Robert J. Elvin scrapbook on the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
Collection — Box: L715
Identifier: L715
Scope and Contents
This collection includes Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad passenger and freight totals from June 1840-May 1841 and expenditures from March 30, 1842-September 1842. Notably, plats of a proposed railroad depot in Indianapolis, Indiana by engineers A.W. Morris and T.A. Morris dating from March 25, 1825 are included as well as an 1846 survey of railroad approaches to Indianapolis. A Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad broadside with route information, circulars, correspondence, including staff appointment information, time tables (1861-1864) and railroad passenger tickets can be found within the collection. A list of expenditures from the Madison and Peru Railroad from August 1856 to the late 1850s is also present. An Act dated July 24, 1843 from N.B. Palmer, President of the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad is one of the last railroad-related items in the scrapbook.
The scrapbook also includes several bird's eye views of Franklin, Indiana (undated); Louisville, Kentucky (1883) and Madison, Indiana (1887). A political broadside of President Ulysses S. Grant notates several stops along the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad for citizens of Indiana to meet him (December 9, 1879). Elvin included several flyers, clippings and a lithograph describing the Southern Exposition, a 5-year series of world's fairs held in Lousiville, Kentucky from 1883-1887.
The scrapbook also includes several bird's eye views of Franklin, Indiana (undated); Louisville, Kentucky (1883) and Madison, Indiana (1887). A political broadside of President Ulysses S. Grant notates several stops along the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad for citizens of Indiana to meet him (December 9, 1879). Elvin included several flyers, clippings and a lithograph describing the Southern Exposition, a 5-year series of world's fairs held in Lousiville, Kentucky from 1883-1887.
Dates
- 1842-1893
Creator
- Elvin, Robert John, 1811-1901 (Person)
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.
Biographical Note
Robert John Elvin was born to Gardner and Mary Elvin of Wells, England on January 5, 1811. He immigrated to the United States during 1830. Robert married Esther Higbee on September 9, 1841 in Indiana. According to the Engineering News and the American Railway Journal, Elvin assisted in the construction of the Ohio and Pennsyvlania Canal until the project was suspended in 1837. He lived in Jeffersonville, Indiana and was a purchasing agent for the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad. Robert died on March 30, 1901 in Indianapolis, Indiana and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1901; Roll: 09.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Engineering News and the American Railway Journal. Vol. 45. New York, NY: The Engineering News Publishing Company, 1901. Pg. 113.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1901; Roll: 09.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Engineering News and the American Railway Journal. Vol. 45. New York, NY: The Engineering News Publishing Company, 1901. Pg. 113.
Historical Note
The Madison, Indianapolis and Lafayette Railroad Company was chartered in 1832, only completing engineering surveys. It then became the the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, the first in Indiana, incorporated in 1836, when Indiana legislators mandated it as part of the Internal Improvement Act. Construction began in Madison, Indiana and was completed to Indianapolis in 1847. Its importance was in linking the Ohio River to the interior of the state, including the state capitol. Initially owned by the state, it was later sold and had to compete with other railroads.
In January 1854 it consolidated with the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad Company but a court injunction terminated the merged in September 1854. Reorganized from bankruptcy in 1866 as the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad, which then merged with the Jeffersonville Railroad on April 30, 1866, becoming the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company. The line then became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1869.
Sources:
"Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad. Wikipedia. Retrieved 2016/03/21]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffersonville,_Madison_and_Indianapolis_Railroad
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. https://secure,in.gov/history/markers/33.htm
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://www.maxinkuckee.history.pasttracker.com/vandalia_history/indianapolis_madison.htm
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Jefferson County Historical Society: Railroad History. Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://jchs.net/research/railroad-history
"The Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://www.ahgp.org/in/madison-andindianapolis-railroad.html
"Madison Railroad Incline Cut". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://nps.gov/nr/travel/madison/Madison_Railroad_Incline_Cut.html
In January 1854 it consolidated with the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad Company but a court injunction terminated the merged in September 1854. Reorganized from bankruptcy in 1866 as the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad, which then merged with the Jeffersonville Railroad on April 30, 1866, becoming the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company. The line then became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1869.
Sources:
"Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad. Wikipedia. Retrieved 2016/03/21]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffersonville,_Madison_and_Indianapolis_Railroad
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. https://secure,in.gov/history/markers/33.htm
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://www.maxinkuckee.history.pasttracker.com/vandalia_history/indianapolis_madison.htm
"Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Jefferson County Historical Society: Railroad History. Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://jchs.net/research/railroad-history
"The Madison and Indianapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://www.ahgp.org/in/madison-andindianapolis-railroad.html
"Madison Railroad Incline Cut". Retrieved 2016/03/21. http://nps.gov/nr/travel/madison/Madison_Railroad_Incline_Cut.html
Extent
1 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection includes one oversize scrapbook.
Custodial History
This collection was received as a donation to the Indiana Division on September 17, 1907. The scrapbook was transferred to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division during October 2019.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing and finding aid completed by Bethany Fiechter on 2019/11/26.
- Franklin (Ind.)
- Indianapolis (Ind.)
- Jeffersonville (Ind.)
- Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
- Louisville (Ky.)
- Madison County (Ind.)
- Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company
- Railroad industry
- Railroad maps
- Railroad rails
- Railroads -- Passenger service
- Scrapbooks
- Southern Exposition (Louisville, Ky.)
Creator
- Elvin, Robert John, 1811-1901 (Person)
- Title
- Robert J. Elvin scrapbook on the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
- 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
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
