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County Coordinator - Barbara Hutchinson
Assistant County Coordinator -   Denise Wells
State Coordinator:  Lena Harper
Assistant State Coordinator:  Jim Cox
Welcome to Marion County, Indiana, created on April 1, 1822.  Marion County was created from the Delaware New Purchase.  From this tract, also formed were the counties Indiana Flag
of Allen,  Bartholomew, Hamilton, Henry, Johnson, Rush and Shelby.  Marion County was namedafter General Francis Marion, often referred to as Military Park
the "Swamp Fox," from the Revolutionary War period.  Nine civil townships comprise Marion County: Center, Decatur, Franklin, Lawrence, Perry, Pike, Warren, Washington and Wayne.




This postcard is the entrance to Military Park (originally called "Military Ground") in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Military Park is the oldest park in Indianaplis, covering 14 acres.
 
20th Anniversary
                                        
 




What's Happening at the Genealogical Society of Marion County?

The GSMC Library
9370 E. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46229
info@genealogyindy.org
(317) 891-4762

President:  Barbara R. Cline Hutchinson

Current GSMC Projects
GSMC PROGRAMS CALENDAR

RESEARCH LIBRARY

BOOKSTORE

CEMETERIES




Material Development of Indianapolis From the Earliest Period to the Present.

Indiana was organized as a territory July 4, 1800, and admitted as a state December 11, 1816. In 1810 the territory of Indiana had a population of 24,520, and in 1820, four years after its admission to statehood, the population had expanded to 147,178. The settlers had not strayed very far away from the Ohio river, but there were a few settlements along Whitewater, and a few along the Wabash; but most of them were along the southern border of the state. The state stretched from the Ohio to the lake, but the central and northern sections were an unknown wilderness given over to the Indians. Dense forests covered the central section, while to the north stretched away the trackless prairies. It was not an inviting field for the hardy pioneer.

It was a struggle for existence. The soil was rich enough, but it was the work of years to clear a farm and get it ready to produce and when its productions were ready for the harvest there was no market, and the malaria arising from the decaying vegetation made the outlook anything but favorable. It was under such circumstances Indiana became a member of the great Federal Union. Indian wars had about ceased east of the Mississippi river, but Indian massacres had not come to an end. It was not safe to stray very far away from the confines of the few settlements, and if human life was spared stock was stolen and driven away, thus depriving the settler of all means of cultivating his homestead. Corydon, the capital, was a little village on the southern border, some miles back from the river, and hidden among the hills; hard to get at in the best of seasons, in the winter it was almost inaccessible. Around it there was nothing that gave promise of future growth; there was no future for it even if the capital remained there. There was absolutely no foundation on which to build a city.

Hyman, Max R., Editor, The Journal Hand Book of Indianapolis, An Outline History and Descriptions of the Capital of Indiana, with Over Three Hundred Illustrations from Photographs Made Expressly for the Work, © 1902, p. 5. [see History for this book]

Source:  1895 U.S. Atlas

!!!!!....I NEED YOUR HELP RESEARCHERS....!!!!!
 
    I have located birth index information contributed by a wonderful volunteer named Lora Radisches some time ago.  I had these on another URL for Marion County and have now moved them to this site for Marion County, INGenWeb; however we only have births for the following letters:  A - B - H - I - J - K - L.  These births appear to cover the years from 1882 through 1920.  I cannot locate contact information for Lora and I do not know from what source she obtained the records from which she transcribed this material.  Check out the Birth information here.
 
    If you have access to these materials and you have an interest in transcribing these to donate to the Marion County, INGenWeb, you would be making a huge contribution, for which I will gladly list your name (and email address if requested) as the contributor for them.  Please contact me if you have access to these records.  Thank you so much!.  DENISE 

The formation of Indiana's counties can be
found at Family History 101
Be sue to check out the Interurban

Marion County's Neighbors
Boone | HamiltonHancock | Hendricks | Johnson | Morgan | Shelby
Thank you to all of former Marion County Coordinators
who have made contributions to this site!
And a special thanks to Jeff Kemp for designing 
the Marion County banner at the top of this page as well as
the INGenWeb logo!
Copyright 2008-  |  last updated 2023
Barbara Hutchinson
Denise Wells

County Coordinator - Barbara Hutchinson
Assistant County Coordinator:  Denise Wells