Click here to go to the Term Paper assignments updated September 16.  If you did not volunteer for a project you have been assigned one.  If you prefer to do a different project than the one to which you were assigned, I will consider changes by September 19.

The semester's major project will be analysis of archaeological and archival data from the Summer 2003 excavations on Agnes Street.  Archaeological data from the 2003 Field School excavation and historical research on the site will be prepared and analyzed in the coming year for inclusion in a technical report on the project.  All course projects will become part of this report, and all class members who satisfactorily complete their projects will receive a contributing author credit in the final report.

The available projects involve working with either excavated material culture or conducting historical research associated with the site.  All artifacts excavated in Summer 2003 are curated in the Cavanaugh Hall Archaeology lab, and all artifact analysis must take place in the lab during normal weekday lab hours.  Please do not select an artifact analysis project if you cannot work in the lab during the week.  You must sign in and sign out of the Archaeology lab each time you come to work in the lab.  Questions about the lab's schedule can be directed to Archaeology Lab Director Chris Glidden.  Each of the material culture projects is outlined below, but please feel free to discuss any of them with me if you have any questions.

Some projects focus on archival research and can be conducted in local libraries.  Some details for these projects may be found online, but you should expect to spend a significant share of your time in local archives including the IUPUI University Library and the IMCPL Central Library.

You MUST choose one of the following projects.  If you yearn for some other specialized analysis project (e.g., bone analysis), please discuss it with me.  All projects will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis, so do not delay signing up for a project.  Any students who do not volunteer for a project by September 2 will be assigned one of the remaining projects at random.

Non-negotiable Facts

You must complete all work in Arial 12-point font with double spacing (except within tables) and 1" margins on all sides; this is the formatting style for the final report, and I will deduct points for projects that must be significantly re-formatted to conform to proper style.  All finished projects must be submitted in both a hard copy form and on disc in IBM-compatible Word or Word Perfect formats.  Any late projects will be penalized a full letter grade for each day they are late unless we have already reached a written agreement for an extension.  The project is due December 2.  Any projects turned in after the deadline will result in an incomplete for the course and grade penalty if you do not negotiate an extension well beforehand and provide a substantial reason for the delay; all extensions must be negotiated with me and placed in writing as soon as possible.

Projects

Terminus post quem analysis features 1, 3, 7 (four separate projects)
A terminus post quem ("date after which") is the date on or after which an archaeological formation was deposited.  For instance, if a single contiguous soil layer contained three coins dated 1900, 1910, and 1920, the three could not have been deposited until 1920, which would be that layer's TPQ.  That would mean that all artifacts in that deposit must have been deposited in 1920 or after.
These projects analyze the TPQ's for the three major features on Agnes Street, which were numbered 1, 3, and 7.  The students who complete these projects will examine the artifacts for each level in one of the three features and identify and record all potentially dateable artifacts.  Feature 7 has so many artifacts that it has been subdivided into two projects.  This analysis will be recorded in a table that describes each artifact with any diagnostic (i.e., potentially dateable) features, such as a manufacturer's name, a place of production, a distinctive design, or a literal date.  Using artifact research guides in the Archaeology lab, students will establish dates for as many diagnostic artifacts as possible.  Students will prepare a short paper (circa 3-5 double-spaced pages) summarizing their findings.
Few or no artifacts are cleaned, so these projects will require some artifact cleaning.  All artifacts are curated in the Cavanaugh Archaeology lab, as are most research materials, so most of the project should be conducted in the lab during normal operating lab hours.

Bottle analysis Features 1, 3, and 7 (four projects)

Perhaps the most common artifact on late-nineteenth and twentieth-century archaeological sites is bottles.  Bottles were generally purchased for their contents, so once the contents were consumed the vessels were quickly discarded; this makes bottles good dating mechanisms, and the types of products consumed by a particular household (e.g., alcohol, food, soda, etc) provide significant insight into everyday consumption.
These four projects analyze the glass assemblages in the three largest site features; Feature 7, the two-story outhouse, contained so much glass that it has been divided into two projects.  Students completing this project will make a systematic record of all bottles that are at least three-quarters complete from each feature.  This will include identifying functional type (e.g., liquor, patent medicine), manufacturer, any embossed identifications, and other identifying features (e.g., tax revenue tags, paper labels, caps or corks intact, etc).  I will provide a handout that details exactly how to record this information.  Students will prepare a short paper (circa 3-5 double-spaced pages) summarizing their findings.
Few or no artifacts are cleaned, so these bottles may require some cleaning.  All artifacts are curated in the Cavanaugh Archaeology lab, as are most research materials, so most of the project should be conducted in the lab during normal operating lab hours.

