Collection #:
SC 1666

JOHN CASPAR HIRSHBRUNNER
AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Cataloging Information

Processed by
Chris Harter
2 October 1997
Updated 2 November 2004

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

collection INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 folder

COLLECTION DATES: 1900; 1997

PROVENANCE: Melita J. Campbell, West Lafayette, IN, December 1979, 26 June 1997

RESTRICTIONS: None

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE FORMATS: None

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

RELATED HOLDINGS: None

ACCESSION NUMBERS: 1979.1216; 1997.0580

NOTES: The typescript of John C. Hirshbrunner's autobiography was loaned to the Indiana Historical Society by Melita J. Campbell for copying in December, 1979. The word-processed version of the typescript was donated to IHS by her in 1997.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

John Caspar Hirshbrunner (1825-1916) was a native of Berne, Switzerland. He was educated in public schools, and worked as a journeyman tanner until 1851, when he came to the United States. In 1853, Hirshbrunner married Elizabeth Weidman (1825-1892), who had also immigrated from Switzerland. They moved to Indianapolis, where Hirshbrunner engaged in the tanning business, that same year. They had seven children: Lena (1854-56), Lena (b. 1857), Bertha (b. 1859), Matilda (b. 1861) John G. (b. 1863), Mary L. (b. 1866) and Jacob Andrew (b. 1868).

In 1856, Hirshbrunner and his family moved to Terre Haute, where he continued in the tanning business. They moved to Parke County in 1859, and settled in Lusk Springs in 1866. In 1880, he sold his tannery. Hirshbrunner lived in Rockville in his later life.

Sources: Material in the collection.
History of Vigo and Parke Counties, Indiana (1880) p. 454-55.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of a photocopied, 16-page typescript of the autobiography of John Caspar Hirshbrunner. The autobiography was dictated to his son, John, in 1900. It contain descriptions of his childhood and youth in Switzerland, accounts of his years as a journeyman tanner, his immigration to the United States, and his life in Indiana. Also included are two pages of notes by his great-granddaughter, Melita Campbell.

The collection also contains The Autobiography of John Caspar Hirshbrunner, a word-processed and bound version of the earlier typescript. It was edited by Sally Goeke, a great-great-granddaughter of Hirshbrunner, and includes copies of photographs from the family photo collection.

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/

2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3. Select  "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 1666).

5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.