52 Weeks of Online American Digital Archives and Databases: Indiana

This is the 15th post in a weekly series of Online American Digital Archives and Databases found for free at state, county, municipal, college and university history, library, and archive websites, as well as public and private library and museum sites, and historical and genealogical society sites.

3DFlags

Indiana Commission on Public Records, State Archives, Online Indexes - http://www.in.gov/icpr/2355.htm - Naturalizations Records Database; Registry of Negroes and Mulattoes, 1853-54, Clark, Franklin, Orange, Switzerland,and Vigo Counties; Indian Lands Noted On The LaPorte-Winamac Land Office; Governor Oliver P. Morton Telegraph Books; Indiana Soldier's and Sailor's Children's Home; State Supreme Court Cases; Posey County Circuit Court Records; Index to Life Prisoner's Statements: State Prison at Michigan City; Land Office Records and Homestead Awards Database; Internal Improvements Projects: Contracts for Canal Structures, 1930's - 1950's; and Indianapolis-Marion County Employees

Indiana Historical Society Digital Image Collections - http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/digital-image-collections - African-American Indiana History, Lincoln Collection, Military History, Notable Hoosiers, Photo Studio and Photographer Collections, Prints, Postcards and Maps, Selected Images of Indiana

Indiana State Library Databases - http://www.in.gov/library/databases.htm#indiana - biography indexes, cemetery locator, marriage indexes, WWII Servicemen, newspaper indexes, and Marion County Death Index

Hoosier Heritage (Indiana Digital Library Collections) - http://www.hoosierheritage.net/ - serves as a mega-search engine; the list of contributing institutions and their collections can easily be viewed here.

Indiana Memory - http://www.in.gov/memories/ - another mega-search engine; the list of contributing institutions and their collections are shown here.

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Ball State University Digital Media Repository Collections - http://libx.bsu.edu/ - various military groups oral histories (audio and video); campus maps and photos; chapbooks; Indiana county courthouse photograph collection; Delaware County  aerial plat maps; church records and photos; WWII scrapbook; covered bridge photo collection; historic atlases; architectural drawings; women's history collection; digital newspapers; Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (Muncie); WWI posters; WWII films and government publications; and much, much more, documenting life in East Central Indiana

Butler University Digital Image Collections - http://www.butler.edu/library/research/digital-collections - include photos, prints, and documents from Butler University Libraries' Special Collections (botanical collections and images from the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten and Children's Aid Society)

DePauw University Libraries Digital Library - http://digital.library.depauw.edu/ - a variety of photographs, publications and other objects spanning the history of DePauw University, Putnam County, and Indiana United Methodism

Earlham College Libraries Special Collections and Archives - http://www.earlham.edu/library/content/friends/index.html - contains digital archives (photos, social justice documents, Quaker works from 17th and 18th centureies, Josiah Parker Papers), college archives, digital Quaker collection; American Friend Obituary Index, and much more

Indiana State University Archives - http://www.indstate.edu/archives/ - finding aids, photographs, yearbooks

Wabash Valley Visions and Voices - http://visions.indstate.edu/ - an Indiana State University Project, collaborating with libraries, museums, and educational professionals and focusing on the Wabash Valley region in west central Indiana and east central Illinois. It "contains artifacts, administrative and personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, texts, yearbooks, maps, oral histories, and other audio/video files. Genealogical resources are not included." Although genealogical resources are not included, this simply means birth, marriage, and death records. There's plenty here to interest the family historian. Be sure to check out the Browse and Special Collections links.

Indiana University Digital Library Program - http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/ - university records, faculty council and board of trustees minutes, legislative reports, photo and film collections, art and music collections, Indiana Authors, Indiana Magazine of History (1905 to the present, searchable index), U.S. Steel Gary Works Photo Collection, and much, much more

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) - http://mdon.lib.ipfw.edu/18.0.html - Library and University Projects (collections of the intellectual, cultural, and social life of IPFW); Sights and Sounds (audio and video recordings of concerts, lectures, and athlethics); Faculty and Student Research Projects; Northeast Indiana Regional Archives (collections related to the history and culture of northeast Indiana)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Digital Collections - http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/digitalscholarship/collections - includes Muslim American History and Life; German-American cultural organization; Civil War: Governor Morton Telegraph Books; Indiana climate and weather; architectural archives; historic clothing and textile collections; traditional crafts; Crispus Attucks High School Museum (Indianapolis African-American high school yearbooks, newspapers, graduation programs, and historical documents); atlases, maps, plat books, and Sanborn Maps; various photo collections; Indiana historic sites and structures; Indiana Muster War of 1812 Pay and Receipt Rolls; Indianapolis City Directories; military oral histories; rare books; cookbooks; wildflowers and birds of Indiana; medical history

Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) - http://replica.palni.edu/index.php - a digital collaborative effort highlighting collections of private colleges and universities in Indiana

Purdue University Calumet Photo Galleries - http://library.calumet.purdue.edu/Archhtmlfin/photo_gallery_main/archives_photo_gallery_Main.htm

Purdue University Library e-Archives - http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/ -  Amelia Earhart papers, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection (industrial management - remember Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes?), Helen Gouger Collection (suffrage); Krannert Alumni Magazine, art, medieval manuscripts, PUrdue atheletics. administrative, history, alumni, buildings, faculty, students, history in print and photos, oral history, university newsreels; Purdue Pharmacist; George Winter writings and paintings (forced relocation of Native Americans from Indiana

University of Indianapolis Krannert Memorial Library Archives Digital Collections - http://archives.uindy.edu/Resources-Digit.php - strong focus on university history, publications, photos, and alumni news

University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries Digital Projects - http://www.library.nd.edu/rarebooks/digital_projects/index.shtml - Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts; North American Manuscripts (Colonial through American Civil War); Numismatic Collections (coin and currency); and Philatelic Collections (stamps); medieval seals, heraldic dictionary, and bookplate database

Valparaiso University Archives - http://www.valpo.edu/library/archives/index.html - yearbooks, presidents' inaugural addresses, photos and history of library building

Vicennes University Digital Collections - http://www.vinu.edu/cms/opencms/academic_resources/library/lewis/digital_archives/index.html - eText collections (online books on university's history), yearbooks, photos

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Alexandria Monroe Public Library Obituary Database - http://www.alex.lib.in.us/obits/default.asp

Allen County Community Album - http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/database/index/acpl_digital_library.html - Historic Center Digital Collections (photos, documents, maps, manuscripts, etc.); Historic Photos Collections; Fort Wayne and Allen County History Collection; Franklin P. Randall Collection; Fire Fighter Photographs; Monroeville/Ternet Collection; Woodburn Historical society (postcards, aerial views, snapshots); A Day in Allen County (photo journals)

Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center - http://www.genealogycenter.info/ - vital records indexes, cemetery records and obituaries, court records, ethnic resources, government records, history records, institutional records, maps, military records, school records, family files, family Bible records, and much more!

Anderson Public Library Indiana Room Databases - http://www.and.lib.in.us/indianaroom/databases/ - obit index, cemetery database, naturalization records, high school student database, Madison County casualties of WWI and WWII; Madison County Servicemen and Women of WWII

Batesville area Historical Society Photo Gallery - http://www.batesvilleareahistoricalsociety.org/gallery.asp

Bremen Public Library Obituary Index - http://www.bremen.lib.in.us/historical/bpl_obituaries.asp

Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library Obituaries - http://dcwi.com/~obits/cem.htm - 1986 to 2004

Crawford District Public Library Local History Databases - http://www.cdpl.lib.in.us/lh/ - Cemeteries of Montgomery County; newspaper index; Guardian's Docket (1825-1874); Hawcreek Church of God Records (1839-1853); 1876 Illustrated Historical State Atlas; postcards and photos; vertical file index; persons and organizations index; marriage affidavits, records, and licenses (1888-2001); Masonic Cemetery Records (1976-2000); Montgomery County magazine; Register of Negroes and Mulattoes (1851-1853); Teachers' Examinations and Contracts (1881-1912); Veteran Cemetery Records; index to vital records in local papers; Waynetown Masonic Cemetery (1862-2008); Yearbooks (1902-present); school staff index; Confederate Veterans burials; index to probate records, and much, much more!

Elkhart Public Library Local History - http://www.elkhart.lib.in.us/cgi-bin/index5.pl?&file=local_history.html - obituary index, and local history index to Elkhart Truth

Evansville Public Library - Obituary Database: http://browning.evpl.org/ (early 1900s to present) and Local History Database: http://evans.evpl.org/search/.b1525770/.b1525770/1,1,1,B/l856~1525770&FF=&1,0,,1,0

Fayette County Public Library Connersville High School Yearbook Project - http://www.fcplibrary.lib.in.us/yearbookproject.htm

Frankfort Community Public Library - Obituary Database: http://www.accs.net/fcpl/obit.htm and Clinton County Archive Project (court records): http://fcpl.accs.net/archiveproject/

Fulton County Public Library Genealogy Databases - http://www.fulco.lib.in.us/genealogy/fulcogenealogyfrontpage.htm - cemetery records, family histories, obituaries, marriage records, county census, telephone directories, births, deaths, poor farm records, newspaper excerpts, school enumerations, biographies, wills, historical trivia

Garret Public Library Obituary Database - http://obit.gpl.lib.in.us/ 

Hannah Lindahl Children's Museum and Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library Archives - http://www.hlcm.org/htlm/archives.html - online photo archive and school enumeration records (1901-1924)

Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library - http://www.zionsville.lib.in.us/gsdl2.81/cgi-bin/library - "the digitized collection of local writer Joan Lyons' newspaper articles on the rich oral history of the Zionsville community"

Jackson County Public Library History and Picture Archive  - http://www.jacksoncountyhistory.org/ - photos and digitized books

Howard County Memory Project - http://www.howardcountymemory.net/ - cemeteries, Continental Steel files, court records, yearbooks, local history (African-American life, church records, funeral home records, funeral notices, long-term lovers, Norman Bridwell, Ryan White), maps, newspaper collection, Ryan White Files, vital records (death mortality schedules, general vital records)

Kokomo-Howard County Public Library - http://www.kokomo.lib.in.us/glhs/index.html - check out the links to Databases, History, and Images. There is some overlap with the Howard County Memory Project.

Madison-Jefferson County Public Library Harry Lemen Historic Photo Collection - http://www.mjcpl.org/photos/

Michigan City Public Library - http://www.mclib.org/index.html - Local History Texts Online, Obituary Index, Historic Slide Collection Index, Oral History Tapesac

Monroe County Public Library Indiana Room - http://monroe.lib.in.us/indiana_room/statelocal_collections.html - 1930 Census Index of Monroe County, Civil War Regiments, coroner's reports (1896-1935), local newspapers index (1985-2005); obituary index; oral history files index; yearbook index (search by name for faculty, staff, and students)

Morgan County Public Library - http://www.morg.lib.in.us/genassist.html - census records, 1890 enrollment of soldiers, land sales from U.S. Government

Morrisson-Reeves Library Digital Collections - http://www.mrlinfo.org/history/contentdm.htm - Clarence Morrow Photographs (1890s area photos); Richmond Aviation History; library history; Richmond and Wayne County postcards; Singin' Sam (music collection); and Wayne County Historical Texts - also check out their Local History Index (non-digital)

Muncie Public Library, Delaware County Record Search - http://www.munpl.org/default.asp?PageIndex=800 - cemetery, court, and funeral home records; obituaries, deeds, and wills

New Albany-Floyd County Public Library Indiana Room - http://www.nafclibrary.org/default.asp?Page=Indiana - newspaper index, historical images, local history, historical sites, local military history, river heritage, biographies (including African-American vignettes), geographic info, crime, diaries and correspondence, oral history; each of these topics has a clever title, such as "A Very Fine House" for historical sites and "Trouble With a Capital T" for local crime history

North Madison County Public Library System Indiana Room- http://historical.elwood.lib.in.us/ - articles, artifacts, photos, obituaries, maps, books (library catalog)

Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library - http://www.plainfieldlibrary.net/indiana/searchabledatabases.html - cemetery records, family history index, Hendricks County Government Archive Scans, county marriage certificates and records, biography index, military records, obituaries

River to Rail - http://rivertorail.mjcpl.org/ - The Rise and Fall of River and Rail Transportation in Madison, Indiana; a digital history project by the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library and the Jefferson County Historical Society; images and history

St. Joseph County Public Library Local and Family History Databases - http://www.sjcpl.org/research/research.html#history - 1875 County Atlas, 1910 Elks Convention Book, 1910 South Bend YMCA Book, 1936 County Platbook, Obituary Index (1913-present), Service Notes Index (military)

Starke County Public Library Historic Photos and Documents - http://www.scpl.lib.in.us/historical/ - school photos, phone books and city directories, maps, church photos, old advertisements, family history, local history, WWII, oral histories, plus the current newsletter and local historical links

Sullivan County Public Library - http://www.sullivan.lib.in.us/genealogy.htm - obituary index (1929-present); Obit, Obsequies, Death Notices Index (1870-1905); Marriage Returns Index (1882-1899); Coroner Inquests; Will Books Index (1850-1930)

Switzerland County School Corporation Vevay Newspapers - http://www.switzerland.k12.in.us/hs_vevaynewspapers.php - 1840, 1853-1901

Tippecanoe County Historical Association - http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/ - history, photos

Vigo County Public Library Archives - http://www.vigo.lib.in.us/VCPL_archives - local history books online, oral history projects, marriage and obituaries

Wakarusa Public Library Historical Room Collection - http://www.wakarusa.lib.in.us/historical/default.asp - articles, artifacts, photos, obituaries, maps, family history books

Wells County Public Library Indiana Room - http://genealogy.wellscolibrary.org/ - cemetery index, obituar index (1866-2000)

Willard Library of Evansville Online Resources - http://www.willard.lib.in.us/online_resources/index.php - photo and postcard galleries, indexes of biographies, churches, companies, high school photos, marriages, ministers, newspapers, radio scripts

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Check out my Indiana Online Historical Directories page.