So, I never knew my great grandparents were bee keepers. This might not sound like a big deal, but when you are researching your family history, finding fun facts like these can make the story that much more complete and interesting. I found a reference to their involvement in a beekeeping convention in a 1920 […]
My grandfather passed away three weeks ago. I’m 31 years old, and this is the first grandparent I’ve lost. I consider myself very lucky. After the funeral, we gathered at the house to start going through his stuff. The voice behind the stories was gone but the stuff remained. The bowling trophies and golf equipment. […]
One of the things that I enjoy about my work at the Indiana Historical Society is the interrelatedness of our collections and, through those collections, my introduction to ordinary people the common men and women of history, many who have done extraordinary things. Though we have much material at the William H. Smith Library dating […]
Gov. Morton is known as the man who guided Indiana during the Civil War. However, he was not the man elected to carry the people of Indiana through the tough times that were brewing during the 1860 election that would shortly develop into the Civil War. As a governor, Oliver P. Morton was seen by […]
April 2, 2012. The wait is over. If you are a genealogist, you have had this date circled for some time. For those of you wondering the importance of April 2, 2012 no, it is not a new day after April Fool?s holiday it is the release of the 1940 Census! For privacy reasons, censuses […]
It amazes me how early children learn that grandmas are one of their biggest allies. Maybe it is because they don’t hear the word “no” as often or they get chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, but grandchildren know they have a special bond with grandma. So when I came across this letter from Mary Stewart […]
When you think about elections, you don?t often consider electing an official who was thought to have died years before the election ever took place. The people of Indiana do not appear to have had any qualms about doing just that in the fall of 1928 for the state?s highest office. Harry G. Leslie was […]
With the 150th anniversary underway, the American Civil War is getting a lot of attention. New books are being published, websites launched and events planned to commemorate the sesquicentennial. Indiana played its part in the war, supplying more than 200,000 men for service in the military. Our library has thousands of items concerning Indiana?s role […]
I love looking at old menus and recipe books. Historically, they can tell a lot about a time period and how people lived (and there is also the yum and yuck factor that can be a lot of fun). We recently catalogued several menus from the restaurant in Hotel Bates, all dating from the mid […]
Have you ever read a book by a ghost? It is unlikely that many of us have, but at least one author of the late 19th century has presented us with one we can. Being the cataloger of printed items here at the Indiana Historical Society has its advantages. On a regular basis, I get […]
