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Indiana and Michigan boundary collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1491

Scope and Contents

This collection contains photostats of correspondence copied from the General Land Office (GLO) records ranging from 1816 to 1835 regarding the boundary between Indiana and Michigan. Correspondents include Josiah Meigs, commissioner of GLO (1814-1822); George Graham, commissioner of the GLO (1823-1830); Elijah Hayward, commissioner of the GLO (1830-1835); Edward Tiffin, Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory, Chillicothe, Ohio (1814-1829); Micajah T. Williams, Surveyor General at Cincinnati; and John M. Moore, chief clerk of the GLO.

This collection also includes a typewritten copy of "The Old Stateline Monument - Hidden Relic of 100 Years Ago" by Frank Mayo from the May 2, 1942 Economist; typewritten copies of H.R. No. 24, an 1816 bill passed "to enable the people of Indiana Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union, on an equal footing with the original States" and other documents regarding the bill; typewritten excerpts from a book printed for the 1835 Michigan Constitutional Convention, Appeal by the Convention of Michigan, to the People of the United States: With Other Documents, in Relation to the Boundary Question Between Michigan and Ohio; and correspondence and notes ranging from 1926 to 1927 regarding the research of the boundary between Indiana and Michigan by correspondents Mrs. Frank J. Sheehan of the Indiana State House Library and Historical Department, Newton D. Mereness, archivist of the Conference of State Historical Agencies of the Upper Mississippi Valley, and Christopher B. Coleman and Esther U. McNitt of the Indiana State Library.

Dates

  • 1816-1942

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

The Northwest Territory was formed after the Revolutionary War and included land that is now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The Land Ordinance of 1785 allowed the sale of land in the Territory and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a government for the Territory and outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union. Public land administration was initially handled by three federal agencies - Treasury, War, and the State. In 1812, Congress created the General Land Office (GLO) to take over the public land duties of the three agencies. The GLO functioned as a bureau within the Treasury Department and was in charge of surveying and the sale of public lands, including the land in the Northwest Territory. The GLO was transferred to the newly created Interior Department in 1849.

The Indiana Territory was established in 1800 and was admitted to the Union as the 19th state on December 11, 1816. The Michigan Territory was established in 1805 and became the 26th state in 1837. When the Michigan Territory was organized, the northern boundary of Indiana became the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Later, when Indiana became a state, Congress moved the boundary 10 miles north to give Indiana part of Lake Michigan.

Sources:

Information within collection.

Bureau of Land Management. "Our Record Keeping History." General Land Office Records. Accessed April 4, 2018. https://glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=01_GLO_Records|01_Our_Record_Keeping_History.

Library of Congress. "Northwest Ordinance." Primary documents in American History. Accessed April 4, 2018. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/northwest.html.

Extent

0.02 Cubic Feet (2 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts from the research records of Indiana State Library librarians Christopher B. Coleman and Esther U. McNitt.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2018/04/24 by Laura Eliason. EAD finding aid created 2018/04/24 by Laura Eliason.
Title
Indiana and Michigan boundary collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671