Ceramic analysis Features 1, 3, and 7 (three projects)

Few classes of historic artifacts have received more attention that ceramics:  found on virtually any domestic site regardless of period or social standing, ceramics reveal a breadth of information about foodways, style, class, and discard patterns.  The Agnes Street site contained a relatively modest assemblage of ceramics concentrated in the three major features.  These projects will require students to systematically record every ceramic sherd from each level of each feature.  The information will be recorded in a table, and students will prepare a short paper (circa 3-5 pages) summarizing their findings.  The ceramics will in many cases require cleaning.  All artifacts are curated in the Cavanaugh Archaeology lab, as are most research materials, so most of the project should be conducted in the lab during normal operating lab hours.

House histories (four projects)

The Agnes Street houses containing the primary features must have a detailed household history completed, as will a sample of homes without significant archaeological features.  We will need to know things like date of construction, heads of household, and demographic information on household members.  I am providing preliminary research information and specific directions on remaining information that needs to be added to this research.  You should strive to find as much detail as possible about household members and be prepared to dig through a wide range of resources to tell as rich and complex a story about each household as you possibly can.  Each house description on this page includes items in bold that I expect you to address.  For instance, if the house description includes "1930 city directory: record head of household and occupation," then you must go to the 1930 directory and record the head of household (listed in a street inventory by address) and occupation (which will be included in a section of the directory that lists of city residents in alphabetical order).  

Left (thumbnail, click to enlarge): This is a page from the street listings for the 1945 city directory.  The street listing section inventories every head of household for each street address in the city.  Number 1 shows the start of the Agnes Street section, which then ran from 940 West New York Street (where New York today crosses University Boulevard) to Walnut Street.  The inventory starts at New York Street and then proceeds north up Agnes Street, listing each head of household.  Number 2 shows the first street crossing, which was Pettijohn Street (now Vermont).  Number 3 shows the intersection of Michigan Street.  Number 4 shows the listing for one of the homes in our research area, 444 Agnes Street, which was home to Mrs. Rebecca Swanigan.  This would be recorded as listed:  "Swanigan Rebecca Mrs".  The little bell symbols mean the household has a phone.  A house listed as 1/2 is usually a double or single residence split into units, but it sometimes can be a backyard structure as well.

Left (thumbnail):  Now that you know that Rebecca Swanigan lives at 444 Agnes Street, look in the alphabetical listings.  Number 1 shows her as "Swanigan Rebecca (wid Hiram) h444 Agnes"; consequently, Rebecca's deceased husband was named Hiram.  The "h" signifies "home"; in some directories "r" is used as residence signifying renters or boarders, but this usage is uneven.  Number 2, for instance, shows Alice M. Swartz as "r134S 2d Av"; i.e., residence 134 South Second Avenue.  Alice was working as a clerk ("clk") at Ayres.  One of the big dilemmas of the city directories is that they record men's histories much better than women:  men always appear as head of household, so finding the names of wives is difficult.  Number 3, though, shows the entry for Eugene R. Swango and includes his wife's name in parenthesis (Hollis).  This was a relatively late shift in the directories that doesn't occur in earlier directories.

The best projects will provide the information that is included in bold, but they will also dig up histories of household members and find a range of resources that provide detailed background on the structure and the people who lived in that home.  Ask yourself things like when did this house get city sewer service?  If it was rented out, who was the landlord?  Did a household in your structure move to another home in the neighborhood (this is quite common in the near-Westside)?  Where did these families live before they came to Agnes Street?  Can you find them living in Indianapolis prior to living on Agnes Street?  When was the house built?  You'll need ot consult the plat books Consequently, be a creative researcher.  The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library has a nice page, Writing House History, that will give you some ideas on resources beyond those I recommend here.  Historic Landmarks Foundation Of Indiana has a great little book on house research available online as a PDF called Historic House Research Handbook.

