In a message dated 8/30/01 1:57:33 PM US Mountain Standard Time,
elizabethrusso(a)home.com writes:
<< I was searching for old Kentucky and Indiana maps without success, so I'm
hoping someone can answer this:
Was any part of Jefferson County or surrounding counties a part of Kentucky
in 1815 or before?
Thank you, Elizabeth >>
I posted an answer to this earlier and I have found my print out and the book
is named EARLY SETTLERS OF INDIANA'S "GORE" 1803 TO 1820 compiled and
edited
by Shirley Keller Mikesell pub HERITAGE BOOKS,INC.
IN was in the Northwest Territory that was Ohio and not KY as the Ohio River
seemed to be the boundry line at that time. The book tells of the early
counties and their forming, where records were kept and that in 1826 a court
house burned and many records were lost. The book is a list of early
counties and the people that lived in these counties. Last page I copied was
401 Vanmeter so it is a good sized book with a lot of names in it. I would
say that most libraries have the book as it is a very useful research tool.
I learned early on that you go back to school in genealogy as you need to
study maps of the time of ancestors as the states, counties and boundries
changed as our country grew and people moved WEST.
I have printouts of KY and VA from their beginnings to today and the counties
started out lg in KY and got smaller as time passed, VA started small on the
coast and went larger as they expanded west. Then VA broke off lands that
became other states. These states and yrs. are very important to ones
research.
There is a story I read of an old man that lived on his farm from the day he
was born to the day he died and lived in three states and several counties in
his lifetime.
All documented. That is how our country grew.
I have a 4 in note book full of maps that I use along with maps with indian
trails, wagon roads and river routes. Maps help you find counties that were
large at one time and shrank with the influx of immagrants. There is no
easy way unless you want to hire a professional to do your research and then
you can't be certain that all is correct.
Beej in AZ