Hendricks County Historian Appointed

The Indiana Historical Society has appointed John Parsons of Clayton to be their County Historian for Hendricks County. The position, which had been vacant since the death of Plainfield librarian Susan Miller Carter, is for 3 years.

Parsons is well known to local history researchers for his efforts to digitize the county's records, which began when he was the systems administrator for the county (he retired last year). In the words of his wife Phyllis, "he enjoys most old things," and really knows the history of Hendricks County, including the early settlers, as well as old roads and towns that no longer exist.

He has also been a minister at the Belleville Bible Church (formerly Salem Methodist Church) for the past 37 years. He and Phyllis (who is well-known in her own right for her work with the Hendricks County Museum) have been married for 50 years. They have 5 children and 15 grandchildren (with another on the way).

John Parsons' contact information is available here.

High School Graduates Database Added

The database Graduates of Hendricks County High Schools (1904-1907) has been added to the Hendricks County GenWeb site. It is a list of all of the graduates of the county's high schools for the years 1904-1907, as published in Hendricks County Schools 1906 - 1907- 1908, a manual written by G.M. Wilson, the county's superintendent of schools.

The high schools included in this list are: Amo, Avon, Brownsburg, Clayton, Lizton, North Salem, Pittsboro, Plainfield and Stilesville.

RESEARCH TIP: Digital Books

A reader recently reminded me of one of the most promising avenues for genealogy researchers - the digitizing of books and putting them online, often with no cost to access. Two of the best-funded of these digitization efforts are Google Books and the Texts section of Internet Archive.

Both of these projects are focusing a lot of their attention on older books, which are not as likely to be subject to any copyright issues. For genealogy researchers, that means they are digitizing of a lot of the county histories, directories and official government reports that can contain nuggets of information about our ancestors and the communities they lived in. Some of these books have even had OCR (Optical Character Recognition) done during the digitizing process, so that you can easily search the pages for a particular word or name.

Libraries around the globe are participating in these digitizing efforts, including the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. Among the items of interest to Hendricks County researchers are copies of the 1885, 1895 and 1914 histories of the county, as well as the 1904 atlas.

Internet Archive also is adding copies of the censuses - the 1860, 1870, 1900, 1910 and 1930 Hendricks County population schedules are among the Indiana items I found in their collection. You have to browse through these censuses - OCR could not be done on them to make them searchable - but it's free!

Teachers Database Updated

Entries from the 1952 school year have been added to the database Index to Teachers in Hendricks County Schools, which is on the Hendricks County GenWeb site. It is a list of all of the teachers in the county's schools, as published in area newspapers at the beginning of each school year by the county's schools superintendent. The list was comprised of the teacher's name and their location, and sometimes included the subjects they were teaching.

The database is in progress--it currently covers 1952-1963.

RESEARCH TIP: Crawfordsville Library

When searching for your Hendricks County ancestors, don't forget to check the records of neighboring counties. One online resource that shouldn't be overlooked is the Crawfordsville District Public Library. Their Local History section has various Montgomery County databases, many of which also contain digitized records. Especially helpful are their database of the county's marriage licenses (which goes up to 2001) and their databases of vital events (births, marriages & deaths) that are mentioned in area newspapers.

Crawfordsville, located along Interstate 74, was often a destination for Hendricks County residents - particularly those from the northwestern part of the county. Its newspapers frequently published news items from Hendricks County, including obituaries which may not be found elsewhere.

Database of 1878 Atlas Added

A database of the biographical entries from Atlas of Hendricks County, Indiana (1878) has been added to the Hendricks County GenWeb site. The database includes the subject's name, township and a transcription of their biographical entry.

RESEARCH TIP: Marriage Records

Under Indiana law, counties were required beginning in 1818 to keep a record of their marriages (with some keeping records even before then). Hendricks County was officially formed in 1824, so its marriage records exist from 1824 onward.

In the beginning, marriage records did not contain much information that we as researchers find helpful - just the name of the bride and groom, the date of the marriage, and the name of the person who performed that marriage. The earliest marriage books contained only handwritten entries (pictured: an example from 1839).

By the 1850's, the county began using books that had pre-printed forms (pictured: an example from 1852), which helped standardize the presentation of the information.