You will need to work with a range of primary resources, and you will be expected to work closely with some.  Basic head of household information is most easily found in Indianapolis City Directories, which are on microfilm in the IUPUI Library through 1935 (F534.I33 C575 1977a -- search under call number for a full reference citation) and on film until 1960 in the IMCPL Central Library (also see their full City Directory holdings, which are quite strong).  City directories began to list each head of household by their street address in 1914; in other words, after 1913 you only need to know a house address to find out who lived at that home.  Keep in mind that Indianapolis addresses have changed three times around the turn of the century.  Maps can help you keep track of turn-of-the-century address changes.  The best maps are the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, available at IUPUI (microfilm G4090 .S364 1990) and IMCPL on microfilm and online in incredible detail to IUPUI users.  Sanborns exist for Indianapolis for 1887, 1898, 1914, and 1950 and contain scrupulous detail rendered with incredible reliability.  An introduction to the Sanborn maps can be found at the UC-Berkeley Map Library page; the University of Virginia has a nice guide to Reading Sanborn Maps.  Baist maps, which do not contain the house-level detail of Sanborn maps, are available in original print format at IMCPL at SP.COLL R OVERSIZE 917.7252.

Prior to 1914, a researcher needs to know a name for the head of household, and the best source for these is the federal censuses from 1880, 1900, and 1910.  The National Archives has a nice guide to how to search through the census.  The census through 1920 is available on microfilm at IUPUI.

All information that you find must be scrupulously cited:  If I cannot find the source myself, it might as well not exist.  Consequently, be compulsive about recording all information on every source you identify.  This means page numbers, call numbers on library resources, frame numbers on microfilmed census information, the literal physical location of the resource (e.g., IUPUI University Archives), and so on.  Please record information from primary resources exactly as it appears in those sources:  for instance, if a city directory spells somebody's name as "Robt Marshall," then transpose it exactly that way (not "Robert Marshall").  Any comments you add as transposer should be placed in brackets [like these].  

The best projects will include household members' histories from a wide range of resources, not just the directories and census, so plan to dig through internet genealogy pages once you have a list of household members or some names.  Try the encyclopedic links sources on Cindy's List genealogy page when you've found a name but need more information on that person.  Her Indiana links page contains information on specific state resources.  You may be compelled to dig through a handful of sources before success, so be persistent.  The Family Search web page has a thorough introduction to genealogical research in Indiana.  Other sources to consider include: the Social Security Death Index (if they died with a number, they're in the SSDI), Crown Hill Cemetery (seems that most every dead person in Indianapolis finds eternal repose at Crown Hill--click on Burial Locator and search for specific names), American Family Immigration History center (Ellis Island immigration records), and the family names page at Rootsweb (if you know a family's last name, just post a message to that surname message board, and see if somebody knows something more).

The researcher should produce a table that lists all information on household members chronologically, from oldest to most recent.  It must include full citations.  A short paper of between three and five pages should accompany the table and summarize the data.  Background information on each archival project is included below, and bolded material is information I minimally expect to be included in your report.

Structure 3-4 is a double that would be today numbered 458-460 Agnes Street.  The structure was built by 1880, when it was a single-floor double.  The structure had a second floor added and became a two-story, four unit rental between 1900 and 1914.  When the house was expanded to two levels, its one-seat back yard privy was expanded into a two-story outhouse that likely sat four people.

