Reading and Print Culture in a 19th C. African American Farm Community

Abstract

In 1954, Indianapolis resident Mary Jeffries Strong donated to the Indiana Historical Society what remained of a rural library in a 19th century African American settlement in central Indiana. The gift included two manuscript books – one with the circulation records, the other containing the minutes of the meetings of the library officers – and a collection of books. Mrs. Strong had kept the collection since the death of her uncle, who had been a teacher and major organizer of the library. My project involves using the manuscripts and other primary sources, including census data, newspapers, genealogy records, and personal interviews with descendants, to reveal a community of readers in rural Indiana ca. 1840-1870.