In the 1860's and 1870's, in addition to the marriage books, there was the (scattered) usage of marriage affidavit books, which sometimes listed the name of a parent or the age of the bride or groom (if they were under 18). Pictured: an example from 1871.

Handwritten notes were sometimes attached to the marriage affidavit form. Pictured: an 1871 note signed by Thomas C. Sheets stating that he gives permission for his daughter Josephine Sheets to marry.

In 1882, the use of marriage affidavit books was replaced by marriage supplement books. They contained numerous columns of additional information on the bride and groom, including how many previous marriages, their occupation, their birthplace, their residence, their age, the names of their parents and where the marriage took place.

In May 1905, a change in Indiana law took effect, which included the use of marriage application books in addition to the marriage license books. These applications had to be filled out for both the bride and groom, and asked several questions of them, including their parents' residences and birthplaces. Pictured: an example of a marriage application from 1914.

In May 1950, Indiana law consolidated the marriage application and marriage license books into one book. Pictured: an example from 1953.

In 1958 a new set of marriage books was used. The application portion of the marriage record now asked for some proof of the bride or groom's birthdate and proof of medical examination (blood test). Pictured: an example from 1958, where both the bride and groom's birthdates were verified by birth certificates.

The couple would receive the completed marriage license after the marriage had been performed. This document often included information that was not listed in the marriage license books - such as the names of the witnesses and where the marriage took place.

Usually you will only find these papers if they were handed down through the family. However, the Plainfield library has a collection of marriage licenses, which were found in the Hendricks County courthouse. The Indiana Room section of their website has an index in progress (pictured).

In the 1930's, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) indexed Hendricks County's marriage license books for 1824 through 1920. That WPA marriage index (pictured) consisted of the name of the bride, the name of the groom, the date of the marriage, and the corresonding book and page number. The WPA marriage index has been converted into a searchable database, available in the Data section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. NOTE: There are some flaws in the WPA marriage index - it does not include any entries from Book 1 1/2 (which covered 1831-1837), and errors have been found in the names and book and page numbers.

The WPA also did an index of Hendricks County's marriage supplements books for 1882 through 1920. That WPA marriage supplements index (pictured) consisted of the name of the bride or groom, their father's name, their mother's maiden name, their age as of their next birthday, the date of the marriage, and the corresonding book and page number. The WPA marriage supplements index has been converted into a searchable database, available in the Data section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

The Hendricks County Clerk's office has Hendricks County's marriage records. They are on the 2nd floor of the Hendricks County courthouse in Danville.


Hendricks County's marriage license books for 1824-1950, marriage affidavits for 1866-1879, marriage supplements for 1885-1906, and marriage applications for May 1905-1947 have been microfilmed. That microfilm is available at the Family History Library and the Indiana State Library. The Plainfield library also has some (but not all) of this microfilm collection - their marriage license books microfilm covers 1824-1925 and their marriage applications microfilm covers May 1905 - January 1922.

The Archives on the Hendricks County Government website includes digital files of the Hendricks County marriage license books for 1824-2003.

The Hendricks County GenWeb site has an index to the Hendricks County marriage license books in their Data section. This searchable index (pictured) includes the names of the bride and groom, their date of marriage and the corresponding book and page number. It is an ongoing project--so far it covers 1824-1848 and 1904-1964.

Probate Order Books Database Updated

Entries from Hendricks County Probate Order Book Volume 21 (7 March 1898 - 20 April 1899) have been added to the database Index to Hendricks County Probate Order Books, which is on the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index includes the subject of the probate case, the type of case (estate, guardianship, etc.) and the corresponding book and page number. It is an ongoing project--so far it covers the years 1825-1844 and 1898-1918.

College Students Database Updated

Entries from the 1955 school year have been added to the database Hendricks County Students Attending Indiana Colleges, which is on the Hendricks County GenWeb site. It is a listing of some of the students from Hendricks County who were either attending or graduating from various colleges in Indiana, as compiled from information sent by college officials to area newspapers. The list was comprised of the student's name, hometown and class, and sometimes included their major or the degree they were receiving.

The colleges that submitted information to the newspapers varied from year to year. Ball State University, Butler University, DePauw University, Earlham College, Indiana State University, Indiana University and Purdue University are among those who submitted information.

The database is an ongoing project--so far it covers the period of 1944-1945 and 1955-1960.