• 1880: 104 Agnes Street [Structure 3] Samuel Anderson (White age 27, born Ireland, both parents born Ireland, occupation laborer); wife Rickie Anderson (age 19 born Indiana, both parents born Germany, occupation keeping house)
• 1875 city directory:  search for Samuel Anderson and William Stephenson; note even if no record of either person is found
• 1880 census: 106 Agnes Street [Structure 4] William Stephenson (White, age 37, born Ohio, both parents born Ohio, railroader; wife Jane Stephenson (age 36, born Ohio, both parents born Ohio, keeping house); son Howard Stephenson (age 16, born Ohio, railroader); daughter Clara Stephenson (age 12, attends school); daughter Jennie Stephenson (age 10, attends school); and daughter Ollie Stephenson (age 6)
• 1887 Sanborn: 104-106 Agnes Street single-story frame double, each with single main block and two successive rear blocks. Single-story frame structures at rear of lot covering full width of yard.
• 1898 Sanborn: 442-446 Agnes Street single-story frame dwelling with single story frame frame outbuilding in center of back yard
• 1890 city directory:  search for Samuel Anderson, William Stephenson, Frank Lawson, Isabella Pritchard, and Theodore F. Miller
• 1900 census: 444 Agnes Street [Structure 3] Theodore F Miller (White born Maryland 6/1851, both parents born Germany, day laborer in foundry, renter), wife Sarah E. Miller (born Ohio 10/1852, both parents born Ohio, no occupation); daughter Dora E. Miller (born Indiana 4/1882, single, occupation "laundryss" [sic]); and son Theo F. Miller (born Indiana 7/1884, occupation day laborer)
• 1900 census: 442 Agnes Street [Structure 4] Frank Lawson (White, born Indiana 7/1869, father born Virginia, mother born Ohio, occupation contracter [sic], home rented); wife Erma Lawson born Indiana 4/1873, both parents born Germany, no occupation given); son Evinate [?] Lawson (born Indiana 9/1892, no occupation); and Isabella Pritchard, boarder (female, born England 4/1882, single, immigrated 1893, both parents born England, occupation "salesman bakery")
• Crown Hill 1880 Structure 3: no Stephensons with these names
• 1910 city directory: search for Theodore F. Miller, Frank Lawson, and Isabella Pritchard
• 1910 census: make a record of every individual living at these two addresses, then numbered 458 and 460 Agnes Street
• 1914 Sanborn: 458-460 Agnes Street two-story frame, iron-clad flat with composition roof, two-story rear and front porches. Two story-rear frame walkway to backyard two-story frame structure (privy)
• 1914 city directory: 458 Edward Batkin; 458 ½ Edward E Baxter; 460 Arthur O Fisher; 460 ½ Arthur Wilson
• 1920, 1925, 1930, 1930, 1935, 1940, and 1945 city directories:  record every head of household in city directories, record occupation listing
• 1950 Sanborn: 458-460 Agnes Street, no apparent changes to structure from 1914.
• 1956 Sanborn: 458-460 Agnes Street, no apparent changes from 1914.
• Crown Hill 1880 Structure 3: two Samuel Anderson burials 7/23/1889 section CG lot 878 and 6/18/1918 section 32 lot 263; no Rickie Anderson; no R. Anderson in section CG or section 32
• Crown Hill 1900 Structure 3: Theodore F. Miller buried 1/9/1917 section 54 lot 1008; Sarah E. Miller buried 9/28/1918 but in section 53 lot 280; Dora Miller buried 9/8/1944 section 54, lot 1691
• Crown Hill 1900 Structure 4: Frank Lawson buried 8/16/1933, section 37 lot 729; Emma [sic] Lawson buried 7/16/1907 section 37 lot 729; no Evinate Lawson; no Isabella Pritchard

Structure 7 was a single-family home built before 1880.  The structure would today be numbered 452 Agnes Street.  The rectangular feature that has been interpreted as a privy lay behind this structure.

Structure 9 would today be 444 Agnes Street also appears to have been built by 1880.  The well excavated by the field school was off the back porch of this house.

