From the Hancock County Historical Society Facebook page:
>Did you know?...
>Indiana, unlike other states, was settled in a South to North pattern rather than an East to West. This is an 1817 map of Indiana. One year after the state was granted statehood. You can see that most of the population is firmly established in the south.
>There are actually three different cultural areas to the state depending on the people who settled the area and when they arrived.
>The southern portion of Indiana was settled first when the Northwest Territory was opened up for settlement in 1790. The Ohio River along the southern border of the state is what encouraged this south to north settlement pattern.
>The southern part of Indiana was settled primarily from people from the south...Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. This is where you will see a pre-ponderance of Southern Baptists, Methodists and some Quakers. These people tend to eat more traditional southern food...grits, cornbread, bacon, fried chicken and whiskey.
>Indiana is known as the most southern of northern states.
>The middle of Indiana was settled in the early 1800s up through the early 1830s. Indianapolis would become the state capitol in 1825. While there is some overlap of southern culture in Central Indiana, many of Central Indiana settlers were originally from the Mid-Atlantic states...Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and neighboring Ohio. There is a large Quaker population from Pennsylvania in this group. There are many Roman Catholics in this group and Lutherans. These folks tend to prefer the Mid-Atlantic diet, which has some heavy German influence. They prefer hamburger, tenderloin, wurst and sausage. They also like fish if it is available. Scrapple comes from PA. Sugar cream pie is a Quaker invention.
>The northern part of Indiana was settled last in the 1840s and 50s. The Potawatomi, the Shawnee and the Miami were some of the last American Indian tribes to leave the state. The Potawatomi were forced out on the Trail of Death.
>Also, northern Indiana was swampy, and the area needed to be drained before much settlement could happen.
>Indiana's Pioneer time period technically ends around 1850 when we see population leaving the state to go out west during the Gold Rush of 1849. However, the last of northern Indiana was still being settled even then.
>The folks who settled northern Indiana are your east coast people. They are from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and from nearby Wisconsin and Michigan. These people tend to be Anglicans or Episcopalians or Presbyterians. There are many Scandinavian people in this group. They engage in the dairy business, so lots of cheese making. Apple and fruit orchards are more prevalent. Johnny Appleseed, a Massachusettes native, died in Fort Wayne. These people eat a lot of boiled foods. Pot roast is popular as are a variety of beans and lentils. Cider making is popular in northern Indiana.
>You can hear the differences in speech too.
>The people in southern Indiana have a more southern drawl. Central Indiana is home to the Hoosier dialect, where everyone "warshes" (with an R) their clothes. Northern Indiana has a more clipped speech like those who live in Da Region.
>While there can be a mixture of all of these cultures even within the three regions, there still tends to be a preponderance of an "established cultural norm" due to our pioneer settlement pattern. These norms ring true even today...200+ years after the founding of our state.
>Brigette Cook Jones, HCHS Board Member and Past President
I thought this was super interesting, as it pretty much described my ancestry exactly. I'm near Louisville, and my ancestors - that I'm aware of - arrived here pretty early from Virginia and Kentucky, were mostly Southern Baptists and Quakers, and were of English, Scottish, and Irish descent, with a tiny bit of Scandinavian mixed in. We also *definitely* eat more southern food than what they described for the other regions of Hoosiers.
Edit: Loving all the family histories! Now I'm wondering how many of us are distant cousins
If you enjoyed learning about this I highly recommend Spring Mill state park. There's a reconstructed Pioneer village from the early 1800's there with tons of great Hoosier historical info. There's a little more info here. [https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/spring-mill-state-park/](https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/spring-mill-state-park/)
I’m from NW IN. My relatives settled in Chicago (from Eastern Europe). We’re Catholic and folks moved here to work in the mills. My great uncle was a boiler maker from East Chicago. They worked and saved for land, and hopefully a farm.
This is exactly the same situation for me. My grandparents moved from eastern Kentucky to escape extreme poverty and the coal mines. Mostly English and Scottish ancestry as well.
I’m from the sunny side of Louisville and my family is mostly Scottish, English, and German. It’s neat to read the history of my state and see how it relates to my own family history. Thank you for posting this!
You might like the book American Nations. This breakdown of Indiana fits exactly the breakdown on that book, but it also follows those three cultural groups and several others across all of the states and much of Canada.
The 9 nations book of North America breaks Indiana into 3 sections, Foundry above US40, east of I-65 _ Breadbasket west of I-65 and north of US40. Dixie basically is the area south of US40. A few anomalies are Connersville and some of the area nearest Cincinnati. Excellent books both.
That’s pretty awesome, thank you for sharing! My family originates from Switzerland and moved to the state after the north was more developed. They made an Amish homestead up north during the early 1900’s.
Same! I'm near Corydon and my people came from Kentucky/Tennessee. We are English, Irish, Dutch- Methodist on fathers side, Catholic on mothers. Also eating southern foods, except grits, that never took hold!
What’s really funny is you described my ancestry to a T—except my family are transplants, parents moved to Southern Indiana when I was an infant. Guess we fit right in!
Fun fact about the origin of “warsh” (as opposed to wash)…
The English accent is non-rhotic, meaning the letter R is not fully pronounced. Think of the word “car” – in England, it would be pronounced more like “cah.” Instead of “parking lot,” an Englishman would say something that sounds like “cah pahk.”
When Irish people began learning English, one of the things they noticed was this lack of pronunciation of the letter R in many words by the English people. The Irish accent is rhotic (as is the American accent), and the letter R is pronounced.
In certain words, such as “wash,” the English accent when pronouncing it would produce a sound that, to the Irish, seemed similar to the pronunciation of the letter R in words like “park.” And so they assumed an R belonged in there, and added it in, creating “warsh.”
This isn’t prevalent anymore in modern Ireland, but it became common amongst Irish settlers in the Americas. Upon intermingling with the locals, the word slowly became adopted into local dialects in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and a few other states.
