Info Concerning Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries

Lorraine Doty posted in Indiana Pioneer Cemetery Restoration Project (INPCRP)
After being asked so many times who's permission you need, what permits you need etc. Here are steps to doing work in pioneer cemeteries in Indiana. 1) find out who owns cemetery. Ask the trustee. 95% chance they know. 2)get permission in writing from the owner to do work there. 3)if cemetery does not touch a public road, find out who owns land around the cemetery. Tax mapping office at the county level has this info. 4) get permission in writing from owner to cross their land. 5) with these documents in hand contact Jeannie Regan-Dinius at DNR, Division of Historic Preservation. She is in South Government Building on Washington St. (Behind the State Capitol) in Indianapolis. She is one who issues permits. She will not issue permit for some one to just go out and probe around for something to do on a Saturday afternoon like a treasure hunt. You have to have the ability to properly preserve what is found.

- Submitted by Indiana Bones

TSGS Meeting Notice

TSGS (Tri-State Genealogical Society)
Meeting Notice!

When: Tuesday 9 October 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting followed by our program:

“Bio-Terrorism-Biological Warfare in the Revolutionary War” by President Don Counts.

This is a program you don’t want to miss. We usually think of Biological warfare as something that happens or could happen in modern warfare. Our ancestors suffered biological attacks.

We will be looking forward to seeing you at the meeting and enjoying a very interesting and entertaining program.

You do not have to be a member to come and participate at the society’s monthly meetings.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This time of the year, weather conditions may cause the society to cancel meetings... the decision to cancel usually is determined the day of the meeting, providing short notice. Since a bad weather system may develop later in the day (or that night), check our blog (http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/) for cancellation notice or call Willard Library (812-425-4309).

Don Counts,
TSGS President

What is Digital Archiving?

Is "Digital Archiving" becoming the big buzz phrase for genealogical societies, libraries and other organizations?  It is with TSGS and many other organizations everywhere!  Our genealogical society has been talking about this subject for several years now, but have not done much more than say we need to talk about it.

Our society is very fortunate to have an experienced, knowledgeable person in the computer/electronic/media field who works with data storage.  University of Southern Indiana Retired Professor Larry Goss has been trying to get us more into the electronic age.  Larry has been digitally archiving past issues of our members quarterly journal, The Tri-State Packet, for several years now.  He is wanting the society to consider other alternatives to archiving these quarterlies.

It is amazing how many other groups are going to digital newsletters and quarterlies.  But, actually, it should not be all that amazing since going digital will reduce storage space and costs.  With all of the personal media electronic devices like smart phones, Kindles, Ipads, etc.  Digital data is the way everything will be available and at our fingertips in seconds.  A 20-yr-old is working with me.  He has this cool app on his Droid that when placed near the speaker of the truck radio, it will tell him all about a song that is playing: name, artist, album, recording date and more!  He can type in a tree or insect name and in a second have a photo of it and just everything you could ever want to know about an Elm tree or a June Bug!

This very morning, Dick Eastman has on his blog Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter (EOGN) a good article on going paperless with digital archiving.  He has a link to another very good article that both are very good for us less knowledgeable and possibly a little to a lot electronically challenged.  I suggest everyone should read both of these short articles to reduce storage of paper and make retrieval so much easier & faster.  Here are the links to the two articles:

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/09/digital-scanning-system-replaces-paper-frees-up-space.html

http://digitalrv.rvtravel.com/2012/09/digital-scanning-system-vamooses-paper.html

Let us know what you think about "Digital Archiving."

- Written by JGWest

Tri-State Genealogical Society - Which One?

I was looking through Cyndi's List for some information on "Digital Archiving" and found myself looking in "Societies & Groups" and thought I would check to see if we were listed, Cyndi only has 7280 links for this category.  Good news, we were listed and with a separate link for this blog.  But the bad news is that there are four "Tri-State Genealogical Societies" listed... which one are we?  Well, that is not difficult to see which one represents Indiana, Illinois & Kentucky as each one lists which tri-state is represented by that organization. 

Besides the 4 tri-state groups, there are 3 tri-county societies and a tri-city.  Bear in mind that these are listed because they each have a web site of one sort or another... there may be more tri-state, tri-county or tri-city groups that do not have a web site or have not ensured that they were listed.  As I said our TSGS represents IN, KY, IL... there is one for 3 counties in WV, OH, PA (they could have called themselves "tri-county" as well!).  The other 2 TSGS's cover South Dakota, Montana & Wyoming with the second one covering Arizona, California and Nevada.

We can boast about being around for a long time being organized in 1977, but Tri-City Genealogical Society was founded in 1961.

