Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Historical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Cataloging Information
Processed by
Wilma L. Gibbs
27 August 1997
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 folder
COLLECTION DATES: 1996
PROVENANCE: Indiana Heritage Research Grant #95-3031
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
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1997.0609
NOTES: The research paper in this collection was completed in compliance with an Indiana Heritage Research Grant, #95-3031. The grantee was the Northern Indiana Center for History, 808 West Washington Avenue, South Bend, Indiana 46601.
The Northern Indiana Center for History applied for and received an Indiana Heritage Research Grant (IHRG) from the Indiana Humanities Council and the Indiana Historical Society. The purpose of the grant was to complete a project, "Was Freedom Dead or Only Sleeping," an overview of African Americans in La Porte County before 1870. The project researcher was Terry Douglas Goldsworthy. According to the grant abstact, several products would result from the project: 1) research findings to be submitted to Black History News & Notes or the Indiana Magazine of History for publication consideration; 2) compilation of population census index and abstract of all La Porte County African Americans that appear in the 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses; and 3) slide lecture program of introduction of African Americans in the county and non-African Americans reaction to issues of race and slavery. [Program to be made available to school teachers (grades 4 to 12), local organizations, and churches, etc. Copies to be deposited at the Northern Indiana Center for History (in the Education Department and the Vincent Bendix Library) and at the media center of the La Porte High School.)].
Source: Materials in the collection
The collection, contained in one folder, has three parts. There is a one-sheet abstract, an unpublished manuscript, and an index to four United States decennial censuses. The abstract outlines the project. It includes the project title and number, the project sponsor and address, and a summary of the planned results of the project. A ten-page manuscript entitled "Was Freedom Dead or Only Sleeping?: the pre 1870 African American Rural Communities of La Porte County, Indiana," by Terry Douglas Goldsworthy names William Greenwood alias Randall, a free black man, as the first known African American in the county. His name appears in the La Porte County Commissioners records in 1834. Goldsworthy identifies Banks, Henderson, and Clear Lake as three African American rural communities that evolve in the county during the 1830s, 1850s, and 1860s, respectively. The final item in the folder is an index and abstract of all African Americans in La Porte County who appear in the 1840 to 1870 United States Population Schedules.
MAIN ENTRY: Northern Indiana Center for History
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Afro-Americans--Indiana--La Porte County--History
La Porte County (Ind.)--Population--History
La Porte County (Ind.)--Race relations
ADDED ENTRIES: Goldsworthy, Terry Douglas
Indiana Heritage Research Grant
END