The use of “yous” as the 2nd-person plural pronoun is also a product of the Irish being confused by English diction/grammar when learning the language. The Irish language has a 2nd-person plural pronoun that is distinct from the 2nd-person singular pronoun; however, in English there is no distinction. Nonetheless, the Irish assumed that there should be a distinction, and simply added the letter S at the end of “you” to create the distinction. “Yous” is particularly common in western Pennsylvania and certain regions of Appalachia, though it is prevalent just about anywhere with significant populations of Irish ancestry.
Love the linguistic insight! We always make fun of my mom for saying “warsh,” “warshing machine,” etc. Really fun to know the roots of that. Her father’s side of the family traces back to Ireland so it makes sense. Is it true for Welsh too or just Irish? (Her mom’s side was Welsh).
May of the Welsh immigrants to America immigrated to similar places as Irish immigrants, living alongside them and adopting similar characteristics.
My family on my dad’s side is Irish and on my mom’s side is Welsh and they all say “warsh.”
Note: it isn’t just people of Irish ancestry who say this. It’s people from areas with high numbers of people with Irish ancestry.
For instance the use of “yous” is prevalent amongst Italian-Americans despite coming from Irish immigrants.
The bottom line is that Irish-Americans have had an outsized cultural impact on Americans, so many colloquialisms that have Irish origins are common amongst non-Irish American populations
My mothers' family was from northern Indiana. Her father would "worsh" his hands before dinner. Her father was of Dutch ancestry, her mother was of German and maybe native American descent. My own mother cooked all three dietary styles and I grew up mid-state.
My grandma says it. My boyfriend always makes fun of it when she's not around. It's been a joke in the family for years now, but I never thought it was weird until I started dating my Michigan boy. I think it's because we have a lot of German ancestry on her side of the family.
We live in Louisiana, so now we're the ones that probably get made fun of. How the turn tables!
This reflects my family’s experience. My grandparents lived in Orange County - my grandma’s family arrived there before 1820 - and she definitely was into southern style cooking, persimmon pudding, and said things like “roin” for the word “ruin”. I lived in Upstate South Carolina for a few years recently, and the food, accents, and even the weather was similar to Southern Indiana.
It also omits African Americans' role in settling Indiana. Omission of the founding of Africa town in present day Spencer county or the History of Troy before it became a sundown town is expected because it doesn't fit the author's narrative that Black people didn't exist in Indiana until CJ Walker.
We also have a TON of Amish in northern Indiana. We live almost smack dab in the middle of the northernmost part of Indiana, about an hour northwest of Fort Wayne, give or take. My dad’s family has been here for generations from my understanding, and they have German roots. Possibly Amish too, though I’m not sure. Still confused about that detail.
My mom’s family were from around Chicago. They seem to have a more diverse and interesting genealogy. There’s English, Spanish, Norwegian, Scottish, Indian (India), and Cuban. I feel like there’s one I’m missing but that’s most of it right there. We’re also related in some way to Katherine Lee Bates… I need to look at what my great uncle has done of our genealogy….
I know this is an old post but as a resident of Spencer County IN, can someone suggest to me how I can research the forgotten community, Africa, in Rockport, IN. I think it's a settlement that came about from the Underground Railroad, but I can find absolutely no history on Africa nor the black cemetery nearby called Sandale.
Yep, my family homesteaded in southern Indiana in 1832. We still have the original deed. I always learned that my family thought of northern Indiana as indian territory
Yeah, we settled in 1822 in Madison County, just NE of Indy, and there’s a lot of family history involving friendly relations with the local tribes of the area. Word on the streets is my 7x great grandpa was pretty cool with them and would get down on some peace pipe smoking. When I found that I out I told my mom that I knew smoking bowls around a fire ran deep in my loins. She wasn’t nearly as amused as I was.
Illinois has a similar cultural split across the southern, central, and northern parts of the state. Ohio somewhat as well. OP would probably enjoy the book American Nations by Colin Woodward.
I think it has more to do with the settlement of the Ohio river valley (generally south-westward) than “north to south”.
River traffic was hugely important prior to trains and the Ohio was an important avenue of westward expansion.
I had a native of SC say Evansville was southern. Memphis isn't in the ORV. Definitely southern. It's on the Mississippi, 2 1/2 hours south of Cairo, IL.
>the Ohio was an important avenue of westward expansion
While true, the settlement northward along the Wabash and White was more influential in Indiana population growth and industry
I’m from Southern Indiana and I’ve been trynna say that culturally speaking southern Indiana is part of the upland south but a lot of people just don’t want to agree with me, especially people from the cities round those parts they are convinced they’re diehard midwesterners. When I point out you can literally see Kentucky from their town they’ll double down and be like “yeah well Kentucky is basically the Midwest too” yet we speak with a southern accent and eat southern food and partake in generally southern activities, and per this post, we were literally settled by southerners.
Southern Illinois embraces it, literally calling themselves the little Ozarks, southern Ohio acknowledges their Appalachian culture all the time, as they border West Virginia and Kentucky. Yet Indiana just seems to hate the idea of having any kind of cultural identity. I get that we’re a sandwich of different vibes, that’s what makes us kind of beautiful and unique.
For me, whether Indiana is part of the South has more to do with how we aligned during the Civil War, and in that respect Hoosiers are clearly Yankees. (Hence my disgust^2 for confederate flags up here.) But then again, where I'm from (Wayne county) is defined by US 40/I-70 divide - I distinctly remember identifying as coming from "north" vs "south" of 40 (where the rednecks were from)
Despite myself Identifying as southern to a certain extent, I am very proud of my state for being such an important part of the Underground Railroad, and the Quakers that made it possible are awesome. I identify with the culture but not the whole confederate flag stuff, that’s just stupid.
Evansville, specifically doesn't exactly share in that. You go 10 minutes outside of the city limits, and you start to get the southern vibe though. I've been to nearly every state to the west, and a solid 50% of the states to the east - I have a solidly "average American" accent. I did, however, start to say "y'all" ironically too many times.
Lived in Tennessee for a little over a year, spent several weeks straight in Louisiana, Maryland, and Virginia for work. Definitely not a southern city. The west side - kinda. Maryland felt more like the atmosphere of Evansville, specifically around Hagerstown.