Here is a link to our web site: TSGS: IL, IN, KY

You can "LIKE" us on Face Book
Tri-State Genealogical Society

- Compiled by JGWest

ENGINEER'S REPORT – Tech Info

 

This morning, as I do each morning, I checked my email and the many newsletters and other formats of info that comes in my email inbox hourly.  I found this very interesting new advancement in "electronic genealogy."  It has been called "Digitising the Deceased!"  This comes from Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter EOGN

 

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/09/digitising-the-deceased.html

"Radio4 in the UK has an interesting report about placing QR Codes on tombstones. (See the picture to the right for a typical QR code.) Edward Stourton of the Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme, recently interviewed Steven Nimmo, a funeral director from Dorset, to find out how digital 'quick response' codes are being placed on gravestones. Scanning the code with a smart phone directs people to a webpage where they can find a wealth of information about the deceased.

You can listen to the audio from the radio programme at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z02tn."

 

This audio link is worth about 2.42 minutes of listening... it is a really cool way to remember love ones.  It is similar to the "Memorial Madallions" we heard about in the last few years.  Technology and genealogy marches on!

 

- Compiled by Indiana Bones

From the Firdt Mate's Photo Album - Willard Library

Very Large Portrait

of George Washington

with Horse

Hangs midway on the stairs to the second floor.

 

This photo and excerpts below are from the Willard Library website: Washington's Portrait. [Click on the link to the left for this photo and story.]

This copy of Gilbert Stuart’s “George Washington at Dorcester Heights” (which hangs at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) is believed to have been painted by William Edward West.

The painting has been with Willard Library since its opening, but how it came to the Library was a mystery until 1954.

At that time, Julia Evans Stephens Shea, a resident of Hollywood, California, and descendent of General Robert M. Evans, was visiting Evansville. During her stay, she read a newspaper article by Bish Thompson on the cleanup and minor restoration of the painting.

Shea was the only living heir to the painting in 1954, and she determined it should be left on display at Willard Library. It hangs there today.

Willard Library Director Greg Hager told me an interesting story about this painting that maybe I will be able to get him to share on this blog!  My middle son, JJ, who just turned 37 lives in Cincinnati and asked me about this painting that he remembers as an 8 or 9 year old.

Photographs of Willard Library, 1948

• Click to view enlarged image.

J. Paul Wurtz is the photographer of these Willard Library images, taken in 1948.

Reading Table and Bench

• Click to view enlarged image.

The reading table and bench from Columbia school were a gift from Mrs. Sam Warren.

Willard Library and Other Notable Buildings of Evansville

• Click to view enlarged image.

The depictions of Willard Library and other notable buildings of Evansville are from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, October 12, 1889.

- Compiled by JGWest

Link Changes to Evansville City Cemeteries

I go to the City Cemeteries (Oak Hill & Locust Hill) almost every day to search for a grave.  Last night, I could not get to these great genealogical databases... I got instead a re-direct to a login page.  I went to the Oak Hill Cemetery Face Book site and asked what was happening.  The City/County web sites just recently went through some revising which included some changes in the URL's to the various governmental departments.  For some unknown reason the old links bring you to the login page instead of a re-direct to the new URL address or simply inform you that the sites have been revised with new Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses.  Oak Hill management quickly provided all that I needed just a few minutes after 8 AM... special thanks to Chris & his staff!

This is one of the biggest problems with the Internet that after you find a great site... you bookmark it and then that bookmark becomes a bad link because the site changed servers or simply just changed the URL within the site. I have worked 16 years on the Internet and have figured out ways to find these elusive new addresses for the sites I want to visit.  Fortunately, I found a way to get to the cemetery databases late last night when I wanted to get a little info about a Gus Mattingly that had drowned trying to save others!  His grave marker was featured on a "Tombstone Thursday" on this TSGS Cruiser Blog (check the labels to the right for a link to that blog -"Gus Mattingly").

Anyway, I got a quick response this morning from that Cemetery Face Book page which I appreciate very much!  They gave me the new URL's to use on the links for the Tri-State Genealogical Society's web site for those who visit our site.  They have been updated on our site.

If you would want to bookmark the new URL's, here is the two cemetery databases and the Evansville City Cemeteries' home page

Locust Hill Cemetery Database Search http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/locusthill.aspx

Oak Hill Cemetery Database Search  http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/oakhill.aspx

Evansville City Cemeteries Home Page  http://www.evansville.in.gov/index.aspx?page=1334

Now, that fall is upon us, you might want to visit the city cemeteries, especially Oak Hill, to see all of the beautiful trees as they change colors.  I have spent hours photographing the breath taking beauty of this cemetery!

- Compiled by JGWest