Hendricks County estate index updated for 1955

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from the Plainfield Messenger for 1955. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now covers these Hendricks County newspapers:

• Clayton Commercial - 1945; 1948 through 1952 [scattered issues]
• Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1961 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1961)
• Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1986
• The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1986
• The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1956 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1956)
• Plainfield Messenger - 1945 through 1952; 1954-1955; 1983 through 1986

This index currently covers 1945 through 1986; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all of the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

15 Hendricks County probate packets from 1847 through 1901 digitized

An 1862 application for letters of administration on the estate of Mary Bell.

The Indiana Genealogical Society's website recently added 15 digitized probate packets for Hendricks County for free viewing.

This batch of probate packets spans 1847 through 1901 (as well as a couple of stray packets from 1913, 1917 and 1930). They were digitized by volunteers at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne.

The 15 digitized probate packets are:
Bell, Mary (1862) - estate
Bell, Robert Fay (1913) - guardianship of minor
Bell, Samuel W. (1899) - estate
Bell, Sarah (1888) - estate
Benbow, Charles Dewayne (1930) - guardianship of minor
Benbow, Leland W. (1917) - guardianship of minor
Bennett, Joseph T. (1883) - estate
Bennifiel, Paulina Ann, Peter M.P. & Francis M.G. (1871) - guardianship of minors
Berreman, Adelia M. & Araminta B. (1864) - guardianship of minors
Berreman, Jesse (1864) - estate
Bez, Jacob (1901) - estate
Biddle, John (1885) - estate
Bird, Larkin (1847) - estate
Bishop, John (1864) - estate
Bishop, Rachel (1865) - estate

Hendricks County estate index updated for 1954

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from the Plainfield Messenger for 1954. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now covers these Hendricks County newspapers:

• Clayton Commercial - 1945; 1948 through 1952 [scattered issues]
• Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1961 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1961)
• Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1986
• The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1986
• The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1956 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1956)
• Plainfield Messenger - 1945 through 1952; 1954; 1983 through 1986

This index currently covers 1945 through 1986; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all of the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

David CARTER dies in Plainfield (1881)

submitted by Karen Zach:

Source: Crawfordsville Star (Crawfordsville, Indiana) - issue of Thursday, June 2, 1881 - page 3:

The Barnhill boys, George Hadley and Lew Hornaday, with their families, went to Plainfield on Saturday evening to attend the funeral of their grandfather, David Carter, recently a visitor in this city, who died in Plainfield on Friday, aged 88 years.

Grace (GREENLEE) WALTON dies in Danville (1977)

submitted by Karen Zach:

Source: Crawfordsville Journal Review (Crawfordsville, Indiana) - issue of Thursday, June 30, 1977:

NORTH SALEM – Grace Walton, 77, of North Salem, died at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Hendricks County Hospital. She had been in failing health. A graduate of New Winchester High School, Mrs. Walton was a member of the North Salem Christian Church and North Marion Club. She was born April 26, 1900, a daughter of T. A. and Verna Owens Greenlee. She married William Hobart Walton in November, 1909. Surviving are a son, Paul, of North Vernon; a brother Howard Greenlee of Danville; five sisters, Maxine Hopper of Jamestown, Lorene Seaman of Evansville, Lydia Beck of Bowling Green, Ohio; Marion Jefferies of Hemet, Calif., and Doris Johnston of North Brook, Ill.; and five grandchildren. Two brothers, Phillip and George Greenlee, preceded her in death. Services will be 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Porter Funeral Home here with the Rev. Earl Davis officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery in North Salem. Friends may call at the funeral home 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Friday.

List of North Salem High School seniors in 1964 added

An index of the students in grade 12 at North Salem High School in 1964 has been added to the school records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the North Salem High School 1964 yearbook, The Echo. This yearbook is in the collection of the Danville library.

Danville library's genealogy group to discuss immigration research

The Danville library's genealogy group, Genealogy Nuts, will meet on Monday, September 11 at 1:30 pm in the library's program room. Steve Smith will give a presentation, "Coming to America," about immigration research. The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information on the group, please contact the library's Indiana Room - dplind@dplindiana.org.