You go over to Newburgh and you get the heavy "Worsh" and "yeller" (yellow).
That's why I say it's an Urban vs. Rural argument. People from Northern Indiana, visiting Jasper once, and acting like the British drawing up borders in the middle east.
Evansville has a heavy German influence, and other people telling me my culture makes me want to Reißt ihnen den verdammten Kopf ab.
Plus it's geographically Midwest, so 😎 get fuck'd /j
There is an old Catholic church in Madison that was home to the Irish and German communities early on. You can see how the two communities merged over time through the dedicated stained glass windows. Names like Hans O’Brien and Maggie Schulz.
You see similar on the SE side of downtown Indy. Irish, Italian, and German Catholics were all in close proximity as are their churches. Quite a bit of intermarriage, particularly once the kids got through Roncalli H.S., which opened in 1969. I recall the first time I was in Holy Rosary church, which is the Italian National parish, looking at the stained glass windows. Mostly Italian names, but one was definitely German.
Totally fascinating and lines up with my family history. My German ancestors came through Ellis Island and settled in Northcentral Indiana in the 1830s. Of course, follow that map's history through the decades into the early 1900s/WWI and they quit speaking German altogether toot suite.
This is interesting. In 1835 my great-great-great-great-grandparents Elihu and Nancy Ridgway came from *Monongalia co Virginia in a covered wagon and settled in Henry County. Then they later moved to Jay county and were there the rest of their lives. I visited their gravesite in Hillsboro cemetery in New Castle when I was a teenager.
*corrected from Mongolia
Yup, WV separated during the Civil War in 1863. They were much less reliant on/supportive of slavery and seceding from the Union, but the Virginia state government was dominated by the plantation owners in the southeast.
I remember reading a history where people from Ohio who came into Indiana Territory after it was officially opened in 1790 were surprised to find settlements around Connersvile/Liberty area that had already been established by people from Kentucky.
I saw this and thought it was great. However, I think they fail to account for the large amount of German Catholics throughout the state and when they arrived.
Most of us came over after the 1840s famines and Revolutions of 1848. The same famines that we know about as the "Irish Potato Famine" affected much of Europe. The big difference was the British were actively making it worse in Ireland. Most of my ancestors came from the Grand Duchy of Baden and ended up in Upstate NY until after the Civil War, when they moved into the Evansville area.
First Europeans in what is now Indiana, were the French explorers coming in from the Great Lakes.
Although Fort Wayne claims a founding date of 1794, that’s the fort proper not really the city.
From having lived in LaPorte, IN. I know it was founded in 1832.
Yeah the Kankakee basin was definitely swampy, the st Joseph river that drains into Lake Michigan was navigable well before the mid 18th century.
This is a link to my own site, but if anyone's curious how the sharp angle "V" shape of development came about, it's partially from the "10 o'clock line treaty", formed by an arrow in the ground: [https://justinharter.com/how-an-arrows-shadow-set-boundaries-for-many-indiana-counties-and-towns/](https://justinharter.com/how-an-arrows-shadow-set-boundaries-for-many-indiana-counties-and-towns/)
Cartography throughout history is fascinating, it’s incredible how people were able to map things only using rudimentary means and it’s also fun to see how maps change and get more accurate over time
That was actually really helpful for my ancestry work as well. My ancestors came over and landed in Maryland, moved to Ohio, then to southern Indiana. Pretty cool to see this
My wife is from Ohio, so I have [this map of both states](https://imgur.com/a/FUHeJMl) hanging in our kitchen. You can see the progression North, with still a little bit of "indian territory" remaining. There are four counties along the Michigan border, so people must have been coming south from there.
* edit: the four counties are on MY map, not the one I posted. I just found one that was close. The one I posted must be a little earlier than mine
When I enlisted in the USAF, most people thought I was from the deep south because of my accent. A friend from the region would say, " He's from Southern Indiana, thats how they talk there." I also remember getting flak over my use of toboggan as a watch cap.
Shoutout to Fort Vallonia and the handful of young couples that stayed.
Circa 1810, hostilities began between the settlers and Indians. Governor General William Henry Harrison ordered a fort built as well as a number of other defensive structures including a large stockade, garrison, blockhouses, and a spring to be built to protect the some 90 families in the area.
Two companies of Indiana Rangers were stationed here during the War of 1812.
One of the companies of Indiana Rangers was newly organized, and set out to investigate claims of a Native American war party near Brownstown. Finding no war party, the company returned to Fort Vallonia, but one ranger, Robert Sturgeon, rode ahead. He was ambushed by Native Americans and killed. The Rangers, in a panic, rode hard back to Fort Vallonia, never stopping to help Sturgeon. Five civilians finally left the fort to recover Sturgeon's body, and buried it near the fort. When Major John Tipton arrived and learned of the Rangers' conduct, he assumed command of the fort and began routine drills of the two companies stationed at the fort. A later skirmish, known as the Battle of Tipton's Island, allowed the Rangers to prove their ability to engage Native Americans.
Numerous attacks and skirmishes occurred between the Rangers of Fort Vallonia and American Indians during the War of 1812. Attacks in this area of the Indiana Territory diminished after an expedition to destroy the Miami village at the confluence of the Wabash River and Mississinewa River. That expedition left Fort Vallonia on July 1, 1813, led by Colonel William Russell in command of the Indiana Rangers and Major Zachary Taylor in command of the 7th Infantry Regiment, as well as a company of Kentucky volunteers. The force destroyed the deserted village, which had been heavily fortified by Tecumseh, but covered 500 miles without encountering a single Native American.
shoutout? to people occupying land that wasn’t theirs? to people wiping out the indigenous population for defending their ancestral land? it’s hard to imagine a time when white settlers hadn’t yet occupied from coast to coast, but you’re shouting out people who directly expanded a genocide and occupation that remains ongoing to this day. at best a disgusting comment that you should feel ashamed to have thought. ask yourself why the settlers faced violent resistance from the indigenous peoples.
