Madison County historian reappointed

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MADISON COUNTY — The Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Historical Bureau recently announced Stephen T. Jackson has been reappointed as the official Madison County Historian.

Jackson, 74, of Anderson is one of dozens of people across the state working with the County Historian Program, which the two organizations established in 1981 in an effort to improve the historical communication network in Indiana.

In this role, Jackson serves as a liaison between statewide agencies and organizations, IHS officials said in a press release. Jackson also answers questions from the public about local and family history.

Jackson has presented more than 600 programs to various groups and organizations across the county, including ones in Pendleton, Lapel, Markleville and Ingalls.

“I do a lot of research is those areas and (have had) a lot of contact with a lot of people (there),” Jackson said.

One project he worked on — which he said is probably his most significant work since becoming county historian in 2008 — involved the records of 2,500 children who were residents of the county’s two former orphanages (1885-1970).

In 2008, Jackson received permission from Madison County Superior Court to relocate the records to his office at the Madison County History Center.

For the next six months, two Madison County Historical Society volunteers indexed them, according to IHS information.

Jackson then made them public in July of 2009. Since then, 108 families who had lost contact with loved ones have been reunited by accessing records of family members who were former residents of the orphanages.

“That touched an awful lot of people in a very positive way,” Jackson said.

In December 2012, the IHS presented Jackson with the Hubert Hawkins History Award, given annually to a local historian for his or her distinguished service and career in local history.

For more information about the County Historian Program and other IHS resources and events, call 317-232-1882. A directory of county historians is available online at www.indianahistory.org.

A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains a research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a set of visitor exhibits and experiences.

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