March 7, 2017

The Spencer County Historical Society met on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in the Rockport Library Genealogy Room.

The meeting was called to order by the president at 6:35 PM with twelve members present.

The minutes from the last meeting were read and approved.

The treasurer’s report was given. 

The secretary read several items she had seen and received.

The president mentioned he had met in the library recently with a man from the Gentryville area and the Genealogy Room librarian to make copies for a new folder in the local history files.  It is a folder about Pigeon Switch.  It contains information from the United Brethren Church at Lincoln City.  There is a picture of the church showing the Lincoln City School in the background.

A member discussed the property boundaries of the Lincoln farm and stated Thomas was not the inept farmer many people believed him to be.  He purchased property to the west of the farm in order to gain possession of the spring for his family.

A member told of some donations for the Genealogy Room which the Society had received -- an original booklet from the July 4, 1930 pageant and several old Lamar phone directories from 1930 and 1937 as well as a 1959 Ladies Birthday Almanac.

He also showed the Heritage Cemetery sign which he had received from the Indiana Historical Bureau to be placed near the Rockport Pioneer Cemetery which is located behind the South Spencer County School Corporation office on South Fifth Street.  He also had a directional arrow that would be placed with the sign showing the direction of the cemetery.

A new member who is a great nephew of Kate Snyder Buse, the first graduate of Rockport High School, told the story of how Kate received her name.  Kate was born into a family of seven brothers.  Her mother said she needed a strong name, so she was named after Kate Quantrill, wife of the head of Quantrill Raiders.

He also mentioned that the last graduating class of Rockport High School contained another descendant of Kate Snyder Buse, Bob Snyder.

The question of having an Historian of the Year Banquet was discussed.  Since the time of the year for having the annual banquet was past, it was suggested that the banquet be later in the year and possibly with a different format.  One suggestion was to have the presentation at one of the county’s high schools as a way to entice younger adults to become members of the Society.  The item was tabled to be discussed more at the next meeting.  

The president reported about the Lincoln Day Program held on February 12, 2017, honoring Abraham Lincoln and his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln.  He mentioned that a member gave an excellent eulogy at the gravesite and his eulogy basically disputed many things the speaker had said about Abraham Lincoln and his connection to Spencer County.     

The president also mentioned that Lincoln historian, Steve Haaff, was going to be meeting with Daniel Weinberg of Chicago, Illinois, owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, to have the Lincoln mallet appraised.  The owners of the Lincoln mallet are considering selling the item.  They have been contacted by several auction houses about purchasing the mallet.

The president had a photo on his phone showing a discovery he had made in Newtonville recently.  It was of a stone from a grist mill that had been brought back to Newtonville from Kentucky in the 1820’s.  He had read articles about the stone and was amazed that he had found the item which its present owner had found under his house by the chimney.

Another new member informed the Society the Indiana legislature is trying to get a law passed requiring the high schools to have a semester class in Indiana history.  Indiana history used to be taught in the eighth grade and then was moved down to the fourth grade.  The legislator introducing the bill wants high school students to be more aware of Indiana’s history when they graduate as they feel students don’t always remember what they learned in the fourth grade.

A member told of an upcoming meeting at the Dubois Museum in Jasper, Indiana, on Saturday, March 11, 2017, discussing historical markers.

The president said that he would like to form a committee to start going over ideas for the future Bicentennial Celebration for Spencer County (1818 - 2018).  He is going to have a group meeting at his house for this purpose.

A member had an idea for the committee -- get in contact with local librarians and put a notice in the local papers stating that the committee would like to have items that are of historical interest to the community.  The libraries would have a scanner available so pictures or articles could be scanned and documented for their historical information.  That way the original owner would not have to relinquish their items.  

All in attendance agreed that it was a very informative and successful meeting.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried.  The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

The next meeting will be April 4, 2017, at 6:30 PM in the Genealogy Room.