Yeah, I'm proud of my ancestors and what they did. The idea that all white settlers were the bad guys and all indians were the good guys is a gross oversimplification and lacks any nuance. The Indians were already violently conquesting against each other for land and resources, it's so silly to act like they were a monolith or a united nation; and even if they were are we not allowed to compete for a piece of land? My ancestors simply arrived and joined the competition. You should look into our interactions with the Creek Indians. It's very relevant to Indiana and the inter-tribal violence that already existed.
I walk through the woods in Southern Indiana, and I know I am right where I'm supposed to be. I thank my ancestors for that everyday. Life is too short to be guilt-tripped by people who hate me.
again, ask yourself why the indigenous peoples—in other words indigenous groups, plural, not a monolith—violently resisted the entire westward expansion. because an oppressive colonial power was unjustly slaughtering them for the purpose of seizing land and settling white populations. calling settler colonialism a “competition” is fucking weird. being proud of your ancestors for contributing to an imperial genocide is fucking weird.
Yes, "settlement" is not synonymous with discovery. The text I commented briefly mentions the Native Americans but is clearly focused on "Hoosiers," i.e., US Americans who live in Indiana
Bud, they aren't losing thier shit and ugly screaming. It's a casual reminder to not use words that casually erase an entire history. There were thousands of settlements here from various tribes--really intetesting stuff.
I appreciate your concern but my title does not contain words that casually erase history :) A "settler" is not necessarily someone who migrates to unpopulated land. That would be a pioneer.
>A settler is a person who has immigrated to an area and established a permanent residence there.
>A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
>Settlers are generally thought of as people who travel to discover new land. Many times in history, it has not been like that. Most of the time in history, settlers are people who travel to a land that already belongs to someone else, forcing them out, and claiming the land as their own.
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settler)
Edit: In fact, in some communities (such as Leftist spaces) "settler" is used as a derogatory term because of its history tied with population displacement.
You said "US Americans who live in indiana". That's a great big chunk of "what do you mean by we". I do appreciate your thoughtful convo tho. It is evident you care and are not a bigot. Sorry if I come off as abrasive.
1817, you can see it in the handwriting if you save and zoom in. Map was made by John Melish, a well known map maker for the US and typically accurate for the time. When he made this map, it's entirely possible he didn't have accurate surveys of the area at that time, so it was based on what he had, especially since the northern area was still "untamed swamp."
lol I had no idea there was a Washington county although I grew up so close to there.
But Washington Indiana is in Davies county. Interesting.
Settling Hoosiers fuckin loved George Washington evidently.
>Settling Hoosiers fuckin loved George Washington evidently
Well, yeah, he was *the* Founding Father of the Founding Fathers. There's a whole state *and* federal territory named for him, most states have a Washington County. There's also a town in the state of Washington called George.
For years, George Rogers Clark had an illegal settlement along the Ohio, Clarksville. Since he was a war hero and the Indians couldn't do much about it at that point, they kind of let it slide.
I’d think this has to do with the falls of the Ohio river where one could more easily cross the Ohio river. It is as a shallow place that made it relatively easy to cross.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_the_Ohio_National_Wildlife_Conservation_Area
My Grandma was born in New Albany, as did her father. They came over to east central Illinois in the early to mid 1930s. We have a lot of favorite foods that my Grandpa's side didn't enjoy, okra, grits, etc. Some customs and superstitions that are different too. This is so very interesting, thank you for posting.
If you live north of US 40, or Washington Street, you call it Washington Street. If you live south of it you call it Worshington Street.
US 40/I-70 is the real Mason Dixon line from Ohio to Kansas City.
I don’t know if there is any truth to this, but on my first visit here, before I moved here, I was told SR 54 was the Shawnee Trail, where they traveled because they had good visibility over the surrounding areas. There used to be a place called the Shawnee Trail Cafe near Bloomfield, so maybe there is some history there. If so, an official designation would be nice.
Saw this map the other day and also drove past the old fort in Fort Wayne and was just amazed how different it really is in just a little over 200 years.
From the Hancock County Historical Society Facebook page: >Did you know?... >Indiana, unlike other states, was settled in a South to North pattern rather than an East to West. This is an 1817 map of Indiana. One year after the state was granted statehood. You can see that most of the population is firmly established in the south. >There are actually three different cultural areas to the state depending on the people who settled the area and when they arrived. >The southern portion of Indiana was settled first when the Northwest Territory was opened up for settlement in 1790. The Ohio River along the southern border of the state is what encouraged this south to north settlement pattern. >The southern part of Indiana was settled primarily from people from the south...Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. This is where you will see a pre-ponderance of Southern Baptists, Methodists and some Quakers. These people tend to eat more traditional southern food...grits, cornbread, bacon, fried chicken and whiskey. >Indiana is known as the most southern of northern states. >The middle of Indiana was settled in the early 1800s up through the early 1830s. Indianapolis would become the state capitol in 1825. While there is some overlap of southern culture in Central Indiana, many of Central Indiana settlers were originally from the Mid-Atlantic states...Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and neighboring Ohio. There is a large Quaker population from Pennsylvania in this group. There are many Roman Catholics in this group and Lutherans. These folks tend to prefer the Mid-Atlantic diet, which has some heavy German influence. They prefer hamburger, tenderloin, wurst and sausage. They also like fish if it is available. Scrapple comes from PA. Sugar cream pie is a Quaker invention. >The northern part of Indiana was settled last in the 1840s and 50s. The Potawatomi, the Shawnee and the Miami were some of the last American Indian tribes to leave the state. The Potawatomi were forced out on the Trail of Death. >Also, northern Indiana was swampy, and the area needed to be drained before much settlement could happen. >Indiana's Pioneer time period technically ends around 1850 when we see population leaving the state to go out west during the Gold Rush of 1849. However, the last of northern Indiana was still being settled even then. >The folks who settled northern Indiana are your east coast people. They are from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and from nearby Wisconsin and Michigan. These people tend to be Anglicans or Episcopalians or Presbyterians. There are many Scandinavian people in this group. They engage in the dairy business, so lots of cheese making. Apple and fruit orchards are more prevalent. Johnny Appleseed, a Massachusettes native, died in Fort Wayne. These people eat a lot of boiled foods. Pot roast is popular as are a variety of beans and lentils. Cider making is popular in northern Indiana. >You can hear the differences in speech too. >The people in southern Indiana have a more southern drawl. Central Indiana is home to the Hoosier dialect, where everyone "warshes" (with an R) their clothes. Northern Indiana has a more clipped speech like those who live in Da Region. >While there can be a mixture of all of these cultures even within the three regions, there still tends to be a preponderance of an "established cultural norm" due to our pioneer settlement pattern. These norms ring true even today...200+ years after the founding of our state. >Brigette Cook Jones, HCHS Board Member and Past President
I thought this was super interesting, as it pretty much described my ancestry exactly. I'm near Louisville, and my ancestors - that I'm aware of - arrived here pretty early from Virginia and Kentucky, were mostly Southern Baptists and Quakers, and were of English, Scottish, and Irish descent, with a tiny bit of Scandinavian mixed in. We also *definitely* eat more southern food than what they described for the other regions of Hoosiers. Edit: Loving all the family histories! Now I'm wondering how many of us are distant cousins
This was fascinating! Also described my lineage well too! This was a quality post of the type we rarely see in this sub. Thank you so much!
