Research Blog : History

WWII Rosie the Riveters

just_renny@evpl — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:15:00 GMT

Dr. Heidi Strobel will be presenting a program titled "Harmony of the Homefront: Homegrown Rosie the Riveters" tomorrow (March 20, 2013) starting at 6:30 in the Browning Room at Central Library. This program will feature information from an oral history research project Dr. Strobel conducted in 2008 and 2009. Dr. Strobel is currently Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Archaeology and Art History at the University of Evansville.

The Evansville in WWII Digital Collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library. The WWII Speaker Series is part of the promotional events for the grant.

Ms. Mary Sims, Welder.

Evansville in WWII Digital Collection

just_renny@evpl — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:24:00 GMT

EVPL worked with the University of Southern Indiana and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science for the last year on the "Evansville in WWII" Digital Collection. The collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library.

EVPL digitized their collection of newsletters from Evansville factories producing for the war industry. The newsletters contain information about safety on the job, awards and goals acheived in production, recreational activities, comics, and photographs of laborers and their families. The newsletters can be searched by word which greatly helps when searching for something specific.

USI owns a collection of war bond posters produced and distributed nationally by the Government Printing Office. The posters are colorful and show a variety of topics that were important to the patriotic feelings of Americans during the war. A few of these posters are recognizable as they were created by Norman Rockwell, famous for his Saturday Evening Post (among other magazine) covers.

The Museum allowed EVPL to scan their collection of Evansville Shipyard photographs which were commissed by the Navy at the beginning of the shipyard construction in Evansville. The collection includes nearly 10,000 pictures of the shipyard, building construction, laborers, office workers, ship building, ship christening, recreational activities, war ships on the Ohio River, and much more. Many of these pictures contain names of workers or people involved in the ship christenings which can be searched.

In support of the efforts to bring to light Evansville's participation in WWII, EVPL is also hosting the WWII Speaker Series. The first speaker will by Mike Linderman from Angel Mounds discussing the WPA and Angel Mounds. Coming up later in March are Tom Lonnber from the Evansville Museum and Heidi Strobel from the University of Evansville. April features the final three presenters: Jennifer Greene from USI, local author Harold Morgan, and EVPL digitization clerk Lauren Weingart.

If you have questions or comments submit them to Renny in Reference Services.

EVPL Photo Collection

just_renny@evpl — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:52:00 GMT

In honor of the Library's 100th year, we created an online collection of the library from past to present. The collection started with 98 pictures and the first two annual reports (1913 and 1914). We uploaded another 8 pictures this afternoon. This collection will continue to grow throughout the year, so check back often to make sure you don't miss any new additions! The collection can be found here. Just click "search" if you want to browse the entire collection. If you have any questions or feedback you can contact Renny in the Reference Services Department at Central (428-8218).

Book Talk: Postcard History: Evansville

just_renny@evpl — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 23:48:00 GMT

Are you interested in Evansville and its history? Have you often wondered what parts of Evansville looked like years ago?

If the answer is "yes!' then be sure to come to the Large Group Room on Central's 2nd Floor on Tuesday, October 30 at 6:30. Joseph Engler will be speaking about his new book, Evansville. The book is comprised of vintage postcards primarily from his family's personal collection. Mr. Engler also writes articles for the examiner.com as the history expert and he developed and maintains the website historicevansville.com. He will have books available for purchase and will be availble to autograph books after his talk!

Do You Know Your Local History?

just_renny@evpl — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 22:39:00 GMT

Test your knowledge of Evansville history by attending the Do You Know Your Local History quiz show in Browning Room B at 6:30 on Tuesday. I have designed a lot of tough questions to test your knowledge. This program is part of the Evansville Bicentennial, Historic Preservation Month, and the Summer Savvy Senior Series.

I look forward to challenging you!!

1888 Bird's Eye View of Evansville

just_renny@evpl — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:18:00 GMT

To help celebrate the Bicentennial of Evansville and Historic Preservation Month, EVPL has enlarged an 1888 Bird's Eye View map of Evansville! The map is 10 feet by 15 feet, so you can see a lot of detail. It is located at Central on the 2nd Floor just outside the Indiana Room. Be sure to sign the guest book and share what you like about Evansville! Dennis Au, Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Evansville will be leading a "walking" tour of the map pointing out key features while giving some history of Evansville in 1888. His tour starts at 6:30 on May 31st.

