The Genealogy Collection of the Indiana State Library maintains one of the largest collections of family history information in the Midwest, with an emphasis on materials pertaining to Indiana and bordering states, as well as eastern and southern states. Its collection of printed items includes family histories, indexes to records, how-to books, cemetery transcriptions, family history magazines and more. Its microfilmed collection includes federal census records, Indiana county records, passenger lists, and military pension information.

At http://www.in.gov/library/genealogy.htm one can access many of ISL’s online resources. For example, under Holdings, Listings, and Online Resources one can click on Indiana County Records and then a click on Fountain County will provide a list of that county’s resources at the library. These include birth records (delayed birth records, 1941-1955, on microfilm; and WPA Index to birth records, 1887-1920 and 1921-1941); death records, marriage records, deed records, will records, cemetery and church records, census (1860), court records, military, naturalization, and voter records, and miscellaneous records.

This library also encourages online searches. These include Cemetery Locator File Database; Genealogy Databases & Indexes at ISL, Indiana Marriages Database through 1850; Indiana Marriages Database, 1993-2004; and Vital Information Exchange.

Anyone visiting the Indiana State Library also may access several online resources to which ISL subscribes. These include Ancestry’s Library, HeritageQuest, FirstSearch, and New England Ancestors.org. One may wish to plan a research visit when there is to be an orientation tour. Click on this event for details.

The Indiana State Library is located at 140 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis. For more information call the reference desk at (317) 232-3689.

Indiana’s Hoosiers

The Indiana Genealogical Society seeks researchers who would be willing to share details of former Hoosiers —people born before 1930 and were in Indiana for some period of their life and died in another state — to be listed as “Once a Hoosier.” The companion project, “Always a Hoosier,” is for Hoosiers born before 1930 and buried in Indiana, although may not have been living in Indiana at the time of death.

To contribute, fill out the submission form at http://www.indgensoc.org/projects/OnceAHoosierform.pdf or send a Family Group Sheet with additional information (e.g., photo, tombstone phone, obituary notice, interment record) to Once a Hoosier, Indiana Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 10507, Fort Wayne, IN 46852-0507. All entries become the property of IGS and will not be returned.

Information on these Hoosiers is published in the IGS newsletters. For example, the August 2011 issue (Vol. 23, No. 4, page 21) has information on Milton DUNN (1826 NC – 1914 KS), whose family lived in Union County and Hamilton County, Indiana. Researcher Rhonda Dunn lives in Nashville, Ind.; e-mail radunn1972@aol.com.

The same newsletter identifies Enoch Canada MORRIS, (1839 IN – 1920 Shelby Co., IL) as “Once a Hoosier.” Submitter, J. Fred Schouten, lives in Illinois; e-mail FredSchouten@netscape.net.

Queries, as well as a general exchange of genealogical material that readers would like to share, will be printed in the column for free. Contact Joan Griffis by e-mailing JBGriffis@aol.com