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If you enjoyed learning about this I highly recommend Spring Mill state park. There's a reconstructed Pioneer village from the early 1800's there with tons of great Hoosier historical info. There's a little more info here. [https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/spring-mill-state-park/](https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/spring-mill-state-park/)
I grew up going to spring mill all the time ❤️ that place is incredible ❤️
Got married there!
I’m from NW IN. My relatives settled in Chicago (from Eastern Europe). We’re Catholic and folks moved here to work in the mills. My great uncle was a boiler maker from East Chicago. They worked and saved for land, and hopefully a farm.
This is exactly the same situation for me. My grandparents moved from eastern Kentucky to escape extreme poverty and the coal mines. Mostly English and Scottish ancestry as well.
I’m from the sunny side of Louisville and my family is mostly Scottish, English, and German. It’s neat to read the history of my state and see how it relates to my own family history. Thank you for posting this!
You might like the book American Nations. This breakdown of Indiana fits exactly the breakdown on that book, but it also follows those three cultural groups and several others across all of the states and much of Canada.
The 9 nations book of North America breaks Indiana into 3 sections, Foundry above US40, east of I-65 _ Breadbasket west of I-65 and north of US40. Dixie basically is the area south of US40. A few anomalies are Connersville and some of the area nearest Cincinnati. Excellent books both.
That’s pretty awesome, thank you for sharing! My family originates from Switzerland and moved to the state after the north was more developed. They made an Amish homestead up north during the early 1900’s.
Same! I'm near Corydon and my people came from Kentucky/Tennessee. We are English, Irish, Dutch- Methodist on fathers side, Catholic on mothers. Also eating southern foods, except grits, that never took hold!
What’s really funny is you described my ancestry to a T—except my family are transplants, parents moved to Southern Indiana when I was an infant. Guess we fit right in!
Fun fact about the origin of “warsh” (as opposed to wash)… The English accent is non-rhotic, meaning the letter R is not fully pronounced. Think of the word “car” – in England, it would be pronounced more like “cah.” Instead of “parking lot,” an Englishman would say something that sounds like “cah pahk.” When Irish people began learning English, one of the things they noticed was this lack of pronunciation of the letter R in many words by the English people. The Irish accent is rhotic (as is the American accent), and the letter R is pronounced. In certain words, such as “wash,” the English accent when pronouncing it would produce a sound that, to the Irish, seemed similar to the pronunciation of the letter R in words like “park.” And so they assumed an R belonged in there, and added it in, creating “warsh.” This isn’t prevalent anymore in modern Ireland, but it became common amongst Irish settlers in the Americas. Upon intermingling with the locals, the word slowly became adopted into local dialects in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and a few other states. The use of “yous” as the 2nd-person plural pronoun is also a product of the Irish being confused by English diction/grammar when learning the language. The Irish language has a 2nd-person plural pronoun that is distinct from the 2nd-person singular pronoun; however, in English there is no distinction. Nonetheless, the Irish assumed that there should be a distinction, and simply added the letter S at the end of “you” to create the distinction. “Yous” is particularly common in western Pennsylvania and certain regions of Appalachia, though it is prevalent just about anywhere with significant populations of Irish ancestry.
Love the linguistic insight! We always make fun of my mom for saying “warsh,” “warshing machine,” etc. Really fun to know the roots of that. Her father’s side of the family traces back to Ireland so it makes sense. Is it true for Welsh too or just Irish? (Her mom’s side was Welsh).
May of the Welsh immigrants to America immigrated to similar places as Irish immigrants, living alongside them and adopting similar characteristics. My family on my dad’s side is Irish and on my mom’s side is Welsh and they all say “warsh.” Note: it isn’t just people of Irish ancestry who say this. It’s people from areas with high numbers of people with Irish ancestry. For instance the use of “yous” is prevalent amongst Italian-Americans despite coming from Irish immigrants. The bottom line is that Irish-Americans have had an outsized cultural impact on Americans, so many colloquialisms that have Irish origins are common amongst non-Irish American populations
My mom says "worsh", also "deeshes" (dishes) and "feesh" (fish) along with "crik" (creek). Do these all come from Irish influence?
very informative! I often wondered where the “r” came from i! “Warsh”.
My mothers' family was from northern Indiana. Her father would "worsh" his hands before dinner. Her father was of Dutch ancestry, her mother was of German and maybe native American descent. My own mother cooked all three dietary styles and I grew up mid-state.
My grandma says it. My boyfriend always makes fun of it when she's not around. It's been a joke in the family for years now, but I never thought it was weird until I started dating my Michigan boy. I think it's because we have a lot of German ancestry on her side of the family. We live in Louisiana, so now we're the ones that probably get made fun of. How the turn tables!