Plainfield genealogy group to discuss tuberculosis in Indiana

The Family History Hounds genealogy group will meet on Thursday, September 7 from 1 to 3 pm at the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library. The meeting will be held upstairs in the library's meeting rooms. Meredith Thompson will present a program, "Tuberculosis in Indiana: A Perpetual Plague."

If you are interested in the group, or have questions, please contact Plainfield library's Indiana Room - e-mail askindiana@plainfieldlibrary.net or phone (317) 839-6602 extension 2114.

Hendricks County estate index updated for 1983

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from the Plainfield Messenger for 1983. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now covers these Hendricks County newspapers:

• Clayton Commercial - 1945; 1948 through 1952 [scattered issues]
• Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1961 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1961)
• Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1986
• The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1986
• The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1956 (the newspaper stopped being published in 1956)
• Plainfield Messenger - 1945 through 1952; 1983 through 1986

This index currently covers 1945 through 1986; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all of the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

Plainfield's Van Buren Elm Tree cut down (1945)

source: The Friday Caller (Plainfield, Indiana) - issue of Thursday, September 6, 1945 - page 1, columns 2-4:

According to a newspaper article, in September 1945 a famous tree in Plainfield was finally cut down by the workers from the Indiana State Highway Commission, after it was condemned. The "Van Buren Elm" had stood on the grounds of the Quaker Western Yearly Meeting House at the southwest corner of State Road 267 and US 40 in Plainfield. In June 1843, President Martin Van Buren was passing by in a stagecoach, when he fell out into mud at the base of the tree, leading to Congress giving money to improve the condition of the National Road. This tree then become a stop for souvenir hunters who took pieces out of it, and in August 1928 it was badly damaged by a tornado.

Today there is a plaque marking the site.

List of North Salem High School seniors in 1958 added

An index of the students in grade 12 at North Salem High School in 1958 has been added to the school records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the North Salem High School 1958 yearbook, The Echo 1958. This yearbook has been digitized by Ancestry.com and can be accessed via a subscription to their site.

20 Hendricks County probate packets from 1844-1899 digitized

An 1867 executor's bond for the estate of Thomas Barr, issued in Hardin County, Kentucky

The Indiana Genealogical Society's website recently added 20 digitized probate packets for Hendricks County for free viewing.

This batch of probate packets spans 1844 through 1899 (as well as a couple of stray packets from 1919, 1929 and 1930). They were digitized by volunteers at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne.

The 20 digitized probate packets are:

Barnhill, James (1844) - estate
Barr, Thomas (1867) - estate
Barron, John Q. (1886) - estate
Barron, Rebecca E., Moses J., Susan E., Mary A., Harriett A. & Martha C. (1856) - guardianship of minors
Bartholomew, Levi W. (1871) - estate
Barton, Dora E. (1930) - estate
Barton, Ralph (1888) - estate
Bateman, James (1899) - guardianship of minor
Bateman, Margaret L.A. (1894) - guardianship of unsound mind
Baugh, Alva M. (1929) - estate
Baxter, Charles W. (1868) - guardianship of minor
Baxter, Nancy (1865) - estate
Bean, James (1892) - estate
Beard, Clarissa (1869) - estate
Beard, Elisha D. (1919) - estate
Bedford, Catharine (1895) - estate
Beekman, Joseph W. (1885) - estate
Beeson, Ezra (1868) - estate
Bell, James J. (1887) - estate
Bell, James J., Julia I. & Allen (1861) - guardianship of minors

Inventories of Hendricks County estates (1867-1876) added

An index of inventories filed in Hendricks County estate cases from October 1867 through July 1876 has been added to the Probate Records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. These inventories list all of the debts and assets in the case.

This is an index of a record book that has been digitized by the Hendricks County government - it is available in the Archives section of their website, under the "Court of Common Pleas" section.

List of Center Township landowners in 1925 added

An index of the landowners in Center Township in 1925 has been added to the Land Records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the Hendricks County Assessor's collection of plat books and lists the Congressional Township, Range and Section that the land was located in.

The Hendricks County Government's Archive has digital files of the plat books for scattered years between 1852 and 1940.