The panoramic map was a popular cartographic form used to depict U.S. cities and towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known also as bird's-eye views, they are nonphotographic representations of cities portrayed as if viewed from above at an oblique angle. Although not generally drawn to scale, they show street patterns, individual buildings, and major landscape features in perspective. Preparation of panoramic maps involved a vast amount of painstakingly detailed labor. For each project a frame or projection was developed, showing in perspective the pattern of streets. An artist then walked in the street, sketching buildings, trees, and other features to present a complete and accurate landscape as though seen from an elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 feet.

Check out the Library of Congress American Memory Map Collection for other types of maps and another Bird's Eye Views of Evansville.

We also have several other programs planned as part of the Bicentennial and Historic Preservation Month. Be sure to mark you calendars for Do You Know Your Local History on June 5th at 6:30 in the Browning Room B and come by and check out Home Movies of the Great Flood of 1937, narrated by Dr. Robert Reid on June 7th at 6:30 in Browning Room B.

Quilts As Signals Along the Underground Railroad

wag.mado@evpl — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:38:00 GMT

Were quilts used as signals for escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad? With the tradition of oral, not written, history, and the daily use of quilts (none left now), there is no actual proof that such was the case. But isn't it an interesting theory? Come learn about the quilt patterns and their secret meanings, and browse through the many books - both adult and children's - that are written about this theme.

We are having this week's Savvy Senior Series program on this topic at Hickory Lake Apartments on Thursday Oct 6 at 2:00 PM. Please join us........and bring a friend!

Preserving Your Past: Photographs

just_renny@evpl — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:26:00 GMT

Don't forget to join me this Wednesday evening (September 22) at 6:30pm in the Large Group Room at Central Library. I will be talking about how to extend the life of your old photographs through an integration of traditional preservation practices and technology use. I will be showing examples of archival quality materials for storing photographs and taking questions.Participation is limited to 15, so don't forget to register!

Constitution Day -- September 17th

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:13:00 GMT

September 17th is the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. It's a great day to spend some time learning about this important document that affects all of us who live in the United States of America. If you click right here, you'll go to the National Archives page for the Constitution. You can read a transcript of the original and also look at images of the original document.

Here are some library resources for the Constitution:

The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, written by Jonathan Hennessey with art by Aaron McConnell

The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, edited by Jack N. Rakove

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the U.S. Constitution, by Tim Harper

U.S. Constitution for Dummies by Michael Arnheim

And for little citizens:

We the People: The Constitution of the United States of America, by Peter Spier

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, with illustrations and forward by David Catrow

Remembering 9/11

librarianinheels@evpl — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:30:00 GMT

As a student of history, I am fascinated by the interactive ways in which New Yorkers (and others who were in NYC at the time the World Trade Center was attacked) are contributing to the memory of 9/11. The outpouring of personal stories, videos, photos, items from loved ones and other ephemera is staggering and impressive. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum has just launched (today) an online initiative to collect as much material on a special website as folks want to contribute. It's a browsable, real-time collection of photos, videos and audio material contributed by those who experienced 9/11 first hand. It's called Make History, and invites citizen journalists of the world to contribute to the memory of the terrorists attacks. The site contains largely unedited material, however, and may contain graphic and disturbing images and some foul language, so be forewarned. Still, this huge collection of grass-roots data is a fitting tribute to the memory of those who perished in the attacks, and it's fascinating to look at what's being contributed. (Click here for a link to the Yahoo article discussing the new site.)

Note: The site may not load right away, due to the large amount of anticipated traffic as the 8th anniversary of the terror attacks passes. Additionally, if you arrive at the site and it takes a longer than usual time to load, try clicking on the "Skip to low-bandwidth story search" option.

Two New Databases Emphasize U.S. & World History

Bufkinite@evpl — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:47:00 GMT

History buffs now have two new resources at their disposal 24 hours a day through the databases page at the EVPL web site. The History Resource Center: World and History Resource Center: U.S. are easy to navigate, rich resources.