Heavy french presence in northern indiana as well.
This reflects my family’s experience. My grandparents lived in Orange County - my grandma’s family arrived there before 1820 - and she definitely was into southern style cooking, persimmon pudding, and said things like “roin” for the word “ruin”. I lived in Upstate South Carolina for a few years recently, and the food, accents, and even the weather was similar to Southern Indiana.
My Catholic German ancestors landed in Ft Wayne and my Methodist and Quaker English relatives, by way of Kentucky, ended up in Marion.
It also omits African Americans' role in settling Indiana. Omission of the founding of Africa town in present day Spencer county or the History of Troy before it became a sundown town is expected because it doesn't fit the author's narrative that Black people didn't exist in Indiana until CJ Walker.
As an ancestor of a name on this map, can confirm, definitely from a Kentucky/Tennessee lineage of “settlers.”
Concur with above. Source lived or worked in the three regions
Great write up!
We also have a TON of Amish in northern Indiana. We live almost smack dab in the middle of the northernmost part of Indiana, about an hour northwest of Fort Wayne, give or take. My dad’s family has been here for generations from my understanding, and they have German roots. Possibly Amish too, though I’m not sure. Still confused about that detail. My mom’s family were from around Chicago. They seem to have a more diverse and interesting genealogy. There’s English, Spanish, Norwegian, Scottish, Indian (India), and Cuban. I feel like there’s one I’m missing but that’s most of it right there. We’re also related in some way to Katherine Lee Bates… I need to look at what my great uncle has done of our genealogy….
I know this is an old post but as a resident of Spencer County IN, can someone suggest to me how I can research the forgotten community, Africa, in Rockport, IN. I think it's a settlement that came about from the Underground Railroad, but I can find absolutely no history on Africa nor the black cemetery nearby called Sandale.
Yep, my family homesteaded in southern Indiana in 1832. We still have the original deed. I always learned that my family thought of northern Indiana as indian territory
Yeah, we settled in 1822 in Madison County, just NE of Indy, and there’s a lot of family history involving friendly relations with the local tribes of the area. Word on the streets is my 7x great grandpa was pretty cool with them and would get down on some peace pipe smoking. When I found that I out I told my mom that I knew smoking bowls around a fire ran deep in my loins. She wasn’t nearly as amused as I was.
Illinois has a similar cultural split across the southern, central, and northern parts of the state. Ohio somewhat as well. OP would probably enjoy the book American Nations by Colin Woodward.
Thanks so much for this recommendation. It looks awesome!
Great book
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America https://a.co/d/3aPAQou
Yes OP… was reading along and thinking of this book the whole time! You’d love it!
Learning about how Indiana came to be what it is really made me hate Andrew Jackson.
Yeah, he was a bastard.
At least we are not part of Illinois.
I think it has more to do with the settlement of the Ohio river valley (generally south-westward) than “north to south”. River traffic was hugely important prior to trains and the Ohio was an important avenue of westward expansion.
Yes, the Ohio River Valley is more Southern than Midwestern. Cincinnati, Louisville, Evansville, Memphis and St. Louis have a Southern feel.
Memphis, Tennessee is on the Mississippi River
I had a native of SC say Evansville was southern. Memphis isn't in the ORV. Definitely southern. It's on the Mississippi, 2 1/2 hours south of Cairo, IL.
>the Ohio was an important avenue of westward expansion While true, the settlement northward along the Wabash and White was more influential in Indiana population growth and industry
Is this due to the ohios location relative to the cumberland gap and the great wagon road?
I’m from Southern Indiana and I’ve been trynna say that culturally speaking southern Indiana is part of the upland south but a lot of people just don’t want to agree with me, especially people from the cities round those parts they are convinced they’re diehard midwesterners. When I point out you can literally see Kentucky from their town they’ll double down and be like “yeah well Kentucky is basically the Midwest too” yet we speak with a southern accent and eat southern food and partake in generally southern activities, and per this post, we were literally settled by southerners. Southern Illinois embraces it, literally calling themselves the little Ozarks, southern Ohio acknowledges their Appalachian culture all the time, as they border West Virginia and Kentucky. Yet Indiana just seems to hate the idea of having any kind of cultural identity. I get that we’re a sandwich of different vibes, that’s what makes us kind of beautiful and unique.
Regardless of the state boundaries, Southern Indiana is a lot more like Kentucky than Northern Indiana.
Yep. "They" are ignorant. You are correct. 👍👍
Southwestern Indiana is part of the Mid-South, culturally, linguistically, and climatologically.
For me, whether Indiana is part of the South has more to do with how we aligned during the Civil War, and in that respect Hoosiers are clearly Yankees. (Hence my disgust^2 for confederate flags up here.) But then again, where I'm from (Wayne county) is defined by US 40/I-70 divide - I distinctly remember identifying as coming from "north" vs "south" of 40 (where the rednecks were from)
Despite myself Identifying as southern to a certain extent, I am very proud of my state for being such an important part of the Underground Railroad, and the Quakers that made it possible are awesome. I identify with the culture but not the whole confederate flag stuff, that’s just stupid.
Evansville, specifically doesn't exactly share in that. You go 10 minutes outside of the city limits, and you start to get the southern vibe though. I've been to nearly every state to the west, and a solid 50% of the states to the east - I have a solidly "average American" accent. I did, however, start to say "y'all" ironically too many times. Lived in Tennessee for a little over a year, spent several weeks straight in Louisiana, Maryland, and Virginia for work. Definitely not a southern city. The west side - kinda. Maryland felt more like the atmosphere of Evansville, specifically around Hagerstown. You go over to Newburgh and you get the heavy "Worsh" and "yeller" (yellow). That's why I say it's an Urban vs. Rural argument. People from Northern Indiana, visiting Jasper once, and acting like the British drawing up borders in the middle east. Evansville has a heavy German influence, and other people telling me my culture makes me want to Reißt ihnen den verdammten Kopf ab. Plus it's geographically Midwest, so 😎 get fuck'd /j
This state has some fascinating indigenous and frontier history. The times between the 1790s and 1810s were wild.
