September 1, 2015

The Spencer County Historical Society met on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 in the Rockport Library Genealogy Room.

The meeting was called to order by the president at 6:42 PM with seven members present.

The minutes from the last meeting were read and corrected.

(A member brought up the matter of the Society paying for insurance coverage on the contents of the Genealogy Room.  There had not been an index made of the materials in the room and it would be impossible to replace many of the books as they are out of print.  The president had talked with the librarian about the matter.  After discussing the issue, a motion was made and seconded for the Society not to renew the liability insurance when it comes due in December.  The motion carried.  Deleted the word liability.  We were not paying any liability insurance.)

The treasurer’s report was given.  The treasurer stated that membership renewal showed the Society has 41 members.  The newsletter that was just sent out had another reminder about renewing membership.

The president mentioned a member had a maul in his family’s possession which had little nails driven in it with the letters A L.  Family history says the maul was given to one of Abraham Lincoln’s neighbors, Barnabas Carter, by the Lincoln family when they left Lincoln City on their way to Illinois.  A member showed the maul to the members at the banquet in April of this year.  A group is going to meet to discuss the authenticity of the maul.  The president said that he had done some research on the Carter family in the Kentucky Room at the Owensboro Library.

A member is working with the “Think Lincoln” group on a bus tour in connection with the meeting of the Lincoln Presenters next year during the Indiana Bicentennial.  He had a booklet he had made of the different locations the tour would be visiting.

A member reminded the Society that the State Historian would be visiting Spencer County in March or April of 2016 for a ceremony concerning Daniel Grass.  Grass is buried behind the South Spencer County School Corporation’s Superintendent’s office on Fifth Street in Rockport.  He felt someone should meet with him to show the county’s important historical locations in Spencer County.

A member informed the Society the reason for the visit to Daniel Grass’s grave was due to the fact they were going to visit the graves of all 43 original signers of Indiana’s first Constitution.  The State Archives was in charge of this project.  

It was mentioned that John Jennings of Corydon was the first Governor of the State of Indiana.  The city of Corydon is doing a lot of work in fixing up the first courthouse in Corydon.

The first map of the State of Indiana was made in 1817.  Some members mentioned they had a copy of the first map.  The State had sent out a map made in 1819 stating that it was the first map.  They sent a copy of the correct map to the State.

A member asked if the Society was going to have a Historian of the Year Banquet again.  Everyone felt we should continue for at least another year.  We will have more discussion at the November meeting.

It was also discussed that the Society would not be having meetings in October 2015, December 2015, and January 2016.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.  The motion carried.  The meeting adjourned at 7:54 PM.

The next meeting will be November 3, 2015 at 6:30 PM in the Genealogy Room.