History Resource Center: U.S. was named a "Best Reference" by the New York Public Library, and provides a easily searchable interface to a unique combination of primary and secondary sources. The most extensive online collection of historical information available today, History Research Center U.S. delivers:

- comprehensive coverage of the most-studied topics in U.S. history, including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the post-Cold War era
- a "roll-over" chronology that features a graphical, annotated timeline of significant events spanning pre-Columbian prehistory to today's headlines
- more than 5,000 primary source documents, including more than 9,000 commentaries
- over 350,000 periodical articles
- over 130 reference books
- thousands of downloadable images, maps, charts, and flags

Whether you're a student in high school, college, or a life-long learner, History Resource Center: U.S. delivers unmatched pinpoint results and reliable sources, allowing you to establish the context within the content.

History Resource Center: World was named a "Best Reference" by Library Journal, and offers students and researchers access to more than 5,000 years of world history, including 15,000 pages of primary source material, more than 50 encyclopedias and compendiums, more than 150 academic journals, more than 1,600 maps, atlases and other images, hours of video content, and daily podcasts from NPR, CBC, and other reputable sources, and annotated Web links to history-specific academic and news information sites.

Featuring extensive coverage of the 20th century, this resources also features coverage of teh Ancient Mediterranean, Ancient Near East and Asia as well as the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the modern Middle East and Latin America. Other highlights:

- Asian history recounts the events from Bronze Age China to modern India
- African, Indian, and Latin American history includes the end of colonization in Africa and India as well as the social and political movements in Latin America
- the same kind of "roll-over" timeline as the one featured in History Resource Center: U.S.

Both of these resources feature a very simple search tool, which allows you to search either one - or both - resource centers with one search by clicking the appropriate radio button. An example of the search box can be seen below. You can also search by a person or by a subject, and there is an advanced search option that allows you to limit by document type, historical date ranges, date of publication of the resource, and to use Boolean operators.

Historical magazines at Central Library

googler@evpl — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:58:00 GMT

Central Library has a large collection of magazines, most of which are held for five or ten years. But there's also a pretty impressive collection of older magazines, which have been bound into hardcover and are being retained for their historical value. They can't be checked out, but they can be used in the library.

The oldest is the American Magazine, which the Library has from 1908 to 1953. This was a general interest magazine that was known for publishing features in the muckraking vein, inspirational "Horatio Alger" type success stories, fiction and poetry, and eventually settled into a family magazine slot, much like Life. Other general interest magazines in the collection are Atlantic Monthly (1921-1974), Harper's (191-1973), Life (1936-1972), New Yorker (1956-1974), Reader's Digest (1931-1974), Saturday Evening Post (1956-1968), and Saturday Review (1924-1942).

There are also a few good examples of women's magazines, Good Housekeeping (1924-1954) and Ladies' Home Journal (1927-1949). I sometimes think today's young women would benefit from looking at the stereotypical way women used to be portrayed in publications like this (or in the display ads of any historical magazine).

Another great cultural resouce are old issues of Architectural Record, which the Library has from 1940 to 1970. Enthusiasts of mid-century design and decor will find a lot to enjoy there. Also, business is represented by Fortune from 1930 to 1974. It's a valuable primary source on the Great Depression.

There are also historical issues of news magazines, for contemporary takes on past events: The Nation (1926-1949), Newsweek (1937-1975), Time (1926-1974), and US News and World Report (1951-1974).

The Library has also retained a few important titles in the sciences (although please understand that the older scientific information is, the less accurate it's likely to be). Bound issues of National Geographic is held from 1920 to 1961, and Scientific American from 1930-1974.

And if you use these volumes in the library, please don't reshelve them! Because they don't check out, the only way we know they're being used is when we reshelve them. And we really like knowing they're being used!

Start a new hobby in the new year!

GenCrazy@evpl — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:36:00 GMT

Need a hobby? Try genealogy.

Said to be second only to gardening, genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in North America.

I have been doing genealogy since I was 15 years old. I now consider it more an addiction than a hobby, but it is not a bad addiction to have. There is usually an event that gets you started. For me, it was the death of my grandma. She had been in an orphanage as a child, but I really never understood why, so I decided to find out.