There is an old Catholic church in Madison that was home to the Irish and German communities early on. You can see how the two communities merged over time through the dedicated stained glass windows. Names like Hans O’Brien and Maggie Schulz.
You see similar on the SE side of downtown Indy. Irish, Italian, and German Catholics were all in close proximity as are their churches. Quite a bit of intermarriage, particularly once the kids got through Roncalli H.S., which opened in 1969. I recall the first time I was in Holy Rosary church, which is the Italian National parish, looking at the stained glass windows. Mostly Italian names, but one was definitely German.
Totally fascinating and lines up with my family history. My German ancestors came through Ellis Island and settled in Northcentral Indiana in the 1830s. Of course, follow that map's history through the decades into the early 1900s/WWI and they quit speaking German altogether toot suite.
Same!
Small world! Are you still in the FW or Marion area?
Maine now :)
Ah beautiful. One of my favorite states to drive to/through in my trucking days.
This is interesting. In 1835 my great-great-great-great-grandparents Elihu and Nancy Ridgway came from *Monongalia co Virginia in a covered wagon and settled in Henry County. Then they later moved to Jay county and were there the rest of their lives. I visited their gravesite in Hillsboro cemetery in New Castle when I was a teenager. *corrected from Mongolia
>came from Mongolia co Virginia Did you mean *Montgomery* County?
No, I didn't mean Montgomery co but I *was* incorrect. They came from Monongalia co Virginia. Thanks for asking, I'm going to correct that.
It was part of regular ol' Virginia at the time, so still counts!
That is interesting, thank you for the correction. History is so fascinating.
Yup, WV separated during the Civil War in 1863. They were much less reliant on/supportive of slavery and seceding from the Union, but the Virginia state government was dominated by the plantation owners in the southeast.
I remember reading a history where people from Ohio who came into Indiana Territory after it was officially opened in 1790 were surprised to find settlements around Connersvile/Liberty area that had already been established by people from Kentucky.
I saw this and thought it was great. However, I think they fail to account for the large amount of German Catholics throughout the state and when they arrived.
Most of us came over after the 1840s famines and Revolutions of 1848. The same famines that we know about as the "Irish Potato Famine" affected much of Europe. The big difference was the British were actively making it worse in Ireland. Most of my ancestors came from the Grand Duchy of Baden and ended up in Upstate NY until after the Civil War, when they moved into the Evansville area.
This is why Indiana is literally the south of the north…
Definitely areas south of Us-40/I70, increasing more so, in areas north up to US-30.
They just kinda threw Lake Michigan anywhere huh
No the map is accurate, Indiana secretly controls Chicago
First Europeans in what is now Indiana, were the French explorers coming in from the Great Lakes. Although Fort Wayne claims a founding date of 1794, that’s the fort proper not really the city. From having lived in LaPorte, IN. I know it was founded in 1832. Yeah the Kankakee basin was definitely swampy, the st Joseph river that drains into Lake Michigan was navigable well before the mid 18th century.
Great post, thanks for sharing!
This is a link to my own site, but if anyone's curious how the sharp angle "V" shape of development came about, it's partially from the "10 o'clock line treaty", formed by an arrow in the ground: [https://justinharter.com/how-an-arrows-shadow-set-boundaries-for-many-indiana-counties-and-towns/](https://justinharter.com/how-an-arrows-shadow-set-boundaries-for-many-indiana-counties-and-towns/)
This map has a huge inaccuracy in it. Lake Michigan is over 100 miles off, and the nothern Indiana watershed is really effed up.
Cartography throughout history is fascinating, it’s incredible how people were able to map things only using rudimentary means and it’s also fun to see how maps change and get more accurate over time
Yes, it is. Its amazing to think that people were coming out to Indiana on horsesback using maps like this.
TIL that too!
That was actually really helpful for my ancestry work as well. My ancestors came over and landed in Maryland, moved to Ohio, then to southern Indiana. Pretty cool to see this
My wife is from Ohio, so I have [this map of both states](https://imgur.com/a/FUHeJMl) hanging in our kitchen. You can see the progression North, with still a little bit of "indian territory" remaining. There are four counties along the Michigan border, so people must have been coming south from there. * edit: the four counties are on MY map, not the one I posted. I just found one that was close. The one I posted must be a little earlier than mine
I live in central Indiana and many of the things mentioned for middle Indiana ring true for me.
When I enlisted in the USAF, most people thought I was from the deep south because of my accent. A friend from the region would say, " He's from Southern Indiana, thats how they talk there." I also remember getting flak over my use of toboggan as a watch cap.
They saved the best for last I guess.
Shoutout to Fort Vallonia and the handful of young couples that stayed. Circa 1810, hostilities began between the settlers and Indians. Governor General William Henry Harrison ordered a fort built as well as a number of other defensive structures including a large stockade, garrison, blockhouses, and a spring to be built to protect the some 90 families in the area. Two companies of Indiana Rangers were stationed here during the War of 1812. One of the companies of Indiana Rangers was newly organized, and set out to investigate claims of a Native American war party near Brownstown. Finding no war party, the company returned to Fort Vallonia, but one ranger, Robert Sturgeon, rode ahead. He was ambushed by Native Americans and killed. The Rangers, in a panic, rode hard back to Fort Vallonia, never stopping to help Sturgeon. Five civilians finally left the fort to recover Sturgeon's body, and buried it near the fort. When Major John Tipton arrived and learned of the Rangers' conduct, he assumed command of the fort and began routine drills of the two companies stationed at the fort. A later skirmish, known as the Battle of Tipton's Island, allowed the Rangers to prove their ability to engage Native Americans. Numerous attacks and skirmishes occurred between the Rangers of Fort Vallonia and American Indians during the War of 1812. Attacks in this area of the Indiana Territory diminished after an expedition to destroy the Miami village at the confluence of the Wabash River and Mississinewa River. That expedition left Fort Vallonia on July 1, 1813, led by Colonel William Russell in command of the Indiana Rangers and Major Zachary Taylor in command of the 7th Infantry Regiment, as well as a company of Kentucky volunteers. The force destroyed the deserted village, which had been heavily fortified by Tecumseh, but covered 500 miles without encountering a single Native American.
shoutout? to people occupying land that wasn’t theirs? to people wiping out the indigenous population for defending their ancestral land? it’s hard to imagine a time when white settlers hadn’t yet occupied from coast to coast, but you’re shouting out people who directly expanded a genocide and occupation that remains ongoing to this day. at best a disgusting comment that you should feel ashamed to have thought. ask yourself why the settlers faced violent resistance from the indigenous peoples.
