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A
guide to Materials and Their Locations Compiled for the Delaware County Historical Society Revised and Updated by Norma Lasley, February, 2008
Introduction: Many Delaware County records have been treated differently than other counties have treated their records. This list was assembled to clarify the current location (February 2008) of materials. When the old courthouse was torn down in 1966-1967, many of the old written ledgers, files and loose documents were left behind. The County Health Office retained birth and death records, but other offices simply abandoned the old ledgers, etc. Just before the wrecking ball arrived, trucks full of these old records were rescued by Althea Stoeckel, a BSU history professor.
For some period of time those rescued items were in the BSU Archives Department; then later ledgers, files and boxes of loose papers were relocated to the Local History & Genealogy Center of Muncie Public Library, where they now await digitization. Many of the civil and criminal court records are now available online. Staff at the Center can help researchers to identify materials and retrieve items for use in the Center.
Birth, death and marriage records were transcribed by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) in the late 1930s. Some records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in the 1990s.
Delaware County genealogical and historical materials of interest to the researcher may be found principally at four locations:
Other local sources and materials are at
the end of this list. Much information of various kinds is available online now. Some of the information is described below, but sites are constantly adding new materials as they become available. Both the Local History and Genealogy Center and Archives & Special Collections have a variety of materials and resources. A little time invested in online searching may produce some surprising and very useful results.
Research Births,
deaths: The W.P.A. transcribed
the information from these records in printed form for 1882-1920.
These books are available at the Archives & Special Collections,
Delaware County Historical Society and the Local History & Genealogy
Center. For documents, see sources at end of list. For information
on early deaths, there are various databases available from the
Local History & Genealogy Center and a burial index online (see
Websites list). Cemeteries: Printed resources include a directory of the cemeteries in Delaware County which is available from the Delaware County Historical Society. Various readings of cemetery stones and cemetery records are available at Delaware County Historical Society and at the Local History & Genealogy Center. Those Who Went Before, an Index to Cemeteries in Delaware County, by Shawn Gray, is a combined index to most of the county burials, and is available at Archives & Special Collections, Delaware County Historical Society, Local History & Genealogy Center. Some publications of local cemeteries are available for purchase at Delaware County Historical Society (inquire there).
An online index of burials maintained by Shirley Pearson is available on GenWeb. The Local History & Genealogy Center has Beech Grove records online and has printed databases, which are regularly updated, from Elm Ridge and Gardens of Memory. They are also collecting other information from the funeral homes to be available online.
Censuses: The 1850 Census was the first to list all names in a household. Delaware County Historical Society has printed indexes for the county for 1820, 1830, 1840, 1860 and 1870; they also have transcriptions of the 1850 and 1860 censuses. Local History &Genealogy Center has census microfilm for 1830-1930 and various printed census indexes plus Ancestry & Heritage Quest online. Ancestry is limited to in-library use, but Heritage Quest is available from home with a library card.
City Directories: Archives & Special Collections and the Local History & Genealogy Center have the most complete files of city directories. However, many of the early volumes are now available only on microfilm. Delaware County Historical Society also has many city directories, with some gaps, especially in the 1920s and 1930s (call for specific volumes). Transcripts of a few early directories are available in print form there.
Courts
Records: The records of various
courts from 1827 to the 1950s are now housed at the Local History &
Genealogy Center, and many of the civil and criminal cases are
available online now at
www.munpl.org. Deed Books: Original land purchases can be found in Our County, Its History and Early Settlement by Townships, by John S. Ellis, available at all sites and online. The deed books, typed transcripts of the individual book indexes and microfilm of the books and their indexes are housed at the Local History & Genealogy Center. The old indexes are by grantor and grantee only and are in separate letter sections for each book.
A new combined and enhanced index to the Deed Books for 1827-1860 is now available online at www.the-dchs.org. Also available at local libraries are two volumes of abstracts of Deed Books 1-7 made available by the Paul Revere Chapter, NSDAR. The Delaware County Historical Society and the Local History & Genealogy Center also have copies of various printed indexes to the Deed Books. Deed Books and information for 1900 to the present can be found in the Recorder’s Office at the Courthouse.
Family Histories: All local sites have family histories. Both Delaware County Historical Society and Local History & Genealogy Center have family history files in addition to books.
Funeral Homes: Records of funeral homes may add information and details, not in the obituaries or otherwise difficult to find. In addition to the files at the funeral homes, the Local History & Genealogy Center has online material from Meeks Funeral Home and Parson Funeral Home as well as from other funeral homes. Inquire of the staff for specific information, as they are constantly updating and adding to their information.
History of Delaware County: All the basic histories of the county are available at Archives & Special Collections, Delaware County Historical Society, Local History & Genealogy Center and Minnetrista Cultural Center. The earliest, Helm’s 1881 history, is also available online (see list of websites).
It should also be remembered that former Courthouse files of loose papers and various other materials pertaining to local history can be found at the Local History & Genealogy Center. Ask the staff to help you with these materials. Another source available there is the W.P.A. card file of newspaper articles on various historical topics (as well as obituaries), along with microfilm of the old newspapers.
Obituaries: A card file index, assembled by the W.P.A. from all the newspapers available at the time, is housed at the Local History & Genealogy Center. Their staff has also added obituaries through about 2000. The content of obituaries varies with the times and the reportage. Note the W.P.A. file covers various events and subjects in addition to the obituaries. Also, the Star Press has an online index to obituaries dating from the year 2000.