• 1880 census: 92 Agnes Street no listing; "90 Agnes Street" [must be correct house because there aren’t others at southeastern corner of project area] James [illegible last name] (White age 33 born Ireland, both parents born Ireland, laborer) wife Ellen (age 30, born Ireland both parents born Ireland, keeping house); son Edward (age 4 born Indiana); and son Leonard (age 2, born Indiana)
• 1885 city directory:  search for Samuel F. Bailie; if found on Agnes Street, search backward until Bailie not found on Agnes Street (which must be after 1880)
• 1900 census: 430 Agnes Street Samuel F. Bailir [sic] (White born Indiana 5/1860, both parents born Ireland, own home mortgaged, occupation grocer); wife Nancy T Bailir (born Indiana 5/1861, both parents born Indiana, mother of two children, one living, no occupation); daughter Viola M Bailir (born Indiana 9/1885, at school seven months); brother-in-law Henry A. Tomlinson (born Indiana 2/1863, both parents born Ireland [there must be an error here--his sister has both parents born in Indiana]), single, occupation "conductor [illegible]"
• Crown Hill 1900: no Bailier; Sam F. Bailie buried 1/23/1945 section 59 lot 693; Nancy T. Bailie buried 11/7/1922 section 59 lot 693; no Viola Bailie; no Henry Tomlinson, two Harry Tomlinsons
• 1905 city directory:  search for Samuel F. Bailie and Patrick Loftus
• 1910 census: make a record of every individual living at 444 Agnes Street; if Patrick Loftus is not head of household, search for Loftus in 1910 city directory
• 1914 directory: 444 Agnes Patrick Loftus
• 1920 city directory:  search for Patrick Loftus
• 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1950, and 1955 city directories:  identify all heads of household and occupations
• 1938 directory: 444 Agnes Street Harry Cooper
• 1945 directory: 444 Agnes Street Mrs Rebecca Swanigan [sic]; "Swanigan Rebecca (wid Hiram) h444 Agnes" (in 1938 directory: 515 Agnes Street "Swanigan Hiram (Rose) lab h515 Agnes")
• 1945 city directory: search for Oscar Brown (molder)
• 1947 directory: 444 Agnes Street Mrs. Rebecca Swanigan (1949 directory :Swanichin [sic] Rebecca (wid Hime) r509 Patterson")
• 1949 directory: Oscar Brown
• 1950 Sanborn: 444 Agnes Street single-story frame structure with composition roofing and single story rear block addition shown in 1914 Sanborn; single story frame structure marked "R of 444 Agnes" along back yard lot line
• 1951 directory 444 Agnes Street Oscar Brown; "Brown Oscar mldr C&GFdy h444 Agnes"
• Crown Hill: no Hiram/Hime or Rebecca Swanigan; no Swanichan or Swanichin
• Crown Hill: no Oscar Brown

Structure 8 was built by 1875 at the address that would today be 448 Agnes Street.  It was home to one of the neighborhood's earliest German immigrant families, the Steltings.  Augustus Stelting and wife Malinda apparently reached Indianapolis by 1875, when Augustus was a carpenter for the firm Chandler and Taylor and the family was living at Structure 8 (then number 94 Agnes Street).  Augustus and Malinda had two daughters and four sons.  By 1895 they were no longer living on Agnes Street but had moved elsewhere on campus.  They were followed at the home by Irish immigrants, so the structure represents the two most common European immigrant groups in Indianapolis.

American Legion 1927 Convention

Feature 1 contained a bronze souvenir medallion from the September, 1927 American Legion convention in Paris.  The student who completes this project will provide a history of the Convention and research any information on the Convention found in Indianapolis newspapers.  In 1927 American Legion membership was restricted to Great War veterans, but there are no Legion records of the people who attended the Convention; it is unclear if the residents of Structure 9 included a veteran or if the medallion made its way into the house through any number of routes.  The American Legion is based in Indianapolis and has an archive that may contain some information on the 1927 Convention, even if the archives cannot provide any specific information on those who attended the Convention.  The student who conducts this project must agree to search every day of the Indianapolis Star (on microfilm at IUPUI) for the months August-October 1927 (AN 2.J4 S72 1927 August, roll 196 microfilm, shelved under newspaper title).  More newspapers are available at the Indiana State Library.

Term Paper Assignments

Bottle analysis Feature 1: Sarah Adams  

Bottle analysis Feature 3: Dawn Haag                             

Bottle analysis Feature 7 Levels A-P:  Joyce Haibe   

Bottle analysis Feature 7 Levels Q-S (includes wall cleaning): Gene Ann Fausett 

TPQ analysis Feature 7 Levels Q-S: Jennifer Irby

House history Structure 2: Emily Gaston  

House history Structure 3-4: Lauran Barnes 

Faunal Analysis Structure 3:   June Shotts                   

House history Structure 7:    Erin Robling                        

House history Structure 8:  Ryan Mercado                    

House history Structure 9:  Tim Roberts                          

House history Structure 13:                                  

American Legion Medallion analysis:  Katie Wanzer 

Lucky Mojo coin analysis:  Nicole Paschal 

Last updated September 16, 2003