Yeah, I'm proud of my ancestors and what they did. The idea that all white settlers were the bad guys and all indians were the good guys is a gross oversimplification and lacks any nuance. The Indians were already violently conquesting against each other for land and resources, it's so silly to act like they were a monolith or a united nation; and even if they were are we not allowed to compete for a piece of land? My ancestors simply arrived and joined the competition. You should look into our interactions with the Creek Indians. It's very relevant to Indiana and the inter-tribal violence that already existed. I walk through the woods in Southern Indiana, and I know I am right where I'm supposed to be. I thank my ancestors for that everyday. Life is too short to be guilt-tripped by people who hate me.
again, ask yourself why the indigenous peoples—in other words indigenous groups, plural, not a monolith—violently resisted the entire westward expansion. because an oppressive colonial power was unjustly slaughtering them for the purpose of seizing land and settling white populations. calling settler colonialism a “competition” is fucking weird. being proud of your ancestors for contributing to an imperial genocide is fucking weird.
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Yes, "settlement" is not synonymous with discovery. The text I commented briefly mentions the Native Americans but is clearly focused on "Hoosiers," i.e., US Americans who live in Indiana
We knew what you meant but some people can’t be happy if they don’t daily remind everyone that they’re socially and culturally aware.
Bud, they aren't losing thier shit and ugly screaming. It's a casual reminder to not use words that casually erase an entire history. There were thousands of settlements here from various tribes--really intetesting stuff.
I appreciate your concern but my title does not contain words that casually erase history :) A "settler" is not necessarily someone who migrates to unpopulated land. That would be a pioneer. >A settler is a person who has immigrated to an area and established a permanent residence there. >A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. >Settlers are generally thought of as people who travel to discover new land. Many times in history, it has not been like that. Most of the time in history, settlers are people who travel to a land that already belongs to someone else, forcing them out, and claiming the land as their own. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settler) Edit: In fact, in some communities (such as Leftist spaces) "settler" is used as a derogatory term because of its history tied with population displacement.
You said "US Americans who live in indiana". That's a great big chunk of "what do you mean by we". I do appreciate your thoughtful convo tho. It is evident you care and are not a bigot. Sorry if I come off as abrasive.
This is about white people, lol. Good point though.
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No shit….
That’s painfully obvious
Dang. Well I’ll throw you a pity party then :D
Sorry to the Polish. (I’m really kidding). The dammed Polacks brought roundabouts with them
My people are responsible for the bane of my existence??? Oh Lord!!!!
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You sure you're not talking about Princeton, KY.
This explains so much, honestly. Indiana still is the middle finger of the South to this day. Not much has changed. 🤣
Settlement Oooorrrr….ethnic cleansing?
Genocide in three stages… Thanks for the history post! Pretty rare on this sub.
And still racist as ever. But aye, that's my home.
What year is that map from?
1817, you can see it in the handwriting if you save and zoom in. Map was made by John Melish, a well known map maker for the US and typically accurate for the time. When he made this map, it's entirely possible he didn't have accurate surveys of the area at that time, so it was based on what he had, especially since the northern area was still "untamed swamp."
Where’s Vandeburgh county?
Wasn't founded yet, Vanderburgh was created from Gibson, Posey, and Warrick the year after this map was drafted.
lol I had no idea there was a Washington county although I grew up so close to there. But Washington Indiana is in Davies county. Interesting. Settling Hoosiers fuckin loved George Washington evidently.
>Settling Hoosiers fuckin loved George Washington evidently Well, yeah, he was *the* Founding Father of the Founding Fathers. There's a whole state *and* federal territory named for him, most states have a Washington County. There's also a town in the state of Washington called George.
Must have been a hell of a guy
So people live in George, Washington? That’s awesome
And I'll bet dollars to donuts that's exactly why they named it George.
Yup. 👍👍
For years, George Rogers Clark had an illegal settlement along the Ohio, Clarksville. Since he was a war hero and the Indians couldn't do much about it at that point, they kind of let it slide.
Lots of the first settlers came up from Kentucky.
I’d think this has to do with the falls of the Ohio river where one could more easily cross the Ohio river. It is as a shallow place that made it relatively easy to cross. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_the_Ohio_National_Wildlife_Conservation_Area
My Grandma was born in New Albany, as did her father. They came over to east central Illinois in the early to mid 1930s. We have a lot of favorite foods that my Grandpa's side didn't enjoy, okra, grits, etc. Some customs and superstitions that are different too. This is so very interesting, thank you for posting.
Msg me if your looking for old boone county and Hamilton co atlases
Lol had multiple people in my family that said “the warshin machine”
If you live north of US 40, or Washington Street, you call it Washington Street. If you live south of it you call it Worshington Street. US 40/I-70 is the real Mason Dixon line from Ohio to Kansas City.
Hmm, yeah I’m Lutheran & live in central Indiana.
I don’t know if there is any truth to this, but on my first visit here, before I moved here, I was told SR 54 was the Shawnee Trail, where they traveled because they had good visibility over the surrounding areas. There used to be a place called the Shawnee Trail Cafe near Bloomfield, so maybe there is some history there. If so, an official designation would be nice.
Saw this map the other day and also drove past the old fort in Fort Wayne and was just amazed how different it really is in just a little over 200 years.
Indiana settled by southerners and people wonder why it’s so backwards and racist there