INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana State Library’s popular Genealogy and Local History Fair will return to downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, Oct. 26. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the library’s History Reference Room.
This year’s theme is “At the Crossroads of America: Westward Migration and Family History.” Presenters will examine where the ancestors of many Americans went after they arrived in the United States and how they got there. Attendees are also be encouraged to visit the exhibition hall to collect information from genealogy and local history organizations and to shop the commercial vendors.
Eleanor Brinsko will present “Westward Ho: Migrations Methods of the United States.” Brinsko will focus on the people who have called the land called America “home” and the methods they chose to migrate across the country. Questions like “How did they get to their chosen place of settlement?” and “What modes of transportation were available?” will be answered.
Annette Burke Lyttle will present “How Advertising Brought Our Ancestors to the Midwest.” Business owners, land speculators, and communities wishing to grow all turned to various forms of advertising to entice people to migrate to the Midwestern territories and states. Lyttle will look at what messages these ads used to make hard work and pioneer living seem attractive.
Lyttle will also present “The National Road: America’s First Federal Highway.” Built between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was America’s first federally funded highway. Extending from Maryland to the frontier of Illinois, this migration route allowed thousands of people to settle in the Midwest.
Click here to register and to read more details about the presentations and speakers. Registration is not necessary to attend but is preferred.
The Indiana State Library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. Parking validation will be available for attendees who park in the Senate Avenue parking garage directly across from the library and bring in their ticket for validation.