Probate Records: The probate packets are now housed at the Local History and Genealogy Center. These are files of receipts, bills of sale, estate claims, etc., which may have various kinds of information in them. The Probate Record Books, 1831-1852, Probate Order Books, 1853-1919 and Partition Records, 1852-1875 are all housed at Local History & Genealogy Center. Researchers should be aware that much information may be found in the probate packets, even though no will was made. Property of decedents was settled by legal processes recorded in these files. Deed Books are another source of transactions.
Sanborn Fire Maps: The Local History & Genealogy Center has microfilm containing the Muncie fire maps, 1888-1902. Minnetrista Cultural Center has an online version of the fire maps, including cities across the country. Call the Archivist for more information.
School Yearbooks: Collections of yearbooks may be found at all four sites. Local History & Genealogy Center has a good collection of Muncie Central and Southside yearbooks. Archives & Special Collections has a good collection of Ball State yearbooks. Both Delaware County Historical Society and Minnetrista Cultural Center have various yearbooks, city and county, as well.
Wills: The old volumes of wills are now housed at the Local History & Genealogy Center of MPL. Microfilm for 1835-1917 (1917-1921 on film with Probate Records) is also available. The Delaware County Historical Society has a print copy of Will Book 1, 1831-1852 with the index for Will Book 1-Book 5, 1831-1900. The more recent wills and probate records are at the County Clerk’s Office; call 747-7726 for hours and information.
Researchers should be aware that in the early days wills were sometimes recorded in the Deed Books. Also, even though an ancestor may have died without a will, there may be a probate record for the disposal of property. Additionally, information on heirs may be found in deed records, as property was partitioned or sold for estate debts, or when quit claims were exchanged among survivors.
Documents Birth and death certificates: are issued by the Delaware County Board of Health. These events were first officially collected in 1882, but are somewhat spotty in the early years. Genealogists should note that they will need to check for all the genealogical information (such as parents’ places of birth or death, etc.) in the record to see what is available. In Delaware County, the Health Office staff will not record some of these kinds of information on the official copy they make for you, but they will show you the record and allow you to record the information yourself. Contact the County Health Department at 747-7721 for hours and fees. For earlier periods of time and alternate sources, refer to the information on research above.
For the more recent period a more complete official death record may be obtained from the State Department of Vital Records, as they will make a copy of the death record itself (check for the current fee for this service). The earlier records, before about 1910, will only be available at the local level.
Other Resources for Genealogy and History There are many digitized collections, items, etc. available online through the Archives & Special Collections Department at BSU Bracken Library. They are constantly adding materials and searching their website can be very productive. They also have a card file by name of person, with entries of the various sources found by the anonymous collector who put together this information. Possible clues to otherwise missed information may be found here. The department has many other materials, including boxes of files on various local topics with all kinds of items from newspaper clippings to student papers. The Richard ‘Dick’ Greene columns from the Muncie Star contain a multitude of community and individual stories and historical items. Archives & Special Collections has a file of the columns, and indexes to them.
Various kinds of online resources are available from the website of the Local History & Genealogy Center of Muncie Public Library. They are constantly updating and adding information. The clipping file at the Local History & Genealogy Dept has an extensive collection of newspaper clippings, pamphlets, etc. The newspaper clippings are most extensive after the mid 1960s and up to the present day. Also, for pre-1940 information, remember to check the W.P.A. newspaper index on cards mentioned above. Inquire there for specific questions and materials being sought.
For recent events (from about 2003), an index of items from the Ball State Daily News is on the BSU website.
The Muncie Star Press has issues from 2000 to the present available online. Indexing is available from their website to the public. The Local History and Genealogy Center carries a database with the Star Press text on it which is available online and in-house.
Various historical items and books are also available in the Minnetrista Heritage Archives at Minnestrista Cultural Center. Individuals, clubs, businesses, schools, and others have donated such materials as photographs, diaries, letters and objects relating to life in East Central Indiana. Contact the archivist there for more specific information.
Websites for Delaware County
Indiana Items www.bsu.edu/library Click on Digital Media Repository, then click on browse and there is a list of items including Archives & Special Collections, the Middletown Digital Collections, etc. If you have time to browse, there’s a lot there. If you are looking for a specific subject or item, the Search feature works well.
www.munpl.org Various databases and information about Muncie and Delaware County are available to genealogists and researchers as listed in Genealogical Resources in Delaware County, as above. Click on ‘Adults’ and choose Local History and Genealogy Center.
www.the-dchs.org This site now has an index to the Delaware County Deed Books, 1827-1860. In addition to the Museum house page there are pages for African-Americans and for the Cemetery Committee. New items are added regularly, the most recent addition being a historical list of county officials.
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~acorntree This goes directly to a Delaware County information site, formerly that of Virginia Brown Fyfe, now updated. Under the Township section, it has the text from the John Ellis book of original land entries. Further down the list is the HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, INDIANA, by Thomas Helm, which is complete as published. Near the bottom of the web page (below the line) is a link to the Cemetery Burials for Delaware County, posted by Shirley Pearson.
www.linkpenduium.com/genealogy/ Choose Indiana, then Delaware County for a list of links for information on Delaware County, Indiana.
belgium.rootsweb.com/usa/in/delaware/in_muncie_history01.html Information about Muncie and Delaware County in French—just scroll down for the English version.
www.kindredtrails.com/IN_Delaware.html Lists various links for vital records and other information; Ancestry.com links may be free trial or may have cost associated.
home.att.net/~Local_History/Delaware-Co-IN.htm Links for Delaware County information. Note the underline between ‘Local_History’
resources.rootsweb.com/USA/IN/Delaware Various links listed here.
www.museumofthesoldier.com/eaton.htm This site has an article on the WW II German prisoner of war camp at Eaton in 1945.
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