Indiana Colonial Records

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Colonial Records

History

During the early to mid 1700s, France established several trading posts in Indiana. At the end of the French and Indian War, in 1763, France ceded Indiana to the British. In 1784 indiana became part of the Northwest Territory, and then its own territory in 1800. Indiana became a state in 1816.

Ecclesiastical Records and Sources

The first Catholic parish in Indiana was Saint Francis Xavier in 1734, established by Jesuit missionaries. The Diocese of Vincennes covered both Indiana and Illinois.

• Parish registers, 1749-1786 of Catholic Church. St. François Xavier de Ouabache (Vincennes, Indiana), film 1026606 Item 2. Digital images only.
• Parish registers, 1780-1960 of Catholic Church. St. Francis Xavier (Vincennes, Indiana), film 1433361-1433365. Digital images (most are indexed).
• A History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes by Herman Joseph Alerding, (Indianapolis: Carlon and Hollenbeck, 1883, film 0928082).
• The Catholic Church in the Meeting of Two Frontiers by Fintan Glenn Walker, (New York: AMS Press, 1974).

Civil Records and Sources

• Census of indiana Territory for 1807, (Indianapolis: Indiana historical Society, 1980, film 1033927).
• Documents Relating to the French Settlements on the Wabash by Jacob Piatt Dunn, (Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill, 1894, film 1320754).

Additional Reading

• Indiana to 1816: The Colonial Period by John Donald Barnhart, (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and Indiana historical Society, 1971).
• A History of the City of Vincennes, Indiana from 1702-1901 by Henry Sullivan Cauthorn, (Vincennes: M.C. Cauthorn, 1902, film 0934909).
• A History of Indiana: From Its Earliest Exploration by the Europeans the Close of the Territorial Government, in 1816,; Comprehending a History of the Discovery Settlement and Civil and military Affairs of the Territory of the U.S. Northwest of the River Ohio and a General View of the Progress of Public Affairs in Indiana from 1816-1856 by John Brown Dillon, (Indianapolis: Bingham and Doughty, 1859, fiche 6051127).
• The Colonial history of Vincennes: Under the French, British, and American Governments, from its First Settlement down to the Territorial Administration of General William Henry Harrison by John Law, (1858, reprint, Fort Way: Allen County Public Library, 1987).
• Historical Sketch of Old Vincennes, Founded in 1732: Its Institutions and Churches, Embracing Collateral Incidents, and Biographical Sketches of Many Persons and Events Connected Therewith by Hubbard Madison Smith, (1902, reprint, Vincennes: Vincennes Historical and Antiquarian Society, n.d., fiche 601939).
• Preliminary Checklist of Archives and manuscripts in Indiana Repositories by Donald E. Thompson, (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1980).