Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- The Spencer County, Indiana, History mss., 1822-1861, consist primarily of legal documents related to the history of Spencer County.
- Extent:
- 1 Box (1 standard)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Spencer County, Indiana, History mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Spencer County is located in southern Indiana on the Kentucky border. It was formed in 1818 out of parts of neighboring Warrick County and Perry County. It was named for Captain Spier Spencer, who was killed in 1811 at the Battle of Tippecanoe.
See History of Warrick, Spencer, And Perry Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present; Together With Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. Chicago: Goodspeed, 1885.
- Scope and Content:
Materials include legal papers concerning indictments for gaming at cards, betting on elections, assault and battery, carrying concealed weapons, sale of foreign merchandise (coffee) without license, divorce petitions, estate inventories and settlements, and promissory notes.
Among the names found on many of the papers are those of county clerks James Wakefield and Thomas P. Britton (Britton himself was often indicted for gaming and assault), justice of the peace John E. Cotton, attorney James Clifford Veatch, and pioneer settler Daniel Grass (estate inventory and settlement).
Individual pieces include a legacy to the Spencer County Library from the estate of Daniel Grass, Sept. 25, 1837; promissory note of Friend Harrison Barnett, Apr. 15, 1841, with an appended protest bearing the embossed seal of notary public John Douglass of Vanderburgh County; and an undated inventory setting the value of a flatboat at $35.00, recorded by Thomas P. Britton, clerk.
The grand jury indictment for the April term, 1837, against James Morgan and John Shrodes for permitting the playing of cards in their "Ordinary and Grocery" by certain persons (including Thomas P. Britton) has been published on pages 311-312 of Goodspeed, History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Indiana, Chicago, 1885 (Main F532 .W4 G6).
The April, 1837, divorce case of Jerusha (Ray) Murphy vs. Ethan Allan Murphy is cited on page 310 of the Goodspeed history.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase: 1985
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged chronologically.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Stacks
Indexed Terms
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Spencer County, Indiana, History mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu