Indiana and Indianans. Jacob Piatt Dunn. (1919) 2007. Frequently cited in biographies of the Indianans, Dunn's five-volume history of Indiana is both thorough and readable. Beginning with prehistoric times, the writer carries the reader through each era from Indian settlement to the 1900s.<br><br> Readers stopping to read a particular entry are likely to find themselves completing the chapter before moving on to the next item of interest. <br>The first 8 chapters provide a chronological history. These are follow by separate chapters on the medical history; education; transportation, commerce and industry; charities and correction; temperance; and New Harmony. The second volume ends with two chapters on the word Hoosier and the Hoosier character. Details abound. The reader finds everything from a description of how soldiers cooked their food during the War of 1812 to the detailed demise of a poorly operated bank. <br>Although the first two volumes are liberally sprinkled with names of the individuals involved in the state's history on the local and state level, the final two volumes are composed of biographies of these and other individuals living throughout the state. Ranging from a single paragraph to two pages, they provide extended detail often identifying the emigrant's county of origin, parents, grandparents and even great grandparents-tracking their migration from Europe through the eastern states to Indiana. Individuals named range from first generation German immigrants to descendants of Hessian soldiers who served during the Revolution. Details include specific dates of birth and death, service in the Revolution through World War I and European origins in some instances as specific as an 18th century county of origin in Ireland. The ability to search these volumes for individual names, places and events enhances its value as a research tool.