Many people wonder how to begin. The best way to start is by writing down what you already know. Your full name, your birth date, and birth place. You can verify the information by getting a copy of your birth certificate from the county health department. Write down the names of you mother and father and their dates of birth, birth places. Add marriage information. You can verify this with a copy of their marriage license. In order to find and verify information, you must figure out the state and county in which a birth, marriage or death occurred. The county is where you can find the vital records. There are many websites that can provide clues or facts that you can later verify. One is the Browning Obituary Database. It can be found at http://browning.evpl.org/. This database is great! You can find relatives you may not have known existed. If you are looking for a relative, but you are not sure if that person is still alive, you may want to check out the Social Security Death Index at http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/. There are likely many people with the same or similar names, so use more than one source to make sure you have the right person. You may find surprises along the way.

As you go back in time, the census records hold a wealth of information. Census information is only released 72 years after that census is taken. Generally, people are listed by household. Census records are by state, county and then by township. You may find out about relatives who died as children that you didn't know existed. You may find out that grandparents lived with their extended families.

Once you have found a little information, you can post queries or questions on various websites. Some sites are by county, some are by surname (last name), and some are by subject, like orphanages.

You can also check on military records. You many discover that one of your relatives fought in WWII, WWII or the Civil War; or that two brothers fought on opposite sides during that war.

As you look, don't be afraid to ask questions or post queries. Somebody out there may already know the answer or at least have some pieces to the puzzle. Most people who do genealogy are willing to share the information they find. The internet has made that easier.

Be careful not to give out too much information on people who are still living. Identity theft has become a large problem. Let me know how your search is going. Also feel free to send me questions if you get stuck.

Evansville Historical Records for Businesses and Immigrants

seeker@evpl — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:51:00 GMT

The people at the Browning Family Foundation, who brought you the Browning Genealogy Database (Evansville area newspaper obituaries) and contributed to the Local History Database, have constructed 3 more historical databases to help local history buffs!

If you're looking for an early business and want to know when it started or who started it, many businesses filed Articles of Association with the courts. The Browning Family Foundation volunteers and employees have indexed these records covering the 1850's up to the 1980's in the Evansville, IN Business Entity Database. The Simple Search allows you to search by the name of the business or by the names of the businessmen signing the Articles of Association, usually principal officers and major investors. The record you see will include the business name, type of business, and the names of associated businessmen. Advanced search can search on any portion or combination of business type (church, oil refinery, livestock), business name, individual's name or address.

If you're interested in early immigrants to this area, check out their 2nd database. The Evansville IN Immigration Database allows you to search the intentions to immigrate and naturalization papers from 1850's to 1920's filed in Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties. In Advanced search, you will be able to search by any combination of name (last or first), birth location or date, or country emigrated from. The records differ, but may give name, petition number & page & vol number, birth date & location, country emigrated from, arrival location or vessel or date, occupation, current address, names of family members, and notes the petitioner thought important to include. These books are old and fragile and are due to soon be sent to the Indiana State Archives. As time permits, photos of the original pages will be attached to the information already abstracted so that these important documents will still be available to genealogists.

The 3rd database, Browning Obituaries, is an ongoing work-in-progress to expand the information available in the Browning Genealogy Database with obituary information from 3 more counties: White County (IL), Gibson County, and Posey County. In some cases, this will include scans of the actual newspaper obituaries with photo. Additional information available includes records, photo, and biographical essays from the Browning Funeral Home.

I was delighted to try these databases out to see how much information is in them and how many different ways they are indexed. Genealogists and those interested in local history will be first in line, but they're rather intriguing just to poke around in. Kudos to the industrious people at Browning Family Foundation for their hard work in making these databases of valuable information available!

Get inspired to vote: American history art exhibition at Louisville museum

banksoftheohio@evpl — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:49:00 GMT

Based on this Courier-Journal review by Louisville attorney Richard Clay, I'm going to take a break from incessant TV election campaigning and get truly inspired to vote by visiting the Speed Art Museum. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery" runs from now through January 4, 2009. Check the Planning a Visit page for directions and other suggestions for organizing an easy, top notch day trip.

While we're on the subject, here's a link from the library catalog to Vote: the Machinery of Democracy, an online, interactive exhibition from the National Museum of American History.