, prior to their arrival in the Great Lakes State.

This publication is a list of notable Indiana genealogical resources available at the Library of Michigan. Titles may be located by searching ANSWER, the Library's online catalog. The easiest way to locate Indiana resources in ANSWER is with a keyword search using the word indiana followed by the type of information you are looking for. Here are some additional suggestions to help maximize your search results:

• indiana and land
• indiana and marriages
• indiana and war
• indiana and cemeteries
• indiana and church

Adding a geographic location will allow you to narrow your search. For example, indiana and genealogy and brown county will retrieve genealogical resources that focus on Brown County, Ind. When searching ANSWER, it is not necessary to capitalize proper nouns or use punctuation.

General Resources

Baer, M. Teresa and Geneil Breeze, eds. Finding Indiana Ancestors: A Guide to Historical Research. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2007.
Genealogy F 525 .F56 2007

Beatty, John D. Research in Indiana. Research in the States Series. Arlington, VA: National Genealogical Society, 1992.
Genealogy F 525 .B4 1992

Indiana Genealogical Society
www.indgensoc.org/research.php

INGenWeb Project
www.ingenweb.org/

Indiana State Library Genealogy Collection
www.in.gov/library/genealogy.htm

Miller, Carolynne L. Wendel. Indiana Sources for Genealogical Research in the Indiana State Library. Indianapolis: Family History Section, Indiana Historical Society, 1984.
Genealogy Z 5313 .U6 I53z

Riker, Dorothy L., compiler. Genealogical Sources: Reprinted from the Genealogy Section, Indiana Magazine of History. Indianapolis: Family History & Genealogy Section, Indiana Historical Society, 1979.
Genealogy F 525 .G45

Robinson, Mona. Who's Your Hoosier Ancestor? Genealogy for Beginners. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.
Genealogy F 525 .R63 1992

Geography

1857 Atlas, Henry County, Indiana: Reprinted from: Map of Henry County, Indiana. Knightstown, IN: The Bookmark, 1994.
Genealogy Oversize G 1403 .H6 E33 1994

Andreas, Alfred T. Maps of Indiana Counties in 1876, Together with the Plat of Indianapolis and a Sampling of Illustrations. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1968.
Genealogy G 1400 .A5 1876a oversize

Baker, Ronald L. and Marvin Carmony. Indiana Place Names. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975.
Reference F 524 .B34 1976

Chamberlain, E. 1850 Indiana Gazetteer: Or, Topographical Dictionary of the State of Indiana. 3rd ed. Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977.
Genealogy F 524 .C47z
Genealogy Microfiche LH7213

Franklin, Charles M. Genealogical Atlas of Indiana. Indianapolis: Heritage House, 1985.
Genealogy F 525 .F725 1985

Long, John H., ed. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Indiana. Peggy Sinko, compiler. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Genealogy G 1201 .F7 A8 1993 Ind.

History and Biography

Biographical Sketches of Members of the Indiana State Government, State and Judicial Officials, and Members of the 51st Legislative Assembly, 1879. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Sentinel Co., 1879.
Genealogy Microfiche LH7232

Bohner, Mary Beth. Reel Index to the Microform Collection of County Histories of the "Old Northwest;" Series III, Indiana. New Haven, CT: Research Publications, 1973.
Genealogy F 526 .B63 1973

Brown County Historical Society, compiler. Brown County, Indiana: History and Families, 1836-1990. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 1991-.
Genealogy F 532 .B76 B35 1991

County Histories of the Old Northwest; Series III, Indiana. 67 reels. New Haven, CT: Research Publications, 1973.
Genealogy Microfilm F 526 .C6 1973

Harter, Stuart. Indiana Genealogy and Local History Sources Index. S.l.: S. Harter, 1985.
Genealogy Z 5313.U6 I5335
County-by-county bibliography.

History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana: From Their Earliest Settlement. 1885. Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1993.
Genealogy F 532 .D18 H58 1993

Mikesell, Shirley Keller, editor and compiler. Early Settlers of Indiana's "Gore," 1803 to 1820. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995.
Genealogy F 525 .M59 1995

Parker, Jimmy B. and Lyman D. Platt, compilers. Indiana Biographical Index. West Bountiful, UT: Genealogical Indexing Associates, 1983.
Genealogy F 525 .I552 1983
Genealogy Microfiche F 525 .I552 1983

Taylor, Robert M. Jr. and Connie A. McBirney, eds. Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic Experience. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1996.
Genealogy F 535 .A1 P46 1996

United States City Directories, 1861-1881. Indianapolis, Indiana. 5 reels. New Haven, CT: Research Publications, 197-.
Genealogy Microfilm E 154.5 .C58 1988

Woollen, William Wesley. Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana. Indianapolis: Hammond & Co., 1883.
Genealogy F 525 .W91 1883

Local and State Records

Carty, Mickey Dimon. Searching in Indiana: A Reference Guide to Public and Private Records. Costa Mesa, CA: ISC Publications, 1985.
Genealogy F 525 .C37 1985
County guide.

Eisen, David. Vital Statistics Index to St. Joseph County, Indiana Newspapers, 1831-1912. 2 vols. South Bend, IN: Northern Indiana Historical Society; Bountiful, UT: Family History Publishers, 1995.
Genealogy F 532 .S2 E385 1995

Franklin, Charles M., compiler. Indiana Territorial Pioneer Records. 2 vols. Indianapolis: Heritage House, 1983-1985.
Genealogy F 525 .F73 1983 v. 1
Volume 1 covers 1801-1815.

Indiana Historical Records Survey. Inventory of the County Archives of Indiana, No. 46, La Porte. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Records Survey, 1939.
Genealogy F 532 .L3 I53 1939

Indiana Historical Society. Census of Indiana Territory for 1807. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1980.
Genealogy F 525 .C46z 1807

Jackson County Historical Society. Jackson County Pioneer Homestead Settlers: Landowners by Squatter Rights, Federal Grants, Private Purchase. Brownstown, IN: The Society, 1995.
Genealogy F 532 .J14 J29 1995

Liahona Research Inc., compiler. Indiana Marriages, Early to 1825: A Research Tool. Eds. Jordan R. Dodd and Norman L. Moyes. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing, 1991.
Genealogy F 525 .I63 1991

Slevin, Ruth M. Monroe County, Indiana, Will Records 1818-1904: Books 1 through 5. Kokomo, IN: Selby Publishing, 1988.
Genealogy F 532 .M7 M66 1988

United States. Works Progress Administration. Indiana. Works Progress Administration (WPA) Indexes to Indiana County Vital Records. 68 reels. North Salt Lake, UT: HeritageQuest from ProQuest, 2002, 1938.
Genealogy Microfilm F 525 .W67 2002

Military

Daughters of the American Revolution. Indiana Society. Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana. 2 vols. Estella Armstrong O'Byrne, compiler and editor. Brookville? Ind.: Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution, 1938-66.
Genealogy E 263 .I5 D383 1938

Northcott, Dennis. Indiana Civil War Veterans: Transcriptions of the Death Rolls of the Department of Indiana, Grand Army of the Republic, 1882-1948. St. Louis, MO: Dennis Northcott, 2005.
Genealogy E 462.1 .I6 N67 2005

Perry, Oran, compiler. Indiana in the Mexican War. Indianapolis: W.B. Burford, 1908.
Genealogy Microfiche LH7253

Winslow, Hattie Lou and Joseph R.H. Moore. Camp Morton, 1861-1865: Indianapolis Prison Camp. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1940.
Genealogy Microfiche LH8267

Zollinger, Vivian, transcriber. Enrollment of Soldiers, Their Widows and Orphans of the Armies of the United States Residing in the State of Indiana, Owen County, for the Year 1894. Indiana: Owen County Historical & Genealogical Society, 1991.
Genealogy F 532 .O9 E57 1991

Religion

Dorrel, Ruth and Thomas D. Hamm. Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana. 2 vols. Revised ed. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1996.
Genealogy F 532 .W5 A27 1996

Rudolph, L.C. and Judith E. Endelman. Religion in Indiana: A Guide to Historical Resources. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.
Genealogy BR 555 .I6 R83 1986

Periodicals

Heiss, Willard, ed. Indiana Source Book. 10 vols. Indianapolis: Genealogy Section, Indiana Historical Society, 1977-1992.
Genealogy F 525 .I55
Genealogical material from the Hoosier Genealogist periodical. Index also available.

The Hoosier Genealogist. Indianapolis: Genealogical Section of the Indiana Historical Society. 1961 to present.
Genealogy Periodicals

Indiana Magazine of History. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Department of History. 1901 to present.
Genealogy Periodicals

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Updated 05/07/2009